A spike in conflict and displacement in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) is pushing children into the worst cholera crisis since 2017, warns UNICEF.
DR Congo: Children facing worst cholera outbreak in six years
Hundreds of thousands trafficked into online criminality across SE Asia
OHCHR said that at least 120,000 people across Myanmar and another 100,000 in Cambodia may be held in situations where they are forced to execute lucrative online scams – from illegal gambling to crypto fraud.
Other States including Lao PDR, the Philippines and Thailand have also been identified as main countries of destination or transit.
Victims, not criminals
“People who are coerced into working in these scamming operations endure inhumane treatment while being forced to carry out crimes,” said UN rights chief Volker Türk. “They are victims. They are not criminals,” he insisted.
The latest OHCHR report sheds new light on cybercrime scams that have become a major issue in Asia, with many workers trapped and forced to participate in scams targeting people over the internet.
The report notes workers face a range of serious human rights violations, and many have been subjected to abuses such as torture, arbitrary detention, sexual violence and forced labour.
Victims of such operations can be scammed an average of $160,000 each, often through sophisticated scripts sent via unregulated social media applications.
According OHCHR, these victims come from across the ASEAN region as well as mainland China, Hong Kong and Taiwan, South Asia and even further afield from Africa and Latin America.
Mr. Türk called on States to ensure justice “for the people who have been so horrifically abused.”
Noticeable trends
Speaking in Geneva, Pia Oberoi, OHCHR’s Senior Advisor on Migration and Human Rights in Asia Pacific, said ongoing regional “economic distress” paired with the COVID-19 pandemic has meant there is a lack of regular and safe pathways towards decent work opportunities.
“This has meant populations are more likely to rely on recruitment forums or intermediaries,” so criminal gangs are increasingly targeting individuals through these platforms, suggesting victims are destined for real jobs.
“There weren’t red flags being raised” – particularly for the more educated, multilingual young men who the report notes are frequent victims.
“It follows a pattern of how labour migration has taken place in the region, and also speaks to the sophistication of these fraudulent recruitments,” added Ms. Oberoi.
Weak regulations
According to OHCHR, the COVID-19 pandemic and associated response measures had a drastic impact on illicit activities across the region – with increased virtual work and the movement of business to less regulated spaces.
Ms. Oberoi said the situation is “unfolding in locations where regulation is weak,” such as conflict affected border areas in Myanmar, “with little to no rule of law” and in “laxly regulated jurisdictions such as special economic zones in Laos PDR and Cambodia.”
Describing the trends across the region, she added that the ability of ASEAN nationals to travel across borders without a visa, also means there is a “lack of protection sensitive screening”, as officials don’t always have the training to “identify protection sensitive responses.”
Justice for victims
Although there are several regional legal frameworks to prosecute such crimes, OHCHR said there is a lack of implementation by States and often forced criminality is not seen as a legal violation.
Even when victims are rescued or escape, rather than being protected and given access to the rehabilitation and remedy they need, they are often subjected to criminal prosecution or immigration penalties, OHCHR said.
“All affected States need to summon the political will to strengthen human rights and improve governance and the rule of law, including through serious and sustained efforts to tackle corruption,” said Mr. Türk.
“Only such a holistic approach can break the cycle of impunity and ensure protection and justice for the people who have been so horrifically abused.”
Protecting humanitarians 20 years after deadly Baghdad attack, amid rising risks
expertise, and accountability at its core,” they added.
“As a result, in 2005, the United Nations Department of Safety and Security, or UNDSS, was created, mandated to lead a collective approach to UN security.”
© UNOCHA/Matteo Minasi
Not a target
The UN officials highlighted the need for humanitarians to be able to safely access affected populations, saying that “security approaches must listen to and be attuned to local dynamics and sensitivities.”
They called for greater international support, including to educate warring parties on their obligations to respect, protect and provide support to aid workers.
“It means demanding, clearly and unequivocally, an end to direct or indiscriminate attacks on civilians, non-combatants, and humanitarian workers during conflicts in breach of international humanitarian law,” they said.
“And it requires us to challenge the disinformation and misinformation that are increasingly putting them at risk of attack and undermining humanitarian operations.”
Honouring fallen colleagues
The op-ed also underscored the need to continue high-level diplomacy that supports humanitarian operations and access, especially in heavy conflict, as “recent experience shows that genuine agreements are possible, even when peace seems a distant possibility”.
One example was the evacuation of hundreds of civilians from the Azovstal Steel Plant in the Ukrainian port city of Mariupol last year.
The development was the result of a negotiated pause in the fighting to create a humanitarian corridor for a joint mission by the UN and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC).
