February 06, 2023 No comments
‘Put people first’ in drive to realize Sustainable Development Goals
INTERNATIONAL, 6 February 2023, SDGs - Addressing the opening of the Commission for Social Development’s latest session, the president of the UN Economic and Social Council on Monday said it was imperative to put people first, if the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are to be realized by the 2030 deadline. “Putting people first means we must create opportunities for young people to accumulate knowledge and skills relevant for the labour market through education, training, and early work experience,” Lachezara Stoeva said. The current dim projections for global economic growth simply require it. Amid multiple global interconnected crises, advancing efforts to achieve the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development hinges on giving people the tools needed to build resilient societies and economies. Opening the Commission’s sixty-first session, she outlined how best...
Read more
February 06, 2023 No comments
UN human rights chief calls on Mali to reverse ‘regrettable’ expulsion order
INTERNATIONAL, 6 February 2023, Human Rights - The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights on Monday called on Malian authorities to rescind their expulsion order for his top representative in the country. “I deeply regret the decision by the Malian authorities to declare my representative, Guillaume Ngefa, as persona non grata and to order him to leave the country in 48 hours,” Volker Türk said. Mr. Ngefa, Director of the Human Rights Division of the UN Stabilization Mission in Mali (MINUSMA) and Representative of the High Commissioner in Mali, had been declared persona non grata in an announcement Malian authorities made on Sunday. Mr. Ngefa was already outside Mali when the decision was announced. MINUSMA/Harandane Dicko Guillaume Ngefa, Director of the Human Rights Division at the UN Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization...
Read more
February 06, 2023 No comments
China: Tibetan children forced to assimilate, independent rights experts fear
INTERNATIONAL, 6 February 2023, Human Rights - Roughly one million Tibetan minority children in China have been separated from their families and placed into Government-run boarding schools, forcing their assimilation into the dominant culture, three independent UN human rights experts said on Monday. “We are very disturbed that in recent years the residential school system for Tibetan children appears to act as a mandatory large-scale programme intended to assimilate Tibetans into majority Han culture, contrary to international human rights standards,” they said in a statement. Erosion of identity Residential schools provide educational content and an environment centred around Han culture, according to the independent experts: Fernand de Varennes, Special Rapporteur on minority issues; Farida Shaheed, Special Rapporteur on the right to education, and Alexandra Xanthaki, Special Rapporteur in the field of cultural...
Read more
February 06, 2023 No comments
‘Act decisively before it is too late’, Guterres warns countries, laying out his priorities for 2023
INTERNATIONAL, 6 February 2023, UN Affairs - Time is running out as the world inches closer to meltdown and countries must change course before it is too late, UN Secretary-General António Guterres warned on Monday, presenting his priorities for the year. Addressing the General Assembly in New York, he appealed for urgent action now to achieve peace, economic rights and development, climate action, respect for diversity, and inclusive societies – both today and for generations to come. Before unfolding his 2023 roadmap, the Secretary-General extended condolences to the families of the victims of the devastating earthquakes in Türkiye and Syria, adding that the UN is mobilizing to support the response. Rights-based approach Mr. Guterres stressed the need for transformation this year, grounded in the UN Charter and the Universal Declaration...
Read more
February 06, 2023 No comments
Around 4.2 million girls at risk for Female Genital Mutilation says Guterres, stressing men must also speak out
INTERNATIONAL, 6 February 2023, Women - Female Genital Mutilation, or FGM, is an “abhorrent violation of fundamental human rights” said the UN Secretary-General on Monday, marking the International Day of Zero Tolerance against the scourge, which remains a threat for a staggering 4.2 million girls this year. António Guterres said that the practice of genital cutting, prevalent in some cultures for more than a thousand years, causes lifelong damage to both the physical and mental health of women and girls. 'Vicious manifestation of the patriarchy' “It is one of the most vicious manifestations of the patriarchy that permeates our world”, he added. With more than four million girls at risk this year alone from the pernicious act of gender-based violence, urgent investment together with action is needed, so the world can reach the Sustainable...
Read more
