13 July 2017 – A United Nations-backed report released today stressed the need for greater recognition of tourism as a key service export in order to attract technical assistance to the sector in least developed countries (LCDs).

Although tourism represents seven per cent of all international trade and 30 per cent of the world’s services trade, it is often difficult to direct trade-related technical assistance towards the sector because tourism and trade tend to fall under different line ministries, the report points out.

Produced by the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), the International Trade Centre (ITC) and the Enhanced Integrated Framework (EIF), the report, titled Tourism for Sustainable Development in Least Developed Countries, was launched on the occasion of the Aid for Trade Review held in Geneva.

In LCDs, tourism accounts for seven per cent of total exports of goods and services &#8211 a figure that stands at 10 per cent for non-oil LDC exporters.

The report says that tourism can make a strong contribution to the economies of LCDs, but successful interventions in tourism require strong collaboration across government agencies as well as across different actors at the regional or local level.

The report also aims to increase the commitment and investment in coordination and raise tourism’s prominence in trade-related technical assistance as to ensure the sector delivers on its powerful capacity to create jobs and incomes where they are most needed and for those who are most vulnerable &#8211 including youth and women.

UNWTO, ITC and EIF are working to contribute to this process of increased co-ordination and collaboration by joining forces in the design and implementation of tailored tourism technical assistance and tourism export strategies, and leveraging resources.

The report’s launch coincides with the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development 2017.

The Year aims to support a change in policies, business practices and consumer behavior towards a more sustainable tourism sector that can contribute to Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Goal 17 sets as one of the targets a &#8220significant increase of exports of developing countries, in particular with a view to doubling the least developed countries’ share of global exports by 2020&#8221, to which tourism as service export can contribute.

12 July 2017 – An independent United Nations human rights expert back from an unofficial visit to Belarus today said he was hopeful for a dialogue to begin with the country’s Government.

Miklós Haraszti said that although the Government still did not recognize his mandate, it was encouraging that they had allowed him to attend a human rights seminar, which took place on July 6, alongside the parliamentary assembly of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe.

“I see the authorities’ tolerance as a sign of progress which may be the first step toward cooperation with the mandate created by the Human Rights Council in 2012,” Mr. Haraszti said.

He also noted the publication of the Government’s action plan on human rights, even though none of the 100 points within the plan tackle civic or political rights.

Mr. Haraszti, who was in the country for a special event, and not at the invitation of the Government to pursue work related to his UN mandate, said the Government could quickly change the human rights situation, if it wished.

“The absolute command that the Government has established over public life also allows it to bring change at a stroke of a pen,” he told the seminar on human rights.

The seminar highlighted two key areas of concern regarding human rights in Belarus, according to the expert.

“The first is a systemic refusal of individual liberties – a permission-based regime of public life, which in effect criminalizes all Belarusians who act without prior authorization,” he said. “We also note a lack of independence of the judiciary, and ongoing use of the death penalty.

“The second area of concern is the cyclical recourse to mass repression, such as the crackdowns in December 2010 and March 2017, when the authorities actually criminalize citizens for using their civic and political rights.”

Mr. Haraszti spoke out against Government actions earlier this year, expressing dismay at what he called “the Government’s return to the policy of violent mass repression.”

UN Special Rapporteurs and independent experts are appointed by the Geneva-based Human Rights Council to examine and report back on a specific human rights theme or a country situation. The positions are honorary and the experts are not UN staff, nor are they paid for their work.

12 July 2017 – The United Nations official advocating against the use of sexual violence in conflict today urged all Iraqis to shun stigmatization, and called for women and girls returning from Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL/Da’esh) captivity to be embraced into their communities and supported, especially if they have children as a result of rape.

The Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General on Sexual Violence in Conflict, Pramila Patten, urged “all relevant stakeholders to ensure the return of women and girls from Da’esh captivity in safety and dignity,” in a statement.

The Under-Secretary-General also called on everyone to welcome the women and girls back into their communities and to support them in healing, as well as “to address all their human rights protection needs, in particular those of children born to survivors of rape.”

