21 November 2017 – Overall economic growth remains disconnected from employment generation, the United Nations International Labour Organization (ILO) has warned, noting that young people continue to suffer from persistent unemployment and lack of quality job opportunities.

&#8220Addressing these persistent labour market and social challenges faced by young women and men is crucial, not only for achieving sustainable and inclusive growth but also for the future of work and societal cohesion,&#8221 said Deborah Greenfield, the ILO Deputy Director-General for Policy, in a news release announcing the agency’s latest report on youth employment trends.

According to the Global Employment Trends for Youth, while the estimated 70.9 million unemployed youth in 2017 is an important improvement from the crisis peak of 76.7 million in 2009, but that figure is expected to rise by about 200,000 in 2018, reaching a total of 71.1 million.

Furthermore, about 39 per cent of young workers in the emerging and developing world &#8211 160.8 million youth &#8211 are living in moderate or extreme poverty (less than $3.10 a day), and more than two in every five young people in today’s workforce are unemployed or are working but poor, a striking reality that is impacting society across the world.

Worst affected are young women in the workforce, whose presence in the labour force lags behind by about 16.6 per cent compared to their male counterparts. Unemployment rates of young women are also significantly higher than those of young men, and the gender gap in the rate of young people not in employment, education or training is even wider, stated ILO.

Changing dynamics in the world of work

The ILO report also revealed changing dynamics in the employment sector with an increasing number of young jobseekers and young entrepreneurs taking to the internet to find new and diverse forms of employment, such as crowd work, which offer flexibility and expand income earning opportunities.

However, there are grave risks too, such as low incomes, no guarantee of job or income continuity, and lack of access to work-related benefits.

&#8220Young people often start their working lives in temporary employment with the knowledge that they may never attain ‘job security’. They are more likely to transition to stable and satisfactory employment in developed and emerging economies than in developing countries,&#8221 noted ILO, calling for greater investments in quality education and skills development.

At the same time, policies must take into account the fast changing world of work now driven by technology to enable young women and men be ahead of the curve, added the report.

20 November 2017 – Even in wealthier countries, where people have access to toilets and faecal material is contained, treatment and final disposal of wastewater can be far from perfect, leading to polluted rivers and coastlines, United Nations Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed told a World Toilet Day event on Monday.

“Where does our poo go? […] This year’s Toilet Day observance encourages people to think about the sanitation chain,” said Ms. Mohammed in her remarks at a panel discussion on toilets and wastewater, co-organized by the Permanent Mission of Singapore, UN-Water and the International Chamber of Commerce.

World Toilet Day is observed on 19 November, and events are held around that day to raise awareness of the importance of safe sanitation.

Ms. Mohammed said that nearly 900 million people worldwide practice open defecation – not because they want to but because they have no choice.

“Regardless where we are from, we all have the right to safe and dignified toilets,” she said, noting that she stressed this point during a recent dialogue with community members in Saint-Michele de L’Atalaye in Haiti.

The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development calls for ending open defecation and working towards universal access to safely managed sanitation services and safely treated wastewater, she continued.

The UN deputy chief also urged all to ask questions such as “Who is responsible for disposal?”, “What are people’s working conditions?” And “Where does menstrual hygiene waste go?

She noted that faeces contaminate the environment, spreading dangerous diseases and undermining progress in health and child survival. Disposable menstrual products often end up in solid waste or wastewater systems not designed to handle them.

Toilets can take many forms. Some systems provide treatment and safe disposal in situ, while others are connected to a sewer. Pit latrines and septic tanks need to be regularly emptied and the waste taken to a treatment facility.

Workers providing these services are “true sanitation heroes,” she said.

Wastewater and faecal sludge must also be treated and converted into products that can be safely used or returned to the environment, she stressed, highlighting the massive potential of treated wastewater as a source of energy, nutrients and water.

20 November 2017 – The General Assembly and the Security Council today elected the fifth judge to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) concluding the 2017 elections to the principal judicial organ of the United Nations.

Dalveer Bhandari, of India, received the absolute majority of votes in elections – conducted independently, but concurrently – at the Security Council and the General Assembly.

He remained the sole candidate for the position after the United Kingdom withdrew the nomination of Christopher Greenwood.

