“We must ensure the participation of indigenous peoples – women and men – in decision-making at all levels,” Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said in his message for the Day, adding that consensual agreements between States and indigenous groups “enable better understanding of their views and values and are essential for protecting and promoting rights and establishing the political vision and necessary frameworks for different cultures to coexist in harmony.”

With more than 5,000 distinct indigenous groups in some 90 countries, indigenous people make up more than 5 per cent of the world’s population, representing 370 million people.

The theme of this year’s World Indigenous Day – which has been marked annually on 9 August since 1995 – is “Honouring treaties, agreements and other constructive arrangements.” It aims to highlight the importance of honouring arrangements between States, their citizens and indigenous peoples that were designed to recognize indigenous peoples’ rights to their lands and establish a framework for living in proximity and entering into economic relationships.

“It is important that we strive to strengthen partnerships that will help preserve cultural vigour while facilitating poverty reduction, social inclusion and sustainable development,” Mr. Ban said.

He noted that it is particularly important to involve indigenous groups in discussion regarding the post-2015 development agenda, ensuring their culture, identity and perspective are taken into account when defining priorities.

The Special Rapporteur on the rights of indigenous peoples, James Anaya, underlined that respecting treaties is crucial to advance reconciliation with indigenous peoples and address historical wrongs that have left them at a disadvantage.

“Honouring treaties and other long-standing agreements can go far in helping to build trust among indigenous peoples and to rebuild relationships between States and indigenous peoples in a true spirit of good faith, partnership, and mutual respect,” he said.

Anaya called on governments to respect all agreements – old and new – to provide a basis for reconciliation and overcome all obstacles to the full realization of indigenous people’s rights.

“In no instance should new treaties or agreements fall below or undermine the standards set forth in the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples or established in other international sources,” he said.

Adopted by the General Assembly in September 2007 after more than two decades of debate, the Declaration sets out the individual and collective rights of indigenous peoples, as well as their rights to culture, identity, language, employment, health, education, and other issues.

The UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) drew attention to the challenges faced by indigenous girls and women in particular, with evidence showing that the experience of violence is heightened among females of indigenous background because of a myriad of barriers, including access to services such as health care, protection, birth registration and schooling.

In a news release, the agency said it will scale up initiatives specifically targeted at enhancing the rights of indigenous children and adolescents. These include support to legal and policy reforms, bilingual education, and culturally-sensitive maternal health services and birth registration.

The International Labour Organization (ILO) reaffirmed its commitment to work for the realization of indigenous peoples’ rights so that they may have a fair chance of decent work.

It also drew attention to next year’s 25th anniversary of ILO’s Indigenous and Tribal People’s Convention 1989 (No. 169), which calls on States to build partnerships with indigenous peoples through consultation and participation in decision-making processes on matters affecting them.

ILO also appealed for support for the UN Indigenous Peoples Partnership, an inter-agency initiative launched in 2011 that promotes alliances between indigenous peoples, governments and social partners at the country level for effective implementation of the Convention.

To mark the Day, more than 200 indigenous and non-indigenous paddlers will arrive today at Pier 96 in New York City, after having collectively travelled hundreds of miles on rivers and horseback to honour the Two Row Wampum treaty between Dutch immigrants and the Haudenosaunee, signed in 1613.

“The Two Row is the oldest and is the grandfather of all subsequent treaties,” said Oren Lyons, the Faithkeeper of the Onondaga Nation’s Turtle Clan, who has represented the Haudenosaunee at the UN and elsewhere. “It set a relationship of equity and peace. This campaign is to remind people of the importance of the agreements.”

The Forum, which met for the first time away from UN Headquarters in New York, adopted two resolutions as it wrapped up its two-week session, one on forests and economic development ­– the main theme of the session – and the other on financing.

Recognizing the vital role of forests to lives and livelihoods, the 197 member countries of the Forum called on national governments to take a range of actions to improve sustainable forest management, from substantive data collection to addressing the causes of deforestation and forests degradation.

