n a world where violence forces thousands of families to flee for their lives each day, the time is now to show that the global public stands with refugees.

To do this, the UN Refugee Agency launched the #WithRefugees petition in June 2016 to send a message to governments that they must work together and do their fair share for refugees.

On World Refugee Day, held every year on June 20th, we commemorate the strength, courage and perseverance of millions of refugees. This year, World Refugee Day also marks a key moment for the public to show support for families forced to flee.

Yoga is an ancient physical, mental and spiritual practice that originated in India. The word ‘yoga’ derives from Sanskrit and means to join or to unite, symbolizing the union of body and consciousness.

Today it is practiced in various forms around the world and continues to grow in popularity.

Recognizing its universal appeal, on 11 December 2014, the United Nations proclaimed 21 June as the International Day of Yoga by resolution 69/131.

The International Day of Yoga aims to raise awareness worldwide of the many benefits of practicing yoga.

Yoga for Peace

The theme for the 2018 celebration, organized by the Permanent Mission of India to the United Nations, is 'Yoga for Peace.'

Invisible Women, Invisible Problems

Although accurate information is limited, it has been estimated that there are some 258 million widows around the world, and nearly one in ten live in extreme poverty. Data on women’s status are often not disaggregated by marital status, so at every level of gender statistics, from national to global, widows are not visible. Yet we know that many elderly widows face multiple and intersecting forms of discrimination, based on their gender, age, rural location or disability. Others are still young when they lose their husbands, perhaps as a result of conflict or because they were married as children to a much older man. These women face a long lifetime of widowhood.

Once widowed, women in many countries often confront a denial of inheritance and land rights, degrading and life-threatening mourning and burial rites and other forms of widow abuse.

Widows are often evicted from their homes and physically abused – some even killed – even by members of their own family. In many countries, a woman’s social status is inextricably linked to her husband’s, so that when her husband dies, a woman no longer has a place in society. To regain social status, widows are expected to marry one of their husband’s male relatives, sometimes unwillingly. For many, the loss of a husband is only the first trauma in a long-term ordeal.

In many countries, widowhood is stigmatized and seen as a source of shame. Widows are thought to be cursed in some cultures and are even associated with witchcraft. Such misconceptions can lead to widows being ostracized, abused and worse.

The children of widows are often affected, both emotionally and economically. Widowed mothers, now supporting their families alone, are forced to withdraw children from school and to rely on their labour. Moreover, the daughters of widows may suffer multiple deprivations, increasing their vulnerability to abuse.

Such cruelties are often seen as justified in terms of cultural or religious practice. Impunity for abuses of the rights of widows is rife, with few perpetrators ever successfully brought to justice. Even in countries where legal protection is more inclusive, widows can suffer social marginalization.

Towards progress for widows

International Widows Day is an opportunity for action towards achieving full rights and recognition for widows – too long invisible, uncounted and ignored. A dearth of reliable hard data remains one of the major obstacles to developing the policies and programmes to address the poverty, violence and discriminationsuffered by widows. There is a need for more research and statistics disaggregated by marital status, sex and age, in order to help reveal the incidence of widow abuse and illustrate the situation of widows.

Furthermore, Governments should take action to uphold their commitments to ensure the rights of widows as enshrined in international law, including the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women and the Convention on the Rights of the Child. Even when national laws exist to protect the rights of widows, weaknesses in the judicial systems of many States compromise how widows’ rights are defended in practice and should be addressed. Lack of awareness and discrimination by judicial officials can cause widows to avoid turning to the justice system to seek reparations.

Programmes and policies for ending violence against widows and their children, poverty alleviation, education and other support to widows of all ages also need to be undertaken, including in the context of action plans to accelerate achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals.

In post-conflict situations, widows should be brought in to participate fully in peacebuilding and reconciliation processes to ensure that they contribute to sustainable peace and security.

Empowering widows through access to adequate healthcare, education, decent work, full participation in decision-making and public life, and lives free of violence and abuse, would give them a chance to build a secure life after bereavement. Importantly, creating opportunities for widows can also help to protect their children and avoid the cycle of inter-generational poverty and deprivation.

The UN General Assembly, in its resolution 57/277, designated 23 June as Public Service Day.

The UN Public Service Day celebrates the value and virtue of public service to the community; highlights the contribution of public service in the development process; recognizes the work of public servants, and encourages young people to pursue careers in the public sector.

Since the first Awards Ceremony in 2003, the United Nations has received an increasing number of submissions from all around the world.

