Участники межафганской встречи в Москве приняли совместное заявление

30.05.2019   19:53




КАБУЛ, 30 мая. В четверг участники межафганской встречи в Москве приняли совместное заявление по итогам переговоров о мире, продолжавшихся в течение двух дней, с 28 по 29 мая.


Как уже сообщал «Афганистан.Ру», на мероприятии присутствовали как представители легальных афганских политических кругов, так и делегаты запрещённого в России движения «Талибан».


Изначально стороны посетили встречу, посвящённую столетию российско-афганских дипломатических отношений – с этого началась дискуссия о мирном урегулировании многолетнего конфликта в республике. Впоследствии афганские участники встречи продолжили диалог за закрытыми дверями.


Как отмечается в последующем заявлении, в рамках двухдневной встречи были рассмотрены вопросы прекращения огня, освобождения заключённых, защиты мирного населения при боевых действиях, вывода иностранных войск и прекращения внешнего вмешательства в дела страны, задача сохранения национального суверенитета и защиты прав женщин.


Согласно отчётам, в ходе переговоров афганские политики предприняли попытку договориться с талибами о перемирии на время грядущего праздника Ид аль-Фитр, однако повстанческое движение отклонило инициативу, заявив, что в условиях иностранного военного присутствия подобные шаги невозможны.


Стороны заявили о прогрессе в переговорах по ряду вопросов, однако признали, что заключение конкретного соглашения потребует продолжения переговоров. В заключение участники договорились о новой межафганской встрече. Предполагается, что мероприятие состоится в Дохе, но точная дата его проведения пока остаётся несогласованной.



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Трамп объявил о введении пошлин на все товары из Мексики

31 мая 2019, 03:31




© СС0 Public Domain


США с 10 июня вводят пошлину в размере 5% на весь импорт из Мексики, сообщил президент США Дональд Трамп.

Как написал Трамп в сети микроблогов Twitter, дополнительный налог будет действовать до тех пор, пока не решится проблема нелегальной миграции, причем со временем размер пошлины будет возрастать.

Когда поток нелегальных мигрантов в США с территории Мексики прекратится, пошлины будут отменены, добавил Трамп, пообещав, что «подробности» вскоре сообщит Белый дом.



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Трамп заявил, что придерживается самой жесткой политики в отношении России

30 Май, 2019 15:56




Дональд Трамп общается с журналистами. Белый дом. 30 мая 2019г.


Вместе с тем, выступая перед журналистами в Белом доме, президент США добавил, что по-прежнему выступает за то, чтобы «поладить с Россией»


Утром в четверг, 30 мая, перед отлетом на авиабазу Эндрюс (Мэриленд) президент Дональд Трамп выступил перед журналистами. Он отметил. что за годы своего президентства добился принятия самых жестких санкций по отношению к России.


Вместе с тем, Трамп добавил, что выступает за то, чтобы найти общий язык с Россией, Китаем и даже с Ираном, если последний готов будет к ведению переговоров.


Президент США также пообещал сделать «сенсационное» заявление о южной границе в четверг или в пятницу.


Как рассказал президент журналистам в четверг утром, заявление будет посвящено людям, которые незаконно пересекают границу, и станет самым значительным из всего, что он говорил ранее на эту тему.


«Это очень важное заявление. Мы собираемся предпринять нечто очень кардинальное на границе», – сказал Трамп, отметив при этом, что закрывать границу он не собирается.


Иммиграция – одно из приоритетных направлений политики Трампа. Во время предвыборной кампании он пообещал построить стену вдоль границы с Мексикой.


Однако пока ему не удается получить достаточно поддержки в Сенате и Палате представителей, чтобы изменить иммиграционное законодательство или получить финансирование для строительства стены.


В феврале президент объявил чрезвычайное положение на границе, чтобы получить финансирование, однако на прошлой неделе федеральный судья заблокировал часть средств, которые Трамп хотел задействовать для строительства.



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Syria: Thousands of children ‘hemmed in’ by ‘brutal and gratuitous’ spike in violence

UNICEF/Ahmad Al Ahmad

After spending many days in the open, families fleeing hostilities are sheltering in group tents provided by the Turkish Red Crescent near Kafr Lusein, Syria (May 2019).

30 May 2019

Peace and Security

A marked escalation in fighting has put tens of thousands of children in northwest Syria at “imminent risk of injury, death and displacement”, the United Nations Children’s Fund’s (UNICEF) chief warned on Thursday.

Executive Director Henrietta Fore said in a statement that over the past few days, intensifying violence, had left children “hemmed in” especially in villages in northern Hama and southern Idleb, driving many families from their homes while “others are unable to move to safer areas”.


This latest escalation follows months of rising violence in the area, which has reportedly left at least 134 children dead and more than 125,000 displaced in 2019 alone. And with nearly 30 hospitals under attack, the spike in violence has forced some of UNICEF’s healthcare partners to suspend their lifesaving operations.


Moreover, approximately 43,000 children are currently missing school. Final exams in parts of Idlib have been postponed, “affecting the education of 400,000 students”, she continued.


Although UNICEF’s partners are on the ground in the northwest, working to reach children and families with mobile health clinics, vaccines, psychosocial support and sanitation supplies, she said that these “quick fixes” can “go only so far” in mitigating the humanitarian fallout from the “brutal and gratuitous violence”.


“Children bear no responsibility for this war, yet they suffer its carnage and consequences more than anyone”, stressed the UNICEF chief.


Ms. Fore urged parties to the conflict in the northwest and across Syria to “make every effort to protect children and the infrastructure they depend on”, including hospitals and schools.


“Parties and those who have influence over them should also forge a comprehensive and lasting peace that finally brings this war to an end, for the sake of Syria’s children and the very future of the country and the region”, concluded the UNICEF Executive Director.



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A ‘strong and united Europe’ has never been more needed, declares UN chief Guterres

UNFCCC/James Dowson

UN Secretary-General António Guterres receives the Charlemagne Prize in Aachen, Germany on 30 May 2019.


30 May 2019

Peace and Security


With the post-world war international institutions eroded and under threat, a “strong and united Europe” standing alongside the United Nations, has never been more essential, said UN chief António Guterres in Germany on Thursday.


The Secretary-General was in the ancient continental capital of Aachen, close to the French border, where he received the Charlemagne Prize, awarded each year since 1950, for services towards European unification.

As a former Portuguese Prime Minister, and one of the architects of the European Union’s efforts in the late 1990s and early 2000s to strengthen social safety nets, solidarity, and cooperation with Africa and India, Mr. Guterres described himself as a “committed European” who understood that, in bestowing the award, Aachen was paying tribute “to the commitment, service, and sacrifice of the women and men of the United Nations”.


The European Union, which grew out of the ashes of two world wars, has forged “an exemplary partnership” with the United Nations, said Mr. Guterres, and the breakup of the 28-nation political and economic bloc, “would inevitably be the failure of multilateralism and the failure of a world in which the rule of law can prevail”.

