“Let me be frank: we are not doing well. Our progress towards the SDGs has faltered and even gone into reverse on some important targets and Goals, leaving many behind,” she said in opening remarks to the Arab Forum for Sustainable Development (AFSD) in Beirut, Lebanon. World leaders adopted the 17 SDGs in 2015, laying…
Some 12.1 million Syrians are food insecure, while nearly three million more are at risk of sliding into hunger, the UN agency warned, highlighting the urgent need for increased humanitarian assistance. Malnutrition is also on the rise, with stunting rates among children at 28 per cent, according to recent data. Maternal malnutrition is also reaching…
The Regional Overview of Food Security and Nutrition in Europe and Central Asia 2022 report is a joint effort by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO); Agricultural Development fund, IFAD; the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF); the UN Development Programme (UNDP); the UN Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE); the World Food Programme (WFP); the World Health…
She added: “We want to make sure that street children are an issue of the past. That’s what we will be working for day-in and day-out.” Recognizing the unprecedented economic hardship that people in Lebanon are facing and renewing the UN’s commitment to supporting Lebanon to respond to increasing needs, are two main issues addressed…
“The national duty to investigate torture is alarmingly, universally, under-implemented,” said Alice Edwards, UN Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment. ‘Take ownership’ “Despite the impressive growth in international criminal courts and tribunals and our collective commitment to those entities, their capacity to deal with the scale and scope of…
In a report to the latest session of the Human Rights Council, the UN Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of human rights while countering terrorism, Fionnuala Ní Aoláin, warned of an alarming increase in the use of “intrusive and high-risk technologies”, according to a press release issued by the UN human rights office (OHCHR). This…
According to the UN agency, African nations have been worst-hit by the phenomenon, with 37 countries on the continent facing health worker shortages that threaten their chances of achieving universal health care by 2030 – a key Sustainable Development Goals pledge. The actions of wealthy countries that belong to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) come under scrutiny in the WHO…
In an appeal to internet chat platforms to monitor content more carefully and allocate sufficient resources to do so, the rights experts warned that Telegram in particular had become “a hotbed of pro-military activity”. ‘Violent and misogynistic’ Tens of thousands of followers had been drawn to the junta’s “violent and misogynistic content”, warned the rights…
The Commission of Inquiry on Syria pointed to “failures that hindered the delivery of urgent and lifesaving aid” to the largely opposition-held northwest region, in the days after the 6 February quakes. Humanitarian assessments point to more than 7,000 people killed in Syria by the natural disaster. Rescue equipment lacking At a press conference in…
The experts offered several recommendations after observing a range of concerns, from poor detention conditions to allegations of corruption, on the heels of the first visit of the UN Subcommittee on Prevention of Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (SPT) to South Africa, from 26 February to 9 March. “This must…