Day of the Seafarer 2018 (IMO) ​

​This year, once again, 25 June will mark the annual Day of the Seafarer (DotS). Seafarers wellbeing

​2017 and 2018 have seen strong momentum in the industry to address seafarer's wellbeing, particularly their mental health. To give further exposure to this important issue, our choice for the 2018 Day of the Seafarer theme is "seafarers' wellbeing". By addressing the issue of seafarers' wellbeing and particularly mental health, this campaign can inform specific strategies to tackle stress and other issues affecting seafarers' mental conditions - and make the tools available more widely known. The campaign will seek to highlight and showcase best practices and good examples but will also, inevitably, bring out

By resolution 42/112 of 7 December 1987, the General Assembly decided to observe 26 June as the International Day against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking as an expression of its determination to strengthen action and cooperation to achieve the goal of an international society free of drug abuse.

Supported each year by individuals, communities and various organizations all over the world, this global observance aims to raise awareness of the major problem that illicit drugs represent to society.

Listen First

Building on the success of last year, the theme for 2018 is: "Listen First - Listening to children and youth is the first step to help them grow healthy and safe." It is an initiative to increase support for prevention of drug use that is based on science and is thus an effective investment in the well-being of children and youth, their families and their communities.

The UN General Assembly held a Special Session (UNGASS) on drugs in April 2016. This Special Session marked an important milestone in achieving the goals set in the policy document of 2009 "Political Declaration and Plan of Action on International Cooperation towards an Integrated and Balanced Strategy to Counter the World Drug Problem", which defined action to be taken by Member States as well as goals to be achieved by 2019.

The outcome document recommends measures to address demand and supply reduction, and to improve access to controlled medicines while preventing diversion. The recommendations also cover the areas of human rights, youth, children, women and communities; emerging challenges, including new psychoactive substances; strengthening international cooperation; and alternative development. The text puts new emphasis on proportionate national sentencing policies and practices for drug-related offences, and features a strong focus on prevention and treatment.

A great source of employment

Last year on 27 June we celebrated for the first time the Micro-, Small and Medium-sized Enterprises Day. Those enterprises, which generally employ fewer than 250 persons, are the backbone of most economies worldwide and play a key role in developing countries. Those enterprises, which generally employ fewer than 250 persons, are the backbone of most economies worldwide and play a key role in developing countries.

According to the data provided by the International Council for Small Business (ICSB), formal and informal Micro-, Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (MSMEs) make up over 90% of all firms and account on average for 60-70% of total employment and 50% of GDP.

The General Assembly, recognizing the importance of these enterprises, decided to declare 27 June the Micro-, Small and Medium-sized Enterprises Day to raise public awareness of their contribution to sustainable development.

Micro-, small and medium enterprises, the first responders to societal needs

These types of enterprises are responsible for significant employment and income generation opportunities across the world and have been identified as a major driver of poverty alleviation and development.

MSMEs tend to employ a larger share of the vulnerable sectors of the workforce, such as women, youth, and people from poorer households. MSMEs can even sometimes be the only source of employment in rural areas. As such, MSMEs as a group are the main income provider for the income distribution at the “base of the pyramid”.

MSMEs should be the first responders to societal needs and provide the safety net for inclusiveness.

Access to finance

Although MSMEs generate the most new jobs, they face many challenges in day-to-day operations and to grow. Access to finance is often cited as one of the primary obstacles that affect MSMEs disproportionately. According to the World Bank, there are 200 to 245 million formal and informal enterprises that do not have a loan or overdraft, but are in need of one, or do have a loan but still find access to finance as a constraint. More than 90 percent are MSMEs.

Financing constraints are also magnified for informal firms, which tend to be small in size, and although often less productive than formal enterprises, contribute significantly to economic activity and employment. Informal firms are estimated to account for around 74 percent of all MSMEs in the world, and around 77 percent of all MSMEs in developing countries. Unregistered firms rely mostly on informal financing, which — although important in facilitating access to finance — is associated with lower firm growth and increased firm illegality.

A developed financial sector helps mobilize and allocate resources, and manage risks, contributing to private sector development. Finance helps economic growth, and in turn, job creation.

With this challenge, an opportunity arises for both policy makers and the private sector to intervene at various levels to try to encourage the formalization, participation and growth of micro-, small and medium-sized enterprises in international, regional and national markets, including through access for all to capacity-building and financial services, such as affordable microfinance and credit.

How they contribute to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals

Micro-, small and medium sized enterprises are vital in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals, in particular in promoting innovation, creativity and decent work for all.

Efforts to enhance access to finance for SMEs across key sectors of national economies are an important element of implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). SDG targets 8.3 and 9.3 call for enhancing the access of SMEs to financial services. In addition, SMEs are an important element in the implementation of SDG 8 (decent work and economic growth) and SDG 9 (industry, innovation and infrastructure).