“The hard truth is, we collectively have taken too many things for granted”, he added, noting that democratic principles “are under siege, and the rule of law is being undermined. Inequalities are on the rise. Hate speech, racism and xenophobia are fuelling terrorism through social media”.

Hailing Europe’s continuing role as a champion of universal values, he said that multilateralism was under fire “precisely when we need it most, and when it has never been so fit to address these challenges”.

‘We need to restore trust’

“I wish Europe could stand up more decisively for the multilateral agenda. The United Nations need a strong and united Europe. For this to happen, Europe will need to come to grips with some serious challenges”, said Mr. Guterres.

Despite an apparent “lack of ownership by the peoples of Europe” of their collective future as a union, he said there were “encouraging signals” of more political engagement in last week’s elections to the European Parliament.

“This is the moment in which we need to restore trust. Trust between people and political establishments. Trust between people and the institutions. Trust between people and international organizations”, he said, noting that the young Europeans of today were “our best hope”.

With three great challenges facing us all, he said the EU “must lead the way”. First, on climate change, he said more ambition was needed all round, in mitigation, adaptation and finance.

“It is much better to tax pollution than jobs…Does it make any sense that our money, as tax payers, is used to boost hurricanes, to spread drought, to bleach corrals, to melt glaciers, to diminish biodiversity and to progressively destroy the world?”

Second, he said Europe was “particularly well placed” to take a lead in the transformation of society through new technology, with its robust regulatory framework on protecting digital privacy, and especially through the huge potential of Artificial Intelligence, or AI.

New social safety nets will be needed, he said, to cope with the Fourth Industrial Revolution that is underway: “The European social model is the best foundation to be able to respond to these challenges and Europe has an absolutely unique role to play in creating the conditions to transform these areas in a positive manner.”


UNFCCC/James Dowson

In Aachen, Germany, the UN Secretary-General António Guterres receives the Charlemagne Prize awarded for work done in the service of European unification. (30 May 2019)
Scapegoating migrants ‘shames’ Europe’s heritage

Third, the culture of the continent has always been enriched through diversity, pointing to Emperor Charlemagne himself, founder of the first experiment in European political integration more than a thousand years ago, the so-called Holy Roman Empire.

Assimilation “was the starting point of European culture”, said the UN chief. “Of course, Europe must hold true its values enshrined in the Charter of fundamental human rights and in the European Convention on Human rights. But Europe cannot be premised on ‘us versus them’”.

“Scapegoating migrants and closing our doors to asylum seekers does not protect, but shame this heritage”, he declared, noting that the 1951 Refugee Convention was adopted to protect ravaged and displaced post-war Europeans.

“It is only by being united that Europe will propose a balanced approach addressing the root causes of migration while preserving the rights and dignity of migrants,” he said.

“All societies tend to be, or are already, multi-ethnic, multi-cultural and multi-religious. This must be considered as a richness not as a threat”

 

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Mozambique: UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador Orlando Bloom meets the child cyclone survivors who’ve lost everything

© UNICEF/Karel Prinsloo

UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador and actor, Orlando Bloom, meets with youth volunteer activists in Beira, Mozambique. (28 May 2019)

30 May 2019

Climate Change

Visiting storm-ravaged Mozambique, UN Children’s Fund Goodwill Ambassador Orlando Bloom, listened to devastating stories of children who lost everything in Cyclone Idai, while observing on Thursday that UNICEF-built safe spaces have given them “a sense of normality”.


During the week, the actor travelled to the coastal city of Beira, one of the areas worst-affected by Cyclone Idai, which killed over 600 people and destroyed nearly 240,000 homes when it made landfall in March.


Sitting on the sandy floor of a tent at the Samora Machel site for internally displaced people, named after the country’s founding president, Mr. Bloom listened to children recount devastating stories of how they lost everything in the cyclone.

Thirteen-year-old Alzina Lopes described the moment Cyclone Idai made landfall, leaving her stranded in waist-deep floodwaters. Now she wants to go back to school, and dreams of becoming a traffic officer.

“It’s remarkable to see children, who have been through so much, gain a sense of normality in the safe spaces set up by UNICEF, where they are free to sing, dance, play and just be children,” said the Goodwill Ambassador.

“These are children and young people with dreams, they want to be in school”, he continued “but almost everyone I’ve met here has lost their classrooms, their books and crucial identification documents due to the cyclones”.

Mr. Bloom said that it was “heartbreaking” that without IDs “they are unregistered, almost invisible and vulnerable to exploitation”.

In the aftermath of tropical cyclones Idai and Kenneth, 1.1 million children remain in urgent need of humanitarian assistance.

UNICEF is supporting families affected by the cyclones to either return home or relocate to safer places. It is also providing healthcare, nutrition, education, sanitation and protection services.

In the days following the storm, UNICEF and its partners restored water supplies to thousands of people in Beira and procured and administered one million doses of the cholera vaccine, curbing a large outbreak.

At the Mutua resettlement area in the city, currently home to around 1,500 cyclone-affected people - half of whom are youth - Mr. Bloom danced and sang with young children and spoke to them about their hopes and dreams.

The actor also visited a primary school in Beira, which the students themselves repaired after the cyclone.

Wrapping up his trip, Mr. Bloom spent an afternoon with young volunteers at an interfaith group on the beachfront – a poignant venue, as the deadly storm barrelled in from the sea. They told him that the pain and suffering they saw after the cyclones, had strengthened their resolve to help others.

“Thousands of children and families in Mozambique have seen their lives upended by these devastating cyclones and it’s going to be a long road back,” said UNICEF Mozambique Representative, Marcoluigi Corsi. “We’re working on the ground with our partners to help get children and their families back on their feet by providing support in healthcare, nutrition, education and protection”.

Mr. Corsi pointed out that as part of the recovery effort, “we’re also trying to help affected communities become more resilient to future weather-related events that could happen more often because of climate change”.


UNICEF has launched an appeal for $122 million to support its humanitarian response for children and families devastated by the storm and its aftermath in Mozambique, Zimbabwe and Malawi.



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Friday’s Daily Brief: Fundraising for Mozambique, Assange’s rights, Asia-Pacific development, Somalia and Sudan updates

WFP/Nour Hemici

Children sheltering in a school after being displaced by Cyclone Kenneth, in Pemba city, Mozambique.

31 May 2019

Humanitarian Aid

This Friday, we cover: a donor conference to support life-saving and recovery aid for Mozambique following two recent devastating cyclones; the need to respect Wikileaks’ Assange’s rights; how Asia-Pacific is working towards achieving the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) ; news from Somalia and Sudan; and a new stamp honouring Kofi Annan.

Mozambique pledging conference hopes to soften devastating blow of back-to-back cyclones



As some 1.85 million people in Mozambique try to recover from back-to-back cyclones Idai and Kenneth, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) on Friday kicked off a two-day pledging forum to drum up funds to help get the vulnerable country get back on its feet.


The International Pledging Conference is taking place in the coastal city of Beira, one of the areas worst hit by the cyclones, hoping to raise $3.2 billion to “facilitate the reconstruction and building of resilience in the affected areas”.


