July 01, 2020 No comments
Stalled Security Council resolution adopted, backing UN’s global humanitarian ceasefire call
INTERNATIONAL, 1 July 2020, Peace and Security - The Security Council on Wednesday echoed the Secretary-General’s call for a worldwide ceasefire, to combat the coronavirus pandemic that has already claimed more than half a million lives. The UN chief welcomed the long-awaited move, calling for countries to "redouble their efforts for peace". Unanimously adopting resolution 2532 (2020) on Wednesday, the 15-member peace and security body demanded “a general and immediate cessation of hostilities in all situations, on its agenda.” It also voiced its support for efforts by Secretary-General António Guterres – who first appealed for a global ceasefire on 23 March – towards that goal. Endangering peace The unprecedented extent of the novel coronavirus pandemic “is likely to endanger the maintenance of international peace and security”, it said, adding that it could also set back peacebuilding and development gains...
Read more
July 01, 2020 No comments
‘Long, hard road ahead’ for countries taking piecemeal approach to COVID
INTERNATIONAL, 1 July 2020, Health - The head of the World Health Organization (WHO) warned on Monday that some nations battling the COVID-19 pandemic who have been taking a “fragmented approach” to suppressing the deadly virus, “face a long, hard road ahead.” Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told the regular coronavirus press briefing at WHO headquarters in Geneva, that “flare-ups are to be expected as countries start to lift restrictions.” But he noted that countries with “systems in place to apply a comprehensive approach, should be able to contain these flare-ups locally, and avoid reintroducing widespread restrictions.” ‘It’s never too late’ However, he continued, “we are concerned that some countries have not used all the tools at their disposal and have taken a fragmented approach. These countries face a long, hard road...
Read more
July 01, 2020 No comments
Youth activist speaks up for environmental protection at Human Rights Council
INTERNATIONAL, 1 July 2020, Human Rights - At the UN Human Rights Council on Wednesday, a teenager from Côte d’Ivoire has explained why protecting the environment matters so much. The rare and refreshing intervention came from 14-year-old activist Junior, who spoke out against alleged industrial pollution, including from the cocoa production sector, in his home town of San-Pédro, in the West African State. Bachelet warning At the child rights debate, Member States also heard from UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Michelle Bachelet, who warned that environmental harm severely affects “the youngest children, indigenous children and those from low-income and marginalized communities”. I want the authorities to take this question of the environment to heart. Because we children are suffering a lot – Junior, 14, from Côte d’Ivoire This damage was being...
Read more
July 01, 2020 No comments
UNESCO urges caution over fraudulent African artefacts, sold in its name
INTERNATIONAL, 1 July 2020, Culture and Education - The UN on Wednesday revealed the existence of an illicit trafficking scam in African cultural artefacts, which are being sold to unsuspecting buyers, thanks to the entirely fake UNESCO stamp they come with. The UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is warning art lovers who may be approached to buy African cultural treasures, apparently endorsed by the agency, to exercise the “utmost vigilance” after receiving numerous reports of the trafficking ruse. The organization said that false documents claimed that UNESCO had authorized the transactions, and certified the monetary value of collections, which is not true. It said that most victims of the fraud live in France and many have links to French-speaking African countries. Million-Euro scam More than one million euros’...
Read more
July 01, 2020 No comments
'Bold and creative’ solutions needed for a sustainable, post-pandemic economy
INTERNATIONAL, 1 July 2020, Economic Development - Unless the world acts now, the COVID-19 pandemic and accompanying global recession, will trigger “years of depressed and disrupted economic growth”, the UN chief warned on Wednesday. During the first in a series of roundtable discussions on responding and recovering better from the global crisis, this one with women economists, he painted a grim picture of acute suffering, saying that extreme poverty and hunger are set to increase drastically. Many healthcare systems are already at breaking point; and a whole generation of children is missing out on education. “The pandemic threatens not just to put the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development on hold, but to reverse progress that has already been made”, Secretary-General António Guterres said. Building back better Against the backdrop of...
Read more
