July 03, 2020 No comments
UN rights office expresses alarm at Hong Kong arrests under new security law
INTERNATIONAL, 3 July 2020, Human Rights - The UN human rights office, OHCHR, has expressed alarm at the arrest of demonstrators in Hong Kong, following China’s adoption of a national security law for the Special Administrative Region (SAR). Spokesperson Rupert Colville told journalists in Geneva on Friday that the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights was continuing to analyze the new law after it came into force on Wednesday, regarding its compliance with international human rights obligations: “I think several hundred people have been arrested since protests began on Wednesday, I think the last I heard, we understood 10 of those people have been charged under the new law, but I don’t have more details at this point on the nature of the charges at...
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July 03, 2020 No comments
Protecting migrant workers in Kuwait: a Resident Coordinator’s blog
INTERNATIONAL, 3 July 2020, Migrants and Refugees - In Kuwait, the UN has played an important role in countering xenophobic rhetoric, falsely blaming the spread of COVID-19 on migrant workers. In this opinion piece, Tarek El Sheikh, the United Nations Resident Coordinator in the country, highlights the efforts being made to safeguard the rights of foreign residents. The increase in xenophobic language directed towards migrants – who make up more than 70 per cent of the population of Kuwait – prompted a group of jurists, the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), and the Office of the Resident Coordinator, to launch a media campaign designed to help the authorities counter the problem, which they are beginning to see as...
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July 02, 2020 No comments
COVID-19 fast becoming protection crisis, Guterres warns Security Council
INTERNATIONAL, 2 July 2020, Peace and Security - The COVID-19 pandemic is “profoundly affecting” peace and security across the globe, the Secretary-General told the Security Council on Thursday, pressing the 15-member body to use its collective influence to protect the millions of people either trapped in, or fleeing conflict, and already facing acute vulnerabilities. “The health pandemic has fast become a protection crisis”, António Guterres warned. With more than one billion children out of school, 135 million people facing starvation by year-end, and healthcare workers routinely being targeted by violence, "these wide-ranging risks require an urgent and united response.” The high-level debate, convened by Germany as president for July, follows the Council’s passage on Wednesday of resolution 2532 (2020), which demands a general and immediate cessation of hostilities...
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July 02, 2020 No comments
Helping youth enterprise take off, will bring sustainable returns, say UN economists
INTERNATIONAL, 2 July 2020, Economic Development - Young entrepreneurs who want their work to have a positive impact on their communities, urgently need more help from governments if they’re to succeed and resist the COVID-19-fuelled economic downturn, UN economists said on Thursday. Amid worsening global employment prospects owing to the pandemic, the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA) maintained in a new report that unlocking business opportunities for young adults “could lower unemployment and bring social benefits”. It said that socially-minded enterprises benefited 871 million people in just nine countries in Europe and Central Asia in 2016, providing services and products worth around $6.7 billion and creating employment, particularly among marginalized groups. Sky’s the limit for start-ups Young entrepreneurs who have already made a difference include...
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July 02, 2020 No comments
Protect ordinary Afghans ahead of peace talks, urges UN Mission chief
INTERNATIONAL, 2 July 2020, Peace and Security - Ahead of hoped-for peace talks between Afghan Government and Taliban negotiators, UN peacekeepers in Afghanistan have urged parties to “redouble” their efforts to keep civilians safe. The appeal from the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA), also calls for a de-escalation of the conflict to save lives and facilitate discussions in Qatar. It follows a recent spate of deliberate attacks against religious leaders, healthcare workers, members of the judiciary, civil society activists, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and journalists. ‘Shocking and criminal’ attacks In the first six months of the year, more than 800 civilians were killed and injured in deliberate attacks. UNAMA attributed responsibility for approximately half of these civilian casualties to the Taliban. These are “shocking and criminal” attacks, UNAMA said in...
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