The United Nations recorded fewer human rights violations in the Democratic Republic of the Congo in the first half of 2019, a High Commissioner for Human Rights report found, describing the 3,039 violations as an improvement. However, the number of violations committed until June remains higher than two years ago.
In progress at UNHQ
Noon Briefings
The Central Emergency Response Fund released $75 million to support responses to eight underfunded emergencies — in Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Eritrea, Mali, Sudan, Venezuela and the neighbouring region — providing aid to 4 million people affected by conflict and natural disasters, among other crises.
At least 14 people were killed and many more injured yesterday, including children, when a bus hit an improvised explosive device near Douentza in the Mopti region, the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali reported. The Mission supported the medical evacuations of 16 victims.
The Yemen office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights confirmed that 52 detainees were among those killed when air strikes hit a former community college compound on the northern outskirts of Dhamar City, United Nations teams in the country reported on Sunday. As many as 170 detainees were being held there.
In Burkina Faso, where armed attacks continue to affect parts of the north and east, some 30,000 people have been displaced every month since the start of 2019. July alone saw a nearly 35 per cent surge in the number of health centres closed due to insecurity, depriving 625,000 people of access to basic care.
Preliminary reports from medical facilities in Yemen indicate that in the past two days, as many as 13 people have been killed and at least 70 others were wounded during the clashes in Aden and Abyan governorates.
After a long journey across the seas, youth climate activist Greta Thunberg is arriving this afternoon in New York. The United Nations will be there to welcome her with a flotilla of 17 sailboats, each branded with a sustainable goal. Ms. Thunberg is scheduled to attend the Secretary-General’s climate summit.
In Central America, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) is launching five campaigns designed to underscore the risks of irregular migration and encourage informed decision-making among young migrants. The campaigns will take place in Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador and Nicaragua.
The sixty-eighth United Nations Civil Society Conference kicked off in Salt Lake City, Utah, today under the theme “Building Inclusive and Sustainable Cities and Communities”. Up to 5,000 representatives of civil society from more than 100 countries will take part, with about 40 per cent being under the age of 32 years.
Today is International Day for the Remembrance of the Slave Trade and its Abolition. According to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), this observance is intended to inscribe the tragedy of the slave trade in the memory of all peoples.