Read our full coverage here. 

UN expert criticizes States for ‘ganging up’ on Wikileaks’ Assange; warns against extradition, fearing ‘serious’ rights violations



After visiting Julian Assange in a London prison, an independent UN human rights expert expressed urgent concern on Friday, for the Wikileaks co-founder’s well-being, accusing “a group of democratic States” of “ganging up” on the prisoner to “isolate, demonize and abuse” him and warned against extraditing the controversial publisher to the United States.


“My most urgent concern is that, in the United States, Mr. Assange would be exposed to a real risk of serious violations of his human rights, including his freedom of expression, his right to a fair trial and the prohibition of torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment,” said Nils Melzer, the UN Special Rapporteur on torture, in a statement.


Read our full story here.

Asia-Pacific resolutions provide ‘solid foundations’ towards reaching SDGs



Wrapping up a key annual conference representing the more than 4 billion citizens of the Asia-Pacific region, the head of the UN Economic and Social Commission there said that nine agreed resolutions, provided a solid foundation for reaching the 17 Sustainable Development Goals.


Addressing the closing ceremony, ESCAP Executive Secretary of ESCAP Armida Alis-jahbana said the decisions were “firmly anchored in the 2030 Agenda and provide solid foundations on which to build upon.”


She said that putting resolutions into practice was “essential to achieving a transformed and resilient society in Asia and the Pacific.” Seeing action at a sub-regional level was also key: “I hope this will be a first step towards more systematically identifying common priorities”, she said.

More Somali refugees opt to return from war-torn Yemen




More Somali refugees are leaving war-torn Yemen, and choosing to return home, amid rising safety fears. That’s according to the UN refugee agency (UNHCR) which said on Friday that the latest boat carrying 125 refugees departed the port city of Aden this week, bringing men, women and children back to Somalia – where insecurity is also rife – in time for the end of the fasting month of Ramadan.


A total of around 4,300 have returned to the Horn of Africa country, since the rollout of a UNHCR-facilitated Assisted Spontaneous Return programme, in 2017.


Among those fleeing Yemen this week were Somalis born there to refugee parents, and others who had initially seen Yemen as a safer place to live and work, hoping to escape conflict at home.
UN Security Council resolution extends African Union peacekeeping mission in Somalia, reduces troops



Against of a backdrop of sustained violence in Somalia, the UN Security Council adopted unanimously on Friday a resolution to extend the mandate of the African Union peacekeeping mission in Somalia, AMISOM, by one year, ahead of the 2020 elections.


In addition, troops are to be reduced by 1,000, in line with the existing plan to gradually transfer peacekeeping responsibilities to Somali security forces. The cuts will be implemented based on a transition plan and according to needs on the ground.

UN chief calls for ‘utmost restraint’ in Sudan as military rulers declare civilian sit-in, a threat



The UN Secretary-General called for “utmost restraint” on the part of Sudan’s military leadership on Friday, after a week of rising tension with demonstrators, over stalled talks towards a return to civilian rule. Protestors have been staging a sit-in in central Khartoum - one of the factors which led to the military overthrow of former president, Omar al-Bashir in April. But according to news reports, the military now see the sit-in as a threat, and concern is rising that they may move to clear the site by force.


In his statement, António Guterres stressed “the importance of upholding the human rights of all citizens, including the right to freedom of assembly and of expression.” The UN chief noted a communique adopted by the African Union (AU) Peace and Security Council last Monday, and welcomed the progress achieved by the generals and opposition leaders in transition talks so far.


“The Secretary-General calls on the parties to resume and conclude the negotiations over the transfer of power to a civilian-led transitional authority as soon as possible, as required by the African Union”, said the statement. The UN is committed to working with the AU to support to process, “and stands ready to support the Sudanese stakeholders in their efforts to build lasting peace”, the statement concluded.

‘To live is to choose’: the UN issues a new stamp paying tribute to Kofi Annan



To honour former UN chief Kofi Annan, who passed away last August, the UN Postal Administration issued a definitive stamp of US$1.30 on Friday.


The stamp features a portrait of the late Secretary-General by Norwegian renowned artist and engraver Martin Mörck. The quote on the stamp reads “To live is to choose. But to choose well, you must know who you are and what you stand for, where you want to go and why you want to get there.”

Kofi A. Annan of Ghana, was the seventh Secretary-General of the United Nations, and served from 1997 to 2006.

Listen to or download our audio News In Brief for 31 May on SoundCloud:



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Thursday’s Daily Brief: the European Charlemagne prize, sexual abuse, transgender rights, Somalia and Libya updates

OCHA/D.Palanivelu

Patients being treated at the Tripoli Government Hospital in Libya.

30 May 2019

UN Affairs

Top stories this Thursday: UN chief Guterres received the Charlemagne Prize for services towards European unification; sexual abuse in Somalia and within the UN; a leap in transgender rights; news from Libya; and new political appointments at the UN.

A ‘strong and united Europe’ has never been more needed, declares UN chief Guterres


With the post-world war international institutions eroded and under threat, a “strong and united Europe” standing alongside the United Nations, has never been more essential, said UN chief António Guterres in Germany on Thursday.

The Secretary-General was in the ancient continental capital of Aachen, close to the French border, where he received the Charlemagne Prize, awarded each year since 1950, for services towards 

European unification.


Read our full story here.

UN’s women’s health agency ‘strongly’ condemns gang rape of child in Somalia


The UN sexual and reproductive health agency, UNFPA, has issued a statement “strongly” condemning a gang rape of a nine-year-old girl on Wednesday, in the central Somali town of Bulo-Burde, some 425 km west of the capital, Mogadishu. UNFPA said that it stands with the girl’s family and called for a speedy investigation into the “grave crime”.


Calling the violation a “gruesome act”, the agency reaffirmed its commitment to the Government and people of Somalia “to ensure that sexual and gender-based violence is eliminated”. Moreover, it underscored it stance that girls and women must “experience their fundamental dignity, human rights and equality”. UNFPA urged everyone to work together for “adequate protection measures for girls and women in Somalia”.

The UN’s unyielding effort to tackle sexual abuse and exploitation: our quarterly update





In the first quarter of 2019, according to latest figures released on Thursday, the United Nations recorded a total of 37 allegations of sexual exploitation and abuse (SEA) against UN personnel, including civilian and uniformed personnel from peacekeeping operations, agencies, funds and programmes. So far, most of these allegations remain under investigation.


To date, only one of the 37 allegations has been substantiated through an investigation, and referred to the relevant Member State for follow-up; four were not substantiated by the investigation that ensued; 26 are still under investigation; and six are still in the preliminary assessment phase to determine if there is enough information to investigate.


Read our full report here.

A major win for transgender rights: UN health agency drops ‘gender identity disorder’, as official diagnosis



“To reflect critical advances in science and medicine”, the World Health Organization, WHO, has removed so-called “gender identity disorder” from its official manual of diagnoses, which is being hailed as a major win for transgender rights.