Ms. Patten commended the efforts of religious leader in issuing public statements in support of the women and girls, and urged them to continue working within the communities to promote acceptance of the children.

The Special Representative’s Office has been working with the Government of Iraq, including the Kurdistan Regional government, to implement a joint communiqué on prevention and response to conflict-related sexual violence signed in September 2016.

Meanwhile, the UN World Food Programme (WFP) today said that it is working to support almost one million people displaced from Mosul during the nine months of violent conflict.

Sally Haydock, WFP Representative and Country Director in Iraq, said “while we have done our best to support those who arrived to camps weak and hungry, our hearts go out to the thousands of people who lost their lives.”

12 July 2017 – As the war in Yemen grinds on, the increasing battles of attrition are extracting a terrible toll on the country’s women, men and children, senior United Nations officials told the Security Council, calling for concrete action to end the fighting.

“The country is not suffering from a single emergency but a number of complex emergencies,” said Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed, the Special Envoy of the Secretary-General for Yemen, noting that more than 20 million across the country are affected, including almost seven million at the risk of famine.

Of most concern is the rapid spread of cholera across the country, with at least 300,000 suspected cases and over 1,700 deaths. Tackling the disease has become even more complicated with the Yemen’s health system tethering on the verge of collapse.

“Tens of thousands of healthcare workers have not been paid for many months, more than half of the country’s health facilities have closed and supplies of medicine and medical equipment remain severely limited,” added Mr. Cheikh Ahmed.

In his remarks, the Special Envoy also commended the efforts of Yemeni civil society for peace in spite of many security challenges there and called on the political leadership to recognize that the continuation of the conflict would lead only to more human and physical loss.

“Yemen’s political leaders must listen and heed the calls of the Yemeni people demanding peace. History will not judge kindly those who have used the war to increase their influence or profit from the public finances, and Yemenis’ patience will not last,” he underscored.

Also at today’s Security Council briefing, the UN Emergency Relief Coordinator, Stephen O’Brien, noted the work done by UN and humanitarian agencies but warned that they “cannot replace State functions.”

A wide view of the Security Council Chamber as Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed, the Secretary-General’s Special Envoy for Yemen, briefs the Security Council via video conference. Photo: UN Photo/ Kim Haughton

UN Emergency Relief Coordinator Stephen O’Brien during one of his briefings to the Security Council. Photo: UN Photo/ Eskinder Debebe

José Graziano da Silva (left on screen), Director-General of the Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO), addresses via video conference the Security Council meeting on the situation in Yemen. Next to him Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus (centre on screen), Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO). Photo: UN Photo/Eskinder Debeb

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Underscoring the need to ensure payments to the country’s public servants and ensuring operations of its health services, Mr. O’Brien called for predictable and stable access for both humanitarian and commercial imports through Yemen’s land and port routes.

In particular, he stressed the need to ensure that Yemeni people and critical infrastructure are protected.

“For as long as military actions continue, all parties must comply with their responsibilities under international humanitarian and human rights law, and all States must exert their influence to ensure the parties do so. Today, they are not doing so. This must change,” he said.

“As I have said before, this is a man-made crisis, and the sheer scale of humanitarian suffering of the Yemeni people is a direct result of the conflict and serious violations of international law. Humanity simply cannot continue to lose out to politics,” he underlined.

Also briefing the 15-member Security Council today, via video conference, José Graziano da Silva, the Director-General of the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) noted that the conflict in Yemen had disrupted agricultural livelihoods, exasperating food insecurity.

The latest Integrated Food Security Phase Classification conducted in March this year, registered a 20 percent increase in the number of people estimated to be severely food insecure (IPC Phase 3 and above). Seven million are in IPC Phase 4 meaning they are a step away from being classified to be in Famine (IPC Phase 5).

Furthermore, in addition to dwindling agricultural produce, meat and livestock products have also sharply declined on the back of disease surveillance and vaccination programmes have come to a halt pushing the risk of disease outbreaks higher, noted the UN agriculture agency.

