A new report from the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) reveals that Governments and detaining authorities in at least 84 countries have released more than 45,000 children since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. Some 261,000 children in conflict with the law are still being held in detention worldwide.
In progress at UNHQ
Noon Briefings
United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) Executive Director Henrietta Fore voiced deep concern over reports that child marriage in Afghanistan is on the rise, with families offering daughters as young as 20 days old for future marriage in return for a dowry. Some 28 per cent of Afghan women aged 15–49 were married before 18.
Mahamat Annadif, the Secretary‑General’s Special Representative for West Africa, and Foreign Minister of Guinea, Morissanda Kouyaté, launched a new initiative to facilitate an inclusive transition in Guinea by fostering reconciliation at national and community levels and increasing participation of women and all communities.
UNICEF released a report today showing there are nearly 240 million children with disabilities around the world, a new global approximation higher than previous estimates which considers symptoms of anxiety and depression, among other difficulties across several domains of functioning.
Since Sunday night, at least 11,000 people fleeing fighting in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo have sought refuge in Uganda, the largest single-day influx in over one year, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees reports. It is requesting urgent resources to address the new arrivals’ needs.
The World Food Programme (WFP) today warned that the number of people teetering on the edge of famine in 43 countries has risen from 42 to 45 million people, as acute hunger spikes around the world. The agency said needs are vastly surpassing available resources at a time when traditional funding streams are overstretched.
For Youth Day at the Glasgow Climate Change Conference, the Secretary-General’s Youth Advisory Group and young climate activists discussed how to include young people in formal decision-making processes. Indigenous youth leaders also shared on the importance of traditional knowledge as a vital component of climate action.
In Yemen, the United Nations and partners continue to provide life-saving aid to thousands of civilians on both sides of the front lines in Ma’rib, Al Bayda and Shabwah since fighting escalated in these governorates in September, amid calls by the United Nations Special Envoy for Yemen, Hans Grundberg, for de-escalation.
The global level of undernourishment increased sharply last year, under the shadow of the COVID‑19 pandemic, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization’s annual Statistical Yearbook, released today. Nearly 10 per cent of the world’s population suffered from hunger in 2020, up from 8.4 per cent in 2019.
The Secretary-General — in observance of International Day to End Impunity for Crimes against Journalists, on 2 November — stated that 62 journalists were killed for doing their jobs in 2020. Noting that the number of media workers killed outside conflict zones has risen in recent years, he urged leaders to demonstrate the political will needed to investigate and prosecute these crimes.