“As we reflect on the gains of the past 20 years and how we can build on them to address the challenges of the next 20, we remain resolute in our determination to protect the communities we serve, while also protecting our staff,” the officials said.
“This is how we can best honour the memory of those who lost their lives in the Canal Hotel bombing and reaffirm our joint commitment to the noble cause they served.”
UN expert urges immediate review of discredited UK sentencing scheme
As of the end of 2022, close to 2,900 people were still being held under the scheme.
Unresolved legacy
Between 2005 and 2012, English and Welsh courts used the IPP legislation to issue indeterminate sentences to those deemed likely to cause serious public harm, “until they no longer represented such a risk”, said a press release issued by the UN human rights office OHCHR on behalf of the UN torture expert, Alice Jill Edwards.
These sentences were mandatory for more than 50 specified serious crimes initially, leading to a larger than expected number being incarcerated – a total of 8,711.
Crucially, the cancellation of the scheme after 2012 was not retrospective.
“The Government must step up its efforts to ensure rehabilitation opportunities for all those affected, as well as access to adequate and appropriate reparations,” said Ms. Edwards, officially known as the Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.
Disturbing suicide rate
A recent parliamentary report on the nearly 3,000 prisoners who remain under the scheme, brought attention to the significant psychological distress experienced by these inmates.
This includes elevated instances of self-inflicted harm, thoughts of suicide, efforts at self-harm, and tragic instances of suicide.
‘Cruel, inhuman and degrading’
“The distress, depression and anxiety caused by this scheme is severe for prisoners and their families,” Mrs. Edwards said.
Moreover, IPP prisoners are reportedly about 2.5 times more susceptible to self-harm than the general prison population, with Government data from 2021 revealing 65 cases of suicide among IPP prisoners.
“For many, these sentences have become cruel, inhuman and degrading. They have been acknowledged by successive UK governments and even described as indefensible by a justice minister – yet they persist,” she said.
Call for change
Having communicated with the Government and other experts, Mrs. Edward underscored that the programme violates essential principles of fair justice and the rule of law, and individuals reintegrated into society under IPP can be re-incarcerated at any point.
Mrs. Edwards conveyed her concerns over a lack of funds for effectively overseeing IPP prisoners, which has led to restricted entry to essential rehabilitation initiatives.
Furthermore, she highlighted the concept that indeterminate sentences should be employed sparingly and preserved for only the gravest crimes.
‘Mess’ of a system
Without safeguards, “we are left with the mess that is the UK’s IPP system, where people are held without being able to prove that they deserve to be released. It is therefore not surprising that many IPP prisoners are in a much worse mental state than at the time they were sentenced,” she said.
Special Rapporteurs and UN Human Rights Council-appointed independent experts who serve on Working Groups are not UN staff and are independent from any government or organisation. They serve in their individual capacity and receive no salary for their work.
UN rights chief calls for immediate restoration of constitutional order in Niger
The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk, called on Friday for Niger’s democratically elected officials to be released “at once”, following their detention in the attempted coup last month. In a statement released on Friday, Mr. Türk urged the generals to restore constitutional order immediately.
Media Freedom Act: strengthens transparency and independence of EU media
The Culture and Education Committee amended the Media Freedom Act to make sure it applies to all media content and protects editorial decisions from political interference.
In their draft position on the European Media Freedom Act, adopted on Thursday by 24 votes in favour, 3 against and 4 abstentions, MEPs want to ensure that the new rules oblige member states to ensure plurality and protect media independence from governmental, political, economic or private interests.
They amended the draft law so that transparency requirements apply to all media content, not just to news and current affairs as proposed by the Commission.
Protecting journalists’ work
In the adopted text, the committee bans all forms of interference and pressure on media, including forcing journalists to disclose their sources, accessing encrypted content on their devices and using spyware against them.
To protect media more robustly, MEPs also established that the use of spyware may only be justified on a case-by-case basis and if ordered by an independent judicial authority to investigate a serious crime, such as terrorism or human trafficking.
MEPs also propose to cap public advertising allocated to a single media provider, online platform or a search engine to 15% of the total advertising budget allocated by that authority in a given EU country.
Ownership transparency obligations
To assess media independence, MEPs want to oblige outlets to publish information on who owns them and on whoever benefits from it, directly or indirectly. They also want them to report on state advertising and state financial support, including when they receive public funds from non-EU countries.
MEPs also want to oblige media service providers to report on any potential conflict of interest and on any attempts of interference in editorial decisions.
Provisions against arbitrary decisions by big platforms
To ensure that EU media are protected from very large online platforms arbitrarily deleting or restricting their content, MEPs introduced a self-declaration and verification procedure to help distinguish independent media from rogue ones. They also propose a 24-hour negotiation window, with the involvement of national regulators, before a big online platform can proceed with suspending or restricting content.
