Today marks the opening of the second session of the Preparatory Committee for the 2020 Review Conference of the parties to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT). This will be the second of three planned sessions that will be held prior to the 2020 Review Conference. For two weeks now, the Preparatory Committee will be addressing substantive and procedural issues related to the Treaty and the forthcoming Review Conference. Sweden supports the continued strengthening of the NPT regime, and intends to take active part in these efforts. Our priority must be to strengthen a balanced implementation of the treaty in order to uphold and preserve its role as a key multilateral instrument for reinforcing international peace, security and stability. Sweden recognizes that gender is a cross-cutting issue of direct relevance to strengthening the review process, and is committed to raising further awareness on this issue. The NPT entered into force in 1970 and was extended indefinitely in 1995. The Treaty is regarded as the cornerstone of the global nuclear non-proliferation regime and an essential foundation for the pursuit of nuclear disarmament. It was designed to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons, to further the goals of nuclear disarmament and to promote cooperation in the peaceful uses of nuclear energy. UN Office for Disarmament Affairs UN Geneva Swedish Ministry for Foreign Affairs #NPT2018 #NPTPrepCom #NPT

Today at 5pm: Watch the Dag Hammarskjöld Lecture with the UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres Dag Hammarskjöld Foundation Swedish Ministry for Foreign Affairs

During this week’s E-Commerce week, organized by UNCTAD, over 1000 representatives from governments, business and civil society gathered to discuss e-commerce and development related issues. Sweden was represented by a high level delegation led by Mr. Teppo Tauriainen, Director General for Trade at Swedish Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Tauriainen participated in a Ministerial Roundtable discussing how to advance Women´s digital opportunities and in a panel on e-Trade Readiness Assessments in Least Developed Countries. Gender equality permeate all areas of Sweden’s foreign policy including trade. Mr Tauriainen highlighted the need to close the existing gender gap in digital economy, and the need to strengthen women’s and girls’ rights, economic empowerment, including elimination of discriminatory legislation and social structures. Women's economic empowerment is smart economics, Mr Tauriainen said. “Investments in gender equality yield highest returns of all investments. We must seek to use digital transformation to promote inclusive growth and women’s empowerment, the DG stressed. Swedish ambassador to the WTO, Daniel Blockert spoke on the role e-commerce plays in empowering women in developing countries in an encouraging panel co-organized by Bangladesh Association of Software and Information Services. ​ “When women have access to equal opportunities, are connected and there is trust - communities rise” the Ambassador concluded. Digital economy must leave no one behind. UNCTAD Swedish Trade Policy International Gender Champions #UNCTADeweek #genderequality #feministforeignpolicy #ecommerce #EQUALSinTech

United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres will hold his annual informal working meeting with the United Nations Security Council April 21-22. This will be the first time the annual working meeting takes place outside the United States. The meeting will focus on the future of the UN’s peace support work – how the UN’s peace-keeping missions can be strengthened and made more effective:

#StockholmGenderForum continues today! Now welcome speech by Foreign Minister Margot Wallström. Follow the live sessions of the conference here: http://genderequalworld.com/live-sessions/ Join the conversation #StockholmGenderForum!

The #StockholmGenderForum has kicked off! The Swedish Government is now investing 125 million US dollars in global gender equality to promote the rights of women and girls:

International donors today pledged 528 million US dollars to tackle the humanitarian crisis in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Sweden contributes over 30 million US dollars to the humanitarian response in the DRC this year. The complex emergency in the country has led humanitarian needs to double over the last year. OCHA Chief Emergency Relief Coordinator Lowcock stressed that a total of 13.1 million people urgently need humanitarian support. More than 4,6 million children are acutely malnourished. At the pledging conference arranged by OCHA, the Netherlands and ECHO, Director-General for International Development Cooperation at the Swedish Ministry for Foreign Affairs Mr Oljelund highlighted among other things the importance of unearmarked core support, fighting sexual and gender-based violence, humanitarian access and addressing root causes to the humanitarian crisis. Read Sweden’s statement here: https://www.swedenabroad.se/sv/utlandsmyndigheter/fn-gen%C3%A8ve/ European Union at the UN – Geneva NL Mission in Geneva United Nations OCHA Sida - Styrelsen för Internationellt Utvecklingssamarbete

Gender equality is smart says Sweden's Minister for Trade Ann Linde ahead of the Stockholm Forum on Gender Equality: http://genderequalworld.com/ #GenderEqualWorld #StockholmGenderForum

More people have a better life now than ever, but gender equality is still a vision, not a reality. The Stockholm Forum on Gender Equality, April 15-17, will mobilise civil society, governments, private sector and academia from all over the world to intensify efforts for a gender equal world. #GenderEquality #StockholmGenderForum

Congratulations World Health Organization (WHO) on your 70th anniversary! On this occasion, we celebrate not only the founding of the WHO, but also use the opportunity to draw attention to global health issues worldwide. Health for all is a universal right. The right to health for all means to make services available for everyone who needs them, regardless of who they are or where they live, and to make sure services are affordable and of a high quality. No one shall be left behind. That is the true meaning of #Health For All.

International donors today pledged more than US$2 billion to support the delivery of urgently needed humanitarian aid to millions of people in Yemen. The complex emergency in Yemen has deteriorated significantly since hostilities escalated in March 2015 and is now the largest humanitarian crisis in the world with close to two thirds of the population - 22 million people – in need of humanitarian assistance and protection. Increased humanitarian funding is crucial at this point, but a political solution is the only way to reach sustainable peace and development in Yemen, said Minister for International Development Cooperation and Climate and Deputy Prime Minister of Sweden Isabella Lövin. The Minister highlighted the importance of attention to the issue of child rights and child protection and emphasized the need to see the needs of women, men, boys and girls in the humanitarian response: “A whole generation is at risk – and this generation needs to rebuild Yemen”. The UN, Sweden and Switzerland called on all parties to the conflict for urgent unimpeded humanitarian access to all parts of Yemen and respecting and observing international humanitarian law and human rights. “Urgent cessation of hostilities and a political solution for Yemen are the only key to a sustainable political solution”, the Secretary-General emphasised.“ Find full list of pledges online on United Nations OCHA: https://bit.ly/2GtXrjW Read Sweden’s speech here: https://www.swedenabroad.se/en/embassies/un-geneva/current/news/yemen-event/

Today more than 2 billion USD was pledged by donors to help scale up life-saving aid to millions of people in need in Yemen at UN Geneva. The conference was co-chaired by the UN/OCHA, Sweden and Switzerland. A political solution is the only way to reach sustainable peace and development in Yemen, highlighted Minister for International Development Cooperation and Climate and Deputy Prime Minister of Sweden Isabella Lövin. #InvestinHumanity #Yemen