More than 16,000 children are displaced in eastern Libya following Africa’s deadliest storm in recorded history the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) warned on Thursday, highlighting the urgent need for psychosocial care.
Libya floods: ‘Tragedy is not over’ warns UNICEF
World News in Brief: Karabakh exodus continues, indigenous rights, UN steps up bid to curb food waste
Mr. Grandi stressed that UN refugee agency (UNHCR) convoys with more relief supplies are on the way.
“We are ready to mobilize additional resources to support the humanitarian efforts of the Government and people of Armenia,” he said.
UNHCR said earlier this week that most of those streaming across are vulnerable, including mainly older people, women and children, and that they require urgent emergency assistance.
UNHCR and UN partners, along with the office of the UN Resident Coordinator in Armenia, have been supporting the Government’s response to the influx of people, as needs keep rising.
UN chief António Guterres has also expressed his concern about the emergency. His spokesperson told reporters that it was essential that the rights of the displaced populations were protected and that they should receive the humanitarian support they need.
Indigenous Peoples’ rights must be central to green investments
“Green” finance investments on Indigenous Peoples’ land must rely on their participation and use a human rights-based approach.
That’s the message from the UN Special Rapporteur on the rights of Indigenous Peoples, Francisco Cali-Tzay, who warned on Thursday that the shift to green finance should not create more problems for native communities already impacted negatively by fossil-fuel related projects.
Briefing the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva, he said their scientific knowledge “is critical to solving the biodiversity loss and climate change crises.”
“Ensuring their participation and consent for projects affecting their lands is the obligation of States under international law. Business corporations and financial actors have similar responsibilities and obligations”.
The independent rights expert reminded the Council that “the most biodiverse and best-preserved lands, forests and shores on this planet are those…stewarded by Indigenous Peoples”.
He stressed that green investments could be a chance for Indigenous Peoples to obtain funding to preserve their lands, knowledge and distinct ways of life, and to “create economic opportunities that may help them to maintain and strengthen their indigenous identity”.
The Special Rapporteur also said that he was concerned by increasing reports that conservation and climate-oriented projects and programmes rarely include protections for the fundamental rights of Indigenous Peoples.
“Financial decision-makers have a crucial role in preventing this, by demanding social and environmental safeguards and effective due diligence protocols to ensure Indigenous Peoples’ participation before approving investments for green projects or programmes,” he insisted.
Collective efforts needed to stop wasting food while millions go hungry
A staggering one billion tonnes of food are wasted every year, while up to 783 million people around the world are facing hunger.
Ahead of the International Day of Awareness on Food Loss and Waste Reduction on Friday, the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) are sounding the alarm over losses amounting to 13 per cent of the world’s food in the supply chain before products even hit the shelves, and a further 17 per cent lost in households and retail.
The agencies said that stopping food loss and waste boosts food security, saves resources and helps reduce our carbon footprint.
They called for urgent action from the public and private sector as well as consumers to save and preserve food and set out concrete steps for all stakeholders in a joint guide, insisting that “our collective efforts can make a difference”.
A UN Call to Action: Reframing Engagement with the Taliban
The UN Special Representative for Afghanistan Roza Otunbayeva has emphasized the need for a revised approach in engaging with the Taliban. Despite disagreements on matters such as women’s rights and inclusive governance, Otunbayeva believes that a new strategy should be pursued.
She expressed concerns about the lack of progress and trust erosion among all parties involved. It is important to note that engaging with the Taliban does not imply endorsing their policies; rather it is an attempt to bring about change.
Otunbayeva strongly opposes the Taliban policies, which have included than 50 decrees aimed at restricting women’s participation in public life and education. In a UN report based on interviews with over 500 Afghan women, it was found that 46% of them believe the Taliban should not be acknowledged under any circumstances. However, Otunbayeva argues that dialogue must continue with those in power.
The proposed reframed strategy should acknowledge the Taliban’s responsibility for the well-being of all Afghan women. It should also include mechanisms to address long-term concerns of those in control and foster a more unified stance, from the international community.
Sima Bahous, the leader of UN Women, which is the UN agency focused on gender equality has drawn attention to the financial consequences of the Taliban’s policies. It is estimated that these policies cost one billion dollars annually. Bahous stressed the significance of women being heard. Emphasized that the UN Charter should be a guiding force for progress. Additionally, she called for a meeting of the Security Council Committee for sanctions against Afghanistan to explore their role in addressing violations of women’s rights in the country.
