19 June 2017 – Marking the International Day for the Elimination of Sexual Violence in Conflict, United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres today paid tribute to the women, girls, men and boys who have suffered the atrocity of sexual violence in conflict, and reaffirmed &#8220our global commitment to eliminate this scourge.&#8221

&#8220Rape and sexual violence in conflict are tactics of terrorism and war, used strategically to humiliate, degrade and destroy, and often to pursue a campaign of ethnic cleansing,&#8221 the Secretary-General said in his message for the International Day.

&#8220They should never be downplayed as war’s inevitable by-product,&#8221 he continued. &#8220Sexual violence is a threat to every individual’s right to a life of dignity, and to humanity’s collective peace and security.&#8221

This year, the Day is being observed this year under the theme ‘Preventing Sexual Violence Crimes through Justice and Deterrence.’

Mr. Guterres underscored that the UN &#8220is making every effort to address the root causes of conflict-related sexual violence by using preventive diplomacy, fostering peacebuilding and development, encouraging national action, and ending gender discrimination.&#8221

&#8220We will continue to monitor, report, provide care for survivors and spare no effort in pressing for perpetrators to be held accountable,&#8221 he continued.

The Secretary-General stressed, &#8220The United Nations is constantly striving to enhance the capacity of our peacekeeping personnel to protect vulnerable civilians and to pursue justice in the case of all abuses. Each and every one of us has a responsibility to help put a stop to these crimes.&#8221

Mr. Guterres concluded by urging that everyone &#8220use this Day to rededicate ourselves, on behalf of every survivor, to ending sexual violence in conflict and providing peace and justice for all.&#8221

A panel discussion to commemorate the second annual International Day for the Elimination of Sexual Violence in Conflict will be held at UN Headquarters in New York tomorrow.

In June 2015, the UN General Assembly proclaimed 19 June as the International Day to highlight the need to end conflict-related sexual violence, to honour the victims and survivors of sexual violence around the world and to pay tribute to all those who have courageously devoted their lives to and lost their lives in standing up for the eradication of these crimes.

19 June 2017 – Investing in preparedness and building the resilience of farmers is fundamental to cope with extreme drought, because responding to such situations when they hit might be too late, the head of the United Nations agricultural agency said today.

&#8220People die because they are not prepared to face the impacts of the drought &#8211 because their livelihoods are not resilient enough,&#8221 Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) Director-General José Graziano da Silva told an international seminar in Rome, Italy, recalling that more than 250,000 people perished from hunger in the 2011 drought in Somalia.

&#8220Saving livelihoods means saving lives &#8211 this is what building resilience is all about,&#8221 he added, noting that for years, the focus has been responding to droughts when they happen, rushing to provide emergency assistance and to keep people alive.

While these emergency responses are important, investing in preparedness and resilience puts countries on a footing to act quickly before it is too late, meaning that farmers and rural communities are better positioned to cope with extreme weather when it does hit.

The need for a global drought re-boot is pressing. The many impacts of drought drive not only hunger and instability but cause economic losses up to $8 billion each annually.

As the planet’s climate changes, severe dry-spells are becoming more and more frequent. Since the 1970s, the land area in the world affected by situations of drought has doubled.

People die because they are not prepared to face the impacts of the droughtFAO Director General

The burden is especially high in developing countries, where agriculture remains an economic mainstay. Over 80 percent of damage and losses caused by drought are born by agriculture in the developing world, FAO studies have shown.

And Africa in particular has borne the brunt. Between 2005 and 2016, 84 droughts affected 34 different African nations.

At today’s event, FAO and the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) signed a memorandum of understanding to deepen their cooperation. They will cooperate in improving agro-meteorological data, tools and methods as well as enhancing access by small farmers to products and services to help them anticipate and proactively prepare for droughts.

&#8220WMO provides guidance and scientific information to strengthen national services responsible for addressing drought risks to agriculture,&#8221 said WMO Secretary General Petteri Taalas. &#8220We encourage countries to take early action against drought and to move towards a more proactive approach.&#8221

International Fund for Agriculture Development (IFAD) President Gilbert F. Houngbo in his remarks emphasized the need break the cycle of crisis, disaster and relief, calling on the international community to be proactive and to think not just of today’s emergencies, but also of how to prevent tomorrow’s.

&#8220This means investing in smallholder farmers to help them address productivity challenges, give them access to markets and finance and most importantly encourage climate-smart agriculture so that when the drought inevitably comes, they have the tools they need to survive and thrive,&#8221 said Mr. Houngbo.

19 June 2017 – Nearly 66 million people were forcibly displaced from their homes last year, the United Nation refugee agency today reported, stressing the &#8220very high&#8221 pace at which conflict and persecution is forcing people to flee their homes.

The figure equates to &#8220one person displaced every three seconds &#8211 less that the time it takes to read this sentence.&#8221

The report Global Trends, released by the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), marks a jump of 300,000 since the end of 2015.

&#8220By any measure this is an unacceptable number,&#8221 said UN High Commissioner Filippo Grandi, urging &#8220solidarity and a common purpose in preventing and resolving crisis.&#8221

He also called for properly protecting and caring for the world’s refugees, internally displaced and asylum-seekers &#8211 who currently number 22.5 million, 40.3 million, and 2.8 million, respectively.