Also, while recognizing that there is no single solution to meet all forest financing needs, the Forum agreed that multiple sources of financing, at the national, regional and international levels, was needed from various sources, public and private, including consideration of a voluntary global forest fund.

Forests cover one-third of the Earth’s landmass and about 1.6 billion people depend on forests for their livelihood. Three-fourths of freshwater comes from forested catchment areas and forests stabilize slopes, prevent landslides and protect coastal communities against tsunamis and storms. More than three billion people depend on forests for wood for cooking and heating.

“There is now greater recognition than ever before that forests are essential to economic development and sustainable development,” said Jan McAlpine, Director of Forum’s Secretariat.

“In this historic meeting, countries broke new ground and agreed to take actions that demonstrate the need to sustainably manage our forests so that they can continue to be a source of livelihoods, broader economic development, including clean air, clean water and biodiversity – all leading to poverty eradication.”

The two-week session was attended by two Prime Ministers, one Vice President and over 50 ministers and high-level officials. Highlights included events showcasing sustainable forest management best practices and the individuals and countries that have actually put these practices into innovative use, as well as awards honouring activists, filmmakers and photographers from around the world.

The Forum, set up by the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) in 2000, is the only international body that addresses all forest and tree policy issues. Countries will decide at the next session in 2015 how the functions of the Forum will continue internationally, as well as whether there is a need to develop a global treaty on forests.

“The successful outcome of [the session] proves once again the key and unique value-added role of the Forum as a global policy-setting body on all types of forests,” said Mario Ruales Carranza of Ecuador, the Chair of the Forum’s tenth session, hailing the outcome as “a new milestone” in financing forests and economic development.

The deliberations over the past two weeks had paved the way for a positive future and would no doubt contribute significantly to the next session in 2015, when “crucial decisions” would be taken regarding the future of the world’s woodlands.

“UNWTO welcomes the adoption of this resolution on the importance of ecotourism,” said the Secretary-General of the UN World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), Taleb Rifai, in a news release.

“The remarkable support that the resolution has received, from all regions and across the development spectrum, is a clear testimony that sustainable tourism has a vital role to play in a fairer and sustainable future for all,” he added.

The resolution, adopted on 21 December and entitled ‘Promotion of ecotourism for poverty eradication and environment protection,’ calls on UN Member States to adopt policies that promote ecotourism, highlighting its “positive impact on income generation, job creation and education, and thus on the fight against poverty and hunger.”

It further recognizes that “ecotourism creates significant opportunities for the conservation, protection and sustainable use of biodiversity and of natural areas by encouraging local and indigenous communities in host countries and tourists alike to preserve and respect the natural and cultural heritage.”

According to UNWTO, the resolution – facilitated by Morocco and sponsored by a record 105 delegations – draws on the recommendations contained in one of its reports, put together on the basis of responses from 48 Member States, “which, in a notable departure from its normal practice, was welcomed by the UN General Assembly.”

In line with the UNWTO report’s recommendations, the resolution underscores the need for national tourism plans to account for market demand and local competitive advantages.

It also encourages Member States to promote investment in ecotourism, in accordance with their national legislation, including creating small and medium-sized enterprises, promoting cooperatives and facilitating access to finance through inclusive financial services such as microcredit initiatives for the poor, local and indigenous communities, in areas of ecotourism potential and rural areas.

UNWTO added that the resolution builds on a 2010 resolution on the same subject, and reflects developments since then – namely, the inclusion of tourism in the outcome document of the UN Conference on Sustainable Development (Rio+20), held in Brazil in mid-2012, and the results of the 11th meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biodiversity.

Rio+20 saw world leaders acknowledge the importance of an inclusive, transparent, strengthened and effective multilateral system to better address the urgent global challenges of sustainable development.

Held in the Indian city of Hyderabad, the 11th meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biodiversity unveiled a strategy to combat unprecedented levels of biodiversity loss and called for “significant” increases in biodiversity investments in 100 countries – while at the same time aiming to foster economic growth and create jobs in addition to protecting endangered species and habitats.