The call to action also involved a plea to explicitly incorporate “gender apartheid” into law. Karima Bennoune, an expert in matters echoed this sentiment and urged the global community to hold the Taliban accountable, for their systematic destruction of women’s rights.
Brussels, a green city: Parks and gardens to recharge your batteries in the heart of the capital
Brussels is known for being a dynamic, lively and cosmopolitan city. However, few people know that this European capital is also full of green spaces where it is good to recharge your batteries and relax. With its numerous parks and gardens, Brussels offers a true haven of peace in the heart of the city.
One of the most famous parks in Brussels is the Parc du Cinquantenaire. Located in the European Quarter, this park impresses with its grandeur and beauty. With its vast lawns, its shaded paths and its majestic triumphal arch, the Parc du Cinquantenaire is an ideal place for walking, playing sports or simply relaxing while admiring the magnificent buildings that surround it.
Another gem of Brussels is the Royal Park. Located near the Royal Palace, this park offers a breathtaking view of the city and its surroundings. With its ponds, French gardens and majestic statues, the Royal Park is a true paradise for nature lovers. Visitors can stroll there in complete tranquility, sit on one of the many lawns for a picnic or simply enjoy the calm and serenity of the place.
Parc de Bruxelles, also known as Parc de Warande, is another must-see for nature lovers. Located in the heart of the city, this park offers a true oasis of greenery. With its century-old trees, fountains and numerous benches, the Brussels Park is the ideal place to take a break and recharge your batteries in the middle of the day. In addition, the park regularly hosts cultural events such as open-air concerts or art exhibitions, making it an essential meeting place for Brussels residents.
Brussels is also full of secret and hidden gardens, perfect for escaping the hustle and bustle of the city. The Jardin du Mont des Arts, for example, offers panoramic views of the city and is a great place to relax and enjoy the tranquility. Plant lovers will also be delighted to discover the Brussels Botanical Garden. With its tropical greenhouses, its thematic gardens and its impressive collection of exotic plants, this garden is a true oasis of greenery in the heart of the city.
Finally, Brussels is also known for its numerous urban parks. Duden Park, for example, is a true paradise for nature lovers. With its vast expanses of lawns, hiking trails and children’s play areas, this park is ideal for a family day out. Additionally, Duden Park offers stunning views of the city and its surroundings, making it an ideal location for a romantic sunset stroll.
In conclusion, Brussels is much more than just a European capital. With its numerous parks and gardens, the city offers a true green setting where it is good to recharge your batteries in the heart of the capital. Whether for a quiet walk, a family picnic or simply to enjoy the calm and beauty of the place, the parks and gardens of Brussels are unmissable places for all nature lovers. So don’t hesitate any longer and set off to discover these havens of peace in the middle of the hustle and bustle of the city.
Originally published at Almouwatin.com
Right to information still an ‘empty promise’ for billions
“Without universal and meaningful connectivity for all, the right to information is an empty promise for billions of people around the world,” Irene Khan said in her message to mark the International Day for Universal Access to Information, observed annually on 28 September.
The focus this year is on the importance of the online space.
She said the Internet is not equally available or accessible, which is “deepening existing inequalities and creating new inequities along lines of gender, geography, ethnicity, income and digital literacy, increasing the vulnerabilities of those most marginalised in society.”
The ‘oxygen’ fuelling democracy
Ms. Khan described the right to information as “the oxygen” without which neither democracy nor development can flourish.
She said access to information, whether online or off, enables people to be better
informed and better equipped to participate in decision-making, thus improving the quality and sustainability of development outcomes
Additionally, by empowering citizens, civil society and the media to hold governments and companies to account, it makes democracy more meaningful.
Laws and restrictions
Her latest report, published in April, revealed that many States have adopted laws on access to information, with some even recognizing access to the Internet as a legal right.
However, the “bad news” is that these laws often are not implemented effectively, she said. Various tactics are used to restrict or deny access to information, both online and offline, to investigative journalists, human rights defenders and other civil society representatives.
Ms. Khan reported that over the past five years, Governments in more than 74 countries have shut down or slowed down the Internet or blocked mobile communications for intermittent or prolonged periods.
These measures affected access to information and disrupted health, education and other essential services.