Economic viability
Member states should finance public service media via multiannual budgets to prevent political interference and ensure budgetary predictability, MEPs say. MEPs also amended the rules on audience measurement systems in order to make them fairer and more transparent.
More independent EU media body
MEPs want the European Board for Media Services (the Board) – a new EU body to be set up by the act – to be legally and functionally independent from the Commission and able to act on its own, not only at the Commission’s request. Finally, they want an independent “expert group”, representing the views of the media sector and including civil society, to feed into the work of the Board.
Quote
“The European Media Freedom Act aims to establish greater diversity, freedom, and editorial independence for European media outlets. Media freedom is seriously under threat in several EU countries – this is why the new law needs to pack a punch, not just pay lip service. We strengthened the Commission’s proposal to significantly safeguard media independence and protect journalists while at the same time not weakening our unique cultural differences”, said the rapporteur Sabine Verheyen (EPP, DE) after the vote.
Next steps
The adopted text needs to be confirmed by the full Parliament, with a vote scheduled during the 2-5 October plenary, before MEPs can commence discussions with the Council on the final shape of the law.
The art and architecture of Arlon: A journey through the centuries
The art and architecture of Arlon: A journey through the centuries
The city of Arlon, located in the province of Luxembourg in Belgium, is a real treasure for lovers of art and architecture. With a history dating back to Roman times, Arlon is full of monuments and buildings that bear witness to its rich and fascinating past. In this article, we take you on a journey through the centuries to discover the unique art and architecture of Arlon.
One of the first stops on our trip is the impressive Chateau d’Arlon. Built in the 11th century, this fortified castle was the seat of the county of Arlon for centuries. Although it has undergone modifications over time, the castle still retains much of its medieval appearance. Visitors can admire its imposing towers, ramparts and moat, which testify to its defensive role during a troubled time in European history.
As we walk through the streets of Arlon, we also discover magnificent religious buildings. The Saint-Martin church, built in the 13th century, is a remarkable example of Gothic architecture. With its facade decorated with sculptures and its colorful stained glass windows, the church offers a real spectacle for the eyes. Inside, visitors can admire beautiful works of religious art, some of which date back centuries.
Another architectural treasure in Arlon is the Saint-Donat basilica. Built in the 17th century, this baroque church is famous for its magnificent frescoes and carved wooden statues. Visitors can also admire the marble altar here, which is considered one of the finest examples of Baroque art in Belgium. The Saint-Donat basilica is an important place of worship for the inhabitants of Arlon, but it is also open to visitors who wish to discover its splendid interior.
Besides its historic churches, Arlon is also home to many examples of remarkable civil architecture. The Gaspar House, built in the 18th century, is a fine example of classical architecture. With its stone facade and elegant windows, Maison Gaspar attracts the attention of all who pass through it. Today it houses a museum dedicated to the history and culture of Arlon, giving visitors a fascinating insight into life in the city over the centuries.
Another emblematic building in Arlon is the Hôtel de Ville. Built in the 19th century in a neo-classical style, this imposing building is a symbol of the city’s pride and prosperity. With its majestic facade, columns and statues, the Town Hall is a true architectural masterpiece. Today, it houses the offices of the municipal administration, but visitors can also visit it and admire its beautiful decorated rooms.
Finally, our journey through the centuries takes us to the Archaeological Museum of Arlon. Located in a modern building, the museum houses an impressive collection of Roman and Gallo-Roman objects and artifacts. Visitors can learn about the city’s history through artifacts such as statues, jewelry, and ancient inscriptions. The museum thus offers a fascinating insight into the ancient history of Arlon and its importance in the Roman Empire.
In conclusion, the art and architecture of Arlon are a real treasure for history and culture lovers. From its medieval castle to its Gothic and Baroque churches and its remarkable civil buildings, the city offers an incredible diversity of architectural styles. Walking through the streets of Arlon, visitors can take a journey through the centuries and discover the fascinating history of this unique Belgian city.
Originally published at Almouwatin.com
DR Congo: Few worse places to be a child warns UNICEF as twins found boobytrapped
DR Congo has the highest tally of UN-verified grave violations against children in places experiencing armed conflict
UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) Representative in the country, Grant Leaity, issued the alert on Tuesday, revealing that youngsters in eastern DRC face daily atrocities, including rape, abduction and recruitment by armed groups.
“I visited a centre in Beni and North Kivu for children released from armed groups where I met a couple of one-year-old twins. They were found only a few months back and abandoned in their village, they’re orphans. They were severely acutely malnourished and they had explosive devices attached to their bodies.”