According to the report, Syria remains &#8220the world’s biggest producer of refugees&#8221 with 12 million people living in neighbouring countries and away from the region. There are 7.7 million displaced Colombians, 4.7 million Afghans and 4.2 million Iraqis.

However, in 2016, South Sudan became &#8220the biggest new factor&#8221 when peace efforts broke down in July resulting in some 737,400 people fleeing by the end of the year.

Nyawet Tut, a South Sudanese mother of five in her 30s, described how soldiers set fire to her village and she had to run for her life with her own five children and five others of relatives killed in the conflict.

&#8220My husband was killed in the war which, in addition to the shortage of food, made me decide to leave my home, everything, behind,&#8221 she told UNHCR staff during an interview at a temporary way station in Ethiopia.

In total, about 3.3 million South Sudanese had fled their homes by the end of the year, in what is known as the fastest-growing displacement of people in the world.

Youngest faces of war

About half of the refugee population last year were children younger than 18 years of age, according the report.

This is in contrast to the fact that children make up only about 31 per cent of the total world population.

Among its findings, the report noted that some 75,000 asylum claims were received from children travelling alone or separated from their parents. These include youngsters like Tareq, 16, who dodged armed combatants to walk out of Syria into neighbouring Turkey.

&#8220There was no future where we lived,&#8221 he told UNHCR. &#8220There was no university and no work. There were troops grabbing young children like me, and they send them to war, and they get killed. I wanted to study.&#8221

Seeking refuge in poor countries

Developing countries are hosting the majority of the world’s refugees, UNHCR reported.

About 84 per cent of the people were in low- or middle-income countries as of end 2016. Of that figure, one in every three people, roughly 4.9 million people, were hosted by the least developed countries.

&#8220This huge imbalance reflects several things including the continuing lack of consensus internationally when it comes to refugee hosting and the proximity of many poor countries to regions of conflict,&#8221 the UN agency said.

In addition, the figure &#8220illustrates the need for countries and communities supporting refugees and other displaced people to be robustly resourced and supported,&#8221 UNHCR said, warning that the absence can create instability in the host countries.

Today’s report is being released on the eve of World Refugee Day, marked annually on 20 June.

19 June 2017 – In a historic first, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has appointed 19-year-old Muzoon Almellehan, who has been advocating for girls’ education since fleeing war-torn Syria in 2013, as its newest &#8211 and youngest &#8211 Goodwill Ambassador.

&#8220As a refugee, I saw what happens when children are forced into early marriage or manual labour &#8211 they lose out on education and they lose out on possibilities for the future,&#8221 said Ms. Almellehan, recalling that when she fled, the only belongings she was able to take with her were her school books.

&#8220I am proud to be working with UNICEF to help give these children a voice and to get them into school,&#8221 she added.

Ms. Almellehan, is also the first person with an official refugee status to become an Ambassador for the UN agency. Since fleeing her homeland, she had been living in Jordan for three years, before being resettled in the United Kingdom.

In a news release today, UNICEF noted that it was during her 18 months in the Za’atari camp (in Jordan) that she began advocating for children’s access to education, particularly for girls.

&#8220Muzoon’s story of bravery and fortitude inspires us all,&#8221 said Justin Forsyth, Deputy Executive Director of UNICEF, in the release, adding: &#8220We are very proud she will now become an Ambassador for UNICEF and children around the world.&#8221

In April this year, Ms. Almellehan &#8211 dubbed ‘the Malala of Syria’ &#8211 travelled to areas affected by the Boko Haram conflict in the Lake Chad region where she met with children forced out of school due to the violence.

UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador Muzoon Almellehan meets students at the School of Peace at a internally displaced peoples site in the Lake Region, Chad, during her visit to the region in April 2017. Photo: UNICEF/Sokhin

RELATED: Girls worst affected as conflict keeps more than 25 million children out of school

Since her return, Ms. Almellehan has been working to promote understanding of the challenges children affected and uprooted by conflict face in accessing education, noted the UN agency.

According to UNICEF data, an estimated 25 million children of primary and secondary school are out of school in conflict zones around the world. For children living as refugees, only half are enrolled in primary school and less than a quarter are enrolled in secondary school.

Furthermore, education in emergencies also suffers with severe underfunding.

Since 2010, less than 2 per cent of humanitarian funding has been spent on education. At present, some $8.5 billion are needed annually to close this widening gap.

18 June 2017 – ‘Shocked and horrified’ at the many lives claimed by the devastating fires that hit the Pedrógão Grande region of Portugal, United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres today expressed his deep sadness and condolences to the Portuguese Government and people.

In a statement, the Secretary-General said he spoke earlier today with the President of Portugal, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, and with the Prime Minister, António Costa, expressing his &#8220deep sadness.&#8221

According to news reports, the fast-moving wildfires ripped through the forested Pedrógão Grande central region of Portugal, some 150 kilometers (95 miles) northeast of Lisbon, leaving dozens dead and more injured.

&#8220I wish a speedy recovery to the injured. At this time of loss, my thoughts and prayers are with the families and loved ones of the victims,&#8221 said Mr. Guterres.

The UN chief went on to commend the Government, firefighters, emergency responders and civil society organizations who are sparing no efforts to battle the wildfire and help people in need.

&#8220The United Nations stands ready to assist in any way possible,&#8221 the Secretary-General concluded.