5 May 2017 – The United Nations population agency today urged governments and development partners to expand midwifery programmes and promote an environment where midwives can effectively serve the needs of women and their families.

&#8220Midwives save lives, support and promote healthy families, and empower women and couples to choose whether, when and how often to have children,&#8221 said Babatunde Osotimehin, Executive Director of the UN Population Fund (UNFPA) on the occasion of International Day of the Midwife.

&#8220They also help avert sexually transmitted infections and prevent disabilities like obstetric fistula, mother-to-child transmission of HIV and female genital mutilation,&#8221 he added.

Each year, more than 300,000 women die during pregnancy and childbirth. The UN also estimates that some three million babies do not survive the first month of life, and another 2.5 million are stillborn.

&#8220Most of them could have been saved by the care of well-trained midwives within the framework of strong health systems,&#8221 Dr. Osotimehin said.

This year’s theme for the Day &#8211 ‘Midwives, Mothers and Families: Partners for Life!’ &#8211 underscores the important roles that these women and girls have in preventing maternal and newborn deaths and empowering women to make informed, healthy choices.

These are critical aspects of achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which seek to alleviate poverty and assist the planet, by the 2030 deadline.

Also today, the UN World Health Organization (WHO) reiterated the importance of midwives washing their hands and maintaining hygienic standards.

&#8220Handwashing and lack of water and sanitation is a fundamental constraint to quality of care,&#8221 says Fran McConville, midwifery adviser, WHO. &#8220As midwives we must work in partnership to improve access to water, sanitation and electricity for all women and babies everywhere.&#8221

Worldwide, 30,000 women and 400,000 babies die every year from infections, such as puerperal sepsis, often caused by lack of water, sanitation and poor hand-washing practices.

5 May 2017 – ‘Hard power’ can no longer stop conflicts nor the rise of violent extremism and &#8220ancient hatreds&#8221 such as antisemitism and racial discrimination, the head of the United Nations cultural agency said today, insisting that &#8220we need ‘soft power’ of education, knowledge, culture, communication, the sciences, to strengthen the values we share and recognize the destiny we hold in common.&#8221

Irina Bokova, the Director-General of the UN Education Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) made this call at the opening ceremony of the Fourth World Forum on Intercultural Dialogue hosted by the Government of Azerbaijan in the country’s capital, Baku, and co-organized along with UNESCO, the UN Alliance of Civilizations.

More than 500 participants from around the world are attending the Forum under the theme ‘Advancing Intercultural Dialogue &#8211 New avenues for human security, peace and sustainable development.’

Ms. Bokova praised President Ilham Aliyev of Azerbaijan for his &#8220longstanding leadership in promoting intercultural dialogue&#8221 as well as the tireless engagement of the First Lady, Mehriban Aliyeva, as UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador for Oral and Musical Traditions.

Azerbaijan has a long history on the ‘Silk Road’ ancient trade route, as a centre for exchange, scholarship and art. Baku’s Walled City is also inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List.

Conflicts across the world are tearing countries apart with civilians hardest hit, Ms. Bokova warned, pointing to the rise of violent extremism and ‘cultural cleansing,’ as well as what she called &#8220ancient hatreds&#8221 like antisemitism, racial discrimination and intolerance.

&#8220We see mosques, churches and other temples destroyed and cultural diversity threatened,&#8221 the UNESCO chief told a room full of dignitaries and representatives of the public, private and non¬&#8211profit sector. &#8220We see education under attack and children forced out of learning. We see freedom of expression threatened, journalists attacked. We see societies closing against perceived ‘others,’ and minorities persecuted.&#8221

In this context, Ms. Bokova argued, the world has no choice but to respond while remaining true to the compass setting of human rights and dignity.

Of late, she added, hard power is not enough. The world needs the soft power of education, knowledge, culture, communication, the sciences, to strengthen the values we share and recognize the destiny we hold in common.

Picking up that thread, Nassir Abdulaziz, UN High Representative for the Alliance of Civilizations (UNAOC), in his address said military actions and security measures cannot be the only response to the world’s challenges. &#8220The interconnected nature of today’s crises requires us to connect our own efforts for peace and security, sustainable development and human rights, not just in words, but in practice,&#8221 he said.

&#8220The challenge now is to make corresponding changes to our culture, strategy, structures and operations. We must commit to achieve human security and sustainable development, in partnership with regional organizations, mobilizing the entire range of those with influence, from religious authorities to civil society and the business community, he said, adding that women and youth must also be brought to the table.

The Baku Process has become a successful platform to promote &#8220peaceful and inclusive societies&#8221 around the world. Since its inception, Mr. Al-Nasser said, the Forum has encouraged and enabled people and communities worldwide to take concrete measures to support diversity, dialogue and mutual understanding amongst nations.

The focus of this year’s Forum is particularly significant, he continued, adding that human security places people at the centre of multidisciplinary approaches and response, including development and human rights.

UNESCO is a main partner of the Forum in addition to organizations such as the UN World Tourism Organization, the Food and Agriculture Organization, the Council of Europe, the Islamic Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization (ISESCO) and the North-South Centre of the Council of Europe.

5 May 2017 – Voicing concern over challenges to the implementation of last year’s political agreement in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and deteriorating humanitarian and security situation, the United Nations Security Council has urged all stakeholders to redouble their efforts to resolve the problems faced by the country.

The agreement, popularly referred to as the &#3931 December agreement’ represented a significant step towards a peacefully managed transition. However, its implementation has since seen considerable difficulties.

&#8220Effective, swift and timely implementation of the agreement is critical to a credible process and the peace and stability of the DRC, as well as in supporting the legitimacy of the transitional institutions, as it represents a viable road map towards the holding of peaceful and democratic elections,&#8221 said members of the Security Council in a statement late yesterday.

Among others, the agreement has stipulated that peaceful, credible, inclusive and timely elections would be organized in DRC no later than December 2017, and would include the participation of all sectors of the society, in particular women.

Also in the statement, the members urged for the swift and inclusive establishment of a government of national unity, the Comité National de Suivi de l’Accord, the adoption of a new electoral law and the full implementation of the confidence building measures in chapter V of the 31 December 2016 agreement, some of which are yet to be implemented.

They also urged all national political stakeholders to overcome their differences, uphold the interests of their people and ensure that they are guided by the rule of law, restraint and the spirit of compromise and dialogue.

In that regard, they called on all political actors, whether in the country or abroad, to desist from any actions that could exacerbate tensions.

Further in the statement, the members of Security Council condemned violence and alleged violations and abuses of human rights in the Kasaï region as well as the deteriorating humanitarian and security situation in the region, which according to reports, has displaced more than one million people within the country and more than 11,000 across its borders.

The members also stressed the need for a swift and full investigation into the killing of the two members of the Group of Experts established pursuant to Security Council resolution 1533 (2004) and underlined the need for full cooperation from the Government.

In this context, they further welcomed the Secretary General’s establishment of a UN Board of Inquiry to investigate the deaths of the two experts and his commitment that the UN will do everything possible to ensure that the perpetrators are brought to justice.