The update to the International Classification of Diseases (ICD-11) has reclassified gender identity disorder, or identifying as transgender, in terms of sexuality, not a “mental disorder”.


Read our full coverage here.

Libya: Close to 150 refugees and asylum-seekers evacuated to safety


Against of backdrop of violent clashes in Libya’s capital, Tripoli, 149 vulnerable refugees and asylum-seekers trapped in the hostilities were safely evacuated to Rome on Thursday, according to the UN refugee agency, UNHCR. The evacuees – nearly half of whom are children – are from Eritrea, Somalia, Sudan and Ethiopia, and many need medical treatment after months of dire living conditions in detentions centres in Tripoli.


More than 1,000 refugees and migrants have been evacuated or resettled out of Libya by UNHCR in 2019, while more than 1,200 others have been returned to Libya by the Libyan Coast Guard in just 

May alone after being rescued or intercepted while attempting to flee by boat.


“More humanitarian evacuations are needed,” said Jean-Paul Cavalieri, UNHCR Chief of Mission in Libya. “They are a vital lifeline for refugees whose only other escape route is to put their lives in the hands of unscrupulous smugglers and traffickers on the Mediterranean Sea.”


Violence in Libya has uprooted the lives of 83,000 civilians, and hundreds have been killed. This week, six health workers were killed and seven injured when two clearly-marked ambulances were hit by shelling on Tuesday and Wednesday.

A new leader for the UN mission in Somalia, and other appointments


Secretary-General Guterres announced on Thursday the appointment of James Swan of the United States as his Special Representative for Somalia and new Head of the UN Assistance Mission in Somalia (UNSOM). He succeeds Nicholas Haysom of South Africa, to whom the Secretary-General expressed deep gratitude.


In addition, Anita Bhatia of India has been appointed as Assistant Secretary-General for Resource Management, Sustainability and Partnerships and Deputy Executive Director of UN Women; Najat Maalla M’jid of Morocco will be the new Special Representative on Violence Against Children; Gilles Michaud has been appointed Under-Secretary-General for Safety and Security; Tatiana Valovaya of Russia, as Director-General of the UN Office in Geneva.


Listen to or download our audio News In Brief for 30 May on SoundCloud:

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Спецпосланник по Сирии: боевые действия в Идлибе должны прекратиться

Фото из архива ООН

Гейр О.Педерсен на пресс-конференции в штаб-квартире ООН

29 мая 2019

Мир и безопасность

В среду в Совете Безопасности прошли закрытые консультации по Сирии. По итогам заседания Специальный посланник Генерального секретаря по Сирии Гейр Педерсен обратился к журналистам. Он подчеркнул, что обеспокоенность на сегодняшний день, в первую очередь, вызывает ситуация в Идлибе, где не стихают вооруженные столкновения и гибнут мирные жители.


«Погибло уже очень много мирных жителей. Боевые действия должны прекратиться», – подчеркнул Педерсен.


«Территории в Идлибе контролирует террористическая группа ХТШ (Хайят Тахрир аш-Шам). Члены Совета Безопасности едины в том, что существует необходимость бороться с террористами, но при этом должны соблюдаться принципы международного гуманитарного права», – добавил он.


Отвечая на вопрос одного их журналистов о позиции России по данному вопросу, Педерсен отметил, что он провел несколько встреч с представителями как России, так и Турции, и обе страны поддерживают необходимость соблюдения режима прекращения огня.


Педерсен сообщил, что члены Совбеза единогласно поддерживают его усилия по продвижению политического процесса, в том числе – по созданию конституционного комитета и решению вопроса о заключенных и пропавших без вести. Он отметил, что ему удалось достичь прогресса в переговорах как с сирийской оппозицией, так и с правительством Сирии.


Педерсен также заявил о «международном консенсусе» относительно политического процесса в Сирии.


«И, конечно, я считаю, что после визита госсекретаря США Помпео в Сочи и его встречи с президентом Путиным и министром иностранных дел Лавровым есть надежда на дальнейшее продвижение политического процесса», – сказал Педерсен.



https://news.un.org/ru/story/2019/05/1356041
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International Day of UN Peacekeepers 29 May

Photo: United Nations

"For millions in conflict-affected situations around the world, peacekeeping is a necessity and a hope. Let us work together to make peacekeeping more effective in protecting people and advancing peace." — UN Secretary-General António Guterres


2019 Theme: “Protecting Civilians, Protecting Peace”


The International Day of United Nations Peacekeepers, 29 May, offers a chance to pay tribute to the uniformed and civilians personnel’s invaluable contribution to the work of the Organization and to honour more than 3,800 peacekeepers who have lost their lives serving under the UN flag since 1948, including 98 last year.

The theme for this year’s Day is “Protecting Civilians, Protecting Peace” to mark the upcoming 20th anniversary when for the first time the Security Council explicitly mandated a peacekeeping mission (UNAMSIL in Sierra Leone) to protect civilians.

Over the past 20 years, protection of civilians has increasingly been at the heart of UN peacekeeping. Today, more than 90% of our peacekeepers serving in eight peacekeeping operations -- in Abyei and Darfur, the Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Haiti, Lebanon, Mali and South Sudan – have protection of civilians’ mandates. These peacekeepers put themselves in harm’s way to protect civilians from violence every day.

The first UN peacekeeping mission was established on 29 May 1948, when the Security Council authorized the deployment of a small number of UN military observers to the Middle East to form the United Nations Truce Supervision Organization (UNTSO) to monitor the Armistice Agreement between Israel and its Arab neighbors.

Since then, more than 1 million men and women have served in 72 UN peacekeeping operations, directly impacting the lives of millions of people, protecting the world’s most vulnerable and saving countless lives. From Cambodia to El Salvador, Liberia, Sierra Leone, Timor Leste, and elsewhere, UN peacekeeping has helped countries move from war to peace.

Today, in 14 peacekeeping operations on four continents, it deploys more than 88,000 military and police personnel -- from 124 Member States -- nearly 13,000 civilian personnel, and 1,300 UN Volunteers. Despite the size and breadth of its operations, peacekeeping’s budget is less than one half of one percent of global military spending. Peacekeeping has clearly proven to be a solid investment in global peace, security and prosperity.

Last year, the Secretary-General launched a new initiative, "Action for Peacekeeping (A4P),” calling for refocusing peacekeeping with realistic expectations; making peacekeeping missions stronger and safer, and mobilizing greater support for political solutions and for well-structured, well-equipped, well-trained forces. Over 150 Member States and regional organizations endorsed the ‘Declaration of Shared Commitments’ for A4P demonstrating a high level of support for the initiative.

At the UN Headquarters in New York this year, the Day will celebrate on 24 May. The Secretary-General will preside over a wreath-laying ceremony in honour of all peacekeepers who have lost their lives while serving under the UN flag last year. In addition, the Dag Hammarskjöld Medal will be awarded posthumously to the peacekeepers, who perished while serving in the cause of peace in 2018.

Why Do We Mark International Days?

