Health

The United Nations human rights office called today for urgent action to address the dire situation of migrants attempting to cross the central Mediterranean Sea in search of safety in Europe, and to tackle the shocking conditions they face in Libya, at sea, and frequently, upon their reception in Europe.

Mayerlín Vergara Pérez from Colombia is the 2020 laureate of the Nansen Refugee Award, the UN refugee agency announced today.  The Caribbean Regional Coordinator for the Renacer Foundation has spent more than two decades helping the non-profit pursue eradication of sexual exploitation and abuse of children and adolescents.

Without aid, more than 5 million people in Somalia could face acute food insecurity by the end of 2020 due to the combined effects of flooding, the desert locust infestation, and the COVID-19 pandemic, among other challenges, according to the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.

The following statement by UN Secretary-General António Guterres was issued today:

Following is the text of UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed’s video message to the event “Progress and Multisectoral Action towards Achieving Global Targets to End Tuberculosis”, held today:

Following is the text of UN Secretary-General António Guterres’ video message to the World Health Organization (WHO) event on “Infodemic Management:  Promoting healthy behaviours in the time of COVID-19 and mitigating the harm from misinformation and disinformation”, held today:

The World Meteorological Organization launched today FOCUS-Africa, an $8.2 million initiative funded by the European Commission to increase resilience and adaptation in Southern Africa over the next four years.  It will deliver tailored services in agriculture and food security, water, energy and infrastructure.

The Human Rights Council held an urgent debate on conditions in Belarus, with the High Commissioner for Human Rights, in a statement, noting the continuation of mass demonstrations and expressing alarm over hundreds of claims of torture and ill treatment while in police custody.  She urged authorities to facilitate independent, prompt and impartial investigations.

The Secretary-General expressed concern over the number of restrictions and attacks against journalists, as many face harassment, intimidation, killing and arbitrary detention.  He called on Governments to immediately release journalists detained while exercising their profession, stressing:  “No democracy can function without press freedom.”

A record 13.4 million people in Burkina Faso, Mali and western Niger need humanitarian assistance and protection, as fast-growing crises spread across the Central Sahel region.  The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs reports that the number of internally displaced people has grown 20-fold to 1.4 million in less than two years.