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News in Brief 7 September 2022

News in Brief 7 September 2022

This is the News in Brief from the United Nations. 

‘Cascading global crises’ threaten gender equality 

At the current rate of progress, full gender equality may not be achieved for 300 years, according to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) 2022 report, released on Wednesday. 

Global challenges such as the COVID-19 pandemic, violent conflict, climate change, and the backlash against women’s sexual and reproductive health and rights, are further exacerbating gender disparities.  

The report, launched by UN Women and the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA), focuses on SDG 5, which aims to achieve gender equality by 2030, but is far from meeting that goal.    

As we approach the half-way mark to 2030, UN Women chief Sima Bahous described “a tipping point for women’s rights and gender equality”.  

She cited undeniable regressions, including in incomes, safety, education and health, saying that it is “critical” to invest in women and girls “to reclaim and accelerate progress”. 

Meanwhile, DESA official Maria-Francesca Spatolisano, observed that “cascading global crises” are putting the SDGs in jeopardy. 

She upheld the importance of gender equality as a foundation for achieving all SDGs and maintained that it “be at the heart of building back better”. 

Pollution and climate change upsurge the risk of ‘climate penalty’ 

A rise in the frequency, intensity and duration of heatwaves will not only increase wildfires this century but also worsen air quality, according to a new report from the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) launched on Wednesday, the International Day of Clean Air for Blue Skies

The annual WMO Air Quality and Climate Bulletin warned that the interaction between pollution and climate change would impose a “climate penalty” for hundreds of millions of people – harming both human health and ecosystems, 

WMO Secretary-General Petteri Taalas explained that as the globe warms, wildfires and associated air pollution are expected to increase, even under a low emissions scenario. 

He said that in addition to human health impacts, “this will also affect ecosystems as air pollutants settle from the atmosphere to Earth’s surface”. 

The Bulletin explains that the combustion of fossil fuels emits nitrogen oxide, which can react with sunlight to form ozone and nitrate aerosols, air pollutants that can negatively affect ecosystem health, including clean water, biodiversity, and carbon storage. 

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) suggests a low-carbon emissions scenario, which would cause a small, short-term warming prior to temperature decreases.  

Grave human rights violations in China   

Meanwhile, 40 UN-appointed independent human rights experts expressed profound concerns over systematic human rights violations on individuals and minorities in China’s Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region. 

Their statement follows the recent publication of a long-awaited report by the UN human rights office, OHCHR, which found that “serious human rights violations” had been committed against the Uyghur and other predominantly Muslim communities there. 

The experts drew attention to the report’s findings of credible allegations of patterns of torture or ill-treatment, including forced medical procedures and adverse detention conditions, as well as sexual and gender-based violence, including invasive gynecological exams, and indications of coercive enforcement of family planning and birth control policies, saying they may constitute international crimes, particularly “crimes against humanity”. 

 

The experts endorsed the recommendations made by the UN Human Rights Office and urged the Human Rights Council to hold a special session to address more broadly, human rights issues in China.  

Liz Scaffidi, UN News 

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  • ‘Cascading global crises’ threaten gender equality 

  • Pollution and climate change upsurge the risk of ‘climate penalty’ 

  • Grave human rights violations in China  

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Liz Scaffidi, UN News
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