International days are occasions to educate the public on issues of concern, to mobilize political will and resources to address global problems, and to celebrate and reinforce achievements of humanity. The existence of international days predates the establishment of the United Nations, but the UN has embraced them as a powerful advocacy tool. More information available here.

https://www.un.org/en/events/peacekeepersday/

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Россия и лидеры Талибана призвали к выводу иностранных войск из Афганистана

29 Май, 2019 03:07




Мулла Абдул Гани Барадар, главный политический лидер группировки Талибан, третий слева, с другими членами делегации талибов на переговорах в Москве, 28 мая 2019 года.


В среду в Москве состоится второй раунд «внутриафганских» переговоров о возможности перемирия


Лидеры движения Талибан и российские власти призвали к выводу сил коалиции, возглавляемой США, из Афганистана. Действующий глава исламистской группировки назвал присутствие иностранных военных основным камнем преткновения на пути к установлению мира в Афганистане.


Мулла Абдул Гани Барадар, лидер Талибана, выступил на конференции, посвященной 100-летию установления дипотношений между Россией и Афганистаном, участие в которой приняли афганские и российские власти, а также представители талибов.


«Исламский эмират (Талибан) на самом деле привержен идее установления мира, однако первым шагом для устранения препятствий перемирию является окончание оккупации Афганистана», – заявил Барадар, выступая на конференции.


Российский министр иностранных дел Сергей Лавров в своей приветственной речи тоже призвал к выводу иностранных военных из Афганистана. Он подчеркнул важность двусторонних отношений между Москвой и Кабулом, заявив, что Россия готова предложить помощь Афганистану в борьбе с террористами из «Исламского государства» и криминальными группировками, занимающимися контрабандой наркотиков.


«Россия убеждена, что конфликт в Афганистане не имеет военного решения. Единственный возможный путь урегулирования - достижение мира политико-дипломатическими средствами. Выступаем за полный вывод иностранных войск из страны. Призываем все афганские стороны к скорейшему началу переговоров с участием широкого спектра общественно-политических сил», - сказал Лавров, выступая перед участниками конференции.







Министр иностранных дел России Сергей Лавров и экс-президент Афганистана Хамид Карзай, Москва, 28 мая 2019 года


Во встрече приняли участие главные соперники нынешнего президента Ашрафа Гани на предстоящих президентских выборах, бывший президент Хамид Карзай, сотрудники афганской дипмиссии в Москве, а также глава Высшего совета мира в Афганистане Карим Халили.


В своей речи Халили подчеркнул необходимость выработки совместного «достойного и справедливого механизма» для окончания кровопролития в стране.


Мулла Барадар, возглавляющий делегацию Талибана в составе 14 человек, оказался в центре внимания во время встречи в Москве. Он известен в качестве сооснователя этого исламистского движения и возможного организатора действий боевиков после вторжения коалиции в Афганистан 17 лет назад.


В 2010 году представители американских и пакистанских спецслужб задержали Барадара в Карачи. Командир боевиков находился в пакистанской тюрьме до конца прошлого года. Затем Вашингтон попросил Исламабад освободить Барадара, чтобы помочь в продвижении переговоров о перемирии с талибами, которые были организованы американскими дипломатами.


В среду в Москве состоятся «внутриафганские» переговоры о перемирии, организованные при участии Москвы. Руководители Талибана встретятся с афганскими оппозиционными политиками на российской территории уже во второй раз. Первый раунд переговоров прошел в Москве в феврале, однако на встрече, из-за возражений боевиков, не присутствовали представители правительства.


Талибан во вторник выпустил заявление, в котором говорится, что во втором раунде внутриафганских переговоров нынешние власти также не будут участвовать. Талибы согласились общаться только с оппозиционными политиками и представителями гражданского общества. Организация рассматривает правительство Ашрафа Гани как «марионеток», которые получили власть при поддержке иностранных «оккупационных» сил.


Официальный представитель Талибана Забихулла Муджахид подтвердил, что делегация «Исламского эмирата» проведет в закрытом режиме встречу с высокопоставленными российскими чиновниками.



https://www.golos-ameriki.ru/a/taliban-russia-demand-foreign-troops-leave-afghanistan-/4936703.html
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Доклад: условия жизни детей с 2000 года улучшились во всем мире

29 Май, 2019 00:36




Афганские школьницы направляются в свои учебные классы, расположенные в палатках в окрестностях Джелалабада.


Ежегодный глобальный отчет «Спасем детей» показал, что большинству стран мира удалось улучшить качество детских жизней


Во времена, когда плохие новости становятся новой нормой жизни, международный фонд «Спасем детей» сообщил новость хорошую: в прошлом году жизнь детей улучшилась практически во всех странах мира, став самой здоровой и безопасной за всю историю наблюдений. Об этом говорится в докладе об условиях жизни детей в мире, который ежегодно представляется фондом начиная с 2017 года.


Согласно отчету, общая ситуация с качеством жизни детей стала лучше в 173 из 176 стран в сравнении с 2000-м годом. Среди несомненных успехов – в нынешнем году мировому сообществу удалось добиться снижения детской смертности на 4,4 миллиона в год, повысить число детей, которые ходят в школу на 115 миллионов, и предотвратить 11 миллонов ранних браков.


Для того, чтобы преобразовать статистические показатели уровня жизни детей, группа использовала рейтинг «Когда заканчивается детство» (End of Childhood Index), в котором страны мира оцениваются по этому показателю по шкале от 1 до 1000 баллов. Авторы этого рейтинга принимают во внимание факторы, которые приводят к преждевременному завершению детства – к примеру, детскую смертность, браки несовершеннолетних, использование детского труда и ранние беременности.












Несмотря на то, что африканские страны заняли все нижние десять строчек рейтинга «Когда заканчивается детство», даже на этом континенте эксперты из фонда «Спасем детей» нашли повод для оптимизма. Свыше 70% стран Африки улучшили свои показатели за последние 19 лет на 100 и более баллов. Наибольшего прогресса достигли Сьерра-Леоне, Руанда, Эфиопия и Нигер.


Гораздо меньше поводов для оптимизма авторы рейтинга испытывают в отношении результатов, которых достигли США и Китай. Успехи крупнейших мировых держав в области защиты детей не так очевидны: обе страны получили в рейтинге 941 балл, оказавшись на одном и том же 36 месте. Россия набрала 940 баллов, получив 38 место. Это как минимум на 30 баллов меньше в сравнении с любой страной Западной Европы.


В США уровень беременности среди девочек-подростков снизился с 2000-го года более чем наполовину, а число учеников, прерывающих свое обучение в школе, сократился почти на две трети. Кроме того, американцам удалось добиться снижения проблем с недостаточностью питания и детскими бракам на треть, а уровень детской смертности снизился на 20%.


Позже всех детство заканчивается у жителей стран, которые традиционно занимают первые строчки в различных рейтингах качества жизни. На первом месте оказался Сингапур, в Топ-10 также вошли Швеция, Финляндия, Норвегия, Словения, Германия, Ирландия, Италия, Южная Корея и Бельгия.


