Avoiding a disaster in Zaporizhzhia, youth employment, drought in Somalia… Thursday’s news

The General secretary of the UN is very concerned about the situation that is being experienced in the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant and its surroundings, in the south of Ukraine.

António Guterres asked the parties involved on Thursday to use common sense and reason and not to take any action that could endanger the physical integrity, safety or protection of the nuclear power plant, the largest plant of its kind in Europe. .

“Unfortunately, instead of a de-escalation, in recent days there have been reports of very worrying new incidents that, if continued, could lead to disaster”, he highlighted.

The UN chief called for the cessation of any military activity near the nuclear power plant and called for the withdrawal of “all military personnel and equipment from the plant” and to prevent any further deployment of forces or equipment to the site.

Guterres said that the installation should not be part of any military operation and stressed the need to reach an urgent agreement at the technical level that establishes a secure demilitarization perimeter and guarantees the security of the area.

Finally, he stressed that the UN continues to fully support the work of the International Atomic Energy Agency and its initiatives to ensure the safety of the operations of the Zaporizhzhia NPP and urged the parties to facilitate the immediate, safe and unrestricted access of the IAEA mission to the site.

Youth work is still not taking off

Youth employment continues to recover at a slow pace, highlights a new report from the International Labor Organization which confirms that the COVID-19 pandemic has harmed young people more than any other population group.

The agency’s report forecasts that during this year there will be 73 million unemployed young people around the world, which is a slight improvement compared to the 75 million unemployed in 2021, but a figure that still exceeds the records prior to the start by six million. of the pandemic in 2019.

The number of young people who neither study nor work grew by more than 23% in 2020, the last year for which records are available, and the forecast for female youth employment for 2022 presents worse prospects than the male, with 27.4% for women and 40.3% for men.

The percentage of youth unemployment in Latin America would reach 20.5% in 2022.

One million people displaced by drought in Somalia

UNHCR/Joel Gallardo

The devastating drought in Somalia has reached unprecedented levels, with one million people registered as internally displaced.

The devastating drought that Somalia is experiencing this year has caused the internal displacement of more than 750,000 people, bringing the total figure to one million since January 2021, reported today the UN Refugee Agency.

Somalia is suffering from a historic two-year drought – a situation not seen in more than 40 years – while awaiting the fifth failed rainy season, a situation that is expected to displace many more families, while famine looms on the horizon .

The agency’s forecasts for the coming months indicate that the number of people who will face critical levels of hunger will grow from about five million to more than seven, aggravated by the effects of climate change, and the increase in food prices. food due to the conflict in Ukraine.

UNHCR announced in June that it needed $9.5 million for Somalia, as part of its regional appeal for the Horn of Africa, to help communities displaced by drought.

Bachelet alarmed by the number of Palestinian children killed

UNRWA/Samar Abu Elouf

A boy rides a bicycle near buildings destroyed by Israeli strikes in the Gaza Strip, Palestine.

The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights expressed her utmost concern at the high number of people killed and injured in the occupied Palestinian territories this year, including children.

Michelle Bachelet put at 19 the number of minors killed during the hostilities of the last week in Gaza and highlighted that the number of children killed since the beginning of the year rises to 37.

“Causing harm to any child in the course of conflict is deeply concerning, and the murder and maiming of so many children this year is inconceivable“, he claimed.

Bachelet also noted that the widespread use of live ammunition by Israeli forces during operations aimed at maintaining public order in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, has led to an alarming increase in Palestinian fatalities in 2022.

The High Commissioner called for prompt, independent, impartial, thorough and transparent investigations into all incidents resulting in deaths or injuries.

“A near-total lack of accountability persists in the occupied Palestinian territories, whether for violations of international humanitarian law committed by all parties to the hostilities in Gaza, or for recurrent Israeli violations of international human rights law and of the law of occupation in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, including incidents of unnecessary and disproportionate use of force,” Bachelet said.

Concerns about the situation of Ukrainian children with disabilities

© UNICEF/Slava Ratynski

A girl from an orphanage undergoes a medical examination at a shelter located in a sanatorium in Vorokhta, western Ukraine.

A group of UN human rights experts expressed concern about the situation of Ukrainian children with disabilities placed in reception centers and who are being displaced to other institutions, inside or outside the country.

The special rapporteurs expressed concern about the thousands of children returned to their families without a proper evaluation of their situation, those who were transferred from one institution to another to the detriment of their health and well-being, and those who were sent to centers in third countries, apparently at the request of Ukraine.

The specialists expressed their hope that those who finance the reconstruction and future development of the country “will give up investing in institutions and instead help Ukraine to create community support that allows children with disabilities to progress with their families and in conditions family-like.”