Mr. Bhandari joins Ronny Abraham of France, Chaloka Beyani (Zambia), Antônio Augusto Cançado Trindade (Brazil), Nawaf Salam (Lebanon), and Abdulqawi Ahmed Yusuf (Somalia) as the five judges who will serve along with ten other judges at the ICJ.

Their nine-year terms begin 6 February 2018.

The Court is composed of 15 judges, who are elected by an absolute majority in both the General Assembly and Security Council. Five seats come up for election every three years. There is no bar on consecutive terms.

Established in 1945, and based in The Hague in the Netherlands, the ICJ – informally known as the ‘World Court’ – settles legal disputes between States and gives advisory opinions on legal questions that have been referred to it by other authorized UN organs.

The election of the first members of the World Court took place on 6 February 1946, at the first session of the UN General Assembly and Security Council.

For coverage of the General Assembly meeting and the full voting record, please see Press Release here, and for coverage of the Security Council meetings and the full voting record, please see Press Release here

20 November 2017 – It’s official, kids have taken over… at least for today – World Children’s Day – celebrated annually on 20 November, which this year marks the twentieth anniversary of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, and also saw young people take over roles in government, media, and even at the United Nations, to raise awareness about issues important to them.

“It’s my job to meet with some of the most powerful and important people in the world,” Secretary-General António Guterres said at a dedicated event at UN Headquarters in New York in a room packed to the rafters with children, teachers, government delegates and a host of others, including the Director-General of the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF), Anthony Lake.

“Presidents and Prime Ministers… scientists… military leaders… scholars and academics… captains of industry and business. But none of these people are as important – or as inspiring – as the the children I meet,” Mr. Guterres said.

He painted a picture of millions of girls and boys in danger, fleeing deadly conflicts, and going hungry, elaborating on how they are separated from their parents or making long, dangerous journeys to find safety.

“As a global community, we cannot continue failing these children,” he asserted. “So here is my commitment to you: I will spare no effort to make sure that the United Nations is working every day, every hour, every minute, for your best interests.”

“In a world that can so often seem to be a hopeless place, we need children’s hope, more than ever,” Mr. Guterres affirmed.

Keeping adults ‘on the hook’

Special Event to mark World Children’s Day 2017 with Zari (Afghanistan 6 y/o … character from Sesame Street) and Anthony Lake, Executive Director of UNICEF, to the left. UN Photo/Manuel Elias

Mr. Lake spoke with special guest Zari, the muppet who stars in Baghch-e-Simsim, or ‘Sesame Garden,’ the Afghanistan version of Sesame Street.

In a country where only about one-third of girls attend school, they discussed how she is setting an example and inspiring girls to dream big and imagine a future they may not have thought possible. “I love going to school and learning!” she exclaimed.

As children emcees Jaden Michael and Isabela Moner took over the podium, they introduced two youth from Syria, with many high-fives in the mix.

After fleeing Syria, 12-year-old Basel’s family sheltered in Jordan where his father worked two jobs from 6:00 am until midnight every day. Eleven-year-old Nance was four when she walked from Damascus to Jordan.

Now in Canada, Basel has made friends at school and “even learned to love the snow!” Nance lives in the United States where she hopes to become an optometrist, saying “If I become an eye doctor, I can travel back to Syria and other places to help people around the world.”

Emmanuel Elisha Ford (Guyana – 15 y/o) addresses the audience to mark World Children’s Day 2017. UN Photo/Manuel Elias

Emmanuel Elisha Ford took a special seat in the front, drawing attention to the challenges faced by 93 million children globally, noting how they vary from person, to place, to circumstance, to disability.

“In addition to being born blind, I face some mobilities challenges,” he began, saying that despite sometimes needing a wheelchair, he dreams of becoming a meteorologist, calling for “action to change this uneven playing field.”

Dafne Keen (Spain – 12 y/o) and Graciela Eisie Ouakabo (CAR 16 y/o) address the audience to mark World Children’s Day 2017. UN Photo/Manuel Elias.

Twelve-year-old actor Dafne Keen took the podium where she translated from French, what Central African Graciela-Elsie Ouakabo said, explaining that after Graciela’s mother died while Graciela was a baby, and her father killed by Seleka rebels, she was captured by anti-Balaka while fleeing her town. The two warring militias have sparked a dire humanitarian crisis in the Central African Republic (CAR).

“They kept me for over two years. I was a cook. And they also trained me to fight, which I hated,” Graciela said emotionally. Now, she lives with her grandfather in Bangui, the capital of CAR, back at school and helping other children who have been abused “because I know what it’s like to be alone. To be hurt. And to lose my childhood.”

