Human rights

The following statement was issued by the Spokesperson for UN Secretary-General António Guterres:

More than 3 billion people globally are at risk of disease because the quality of their rivers, lakes and groundwater is unknown due to a lack of data, the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) said today.  UNEP’s survey of over 75,000 bodies of water in 89 countries found more than 40 per cent severely polluted.

The global economy is set to grow by 4.7 per cent in 2021, faster than the 4.3 per cent predicted in September, says a United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) report released today.  It sees a misguided return to austerity, after a destructive recession, as the main risk to the global outlook. 

At least 14 civilians were killed in an attack by suspected combatants of the ADF on Sunday night in Bulongo village, east of Beni, the United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo reported.  The Mission’s Force Intervention Brigade deployed to the area yesterday.

In Myanmar, at least 138 peaceful protestors, including 56 over the weekend, among them women and children, have been killed in violence since 1 February, the United Nations Human Rights Office reports.  The Secretary-General and his Special Envoy on the country, Christine Schraner Burgener, strongly condemn the violence.

Following is the text of UN Secretary-General António Guterres’ video message to the Group of Friends for the Elimination of Violence against Women and Girls, today:

The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) released new data today saying that nearly 12 million women lost access to contraception due to pandemic-related disruptions, leading to some 1.4 million unintended pregnancies.  However, health systems in many of the 115 countries adapted and continue to provide services.

The United Nations and the Government of Iraq today released the 2021 Humanitarian Response Plan which seeks $607.2 million in humanitarian aid to assist 1.5 million of the most vulnerable internally displaced people in Iraq and returnees.  According to the overview, 4.1 million Iraqis need humanitarian assistance.

On International Women’s Day, peacekeeping colleagues report that Bangladesh, for the first time, is deploying four justice government-provided personnel, all women, to the United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) and the United Nations Assistance Mission in Somalia (UNSOM), later this month.

About 931 million tons of food — or 17 per cent of all food available to consumers in 2019 and roughly equal to 23 million fully loaded 40-ton trucks bumper-to-bumper, enough to circle the Earth seven times — were trashed by households, retailers, restaurants and other food services, a UNEP report says.