“The resolution keeps ecotourism clearly on the agenda of the United Nations as it requires UNWTO to submit a follow up report to the sixty-ninth session of the UN General Assembly in 2014,” UNWTO added.

Last year, the UNWTO said that despite global economic uncertainty, international tourism continued to grow in 2012, with the estimated number of tourists travelling that year reaching a record one billion.

Tourism accounted for nine per cent of global gross domestic product when totalling its direct, indirect and induced impact, according to the agency, which also noted that one in every 12 jobs and up to eight per cent of the total exports of the world’s UN-designated Least Developed Countries (LDCs) depend on tourism.

The information portal known as the Africa Adaptation Knowledge Network (AAKNet), launched by the UN Environment Programme (UNEP), will serve as a hub for knowledge, research, successful initiatives and collaborative partnerships on climate change adaptation.

“It builds on ongoing efforts around the continent to mobilize existing knowledge and provide robust solutions to the major impact of climate change on lives and livelihoods in Africa,” the UN agency stated in a news release.

Disasters such as severe droughts in the Sahel in 2012 and the Horn of Africa in 2011, noted UNEP, have brought into sharp focus the serious impacts on water, land, soil and other resources linked to climate change on the continent, and the need to build resilience to such pressures.

Global warming is expected to pose serious challenges to sustainable development, particularly as most African economies depend on climate-sensitive sectors such as water, agriculture, fisheries, energy and tourism.

“Yet the region lacks the capacity and resources needed to face the challenges of climate change – a problem that could have major economic consequences,” stated UNEP.

The AAKNet aims to support climate change adaptation in Africa by providing services such as aggregating knowledge in addressing pertinent climatic risks and sharing information across regions and countries, and providing tailored support to countries in developing strategic planning processes for climate change adaptation.

It also seeks to build partnerships with governments, research bodies, non-governmental organizations and others, with the aim of supporting climate change response. To reach those directly affected by climate change, the AAKNet initiative will also conduct workshops with community organizations, farmers, and other groups, to share knowledge and practical advice.

The initiative comes as countries continue their negotiations at the UN Climate Change Conference in Doha, Qatar, hoping to reach agreements on issues such as the way forward on climate finance, a response to the widening emissions gap, and an extension of the Kyoto Protocol.

Under the 1997 Protocol, whose first commitment period expires at the end of 2012, 37 States – consisting of highly industrialized countries and countries undergoing the process of transition to a market economy – have legally binding emission limitation and reduction commitments.

Today at the conference, which brings together the 195 Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, the parent treaty of the Kyoto Protocol, participants underlined their commitment to a range of priority actions, reviewed progress and pledged to re-double efforts to reduce short-lived climate pollutants (SLCPs).

Six new countries – Chile, Dominican Republic, Ethiopia, Maldives, the Netherlands and the Republic of Korea – today joined an international effort aimed at fast action on reducing black carbon, methane, some hydrofluorocarbons and other SLCPs.

This brings to almost 50 the number of partners in the Climate and Clean Air Coalition – a voluntary initiative aimed at maximizing the health, agricultural and climate benefits of swift action on SLCPs.

Fast action on black carbon and methane have the potential to slow a global temperature rise by up to 0.5 degrees Celsius by 2050, reduce air pollution-related deaths by as much as 2.4 million and crop losses by around 30 million tonnes annually, UNEP said in a news release.

Scientific assessments indicate that the near-term benefits in places like the Arctic and on glaciers in mountain regions could be even higher, it added.

The Coalition, which was launched initially by six founding countries and UNEP in February this year, is already acting on several fronts. Among other actions, it is supporting an initial group of 10 major cities, including Rio de Janeiro, Lagos, Stockholm, Accra and New York, to accelerate methane reductions from landfills and black carbon or ‘soot’ from burning wastes.

“Action on climate change remains a major piece of unfinished business,” Mr. Ban told an event hosted by Qatar on the sidelines of the General Debate of the 67th session of the General Assembly.