Daily carnage
DR Congo has the highest tally of UN-verified grave violations against children in places experiencing armed conflict. According to UNICEF, children are killed and maimed every day in the east of the country.
Speaking at a scheduled press briefing in Geneva, Mr. Leaity said that there were “few worse places, if any, to be a child” than eastern DR Congo.
According to the UNICEF official, the family of the twins who were wired with explosives had been killed in an attack by one of the many armed groups operating in the eastern DRC.
The expanding use of improvised explosive devices is just one of several recent, depraved trends, he said.
“When they were found, there were only a few months old. This was indeed a booby trap. We got in touch with the anti-mine personnel colleagues who came and were able to take these devices off safely.”
Ruthless hunt for resources
This upsurge in violence and conflict in the country’s east has its roots in ethnic conflict and ruthless competition for resources dating back decades. It has resulted in the worst displacement crisis in Africa, and one of the worst globally this year.
Of six grave violations against children in armed conflicts reported on by the UN in eastern DRC, two have increased sharply in the last 12 months: the recruitment of children by armed groups and killing and maiming of children.
“More than 2.8 million children are bearing the brunt of the humanitarian crisis in the east. I am here today to, I hope, sound the alarm,” Mr. Leaity continued. “On a daily basis, children are being raped and killed. They are being abducted, recruited and used by armed groups.”
In the first three months of 2023 in North Kivu alone, more than 38,000 cases of sexual and gender-based violence were reported. This is a 37 per cent increase compared to the same period in 2021.
Class war
In addition to the devastating violence, around 1.2 million children under five in the east, face the risk of severe acute malnutrition, according to UNICEF. The country is also experiencing its worst cholera outbreak in more than five years, with measles on the rise in particular in and around 12 provinces with over 780,000 cases reported by August this year.
In addition to the immediate physical and mental trauma affecting children, around 2,000 schools have closed in the eastern DRC in the year, as result of the latest uptick in violence.
“There are schools which are directly attacked…they can be shot at or burned down and sometimes they are literally looted and destroyed,” UNCEF’s Mr. Leaity said.
“But there are far greater numbers where schools are being used by internally displaced people who have no other available options for shelter.”
In many other cases, schools that have not been looted or otherwise damaged have had to remain closed because the teachers are themselves amongst the displaced.
Lebanon: School occupations condemned as violence grips Palestine refugee camp
Thousands of children have been put at risk amid a resurgence of violence at a Palestine refugee camp in Lebanon, the UN’s top humanitarian official in the country said on Friday.
Figures from the 2023 economic budget
Economic growth, still at 3.2% in 2022, is expected to slow to 1.0% this year then recover slightly to 1.3% in 2024. Inflation peaked at 9.6% in 2022, expected to return to 4.4% in 2023 and still remain quite high, at 4.1%, in 2024. After an exceptional increase of 101,000 jobs in 2022, 50,000 jobs would be created in 2023 and 40,000 in 2024. These are the main conclusions new economic forecasts from the Federal Planning Bureau for the period 2023-2024.
A European-wide recession was narrowly avoided despite the energy price shock of 2022. However, economic growth remains weak in Europe in the second half of 2023. Exports are suffering from the slowdown in global trade, due in part of a reorientation of consumer interest in favor of domestic services after the Covid restrictions. Economic growth in the euro zone is estimated at 0.7% in 2023. Belgium, unlike Germany and the Netherlands, was able to avoid a recession thanks to the importance of its services sector and automatic indexations. income that supported purchasing power. This offsets the decline in exports. Belgian GDP is expected to grow by 1.0% in 2023, and employment to increase by 50,000 people.
In 2024, the European economy is expected to benefit from a recovery in global trade and more dynamic household consumption, stimulated by a slowdown in inflation and wage increases. GDP growth in the euro zone would thus rise to 1.1%. In this context, Belgium’s exports should start to rise again, while the growth of domestic demand should be practically stable. Consequently, the expected growth of Belgian GDP amounts to 1.3% and would go hand in hand with the creation of 40,000 jobs.
Inflation in Belgium fell to 4.1% in August 2023, coming from a peak of 12.3% in October 2022. This decline would continue until October. Due to the recent increase in international oil and gas prices, inflation is expected to rise again in November and only decline in the second half of 2024. As an annual average, inflation is forecast at 4.4% in 2023 and 4.1% in 2024.
Economic growth has been revised downward by 0.3 percentage points in 2023 and in 2024 compared to the outlook last June from the Federal Planning Bureau. This revision is mainly due to a deterioration in the international environment. In addition, the upward revision of inflation weighs on the dynamics of household consumption in 2024.
Originally published at Almouwatin.com
