The UN General Assembly on Wednesday designated 2025-2034 as the "United Nations Decade on Combating Sand and Dust Storms."
By adopting a resolution titled "United Nations Decade on Combating Sand and Dust Storms (2025-2034)" without a vote, the General Assembly dedicated the 10-year period to the fight against those meteorological phenomena.
Somali refugee children cover themselves as a dust storm moves across the Dadaab refugee camp in northern Kenya, July 13, 2023. /AP
The General Assembly invited the UN secretary-general to take appropriate steps to plan and organize the activities of the decade at the global, regional and country levels, and said the cost of all activities that may arise from the implementation of the resolution should be met from voluntary contributions, including from the private sector.
Introducing the text of the draft resolution on behalf of the Group of 77 developing countries and China, the representative of Uganda said sand and dust storms are an issue of international concern," the costs of which are measured in economic, social and environmental terms."
The storms increasingly threaten achievement of 11 of the 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals, he stressed, adding that the resolution aims to enhance international and regional cooperation to prevent, halt and mitigate their effects.