Среди государств, которым удалось добиться особенно поразительных успехов – Бангладеш, Мексика, Филиппины, Индия, Афганистан и Колумбия.



https://www.golos-ameriki.ru/a/save-children-report/4936234.html
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Косово: армия Сербии приведена в боеготовность из-за арестов в регионе

28 мая 2019

Правообладатель иллюстрации    FONETImage captionБаррикада, возведенная жителями Зубина Потока на пути полицейских




Масштабная полицейская операция в северной части Косова, где живут преимущественно сербы, привела к аресту более 20 человек и стала причиной экстренного обращения президента Сербии Александра Вучича к депутатам Скупщины.


Косовский спецназ провел рейды во вторник рано утром. Арестованы десятки человек, в основном офицеры полиции и таможенники - как заявляет правительство Косова, все они замешаны в контрабанде оружия и коррупции.


Независимость Косова от Сербии признали около половины членов ООН. Другая группа стран, включая членов совбеза ООН Россию и Китай, отказалась это сделать.


Президент Сербии расценил инцидент на севере Косова как атаку на сербов и заявил, что Белград не допустит сербских погромов в Косове. "Наша армия при любой серьезной угрозе порядку в Северном Косове и Метохии будет защищать наших людей", - заявил Александр Вучич в парламенте.


"Мы не допустим новой операции "Буря", и хочу сказать вам, что все подразделения полиции, специальных сил и спецназа находятся в полной боевой готовности", - сказал сербский президент, ссылаясь на военную операцию против сербских сил, проведенную хорватами в 1995 году во время Балканской войны.


Премьер-министр Косова Рамуш Харадинай написал в своем "Твиттере", что в северных муниципалитетах Косова проводится операция против контрабандистов и организованной преступности.


Он добавил, что арестам подверглись также таможенники и сотрудники полиции, и призвал граждан сохранять спокойствие.


Anti smuggling & organized crime operation is being conducted in northern municipalities of #Kosovo as part of our commitment to implement RoL for all. I confirm that this operation is against org. crime & it also targets police & customs officers. I call citizens to remain calL



В Приштине президент Косова Хашим Тачи провел совещание с силовиками. В руководстве KFOR - международных миротворческих сил в Косове под руководством НАТО - подтвердили, что полицейская операция нацелена против организованной преступности и что она проводится по всей территории Косова.

Арест россиянина


Отвечая на обвинения Белграда в целенаправленной операции против этнических сербов, косовская сторона подчеркнула, что среди арестованных есть также албанцы и боснийцы, а целью правительства является борьба с организованной преступностью.


Среди задержанных в ходе полицейской операции также гражданин России - сотрудник миссии ООН по делам временной администрации в Косове Михаил Краснощеков, заявил Вучич.


Россиянин был доставлен в больницу с телесными повреждениями, сообщает российское агентство ТАСС со ссылкой на миссию ООН. Позднее во вторник гражданина России освободили.

Правообладатель иллюстрации

FONETImage captionПрезидент Сербии Вучич утверждает, что арестованы 22 этнических серба. В Приштине говорят, что среди арестованных есть также албанцы.


По сообщениям, Краснощеков был избит во время задержания. Косовский лидер Хашим Тачи объяснил это тем, что российский сотрудник миссии ООН пытался помешать полицейской операции. Пресс-секретарь МИД России Мария Захарова назвала арест Краснощекова неправомерным, поскольку россиянин обладает дипломатическим иммунитетом ООН.


Мария Захарова потребовала от Миссии ООН в Косово предпринять максимальные усилия с целью незамедлительного освобождения Краснощекова.

Баррикады и сирены


Антикоррупционный рейд начался утром около половины восьмого с сигнала полицейских сирен, передает Сербская служба Би-би-си.


"Это уже известный сценарий, очень неприятный для жителей, - рассказала местный журналист, редактор сайта Kosev Татьяна Лазаревич . - Дети шли в школу, а сирены все выли, почти полтора часа. Впечатление было ужасное. Все поняли, что это сигнал к арестам".


Очевидцы видели, как группа полицейских ведет мужчину и женщину, также в форме.


В городке Зубин Поток жители возвели баррикады на пути полицейских броневиков, начали жечь шины и бросаться в спецназовцев камнями. Полиция применила против них резиновые пули и также, как сообщили Би-би-си очевидцы, взрывпакеты. Пострадавшие есть с обеих сторон.

Правообладатель иллюстрации 

КОССЕВImage captionНа улицах Косовской Митровицы, где проживают преимущественно сербы, начали собираться люди


Один косовский полицейский получил огнестрельное ранение, заявил агентству Бета пресс-секретарь полиции.


Баррикады также возведены в столице северного Косова Митровице, рассказала Сербской службе Би-би-си Татьяна Лазаревич.


Буквально накануне, 27 мая, президент Сербии Александ Вучич заявил в Скупщине, что косовские сербы находятся в опасности. "Если не будет компромисса, албанцы нападут на сербов в Косове", - говорил Вучич, выступая в парламенте в понедельник.





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End fossil fuel subsidies, and stop using taxpayers’ money to destroy the world: Guterres

 

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28 May 2019

Climate Change


“We need to tax pollution, not people”, and “end subsidies for fossil fuels,” Secretary-General António Guterres told the World Summit of the R20 Coalition on Tuesday, a UN-supported environmental organization, founded by former California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger.


The idea that subsidizing fossil fuels is a way to improve people’s lives could not be more wrong, said the UN chief in the Austrian capital, Vienna, because it means spending taxpayers’ money to “boost hurricanes, to spread droughts, to melt glaciers, to bleach corals: to destroy the world.”

Mr. Guterres went on to call for the decarbonization of urban infrastructure, a halt to coal plants, and the promotion of sustainable consumption and production: “in short, we need a green economy, not a grey economy.”
Financing a ‘post-carbon’ society

In the lead up to the UN Climate Summit this September, the Secretary-General has enlisted the President of France, the Prime Minister of Jamaica and the Emir of Qatar to mobilize international support to secure the $100 billion goal agreed by UN Member States at the Paris climate conference in 2015, necessary for advancing climate mitigation and adaptation in the developing world.

Investors need to stop “financing pollution”, scale up green ventures and increase lending for low-carbon solutions”, he insisted, adding that the private sector and investment communities must support a “bold and ambitions climate agenda”, because climate action is not only good for people and the planet, it can also be good for business.

‘Silver lining to the looming cloud’

Recounting his recent trip to Tuvalu, a low-lying island state in the South Pacific that risks being inundated by rising sea levels, Mr. Guterres highlighted the fact that “rarely a day goes by,” without news of yet another disaster, such as floods, droughts, wildfires and extreme storms.

However, there is a “silver lining to the looming cloud”, because, although the current situation is extremely serious, the shift to a green economy would see profound benefits for societies around the world, with cleaner water and air, less pollution, more chemical-free agriculture and reduced biodiversity loss.

Regional action is ‘key to addressing the climate crisis’

The R20 Austrian World Summit is a long-term initiative to help regions, states and cities to implement the Sustainable Development Goals, and meet the global climate protection targets outlined in the Paris Agreement to limit climate change. R20 aims to develop the summit to become the most important European meeting place for climate action solutions.

