Human rights

Following is UN Secretary-General António Guterres’ message for Human Rights Day, observed on 10 December:

With reports that the Omicron variant has been detected in Botswana, the United Nations team is increasing its support for the Government’s COVID-19 response, including by providing medical and protective equipment.  To date, 75 per cent of people in the country have received at least one dose, while 68 per cent are fully vaccinated.

The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) today said that food commodity prices in the international market rose for the fourth consecutive month in November.  The FAO Food Price Index averaged 134.4 points in the month, the highest level since June 2011 and 1.2 per cent higher than during October.

Following is UN Secretary-General António Guterres’ message on the International Day of Persons with Disabilities, observed on 3 December:

Following is the text of UN Secretary-General António Guterres’ video message marking the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women and Girls, observed on 25 November:

Following are UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed’s remarks at the high-level meeting of the General Assembly on the third Appraisal of the United Nations Global Plan of Action to Combat Trafficking in Persons, held today:

According to the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), non-performing loans in Afghanistan’s credit market have increased from around 30 per cent at the end of 2020 to 57 per cent in September 2021.  As the massive withdrawal of savings continues, UNDP projects that the deposits’ base could shrink by as much as 40 per cent by year-end.

United Nations officials in Myanmar report worsening humanitarian conditions due to conflict, political instability and COVID-19 since the military seized control of the Government in February.  More than 230,000 people have been displaced since then, with food running desperately short in some host communities.

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.

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.