Celebration of the Day

The General Assembly invites all Member States, organizations of the United Nations system and other international and regional organizations, as well as civil society, including non-governmental organizations, academia, individuals and other relevant stakeholders, to observe the Day in an appropriate manner and in accordance with national priorities, in order to raise public awareness of their contribution to sustainable development;

It also invites Member States to facilitate the observance of the Day by fostering research presentations, policy discussions, practitioner workshops and business owner testimonials from around the world.

The Tropics are a region of the Earth, roughly defined as the area between the tropic of Cancer and the tropic of Capricorn. Although topography and other factors contribute to climatic variation, tropical locations are typically warm and experience little seasonal change in day-to-day temperature. An important feature of the Tropics is the prevalence of rain in the moist inner regions near the equator, and that the seasonality of rainfall increases with the distance from the equator.

The Tropics account for 40 per cent of the world’s total surface area and are host to approximately 80 per cent of the world’s biodiversity and much of its language and cultural diversity. The tropical region faces a number of challenges such as climate change, deforestation, logging, urbanisation and demographic changes.

Facts about the Tropics

The Ecosystem

The Tropics host nearly 95% of the world’s mangrove forests by area and 99% of mangrove species. The area of mangrove forest has decreased in all tropical regions since 1980. The Tropics have just over half of the world’s renewable water resources (54%), yet almost half their population is considered vulnerable to water stress. Biodiversity is greater in the Tropics across most taxonomic groups, with an equivalently higher proportion of threatened species. For those plants and animals for which there are adequate data, loss of biodiversity is greater in the Tropics than in the rest of the world. The Human system

Consistent with the higher levels of poverty, more people experience undernourishment in the Tropics than in the rest of the Wworld. The proportion of the urban population living in slum conditions is higher in the Tropics than in the rest of the World. By 2050, the region will host most of the world's people and two-thirds of its children. The International Day of the Tropics celebrates the extraordinary diversity of the tropics while highlighting unique challenges and opportunities nations of the Tropics face. It provides an opportunity to take stock of progress across the tropics, to share tropical stories and expertise and to acknowledge the diversity and potential of the region.

Follow on Twitter at: #WeAreTheTropics and #TropicsDay.

For the first time, 30 June this year is celebrated as the International Day of Parliamentarism. It is also the date, in 1889, on which the Inter-Parliamentary Union — the global organization of parliaments — was established.

This Day celebrates parliaments and the ways in which parliamentary systems of government improve the day-to-day lives of people the world over. It is also an opportunity for parliaments to take stock, identify challenges, and ways to address them effectively.

What parliaments do

Strong parliaments are a cornerstone of democracy. They represent the voice of the people, pass laws, allocate funds to implement laws and policies, and hold governments to account. They work to make sure that policies benefit all people, especially the most vulnerable, by passing laws—for example—on violence against women and ensuring equal access to health care.

Parliaments also link international and national agendas, ensuring that governments implement international treaties and agreements that they sign up to. They play a vital role in implementing the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, and the IPU has been working closely with them to help build their capacity to do so.

In countries emerging from conflict, robust parliaments can help make possible a peaceful transition to a functioning democracy by healing divisions in society through dialogue and cooperation.

A few facts and figures about parliaments

Every country in the world has some form of representative government. Parliamentary systems fall into two categories: bicameral (with two chambers of parliament) and unicameral (with one chamber). Out of 193 countries, 79 are bicameral and 114 are unicameral, making a total of 272 chambers of parliament with over 46,000 members of parliament. (figures from the IPU) The oldest parliament is the Althingi, the Icelandic Parliament, founded in 930.

In December 2016 the United Nations General Assembly adopted resolution A/RES/71/90, declaring 30 June International Asteroid Day in order to "observe each year at the international level the anniversary of the Tunguska impact over Siberia, Russian Federation, on 30 June 1908, and to raise public awareness about the asteroid impact hazard."

International Asteroid Day aims to raise public awareness about the asteroid impact hazard and to inform the public about the crisis communication actions to be taken at the global level in case of a credible near-Earth object threat.

The General Assembly’s decision was made based on a proposal by the Association of Space Explorers, which was endorsed by Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (COPUOS).

International Asteroid Day video message

A message for International Asteroid Day from Simonetta Di Pippo, Director of the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs.

At a time when income inequality is rising around the world, it is good to be reminded that solutions to inequality do exist. The co-operative model is foremost among these solutions, since it contains aspects of sustainable development at its core and is based on ethical values and principles.

2018 theme: Sustainable societies through cooperation

On 7 July 2018, members of cooperatives around the world celebrate the International Day of Cooperatives. Through the slogan Sustainable societies through cooperation they will show how, thanks to their values, principles and governance structures, cooperatives have sustainability and resilience at their core, with concern for community as the seventh of their guiding principles.