One of the other high-profile speakers at the opening session of the event was outspoken Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg, who initiated the school strike for climate movement in November 2018, at the age of 15.

Ms. Thunberg said that millions of children have been gaining lots of attention for the climate emergency, but they, like scientists, are not leaders, unlike many of the politicians, CEOs and celebrities attending the Summit: “people listen to you, and are influenced by you. You have an enormous responsibility, a responsibility that most of you have failed to take.”


Climate change is an emergency, the biggest crisis that humanity has ever facedGreta Thunberg, youth climate activist

Such influencers, she added, cannot rely on people to read between the lines or search for scientific information. They must explain repeatedly, no matter how uncomfortable or unprofitable that may be. Ms. Thunberg reminded the audience that, although climate change may be a chance for green growth, it is primarily “an emergency, the biggest crisis that humanity has ever faced.”

The work of Governor Schwarzenegger and the R20 coalition, in highlighting the importance of climate action at a “sub-national” city and regional level, was praised by the UN chief, who described sub-national action as being “key to addressing the climate crisis”, not only because regional and city governments are closer to the people, but because “regions and cities are the main engines of the world economy.”

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Eight years in, Syria still embroiled in conflict ‘that no longer sparks outrage’, Security Council hears

UN Syria/Fadwa Baroud AbedRabou


The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) visits Rukban, the arid remote area of Syria close to the Jordan and Iraq borders, which became a refugee camp in 2014.


28 May 2019


Peace and Security


After eight years of deadly air strikes and terrorist attacks that have left hundreds of thousands of Syrians dead and millions of others injured, United Nations Deputy Emergency Relief Coordinator Ursula Mueller asked the Security Council on Tuesday, the hard-hitting question: “Can’t this Council take any concrete action when attacks on schools and hospitals have become a war tactic that no longer sparks outrage”?


“You all know the statistics of this conflict”, Ursula Mueller told the chamber. “You know that more than half the Syrian population has either fled the country or faced repeated internal displacement...and you know that currently, an estimated three million people in Idlib are caught up in the crossfire, with some living under trees or plastic sheeting on bare patches of land”.


There are no safe schools or clinics, she said, and no way to earn a living, while families live in “the constant fear” of sending their children to a school that may be bombed “later that day”.


Despite a temporary ceasefire announcement on 17 May, fighting in the last rebel stronghold of Idlib in Syria’s north-west, has continued over recent days, with heavy shelling and aerial bombardment this month leaving more than 160 civilians dead and some 270,000 others displaced.


The deputy relief chief quoted the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, in saying that “both pro-Government forces and non-State armed groups fighting in northern Syria appear to have failed to respect the principles of distinction and proportionality under international humanitarian law”.


She told the Council that since 28 April, the World Health Organization (WHO) had reported a total of 25 attacks targeting medical infrastructure in northwestern Syria, including 22 health facilities, with some having been hit more than once. Moreover, some 25 schools are reported to have also been impacted by the violence, as well as marketplaces and at least three sites for displaced people.


While the humanitarian community is responding in accordance with its contingency and readiness plans, “despite our best efforts, the response is stretched”, she explained.


“Many of our humanitarian partners are part of the affected population and have themselves been displaced”, she said, adding that as a result, “in many areas of active hostilities, humanitarian operations have been suspended”, including health, nutrition and protection services that previously supported some 600,000 people.


Pointing out that this year marks the 70th anniversary of the Geneva Conventions and the 20th anniversary of the Council’s adoption of protection of civilians as an agenda item, she recalled the Secretary-General’s word’s last week, saying that “respect today for international humanitarian law is, at best, questionable.


“You are all, as Member States, aware that all parties to armed conflict are legally bound to comply with international humanitarian law…Sparing hospitals and schools is not optional. It is a fundamental legal obligation”.
Other crisis areas


While calling the fighting in Idlib “the most distressing front in the conflict at present”, she painted a picture of “deteriorating conditions inside Rukban” camp for internally displaced, on the southern border with Jordan, that during the past two months, have caused more than 13,100 to flee.





UN Photo/Eskinder Debebe | Ursula Mueller, Assistant Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Deputy Emergency Relief Coordinator, briefs the Security Council on the situation in Syria.


For those who remain, food, basic medicines and other life-saving supplies delivered in February have run out. Fuel is scarce; prices are skyrocketing; and “people are exhausted”, she spelled out.


Ms. Mueller said a third humanitarian convoy to Rukban was urgently needed “to avoid further suffering” for the 29,000 people who remain, strongly urging the Syrian authorities “to reverse their refusal and facilitate access…as first requested in March and again on 9 May…to provide support to this vulnerable population”.


Turning to the continuing plight of some 74,000 civilians – 92 per cent of whom are women and children – at the Al Hol refugee camp in the country’s north east, near the Iraqi border, she said that “most have been exposed to extreme violence and trauma under ISIL”.


“They are now living in extremely difficult conditions where they face a range of protection challenges, and an uncertain and disconcerting fate”, she said, including being denied repatriation, rehabilitation, re-integration, a fair trial, or even of becoming Stateless.


“All children, including those suspected of being associated with armed groups and/or designated terrorist organizations, are entitled to special care and protection under international humanitarian law and international human rights law, including the Convention on the Rights of the Child” Ms. Mueller stated, adding “these children must be treated first and foremost as victims”.



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Wednesday’s Daily Brief: #NoTobacco Day, China’s economy, family farming, #ClimateAction

UNICEF/UN0305927/Oatway


Children at a UNICEF supported school near Dondo, Mozambique where at least 1.6 million children need urgent assistance one month after Cyclone Idai devastated parts of Mozambique, Malawi and Zimbabwe.

29 May 2019

Climate Change


This Wednesday, we cover: the dangers of smoking for World No Tobacco Day; China’s creative economy; sustainability through family farming, floating cities and #ClimateAction.

Don’t let smoking steal life’s breathtaking moments, urges UN health agency



Tobacco use continues to claim around eight million lives a year, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Wednesday, in a call for faster action from governments to tackle smoking and the “enormous” health, social, environmental and economic costs it entails.


Ahead of World No Tobacco Day, marked on Friday, 31 May, WHO’s Dr Vinayak Prasad, acting Director, Department for the Prevention of Noncommunicable Diseases, highlighted the damage that tobacco causes to the lungs of smokers and non-smokers alike.


Find our full coverage here.

China’s ‘remarkable’ creative economy marches ahead


China’s creative economy – which includes books, film, music and video games – is growing faster than other countries, making it the world’s driving force in the field over the past 15 years, says a new UN trade report.


The study from the UN Conference on Trade and Development, UNCTAD, tracks national performance in the trade of creative goods and services between 2002 and 2015, and shows that China is the biggest single exporter and importer, with trade growing “exponentially” over the period.


China’s performance is described in the report as “remarkable”, because of its sustained growth over three decades, its dominance of the world market for creative goods and services, and its role in sustaining the regional and global creative economy.