Last December, Member States agreed to reach a legally binding agreement on climate change by 2015, he said, referring to the decision taken by the 194 parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) at their conference in Durban, South Africa.

“Two days ago I called on Member States to make good on this promise. Time is running out on our ability to limit the rise in global temperature to 2 degrees centigrade.”

It is vital for everyone to work together to make the upcoming UN Climate Change Conference, to be held in the Qatari capital of Doha from 26 November to 7 December, “a major stepping stone to a global, robust and legally binding climate regime,” said Ban.

The world, he said, is witnessing the highest levels of emissions ever; the Arctic sea ice is again at an all-time low; and it is another record year for wild fires, droughts and flooding. Climate change is making weather patterns both extreme and unpredictable, contributing to volatility in global food prices, which means food and nutrition insecurity for the poor and the most vulnerable.

The Secretary-General has made food security a top priority through the Zero Hunger Challenge he launched at the UN Conference on Sustainable Development (Rio+20), held in Brazil in June.

The initiative aims for a future where every individual has adequate nutrition and where all food systems are resilient. Its five objectives are to make sure that everyone in the world has access to enough nutritious food all year long; to end childhood stunting; to build sustainable food systems; to double the productivity and income of smallholder farmers, especially women; and to prevent food from being lost or wasted.

Ending hunger will mean climate-smart, climate-resilient agriculture, as well as policies that are water-smart, energy-efficient, and that promote inclusive green growth, Ban said.

Also crucial is more private and public investment in science, innovation and applied research, as well as innovative partnerships among farmers, governments, businesses, academia, international organizations and civil society.

“But our efforts will come to naught if we don’t work together to slow down the carbon emissions that are warming the planet,” Ban stated.

He called on governments to adopt the second commitment period of the Kyoto Protocol when they meet later this year in Doha. The first commitment period of the Protocol, the legally binding treaty to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, expires this year.

“The emission reduction targets of the new Kyoto treaty are not sufficient – we know that – but they are necessary starting point from which to build a future global agreement by 2015,” he stated.

It is also important to address the gap between fast-start finance and long-term finance so that by 2020 climate finance is being mobilized at the agreed level of $100 billion a year, he said, calling for accelerating efforts to make the Green Climate Fund, approved last year in Durban, fully operational.

“This is the path to water and food security,” he stated.

“We reaffirm that human rights, the rule of law and democracy are interlinked and mutually reinforcing and that they belong to the universal and indivisible core values and principles of the United Nations,” stated the Outcome Document, adopted at Monday’s High-Level Meeting of the General Assembly on the Rule of Law.

Heads of State and Government and ministers from nearly 80 nations are attending the meeting, which aims to highlight the essential link between the rule of law at the national and international levels and economic growth, sustainable development and the eradication of poverty and hunger.

“The wider body of international law developed at the United Nations gives the international community a basis to cooperate and peacefully resolve conflicts – and the means to ensure that there is no relapse of fighting,” Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon declared at the start of the meeting, held the day before the start of the 67th General Assembly’s General Debate session.

The UN chief called on Member States to commit to the equal application of the law at both the national and international levels without selectivity, uphold the highest standards of the rule of law in their decision-making, and accept the jurisdiction of the Hague-based International Court of Justice (ICJ), the principal UN judicial organ set up in 1945 to settle legal disputes submitted by States.

States should also strengthen UN initiatives in the rule of law by training police and enhancing the judiciary in fragile and conflict-torn countries around the world, he said.

Addressing the meeting, the General Assembly’s President Vuk Jeremic warned against seeing international law as a utopian aspiration with little relevance to the conduct of world affairs.

“By strictly adhering to the rule of law, we discourage the recourse to war,” he declared. “To be effective, the corpus of international law must be observed by all Member States – great and small, rich and poor alike.”

The Outcome Document called on all States that had not yet done so to accept the jurisdiction of the Hague-based ICC, an independent international organization that is not part of the UN and tries those accused of the most serious crimes of international concern, such as genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes. So far 121 countries have adhered to the treaty that set up the ICC.

