Wednesday’s Daily Brief: Afghan child abuse, DR Congo measles deaths,
Palestinian solidarity
UNAMA/Ebrahim
Papal
Primary School in Afghanistan.(File)
27 November 2019
A recap of Wednesday’s stories in brief: UN
Afghan Mission calls for probe into school paedophile ring; thousands of
children dying from measles in DRC; UN reaffirms solidarity with Palestinians;
migrants send billions back home; trust and security “essential” in digital
space; and FAO recommends switch to traditional diets.
UN Mission in Afghanistan supports child sex
abuse allegations
The UN Mission in Afghanistan is calling for
an investigation into allegations of sexual abuse committed against children.
International media have published claims that a paedophile ring has been
operating in schools in Logar province, allegedly involving more than 500 boys.
Reportedly, the two civil society activists
who exposed the abuse, were initially detained by security forces, after
attempting to meet with the EU ambassador in the capital, Kabul.
The UN Mission released a statement on Tuesday evening, calling for the immediate
release of the activists and, on Wednesday, it was reported that the pair had
been released and handed over to the Afghanistan Human Rights Commission.
President Ashraf Ghani said on Tuesday he was
“deeply disturbed” by the allegations of sexual abuse, and that he had ordered
the education ministry to undertake a thorough investigation, and report back
to him as soon as possible.
Thousands of children killed by measles in DR
Congo
More than 5,000 people in the Democratic
Republic of Congo have died of measles so far this year, and practically all of
them are children under the age of five, says the UN Children’s Fund, UNICEF.
The UNICEF Representative in DRC, Edouard
Beigbeder, released a statement on Wednesday, citing violence and insecurity,
lack of access to healthcare, and a shortage of vaccines and medical kits, as
some of the reasons for the high death toll.
Cultural beliefs and traditional health care
practices, said Mr Beigbeder, also contribute to children not getting the
vaccinations, and other treatment, they need.
Full story here
Migrants send hundreds of billions back home
The number of international migrants in 2019
is now estimated at 270 million and the top destination remains the United
States, at nearly 51 million, the UN migration agency said on Wednesday.
In its latest global report, IOM noted that the overall figure
represents just a tiny fraction of the world’s population, although it is a 0.1
per cent increase on the level indicated in its last report, published two
years ago.
“This figure remains a very small percentage
of the world’s population (at 3.5 per cent), meaning that the vast majority of
people globally (96.5 per cent) are estimated to be residing in the country in
which they were born,” IOM’s Global Migration Report 2020 said.
According to the UN agency, more than half of
all international migrants (141 million) live in Europe and North America.
An estimated 52 per cent are male, and nearly
two-thirds of all migrants are looking for work; that’s around 164 million
people.
Full story here
UN commemorates International Day of
Solidarity with the Palestinian People
The United Nations has underlined its
unwavering commitment to the Palestinian people in their ongoing struggle to
achieve self-determination, independence and sovereignty.
Senior officials joined ambassadors and other
representatives from the international community in New York on Thursday to
commemorate the International Day of
Solidarity with the Palestinian People, officially observed each
year on 29 November.
Established in 1977, it marks the day in 1947
when the UN General Assembly adopted a resolution partitioning Palestine into
an Arab State and a Jewish State.
Full story here
Trust, security and stability in digital space
‘essential’, UN economic affairs chief
“The positive power of the Internet and ICTs
can only be harnessed if people have a real sense of public trust, security and
stability in the digital space’, Liu Zhenmin, the head of the UN Department of
Economic and Social Affairs, or DESA, said at the Internet Governance Forum on
Wednesday.
The UN event, which is taking place in Berlin,
is an annual meeting where issues of public policy relating to the Internet are
discussed.
Addressing a meeting on Achieving the Sustainable Development Goals in the Digital Age, Mr. Liu expressed his
confidence that new technologies, such as artificial intelligence, 5G and the
Internet of Things, can help bring about the Goals, and improve the lives of
all.
The DESA chief underscored the importance of
international cooperation in solving the problems of the digital space, such as
rising inequality, uneven growth, climate change and fast-paced technological
change.
Eat the Mediterranean way: UN food agency
As many parts of the world gear up for a
season of feasting, the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), is promoting
the benefits of traditional diets, which are healthier and better for the
planet.
At an event held on Wednesday in Rome, the
agency recommended the Mediterranean diet, which involves various vegetables,
beans and pulses, fruits, herbs and olive oil; the New Nordic diet, which
contains less sugar and fat than the average Western diet; the seafood-rich
Japanese diet; and southern Chinese cuisine.
In a statement, the
agency said that the diets help lower cholesterol, and prevent heart disease
and diabetes; as well as creating food systems that advance sustainable
development.
Listen to or download
our audio News in Brief for 27 November on SoundCloud:
UNAMA|AFGHANISTAN|IOM|INTERNATIONAL
DAY OF SOLIDARITY WITH THE PALESTINIAN PEOPLE|INTERNET
GOVERNANCE FORUM|FAO
LISTEN TO UN RADIO
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