Speaking to UN News, Amy-Louise Shelver from UNCTAD said the report shows that the view of China as simply “the factory of the world” is now outdated: “I think that’s a one-dimensional view of what’s actually happening in China. Obviously China’s growth over the past 20 to 30 years has certainly been based on its performance as a factory of the world: that’s what it’s used to kickstart its economy. Subsequent to that, there’s been a massive broadening of China’s goods and services offering, and it’s important to see it as a multi-dimensional economy, not simply a manufacturing hub.”

Family farms are ‘drivers of sustainable development’


Launching the United Nations Decade of Family Farming in Rome on Wednesday, two UN agencies have lauded family-run farms, which account for over 90 per cent of the sector, as “key drivers of sustainable development,” that play a major role in ending hunger and malnutrition.


The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) also announced a Global Action Plan to upgrade support for family farmers, particularly those in developing countries, with detailed guidance for the international community.


Although farmers produce most of our food, they are vulnerable to poverty, especially in developing countries, and the plan highlights the need to increase access to social protection for farmers, as well as finance, training and opportunities to generate income. 

Mozambique cyclones a ‘wake-up call’ to boost resistance: UN weather agency



The havoc caused by cyclones Idai and Kenneth across Mozambique is “a wake-up call” for vulnerable countries “to build resistance" against further high-impact tropical storms, coastal flooding and intense rainfall linked to climate change, according to the United Nations weather agency chief.


A World Meteorological Organization (WMO) fact-finding mission to Mozambique recommended on Wednesday a package of disaster-risk-reduction priorities to strengthen the country’s early warning systems and reduce damage due to weather, climate and water-related hazards.


Read our story here.

Floating Cities: the new urban frontier


Climate change and urbanization are combining to create an urgent global need for sustainable cities. In response, the United Nations is exploring how the creation of floating cities can help solve the urban crisis while.

Listen to or download our audio News In Brief for 29 May on SoundCloud:

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North Koreans trapped in ‘vicious cycle of deprivation, corruption, repression’ and endemic bribery: UN human rights office

UNICEF/Simon Nazer


Children in a newly built clinic in Musan County, Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK), are checked for malnutrition and given vaccines, Vitamin A and deworming tablets.


28 May 2019


Human Rights


Bribery is the main way people in North Korea get food, healthcare, shelter and work, a new UN human rights office report said on Tuesday.


Based on more than 200 first-hand accounts of escapees from the country, officially known as the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK), the report asserts that the State-run public distribution system collapsed in the mid-1990s, forcing people to work in informal markets, where they have no choice but to bribe officials to avoid arrest.


It also highlights “appalling” levels of hunger that affects around 10.9 million people – more than 43 per cent of the population – with north-eastern and rural provinces worst-affected.


The report also detailshow huge resources have been diverted to increasing DPRK’s military capacity and maintaining a huge standing army, which has kept one million young men and women from the workplace.


Among the report’s suggested reforms are a review of the criminal code to end prosecutions for engaging in legitimate market activities, and respect for freedom of movement across the country’s borders - and even inside DPRK.


“The rights to food, health, shelter, work, freedom of movement and liberty are universal and inalienable, but in North Korea they depend primarily on the ability of individuals to bribe State officials”, said UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Michelle Bachelet, in reaction to the report.


The constant threat of arrest and prosecution provides State officials with a powerful means to extort money and other favours from people desperate to avoid detention in inhumane conditions, the report says. In addition, the living conditions and treatment of detainees can also depend on the payment of bribes.


“I felt it unfair that one could bribe one’s way out of [detention], when another suffers much more as a result of being unable to bribe”, said one interviewee who spoke to UN investigators. “Bribery is effective in North Korea. One cannot lead a life in North Korea if he or she does not bribe his or her way.”


Another interviewee said bluntly, that everyone has to resort to the informal sector, just to survive: “If you just follow instructions coming from the State, you starve to death.”


The report also details how women seeking ways to make ends meet, are particularly vulnerable to further abuse at the hands of third parties, including brokers and traffickers.


The UN rights chief called for far-reaching changes: “Our report is a stark illustration of how important it is that the Government tackles the country’s profound human rights problems. Only then can the endemic system of corruption which pervades all aspects of life be effectively dismantled,” she said.


The report details how the State has simply not fulfilled its obligations under international human rights law to realize the right of its citizens to an adequate standard of living. It has neither sought to modify a failed public system, nor helped to establish a functional and legal private sector.


“People must not be arrested, detained, prosecuted or subjected to extortion simply for trying to acquire an adequate standard of living,” concluded Ms. Bachelet. “Addressing these issues could open a path to tackling the wider range of human rights concerns that exist in the DPRK today. A significant set of reforms would be in everybody’s interests, including those of the Government and of the international community.”



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In Afghanistan, attacks against schools have tripled in one year

© UNICEF/UN0212108/Mohammadi


Afghanistan’s education system has been devastated by more than three decades of sustained conflict. For many of the country’s children, completing primary school remains a distant dream. Here, 10-year-old Fatima is on the board to solve a math question, at the ALC in Baghe Mellat, Herat.

28 May 2019

Culture and Education

The UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) said on Monday that much greater protection for educational facilities was needed across Afghanistan where attacks against schools have increased three-fold in just one year. The call coincides with the third International Conference on Safe Schools, taking place this week in Mallorca, Spain.


If you are a pupil in Afghanistan, then you were three times more likely to be affected by an attack in 2018 than you were the previous year. Attacks on schools in the country surged from 68 in 2017 to 192 in 2018, according to UNICEF. This is the first time that the number of school attacks has increased, since 2015.


“Education is under fire in Afghanistan,” said UNICEF Executive Director Henrietta Fore in a statement. “The senseless attacks on schools; the killing, injury and abduction of teachers; and the threats against education are destroying the hopes and dreams of an entire generation of children”.


One of the factors behind the increase was the use of schools as voter registration and polling centres for the parliamentary elections in 2018.


Education is under fire in Afghanistan - UNICEF chief, Henrietta Fore.


According to UNICEF, ongoing conflict and rapidly deteriorating security across the country have led to the closure of more than 1,000 schools as of December 2018. The consequences for over half a million children affected are extremely concerning and represent a denial of their fundamental right to education, and a brighter future.


An estimated 3.7 million children between the ages of 7 and 17 – nearly half of all school-aged Afghans – are out of school in the country.


Worsening insecurity, high rates of poverty and persistent discrimination against girls caused the rate of out-of-school children to increase last year for the first time since 2002. Girls account for 60 per cent of children not in the education system.


UNICEF continues to work with the Government and other partners to provide informal and accelerated community-based education, including the provision of education in community buildings and homes, which is key in reducing the risk of attacks against children making their way to school on a daily basis.


On Monday, the third International Conference on Safe Schools opened in Spain for decision-makers to discuss the implementation of the Safe School Declaration – endorsed by 87 nations – its challenges and lessons learned, at the national, regional, and international levels.


Furthermore, the conference is an occasion to encourage cooperation and stronger gender-responsive practices.



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