This is the News in Brief from the United Nations.
Malaria, hunger and COVID-related problems, biggest threat to refugees
Malaria remained the single biggest cause of sickness and death among forcibly displaced people in 2020, with chronic hunger, neonatal mortality, respiratory infections and COVID-19 also major health threats, the UN refugee agency, UNHCR, said on Thursday.
In a call for funding to help countries continue to extend medical care and pandemic response to refugees, the UN agency said that the fear of getting infected with the coronavirus led to a significant drop in refugees accessing health facilities last year.
Vulnerable populations’ capacity to cope was already severely stretched before COVID hit, UNHCR said, noting in its Annual Health Review that 20 per cent of refugees died from malaria while respiratory tract infections killed around the same number.
To help refugees during lockdowns, the agency promoted remote follow-up consultations and communication with refugee communities, to allay fears about COVID testing and treatment - and to quash misleading rumours.
UNHCR supported access to primary health care and referral to secondary and tertiary care for refugees in 50 countries hosting 16.5 million refugees in 2020.
Internet shutdowns now ‘entrenched’ in certain regions
The practice of shutting down internet and mobile phone access to stifle dissent has become “entrenched” and more sophisticated in a growing number of countries as governments seek to retain power, a top UN-appointed independent rights expert said on Thursday.
Addressing the Human Rights Council in Geneva, Special Rapporteur Clement Voule warned that shutdowns are now “lasting longer” and “becoming harder to detect”.
The tactics were not limited to authoritarian regimes either, he insisted.
“Internet shutdowns are spiralling out of control. The number of governments imposing internet shutdowns during mass demonstrations continues to grow. Shutdowns are lasting longer and have increased in sophistication, targeting social media and applications most used by protesters.”
“Shutdowns have been observed in long-established democracies and more recent democracies alike, in line with broader trends of democratic recession across the world,” the Special Rapporteur said in a new report.
He added that in Latin America, shutdowns only happened in Nicaragua and Venezuela in 2018, but since then, Colombia, Cuba and Ecuador also reportedly adopted internet blackouts during mass protests.
According to the Special Rapporteur, shutdowns can be national or targeted to include specific social media platforms and messaging apps; States can also slow down internet traffic to impede connectivity.
Using data from the non-governmental organisation #KeepItOn Coalition, the Special Rapporteur highlighted at least 768 government-ordered internet disruptions in more than 60 countries, since 2016.
Turkey urged not to pull out from key convention on tackling women’s violence
Finally, a call on Thursday from a UN rights panel to Turkey to reconsider its decision to withdraw from the Istanbul Convention – an international accord that seeks to tackle violence against women.
Turkey’s decision – which takes effect on Thursday 1 July, “is deeply regrettable and should be reversed” the UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) reiterated.
Making such a move in the midst of the COVID- 19 pandemic could “deepen the protection gap for women and girls” at a time when violence against women is on the rise,” CEDAW warned.
The Istanbul Convention was opened for signature in May 2011 in Istanbul.
To date, 35 member states of the Council of Europe have ratified or acceded to the treaty. Turkey notified the European Council of its withdrawal from the convention in March this year.
Daniel Johnson, UN News.