“We commit to ensuring that impunity is not tolerated for genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity, as well as for violations of international humanitarian law and gross violations of human rights law,” the document declared.

It underscored the sovereign equality of all States, the right to self-determination of peoples under colonial dominion and foreign occupation, non-interference in the internal affairs of States, and respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms without distinction as to race, sex, language or religion.

It called on States to refrain from promulgating unilateral economic, financial and trade measures that impede full economic and social development, particularly in developing countries, and stressed that the independence, impartiality and integrity of the judicial system are crucial.

The document also emphasized the importance of ensuring that women enjoy the benefits of the rule of law in full equality with men, and that children are protected from discrimination, violence, abuse and exploitation.

“Today’s meeting is a milestone – but it is not an end in itself,” Ban said in concluding his opening remarks. “Our challenge now is to follow up, and continue to deepen and develop the rule of law, this essential foundation for a better future.”

The heads of various UN bodies also addressed the meeting. The ICJ President, Peter Tomka, welcomed Ban’s call for all Member States to accept the Court’s jurisdiction.

Tomka noted that only 67 of the UN’s 193 States – or 34 per cent, including only one permanent member of the Security Council – currently accept the ICJ’s compulsory jurisdiction. That compares with 59 per cent in 1948, when 34 of the then 58 UN Member States, including four of the five permanent members of the Security Council, recognized its jurisdiction.

The Administrator of the UN Development Programme (UNDP), Helen Clark, whose organization works on rule of law related programmes in over 100 countries by helping to train judges and lawyers and to strengthen national police forces, stressed the fundamental role the issue plays in national development by protecting women from discrimination and righting the wrongs inflicted on the poor and the marginalized.

“Thus rule of law is at the very heart of what is needed for development efforts to be effective,” she said. “Conversely, shortcomings in the rule of law underlie the exclusion, suffering, and poverty of many people.”

The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), Navi Pillay, warned that rule of law without human rights is only an empty shell, citing her own experience of growing up in South Africa under the Apartheid regime’s veneer of a ‘rule of law’ based on legislation that institutionalized injustice.

“National action as well as international support to strengthen the rule of law on the ground must be based on the body of international human rights law developed mainly under the auspices of the United Nations,” she said, highlighting the need to end impunity.

The Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN) will work with stakeholders including business, civil society, UN agencies and other international organizations to identify and share the best pathways to achieve sustainable development, according to a UN news release.

This initiative is part of the work undertaken in response to the mandate on post-2015 and the outcome of UN Conference on Sustainable Development (Rio+20), which took place in Rio De Janeiro, Brazil, in June.

The Solutions Network will be directed by Professor Jeffrey D. Sachs, director of the Earth Institute at Columbia University and Special Advisor to Secretary-General Ban on the global anti-poverty targets known as the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). It will operate in close coordination with the High-level Panel of Eminent Persons on the Post-2015 Development Agenda.

“The post-2015 objectives will help the world to focus on the vital challenges of sustainable development and the Sustainable Development Solutions Network will be an innovative way to draw upon worldwide expertise in the campuses, universities, scientific research centres and business technology divisions around the world,” Ban said.

The High-level Panel will advise on the global development agenda beyond 2015, the target date for achieving the MDGs, and it will hold its first meeting at the end of September, in the margins of the annual high-level debate of the General Assembly. It is expected to submit its findings to the Secretary-General in the first half of 2013, and those findings will inform his report to Member States.

The eight MDGs, agreed on by world leaders at a UN summit in 2000, set specific targets on poverty alleviation, education, gender equality, child and maternal health, environmental stability, HIV/AIDS reduction, and a ‘Global Partnership for Development.’

According to the news release, given that politics around the world too often focuses on short-term issues while governments often lack the timely information needed for long-term sustainable-development strategies, it is essential that scientists and technology experts outside of government support the development of long-term analyses, demonstration programmes and development pathways.

