17 September 2017 – As thousands of Rohingya refugees &#8211 including many children &#8211 having fled violence in Myanmar continue to arrive in Bangladesh, a United Nations-supported vaccination campaign has been initiated to prevent the spread of potentially deadly diseases.

According to a news release by the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF), the agency and the UN World Health Organization (WHO) are supporting the Bangladeshi Ministry of Health-led campaign targeting measles, rubella and polio to inoculate some 150,000 Rohingya children below the age of fifteen in 68 refugee settlements near the country’s border with Myanmar.

&#8220We are happy that we were able to initiate the immunization campaign so quickly to protect the population from a possible measles outbreak&#8221 said Navaratnasamy Paranietharan, the head of WHO in Bangladesh.

The seven-day campaign was planned by the UN health agency, which is also managing and monitoring its field implementation. UNICEF has provided vaccines, syringes and Vitamin A capsules.

&#8220Measles is a very infectious and dangerous disease during emergencies, especially for children who are already weak and malnourished,&#8221 added Edouard Beigbeder, the head of UNICEF in Bangladesh.

&#8220With thousands of children crossing the border every day, vaccination is crucial to prevent the spread of potentially deadly diseases.&#8221

RELATED: Rohingya crisis one of the fastest growing in recent years, warns UN refugee agency

In addition to the vaccination campaign, the two UN agencies are also helping the Government reinforce maternal, new-born, child and adolescent health services; renovate delivery and new-born care units; improve water, sanitation and hygiene in health facilities; and strengthen disease surveillance, early warning and health-related information systems.

According to estimates, more than 410,000 Rohingya refugees have arrived in Bangladesh since August 25, with children making up about 60 per cent of that number.

17 September 2017 – Ahead of a high-level United Nations meeting on preventing sexual exploitation and abuse, the Organization’s Special Coordinator on the issue is urging global leaders to join the &#8220Circle of Leadership,&#8221 lend the political weight of their offices, and act &#8211 both at the national and international levels &#8211 to eradicate the scourge.

&#8220Sexual exploitation and abuse is not an issue that is only concerning peacekeeping or military or uniformed personnel, it is a scourge that exists everywhere across our system,&#8221 Jane Holl Lute, the Special Coordinator on improving the UN response to sexual exploitation and abuse, said in an interview with UN News.

&#8220Through this initiative [we are] asking political leadership, to personally, associate with this agenda and lend the political weight of their office to its success.&#8221

The High-level Meeting on the Prevention of Sexual Exploitation and Abuse, to be held on Monday at UN Headquarters on the eve of the high-level segment of the General Assembly’s 72nd session, will see Secretary-General António Guterres announce the Circle of Leadership on the prevention of and response to sexual exploitation and abuse in UN operations. The Circle will comprise Heads of State and Government committed to ending impunity and strengthening measures to prevent sexual exploitation and abuse in international deployments.

UN chief’s priority since assuming office

Combatting the scourge is one of the key priorities for Mr. Guterres, who since being elected to the position took a number of steps to stomp it out. In his first week in office, the UN chief established a special task force to look at the issue and to recommend concrete actions.

The matter was also the subject of his first report to UN Member States in March this year, in which, among other matters, he called for the High-level Meeting to make a political demonstration of solidarity with the Organization’s efforts to eliminate sexual exploitation and abuse.

He also called for a system-wide Victims’ Rights Advocate, who will stand for the rights and dignity of victims alongside their need for assistance and attention in the wake of allegations and abuse.

The meeting will also introduce Jane Connors, the Victims’ Rights Advocate, who was appointed last month.

&#8220It will also present the state of the Secretary-General’s Trust Fund for victims of sexual exploitation and abuse, and make an appeal for additional contributions, and we will also update Member States on the state of the compacts between them and the UN on more specific measures to combat sexual exploitation and abuse,&#8221 added the Special Coordinator.

Indicators of progress

Speaking on progress made in combatting sexual exploitation and abuse, Ms. Lute highlighted the appointment of the Victims’ Rights Advocate, as well as practical actions such as the use of a new, uniform information reporting form to consistently collect information, mandatory e-learning course, surveys and increased awareness.

Our systems are beginning to generate the kind of trust that we want them to generate so that people know if they bring an allegation forward, it will be handled discretely, humanely, and that we are seeking the appropriate and rapid justice for victims

But above all, the generation of a &#8220kind of trust&#8221 has been a key marker, stressed Ms. Lute.

&#8220On the ground we are seeing a few more cases being reported. We take that as a sign that our systems are beginning to generate the kind of trust that we want them to generate so that people know if they bring an allegation forward, it will be handled discretely, humanely, and that we are seeking the appropriate and rapid justice for victims,&#8221 she said.

