#UNAffairs - Tuesday’s Daily Brief

TDN

News Brief - https://news.un.org/en/story/2019/06/1039811

Bicycles for the environment - Cars have replaced bicycles as the primary means of transport in many Chinese cities but, with air pollution a major problem for the country, the bike is making a comeback, thanks to digital technology, and some 21st Century thinking.

China was once considered to be the "Kingdom of the Bicycle,” with bikes dominating city streets across the country, but over the past four decades, China’s dramatic economic prosperity and urbanization has seen many people move to motor vehicles as their primary means of transport, contributing to a marked deterioration in air quality.

New leader for the UN General Assembly: The global reach of the United Nations makes it “the world's best hope for peace and security, sustainable development and the promotion and protection of human rights and social progress”, said the top Nigerian diplomat who will be the next President of the General Assembly.

Tijjani Muhammad-Bande, Nigeria’s current UN Permanent Representative, was elected to head the world body by acclamation on Tuesday in the General Assembly Hall in New York and will succeed Ecuador’s Maria Fernanda Espinosa.

UN values, Continuing her trip to London, the UN Deputy Secretary-General, Amina J. Mohammed, attended several events on Tuesday, highlighting the importance of “Our Shared Humanity” and our global values, and the centrality of unlocking the potential of women and girls.

“The solidarity expressed in the United Nations Charter’s opening words, 'we the people', is critical for our humanity’s future. The values enshrined throughout the document must remain our benchmark and guide,” said Ms. Mohammed in her statement delivered at foreign affairs think-tank, Chatham House.

Urging the world to move faster towards the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals, she noted that “without deep transformation, we risk catastrophic climate change; mass extinction of ecosystems and species; even higher levels of forced displacement; a major rollback of decades of development progress - and all of the political turmoil that accompanies social and economic disruption.”

In another event on tackling inequality, she stressed the importance of unlocking the power and potential of women and girls. “Gender equality is one of the critical social, economic and political priorities of our time. This should not be such a struggle. After all, the benefits of gender equality are many and proven.”

Ebola: In the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), where the World Health Organization has expressed frustration at insecurity challenges as the number of cases of Ebola virus disease has now passed 2,000.

Since the beginning of the outbreak last August, more than 1,340 have died.

The UN response has been hampered by attacks by armed groups, protests and demonstrations, including one in April that killed a WHO medic,

--- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/thedevelopmentnews/message