Vital to sustainable development
“Information, freedom of expression and active participation, online and offline, of youth, civil society and independent media are vital, whether to tackle global challenges, such as climate change and pandemics or to break age-old patterns of discrimination, exclusion and violence,” she said.
She added that both universal and affordable access to the Internet and access to information are “clear targets” of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the blueprint to a more just and equitable world.
Last week, world leaders gathered in New York for the High-Level Week of the UN General Assembly attended the SDG Summit aimed at shoring up commitment to achieve the goals by their 2030 deadline.
She urged States to translate commitments made at the Summit into concrete action.
Special Rapporteurs like Ms. Khan are appointed by the UN Human Rights Council to monitor specific thematic issues or country situations.
They are not UN staff and are not paid for their work.
Niger: IOM calls for humanitarian corridor to help stranded migrants
The UN migration agency (IOM) called on Friday for the setting up of a humanitarian corridor in Niger to enable voluntary returns of stranded migrants, after July’s military takeover triggered border & airspace closures
Statement by Spokesperson for President of the European Council Charles Michel on Armenia-Azerbaijan normalisation
Armenia says it has counted 42,500 refugees from Nagorno-Karabakh, while the European Council works on on Armenia-Azerbaijan normalisation.
26 September 2023
Under the auspices of President Michel, his Diplomatic Advisers Simon Mordue and Magdalena Grono hosted a meeting between Secretary of Armenia’s Security Council Armen Grigoryan and Foreign Policy Advisor to the President of Azerbaijan Hikmet Hajiyev, with the participation of Diplomatic Advisers to FR President Macron and DE Chancellor Scholz, Emmanuel Bonne and Jens Ploetner, as well as EU Special Representative for the South Caucasus and the crisis in Georgia Toivo Klaar.
President Michel joined the participants for a brief exchange.
The EU invited participants to exchange views on the current situation on the ground and various efforts aimed at addressing the urgent needs of the local population.
The European Union closely follows all these developments and has been engaged at the highest level to help alleviate the impact of hostilities on civilians. The EU reiterated in this context its position on Azerbaijan’s military operation last week.
Hikmet Hajiyev outlined Azerbaijan’s plans to provide humanitarian assistance and security to the local population. The EU stressed the need for transparency and access for international humanitarian and human rights actors and for more detail on Baku’s vision for Karabakh Armenians’ future in Azerbaijan. The EU is providing assistance to Karabakh Armenians.
The meeting also allowed for intense exchanges between participants on the relevance of a possible meeting of the leaders in the framework of the Third EPC Summit scheduled for 5 October 2023 in Granada.
The participants took note of the shared interest of Armenia and Azerbaijan to make use of the possible meeting in Granada to continue their normalisation efforts.
In this regard, Armen Grigoryan and Hikmet Hajiyev engaged in talks on possible concrete steps to advance the Armenia-Azerbaijan peace process in the upcoming possible meeting, such as those with regard to border delimitation, security, connectivity, humanitarian issues, and the broader peace treaty.
Concrete action and decisive compromise solutions are needed on all tracks of the normalisation process.
The EU believes that the possible meeting in Granada should be used by both Yerevan and Baku to reiterate publicly their commitment to each other’s territorial integrity and sovereignty in line with agreements reached previously in Prague and Brussels.
Rights experts warn against forced separation of Uyghur children in China
Classroom teaching at these institutions is almost exclusively in Mandarin, with little or no use of the Uyghur language, they said in a statement.
They warned that separating the children from their families “could lead to their forced assimilation into the majority Mandarin language and the adoption of Han cultural practices.”
‘Orphans’ with families
The experts said they have received information about large-scale removal of youngsters from their families, including very young children whose parents are in exile or “interned”/detained.
The children are treated as “orphans” by State authorities and placed in full-time boarding schools, pre-schools, or orphanages where Mandarin is almost exclusively used.
“Uyghur and other minority children in highly regulated and controlled boarding institutions may have little interaction with their parents, extended family or communities for much of their youth,” the experts said.
“This will inevitably lead to a loss of connection with their families and communities and undermine their ties to their cultural, religious and linguistic identities,” they added.
Local schools closed
They said the children reportedly have little or no access to education in their own Uyghur language and are under increasing pressure to speak and learn only Mandarin, compared to education aimed at bilingualism.
Teachers can also be sanctioned for using the Uyghur language outside specific language classes.
