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News in Brief 17 March 2022

News in Brief 17 March 2022

This is the News in Brief from the United Nations.

UNESCO slams journalist killings, offers bullet-proof vests to local reporters

Amid a spate of journalist killings in Ukraine, the UN cultural agency, UNESCO, announced that it will issue helmets and bullet-proof vests to prevent further deaths.

The development follows the deaths of Fox news journalists Oleksandra Kuvshynova and Pierre Zakrzewski during shelling in Gorenka, outside Kyiv on Monday.

At least two other journalists have died since the start of Russia’s military invasion on 24 February.

UNESCO said that thousands of reporters are working across the country, often lacking protective equipment – particularly local reporters who have found themselves thrust into a war zone.

The UN agency is supplying a first batch of 125 helmets and protective vests with “Press” clearly marked to identify the journalists.

Reporters will also be given training and advice on how to work in a conflict setting, and a 24-hour emergency hotline is in the pipeline for journalists who need to be evacuated from dangerous locations.

World must deliver support to Afghans: UN refugee chief

UN Refugee Agency chief Filippo Grandi has called for sustained international support for Afghanistan’s people, where the country’s humanitarian crisis is worsening.

Speaking from Kabul, at the end of a four-day visit to Afghanistan, Mr. Grandi said that he had met families “who do not know what they will eat for their next meal”.

UN humanitarians have warned that a staggering 95 per cent of Afghans do not eat enough – a figure that rises to almost 100 per cent in women-only households.

During his meetings, Mr. Grandi reiterated UNHCR’s unwavering commitment to stay and deliver humanitarian aid to Afghanistan.

He noted that decades of conflict have left 3.4 million people internally displaced, and that the healthcare system is ill-equipped to withstand the COVID crisis and a measles outbreak.

Key workers in schools and hospitals remain unpaid, and the country’s liquidity crisis, rising global food and energy costs “are having a devastating effect,” Mr. Grandi said.

UK border reform Bill treats vulnerable newcomers like criminals: Bachelet

The UN’s top rights official on Thursday urged the United Kingdom to reconsider proposed changes to its migration policy, warning that the reforms would see vulnerable people criminalized for entering the country irregularly.

The draft law was introduced in the Lower House of Parliament last July, but the Upper House rejected its key provisions, instead recommending changes that were more in line with international standards.

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Michelle Bachelet, urged the Government to bring the proposed legislation into conformity with international human rights law and the 1951 Refugee Convention.

She also highlighted how the proposal could “punish and deter people from rescuing migrants in distress at sea, potentially resulting in …more tragic loss of life in the Channel.”

Daniel Johnson, UN News.

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  • UNESCO slams journalist killings, offers bullet-proof vests to local reporters

  • World must deliver support to Afghans: UN refugee chief

  • UK border reform Bill treats vulnerable newcomers like criminals: Bachelet

Audio Credit
Daniel Johnson, UN News - Geneva
Audio Duration
2'44"
Photo Credit
© UNICEF/Tom Remp