Human rights

In Myanmar, at least 930 people, many of them women and children, have been killed at the hands of security forces since 1 February, while thousands more have been injured, the United Nations team there reports.  At least 3,000 remain under detention, as the protracted crisis impacts humanitarian access to people in need.

The United Nations refugee agency said today it is deeply saddened by the tragic deaths of six Rohingya refugees following heavy monsoon rains and strong winds which pelted refugee sites in Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh, causing flash floods and landslides.  More than 12,000 refugees have been affected, initial reports say.

The World Food Programme and the United Nations Children’s Fund say that as drought worsens in Madagascar, malnutrition rates are expected to quadruple among children in the South, where at least half a million under the age of five are expected to be acutely malnourished, including 110,000 in severe condition.

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) cited a tight window for farmers in hunger-stricken northern Ethiopia to get crops in the ground ahead of upcoming seasonal rains.  It appealed for $30 million in urgent support, noting that farmers have seen seeds and animals looted and credit lines disappear.

In Syria, United Nations agencies and aid partners are trucking in emergency water supplies and installing reverse osmosis pumps in Al-Hasakeh city amid reports of another disruption at Alouk water station,  which shut down on 23 June.  Up to 1 million people in the region are affected when the station ceases to operate.

The United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali (MINUSMA) recorded 617 human rights abuses, including 165 killings by armed groups in the country, which is 37 per cent higher than the previous six months.  The deteriorating human rights situation is also marked by a steep rise in abductions.

Following is the text of UN Secretary-General António Guterres’ video message to the meeting of Member States on accountability for misconduct by peacekeepers, held today:

The Ministerial Forums for the High-Level Dialogue on Energy ended today, with commitments announced by India’s major power supplier, NTPC; Power Africa pledging to the electrification of more health centres; and Student Energy aiming to mobilize $150 million to train 35,000 young energy leaders in 100 countries.

Some 1.47 million refugees will be in need of resettlement in 2021, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) announced today.  The agency said that, despite the coronavirus pandemic, wars and conflict continue to rage across the world, displacing millions and barring many from returning home.

Clashes in northern Mozambique are driving one of the world’s fastest-growing displacement crises, the International Organization for Migration (IOM), says with the number of people who have fled their homes in Cabo Delgado having surged by nearly 650 per cent in 2020, and more than 732,000 people currently displaced.