The SDSN is expected to provide an independent global, open and inclusive process to support and scale up problem-solving at local, national and global levels.

“In the 20 years since the first Rio Earth Summit, the world has largely failed to address some of the most serious environmental and social problems pressing in on us,” Sachs said. “We can’t afford business as usual. We need to engage the academic and scientific community, and tap into worldwide technological know-how in the private sector and civil society, in order to develop and implement practical solutions.”

Substantial emphasis will be placed on collaboration across countries to analyze common problems and learn from each other’s experiences. The network will accelerate joint learning and help to overcome the compartmentalization of technical and policy work by promoting integrated “systems” approaches to addressing the complex economic, social and environmental challenges confronting governments.

“Reproductive health and rights are integral to sustainable development and poverty reduction. Investing in universal access to reproductive health is a crucial investment in healthy societies and a more sustainable future,” he added.

Observed annually on 11 July since 1989, World Population Day focuses attention on the importance of population issues in the context of development plans and programmes, and the need to find solutions for these issues.

“The world’s population has more than tripled since the United Nations was created in 1945, and keeps growing,” Mr. Ban noted. “With more than seven billion people now inhabiting the planet, we face ever greater demands on shared resources and significant challenges to the achievement of internationally agreed development goals.”

The theme for this year’s Day is ‘Universal Access to Reproductive Health Services,’ aimed at highlighting the essential part that reproductive health plays in creating a just and equitable world.

“Working for the survival and the well-being of women and girls is a human right imperative. And in order to take advantage of women’s full potential in the development of their nations, they must be able to plan their lives and families,” the Executive Director of the UN Population Fund (UNFPA), Babatunde Osotimehin, said in his message for the Day. “This is why the international community is determined to making universal access to reproductive health a priority.”

According to UNFPA, reproductive health problems remain the leading cause of ill health and death for women of childbearing age worldwide. Some 222 million women who would like to avoid or delay pregnancy lack access to effective family planning, while nearly 800 women die every day in the process of giving life.

Osotimehin said helping meet the needs of those 222 million women would help prevent 21 million unplanned births, and help prevent 79,000 maternal deaths and 1.1 million infant deaths.

In addition, he said that about 1.8 billion young people are entering their reproductive years, often without the knowledge, skills and services they need to protect themselves – and their needs and human rights must be urgently addressed.

“We also have to address the special needs of young people – particularly adolescent girls. Today, pregnancy and childbirth-related complications are the major cause of death among girls 10 to 19 years old in most developing countries, while the highest rates of sexually transmitted infections are among young people aged 15 to 24,” the UNFPA chief said.

He added that family planning is a basic human right, but “it remains meaningless unless individuals and couples have access to contraceptives, information and services to enable them to exercise that right.”

A United Nations expert body expressed concern that the outcome document agreed at the recent UN Conference on Sustainable Development (Rio+20) failed to explicitly mention that businesses must respect human rights.

“Businesses will play a major role in developing the green economy and human rights safeguards are necessary to ensure that policies and business plans intended to advance environmental or development goals do not negatively impact people, communities and their livelihoods,” said the head of the five-strong UN Working Group on Human Rights and Transnational Corporations and Other Business Enterprises, Puvan Selvanathan.

“Inclusive, equitable and sustainable development can only become a reality when human beings are the central concern and their rights are realized and respected,” Mr. Selvanathan stressed in a news release.

Governments need to send clear messages to companies on the respect of human rights as the world creates a green economy, Mr. Selvanathan emphasized, adding that they should provide them with access to effective remedies for those whose rights have been affected by business activities.

More than 40,000 people – including parliamentarians, mayors, UN officials, chief executive officers and civil society leaders – attended Rio+20 from 20-22 June.

The agreed outcome document calls for a wide range of actions. These include beginning the process to establish sustainable development goals; detailing how the green economy can be used as a tool to achieve sustainable development; strengthening the UN Environment Programme (UNEP); promoting corporate sustainability reporting measures; taking steps to go beyond gross domestic product to assess the well-being of a country; developing a strategy for sustainable development financing; and, adopting a framework for tackling sustainable consumption and production.