Khyata Chauhan speaks at World’s Children’s Day at the UN in New York. UN News/ Elizabeth Scaffidi

When Khyata Chauhan stepped up to the microphone, she elaborated how males in India have a higher value than females.

“A child is praised for being a boy, but suppressed for being a girl. Our religious beliefs make girls goddesses – yet we fail to recognize her as a human being…girls are considered a liability,” she asserted, sharing her wish that every child has an education.

Cooper Megown is flanked emcees Jaden Michael and Isabela Moner as sisters Chloe and Halle Bailey stand in the back right. UN News/ Elizabeth Scaffidi

As the event wound down, eight-year-old Cooper Megown stood next to the emcees and signed the event, including the introduction of sisters Chloe and Halle Bailey, who opened for ‘Queen Bey’ – megastar Beyoncé – in leading all the children in song that culminated in choruses of For every child in English, Arabic, Chinese, Hindi, Indonesian, Russian, Spanish and French.

In closing, Emcee Jaden said to all the children: “Don’t let the adults off the hook… continue raising your voices.”

A standing ovation at the UN is not an everyday occurrence… but today’s was a most auspicious one.

Children in the spotlight

Participants hold signs calling for peace during a special event held to mark World Children’s Day 2017. UN Photo/Manuel Elias

Secretary-General António Guterres (right) is interviewed by Charlotte Fay of Scholastic Kids. UN Photo/Manuel Elias

Special Event to mark World Children’s Day 2017. UN Photo/Rick Bajornas

Lathitha Beyile (at podium), who lives in a disadvantaged community in Johannesburg, South Africa, “takes over” the press briefing room to mark World Children’s Day 2017. UN Photo/Mark Garten

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In addition to the main event, children throughout the day, jumping in to adults’ jobs, including as the spokesperson for the Secretary-General and action reporters.

At the same time, UN child rights experts called on all Governments to safeguard children on the move.

“For children on the move, especially when unaccompanied or separated from their families, violence infuses daily life and is often part of a continuum,” said the experts in their massage for the Day.

They said that even when they are forced to flee or be uprooted in search of safety, these children are entitled to grow up in a nurturing family environment, advocating for expeditious family reunification, as called for by the convention on the Rights of the Child.

“Children on the move need to be treated first and foremost as children!” the statement stressed. “Let us respond to the imperative of the Convention to genuinely protect the rights of all children, including those on the move and place their best interests above any other concern,” concluded the experts.

20 November 2017 – Marking World Children’s Day, actress Kristin Davis on Monday called for global attention and funding to provide more life-saving aid for Rohingya refugee children in Bangladesh, as part of her advocacy work for the United Nations refugee agency.

“For me, the most shocking part of the Rohingya refugee crisis is the number of children who have had to flee their homes,” Ms. Davis, Goodwill Ambassador for the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), said at the end of her visit to Kutupalong Refugee camp in Bangladesh.

“Over half of the refugees in the camp are children. Some of them have lost one or both parents and they are on their own,” she added.

She said that they need everything, including the very basics of shelter, water and food.

“I can’t imagine going through what these children and their families have gone through, much less having the strength, resilience and extraordinary bravery these children possess,” she said.

According to UNHCR, the Rohingya are a stateless minority in Myanmar. Since violence erupted on 25 August 2017 in Myanmar’s northern Rakhine state, more than 600,000 people have fled to Bangladesh. Children make up 54 per cent of the total population.

A recent survey of more than 170,000 families, or 740,000 individuals found that 5,677, or 3.3 per cent, of the households are headed by children; more than 4,800 households, or 2.8 per cent, include separated and unaccompanied children; and as many as 14 per cent of families are composed of single mothers holding their families together with little support in harsh camp conditions.

“This is currently the fastest growing refugee crisis in the world and seeing the impact of this emergency on children is devastating,” Ms. Davis continued.

UNHCR requires $83.7 million to respond to humanitarian needs in Bangladesh until the end of February 2018 in order to meet the acute needs of children, women and men fleeing conflict. UNHCR’s response is currently less than half funded.

“The fact is that more funding, more donations, will save lives. Governments, the public, private sector, businesses, we all need to do what we can to help and donate now to support the Rohingya refugees,” Mr. Davis added.