Follow-up after the High-level Meeting

On actions following tomorrow’s meeting, Ms. Lute spoke of a follow-on consultation with civil society at which the UN will solicit views on what the Organization needs to do to visibly and tangibly achieve its goals, as well as what support they can provide to the UN.

The Special Coordinator also spoke of the personal commitment of the Secretary-General for the cause and his leadership at the highest level.

&#8220I think it is impossible to find someone in the UN system who does not know about this issue, and does not know about the importance the Secretary-General places on it, we need to translate that knowledge and awareness into action,&#8221 she underscored.

16 September 2017 – Expressing shock and sadness over the violent death of numerous Burundian nationals &#8211 among them likely refugees and asylum seekers &#8211 in Kamanyola town, eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), the United Nations refugee agency called for an investigation into the incident.

According to initial reports more than 30 have been killed and over100 injured, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) said in a news release today.

&#8220The precise circumstances are not yet clear [but] reports indicate that in the course of a confrontation with Burundian demonstrators, Congolese security forces opened fire on the crowd,&#8221 the UN agency added.

The town hosts some 2,005 refugees and asylum seekers from Burundi, most of whom arrived in 2015. There are a total of 43,769 Burundian refugees living in DRC.

The news release also noted that UNHCR and its partners have sent teams to Kamanyola, including medical staff, to treat the injured.

16 September 2017 – Commemorating the International Day for the Preservation of the Ozone Layer, senior United Nations officials, including Secretary-General António Guterres highlighted the contributions of the Montreal Protocol &#8211 an international environment agreement on the elimination of ozone depleting substances.

&#8220When scientists found that everyday products were destroying the fragile ozone layer, the world responded with the Montreal Protocol,&#8221 said Mr. Guterres in his message on the International Day.

&#8220It rallies Governments, companies, doctors, scientists and citizens to reverse the damage [and] saves millions of people from skin cancer and cataracts each year.&#8221

Also in his message, Mr. Guterres underscored the importance of Montreal Protocol to help combat poverty, address climate change, and protect the food chain. He also noted that new business opportunities have been created by the treaty, highlighting that it will save the global economy over $2 trillion by 2050.

This year also marks the 30th anniversary of the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer, which was agreed on this day in 1987.

As part of the celebrations, the Ozone Secretariat (which supports parties to the Protocol in implementing actions to protect the ozone layer) in partnership with Marvel, the company behind some of the world’s most beloved superheroes, is conducting the #OzoneHeroes campaign, highlighting the accomplishments of the Protocol and to increase public recognition of its success and impact.

In his own message marking the anniversary, Erik Solheim, the head of the UN Environment Programme (UNEP), applauded the global effort in support of the Protocol to protect the health and wellbeing of millions.

&#8220This collective power is effective only because of individual actions of Ozone Heroes everywhere,&#8221 he underscored, calling on all stakeholders to mark the anniversary to support the ratification of the Kigali Amendment to stop hydrofluorocarbons from harming the planet.

&#8220But to make that happen, we all need to be Ozone Heroes.&#8221

15 September 2017 – The United Nations will be hosting the annual Treaty Event next week at its Headquarters in New York, inviting Member States to sign multilateral treaties deposited with the Secretary-General or to become parties to them by depositing instruments of ratification or accession.

“The spirit of the Treaty Event is simple – the Secretary-General invites high-level dignitaries to seize the opportunity of their presence in New York for the opening of the annual session of the General Assembly to join multilateral treaties,” Santiago Villalpando, the Chief of the Treaty Section in the UN Office of Legal Affairs, said at a press conference in New York.

“Multilateral treaties are a key instrument for States members to maintain international peace and security, develop friendly relations, and achieve international cooperation. Throughout the history of the Organization, hundreds of multilateral treaties have been adopted in all areas of international relations, ranging from human rights to telecommunications to protection of environment,” he added.

This year, the Treaty Event will focus on promoting multilateral treaties that safeguard humanity, such as treaties on human rights, refugees and stateless persons, health, trade, transport, terrorism and criminal matters, law of the sea, outer space, disarmament, climate change and other environmental issues.

One of the key instruments this year is the new Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, which was adopted this July and will open for signature next week

The Treaty – adopted by a vote of 122 in favour to one against (Netherlands), with one abstention (Singapore) – prohibits a full range of nuclear-weapon-related activities, such as undertaking to develop, test, produce, manufacture, acquire, possess or stockpile nuclear weapons or other nuclear explosive devices, as well as the use or threat of use of these weapons.

SEE ALSO: UN conference adopts treaty banning nuclear weapons

The Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons is one of more than 560 multilateral treaties deposited with the Secretary-General, covering all aspects of the work of the Organization.

The Treaty Event, held annually since 2000, may be used to sign, ratify or accede to any of these treaties.