It also focuses on improving gender equity; recognizing the importance of voluntary commitments on sustainable development; and stressing the need to engage civil society and incorporate science into policy; among other points.

The Working Group called on States and business to work with it, civil society and other stakeholders, on ensuring that the path to sustainable development set up at Rio+20 is undertaken, while protecting and respecting human rights.

For her part, the UN Special Rapporteur on the human right to safe drinking water and sanitation, Catarina de Albuquerque, welcomed the explicit commitment to progressively implement the right to safe drinking water and sanitation in the Rio+20 outcome document. However, she warned that “progressive realization” must not delay full implementation.

“‘Progressive realization of the right’ requires States to take concrete steps for its full realization to the maximum of available resources, including through international cooperation,” Ms. de Albuquerque said. “‘Progressive realization’ is not an excuse to postpone implementation, but rather calls for immediate steps, as well as for developing a roadmap to implement it.”

Ms. de Albuquerque reaffirmed her commitment to work with all States and stakeholders to develop sustainable development and post-2015 development goals for water and sanitation that ensure equality and non-discrimination as well as other human rights obligations.

“The future we want is within reach – it is a matter of will, courage and vision by the world’s governments,” she stated.

“Let me be clear. Rio+20 was a success,” said Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon at a General Assembly meeting on the outcome of the Conference. “In Rio, we saw the further evolution of an undeniable global movement for change.”

More than 40,000 people – including parliamentarians, mayors, UN officials, chief executive officers and civil society leaders – attended Rio+20 from 20-22 June. The event followed on from the Earth Summit in 1992, also held in Rio de Janeiro, during which countries adopted Agenda 21 – a blueprint to rethink economic growth, advance social equity and ensure environmental protection.

In his remarks, Ban highlighted several parts of the Rio+20 outcome document, entitled “The Future We Want”, which he hailed as “an important victory for multilateralism after months of difficult negotiations.”

Through the document, the UN chief said, countries renewed their political commitment to sustainable development, agreed to establish a set of sustainable development goals (SDGs), and established a high-level political forum on sustainable development.

The outcome document also calls for a wide range of actions, such as detailing how the green economy can be used as a tool to achieve sustainable development; strengthening the UN Environment Programme (UNEP); promoting corporate sustainability reporting measures; taking steps to go beyond gross domestic product to assess the well-being of a country; developing a strategy for sustainable development financing; and, adopting a framework for tackling sustainable consumption and production.

It also focuses on improving gender equity; recognizing the importance of voluntary commitments on sustainable development; and stressing the need to engage civil society and incorporate science into policy; among other points.

Ban emphasized the importance of the more than 700 commitments registered during the Conference. “This is a remarkable testament to bottom-up, grassroots commitment,” he said. “The world is watching and will hold us all accountable to the commitments made in Rio.”

Speaking to reporters after the meeting, Mr. Ban said that the many commitments made in Rio will be a “concrete and lasting legacy” of the Conference. “If the outcome document is the foundation for the next stage of our journey to sustainable development, the commitments are the bricks and cement,” he stated.

In his remarks to the gathering, the President of the General Assembly, Abdulaziz Al-Nasser, called on Member States to respect their commitments made in relation to Rio+20 “so that they can guide our future actions.”

“Implementation is imperative if we are to attain the future we want,” he added. “Now that the summit is over, the real work begins, and we all have our parts to play for ultimate success.”

Al-Nasser reiterated the Assembly’s commitment to play a central role in helping define and establish the SDGs. He also announced a series of meetings in the area of sustainable development and global prosperity, to help tackle the issue related to the global financial crises, which are also linked to countries’ capabilities to work towards sustainable development.

“No country has been completely immune from the global economic and financial crisis that hit the world in 2008. To tackle this issue successfully, the world needs to come together like never before and act collectively with a sense of urgency,” he said.