The UN experts said they were also informed of an exponential increase in the number of boarding schools for other Muslim and minority children in Xinjiang in recent years.
Conversely, many local schools providing education in Uyghur and other minority languages have been closed.
“The massive scale of the allegations raises extremely serious concerns of violations of basic human rights,” they said.
About UN experts
The statement was issued by Fernand de Varennes, Special Rapporteur on minority issues; Alexandra Xanthaki, Special Rapporteur in the field of cultural rights, and Farida Shaheed, Special Rapporteur on the right to education.
The experts receive their mandates from the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva and are independent from any government or organization.
They are not UN staff and are not paid for their work.
Spain awards next level of religious recognition to the Bahá’í Faith
Madrid, 26 September 2023- After 76 years of development as an integral part of Spanish society, the Bahá’í Community has been officially recognised by the Government as a community as deeply rooted in the country. The report of the Advisory Commission on Religious Freedom was unanimously favourable, marking a step forward in the recognition of minority rights and religious diversity in Spain.
Bahá’í, deeply rooted in Spain starting in 1947
Since the formation of the first group of believers in Spain in 1947, the Bahá’í Community has worked to put into practice its fundamental principle, which is the unity of humanity, within Spanish society through initiatives and processes of education, institutional development and social action, processes that this week have led to its official recognition as a community deeply rooted in the country, published in the BOE No. 230-Sec.III (the Official Bulletin or Gazette of the Spanish state).
This recognition, based on the provisions of Royal Decree 593/2015, has been made after the analysis of the report submitted to the General Subdirectorate of Religious Freedom, which supports the five fundamental criteria, among which is “the presence and active participation in Spanish society“.
Working with the society
In this regard, the declaration as deeply rooted of the Bahá’í issued by the Ministry of the Presidency highlights “the activity it carries out in society in the field of non-formal education, the defence of Human Rights, in particular, of religious freedom and of those persecuted for their Bahá’́í status, of equality between men and women, which forms part of the principles of the Bahá’í faith expressed by its founder“. In addition, the legal provision refers to “activity in the academic and legal fields, as well as participation in forums and inter-religious dialogue roundtables“.
In addition to the social role of this community, the ministerial order of notorious rootedness (or deeply rooted) recognises the fulfilment of a series of fundamental requirements: the Bahá’í Faith has been registered in the country for 55 years, with 108 registered entities and 17 places of worship listed in 15 Autonomous Communities and Autonomous Cities. It is stressed that this community “has a structure ranging from the National Assembly to the Local Assemblies, with its statutes defining how its legal representatives are elected, the minimum number of members to form a local community and the rules of coordination within its structure that guarantee continuity and responsibility within it“.
A step forward to equal treatment
“With the publication of this resolution, Spain and its administration are moving forward in the process of equalising the rights of minorities,” said Patricia Daemi, a member of the Bahá’í Community’s legal team. “The Bahá’í Faith becomes the eighth denomination to be granted this recognition in our country but, in this case, and for the first time, Royal Decree 593/2015 regulating the objective criteria for the deeply rooted declaration of religious denominations in Spanish territory is being implemented,” emphasises Daemi.
Another element to highlight is the unanimous favourable report issued by the Advisory Commission on Religious Freedom, composed of experts, government representatives and religious leaders of denominations with notorious roots, as it represents a step forward in the establishment of equal relations within the context of religious diversity in Spain.
Validity of Bahá’í religious marriages
Having the status of “deeply rooted” automatically allows religious communities to give civil validity to marriages celebrated under their worship, a permanent seat in the Advisory Commission on Religious Freedom of the Ministry of the Presidency and the formal capacity to establish a bilateral negotiation process with the Government.
“We understand that our role, like that of every religion, must be to build a more cohesive, just and prosperous society, taking advantage of the strength of spiritual principles such as love and the recognition that humanity is one family,” explains Virginia Pedreño, Secretary General of the Bahá’í Governing Council. “For this reason, the recognition of the well-known rootedness is not only a goal achieved but also an impulse and a motivation to continue contributing to the development of society“.
Morocco and Libya: UN scales up support for disaster relief
Two very different catastrophes in Morocco and in Libya united by the “unimaginable trauma” of bereaved families, continue to mobilize the UN’s relief efforts, the Organisation’s top aid official Martin Griffiths said on Friday.
