Children are leading calls for a sustainable future: UN chief
On Wednesday, in a message to mark World Children’s Day, UN Secretary-General António Guterres hailed the leadership role that children are taking, when it comes to building a more sustainable world for all.
2019’s international day marks the thirtieth anniversary of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, a historic commitment which has guided the work of the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF), as Mr. Guterres explained, the Convention has made a positive difference to the lives of millions of children, but much more still needs to be done:
Child deaths have fallen by over half, and global stunting has declined. But millions of children still suffer from war, poverty, discrimination and disease. As we mark the thirtieth anniversary of this landmark convention, I urge all countries to keep their promise to them: let’s build on advances and recommit to putting children first. For every child, every right.
Mr. Guterres’s message was echoed by the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Michele Bachelet, who urged countries to strengthen child protection measures, at a conference in Geneva to celebrate the anniversary.
Ms. Bachelet warned, with the world grappling with the effects of climate change and a rapidly changing digital environment, millions of children are still being left behind.
Huge disconnect between global warming goals and fossil fuel production: new UN report
A new report from the UN and leading research organizations shows a major disconnect between the amount of fossil fuels that countries plan to produce, and the commitments they have made to cut global warming.
The Production Gap report, the first of its kind, shows that Governments are projected to produce 120 per cent more fossil fuels by 2030, than can be burned if the world is to limit warming to an increase of 1.5 degrees.
The head of the UN Environment Programme, Inger Anderson, said on Wednesday that the report calls for a long overdue focus on fossil fuels, which still dominate the world’s energy supplies.
The authors of the report point out that there are many options available for closing the production gap, including limiting exploration and extraction, removing subsidies, and aligning future production plans with climate goals.
UN experts call for release of lawyer detained in ‘double jeopardy’ case
UN human rights experts have condemned the Egyptian government for arresting a lawyer twice, on apparently identical charges.
The group of Special Rapporteurs, whose conclusions and statements are independent of the UN, said on Wednesday that Ibrahim Metwally was arrested two years ago, on the way to discuss the issue of enforced disappearances with the UN in Geneva.
According to the rights experts, Mr. Metwally was subsequently cleared of all charges in October of this year, but was then re-arrested, the following month, on what appeared to be identical charges.
In a statement, the Special Rapporteurs said that Mr. Metwally is a victim of “double jeopardy”, and that his prosecution may be linked to his engagement with the UN: the statement expresses concern about his deteriorating health whilst in detention, and calls on the Egyptian authorities to guarantee Mr. Metwally due process under the law.
