Noon Briefings

The number of people affected by dementia is set to triple in the next 30 years, from 50 million to 152 million by 2050, the World Health Organization reported. The $818 billion annual cost of dementia, equivalent to more than 1 per cent of global gross domestic product, is expected to reach $2 trillion by 2030.

The Secretary-General’s Special Envoy for Yemen briefed the Security Council, warning of alarming levels of violence affecting civilians and emphasizing an acute need for a negotiated settlement and inclusive peace process at a time of sharply shifting political dynamics following the killing of the former President.

The Secretary-General, in a message to the United Nations Environment Assembly opening in Nairobi today, said that solutions to prevent, mitigate and manage pollution existed, and that beating pollution would help reduce poverty, improve health, create decent jobs, address climate change and protect life on earth and sea.

The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees has reported that refugees fleeing militia violence in the south-east of the Democratic Republic of the Congo and arriving in Zambia have crossed the 12,000 mark, with 80 per cent of them women and children, driven out by extreme brutality of rampaging militias.

UNICEF released a report today that calls on world leaders to include specific commitments to protect uprooted children when drafting global migration policies.  The call precedes the preparatory meeting on the Global Compact for Migration, to be held in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, from 4 to 6 December.  The report is available online.

United Nations humanitarian flights to Yemen resumed on 25 November, with two commercial vessels having arrived in Hodaidah carrying 35,020 metric tons of wheat and flour.  Three vessels carrying nearly 65,000 metric tons of food have been cleared by the United Nations Verification and Inspection Mechanism and are awaiting permission from the Saudi Arabia-led coalition to enter the port.

Speakers in the Security Council called today for urgent measures to head off the threat posed by the escalation of tensions following the launch of an intercontinental ballistic missile by Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.

Newly released data from the International Organization for Migration show that almost half of all identified child trafficking cases begin with the involvement of a family member.  According to the data, the extent of such involvement is up to four times higher than in cases of adult trafficking.

The Secretary-General is meeting for the first time with his High-level Advisory Board on Mediation, established to help his efforts to build stronger partnerships in preventing and resolving crises.  The Secretary-General emphasized in his remarks the experience and knowledge of Board members and the critical role they could play in preventive diplomacy.

The International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia today convicted Ratko Mladiæ on charges of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes, giving him a life sentence.  Prosecutor Serge Brammertz said the judgment was a milestone in the Tribunal’s history and international criminal justice.