By their very nature, cooperatives play a triple role:

As economic actors they create opportunities for jobs, livelihoods and income generation As people-centered enterprises with social goals they contribute to social equity and justice As democratic institutions, they are controlled by their members, playing a leading role in society and local communities.

CoopsDay

World Population Day, which seeks to focus attention on the urgency and importance of population issues, was established by the then-Governing Council of the United Nations Development Programme in 1989, an outgrowth of the interest generated by the Day of Five Billion, which was observed on 11 July 1987.

2018 theme: “Family Planning is a Human Right”

This year marks the 50th anniversary of the 1968 International Conference on Human Rights, where family planning was, for the first time, globally affirmed to be a human right.

The conference’s outcome document, known as the Teheran Proclamation, stated unequivocally: “Parents have a basic human right to determine freely and responsibly the number and spacing of their children.”

Embedded in this legislative language was a game-changing realization: Women and girls have the right to avoid the exhaustion, depletion and danger of too many pregnancies, too close together. Men and women have the right to choose when and how often to embrace parenthood — if at all. Every individual has the human right to determine the direction and scope of his or her future in this fundamental way.

Nine standards to uphold the human right to family planning:

Non-discrimination: Family planning information and services cannot be restricted on the basis of race, sex, language, religion, political affiliation, national origin, age, economic status, place of residence, disability status, marital status, sexual orientation or gender identity. Available: Countries must ensure that family planning commodities and services are accessible to everyone. Accessible: Countries must ensure that family planning commodities and services are accessible to everyone. Acceptable: Contraceptive services and information must be provided in a dignified manner, respecting both modern medical ethics and the cultures of those being accommodated. Good quality: Family planning information must be clearly communicated and scientifically accurate. Informed decision-making: Every person must be empowered to make reproductive choices with full autonomy, free of pressure, coercion or misrepresentation. Privacy and confidentiality: All individuals must enjoy the right to privacy when seeking family planning information and services. Participation: Countries have an obligation to ensure the active and informed participation of individuals in decisions that affect them, including health issues. Accountability: Health systems, education systems, leaders and policymakers must be accountable to the people they serve in all efforts to realize the human right to family planning.

Young people are almost three times more likely to be unemployed than adults and continuously exposed to lower quality of jobs, greater labor market inequalities, and longer and more insecure school-to-work transitions. In addition, women are more likely to be underemployed and under-paid, and to undertake part-time jobs or work under temporary contracts.

That is why education and training are key determinants of success in the labor market. But unfortunately, existing systems are failing to address the learning needs of many young people, and surveys of learning outcomes and skills show that a large number of youth have low levels of achievement in basic literacy and numeracy. To raise awareness on the importance of investing in youth skills development, the United Nations General Assembly decided in resolution A/RES/69/145 to designate 15 July as World Youth Skills Day.

MandelaDay

Every year on 18 July — the day Nelson Mandela was born — the UN asks individuals around the world to mark Nelson Mandela International Day (18 July) by making a difference in their communities. Everyone has the ability and the responsibility to change the world for the better, and Mandela Day is an occasion for everyone to take action and inspire change.

For 67 years Nelson Mandela devoted his life to the service of humanity — as a human rights lawyer, a prisoner of conscience, an international peacemaker and the first democratically elected president of a free South Africa.

Nelson Mandela International Day 2018 marks 100 years since the birth of Nelson Mandela. The Centenary is an occasion to reflect on his life and legacy, and to follow his call to “make of the world a better place.”

MandelaDay #Mandela100

How the Day came about

In November 2009, the UN General Assembly declared 18 July "Nelson Mandela International Day" in recognition of the former South African President’s contribution to the culture of peace and freedom.

General Assembly resolution A/RES/64/13 recognizes Nelson Mandela’s values and his dedication to the service of humanity, in the fields of conflict resolution, race relations, the promotion and protection of human rights, reconciliation, gender equality and the rights of children and other vulnerable groups, as well as the fight against poverty and the promotion of social justice. It acknowledges his contribution to the struggle for democracy internationally and the promotion of a culture of peace throughout the world.

Nelson Mandela Rules

In December 2015, the General Assembly decided to extend the scope of Nelson Mandela International Day to also be utilized in order to promote humane conditions of imprisonment, to raise awareness about prisoners being a continuous part of society and to value the work of prison staff as a social service of particular importance.

General Assembly resolution A/RES/70/175 not only adopted the revised United Nations Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners, but also approved that they should be known as the "Nelson Mandela Rules" in order to honour the legacy of the late President of South Africa, who spent 27 years in prison in the course of his struggle referred to above.