This is the News in Brief from the United Nations.
Together, we must tackle growing hunger, urges Guterres
Inefficient global food production is at the root of a huge rise in hunger – and one-third of all emissions - UN Secretary-General António Guterres has warned, in a call to transform food systems for sustainable development.
Up to 811 million people faced hunger in 2020 – as many as 161 million more than in 2019 - Mr. Guterres said, at the preparation meeting for the UN Food Systems Summit in Rome beginning Monday.
Pointing to the disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the UN chief added that three billion people cannot afford to eat healthily, either.
Echoing those concerns and urging action, UN Deputy-Secretary-General Amina Mohammed welcomed the fact that 145 countries had approached youth, farmers, indigenous peoples and others for sustainability ideas, ahead of September’s Food Summit in New York:
“There is no one size that fits all. We must work country by country, region by region, community by community, to ensure the diversity of needs are addressed to support each reality. The same applies for our food systems and the changes that are required so that we feed the world, without starving the planet of its future.”
Ms. Mohammed highlighted that the pandemic had reversed efforts towards sustainable development, with latest UN data indicating that around 100 million people have been pushed into poverty since the start of the global health crisis.
Nearly 200 nations start climate negotiations online
Nearly 200 nations started online climate negotiations on Monday to validate a UN-led report that will guide international efforts later this year to prevent climate catastrophe.
The aim of this week’s meeting of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (or IPCC) is to approve its report on the physical science behind climate change, line by line.
Once the final report is agreed by Member States, it will provide the most up-to-date information on how our world is responding to increasing emissions.
It is also expected to provide a better understanding of extreme weather and its link to climate change.
More women and children killed and wounded in Afghan conflict than ever
More women and children were killed and wounded in Afghanistan in the first half of 2021 than in any comparable period since records began in 2009, a UN report showed on Monday.
A particularly sharp rise in casualties took place in May, when international military forces began withdrawing from the country and fighting intensified following the Taliban’s offensive.
The UN Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) reported in its mid-year update for 2021 that there was a 47 per cent increase in civilian casualties, compared with the same period last year.
Deborah Lyons, the UN Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Afghanistan said the data provided a “clear warning that unprecedented numbers of Afghan civilians will perish and be maimed this year if the increasing violence is not stemmed”.
Daniel Johnson, UN News.