12 July 2017 – The World Heritage Committee wrapped its 41st session today having inscribed 21 new sites on the United Nations cultural wing’s World Heritage List – locations ranging from the site of iconic ancient ruins in south-western Turkey to a district of stunning mountains and mirror lakes in England.

Meeting in Krakow, Poland, from 2 to 12 July, the Committee completed the addition of 18 cultural and three natural significant sites to the List. The planet is now home to 1,073 such sites, most of them in the European region.

The UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) regards inscribed sites as having great significance to the collective interest of humanity. The Committee, which monitors implementation of the 1972 World Heritage Convention, selects sites based on having cultural, historical, and scientific or some other form of importance.

In Krakow, its historic city centre is a World Heritage Site as well, the Committee approved new sites in all the worlds regions.

Europe

Various new European sites have been inscribed including the archaeological site of Aphrodisias (Turkey), The English Lake District (United Kingdom), Caves and ice age art in the Swabian Jura (Germany), Kujataa Greenland, a sub-arctic farming landscape (Denmark), Taputapuatea, center of the “Polynesian Triangle” (France), Tarnowskie Góry, lead-silver-zinc mine and its Underground Water Management System (Poland), Venetian Works of Defense (Croatia, Italy, Montenegro), Landscapes of Dauria (Mongolia) and Assumption Cathedral and Monastery of the town-island of Sviyazhsk (Russia).

Aphrodisias, Turkey. The temple of Aphrodite dates from the 3rd century BC and the city was built one century later. The wealth of Aphrodisias came from the marble quarries and the art produced by its sculptors. Photo: UNESCO/ Aphrodisias Museum

The English Lake District, United Kingdom. Located in northwest England, the English Lake District is a mountainous area, whose valleys have been modelled by glaciers in the Ice Age and subsequently shaped by an agro-pastoral land-use system characterized by fields enclosed by walls. The combined work of nature and human activity has produced a harmonious landscape in which the mountains are mirrored in the lakes. Photo: UNESCO/ Nick Bodle

Caves and Ice Age Art in the Swabian Jura, Germany. Modern humans first arrived in Europe 43,000 years ago during the last Ice Age. One of the areas where they took up residence was the Swabian Jura in southern Germany. Excavated from the 1860s, six caves have revealed items dating from 43,000 to 33,000 years ago. Photo: UNESCO/ Landesamt für Denkmalpflege (LAD) im Regierungspräsidium Stuttgart

Kujataa Greenland: Norse and Inuit Farming at the Edge of the Ice Cap, Denmark. Kujataa is a sub-arctic farming landscape located in the southern region of Greenland. It bears witness to the cultural histories of the Norse hunters-gatherers who started arriving from Iceland in the 10th century and of the Norse farmers, Inuit hunters and Inuit farming communities that developed from the end of the 18thcentury. Photo: UNESCO/ Niels Christian Clemmensen/ Christian K. Madsen

Taputapuatea, France. Taputapuatea on Ra’iatea Island is at the centre of the “Polynesian Triangle,” a vast portion of the Pacific Ocean, dotted with islands, and the last part of the globe to be settled by humans. The property includes two forested valleys, a portion of lagoon and coral reef and a strip of open ocean. At the heart of the property is the Taputapuatea maraecomplex, a political, ceremonial and funerary centre. Photo: UNESCO/ SCP

Tarnowskie Góry Lead-Silver-Zinc Mine and its Underground Water Management System, Poland. Located in Upper Silesia, in southern Poland, one of the main mining areas of central Europe, the site includes the entire underground mine with adits, shafts, galleries and water management system. Photo: UNESCO/ Tarnowskie Góry Land Lovers’ Association

Venetian Works of Defence between 15th and 17th centuries: Stato da Terra – western Stato da Mar, Croatia, Italy, Montenegro. This property consists of 15 components of defence works in Italy, Croatia and Montenegro, spanning more than 1,000 kilometres between the Lombard region of Italy and the eastern Adriatic Coast. Side view of the Porta San Giacomo and the walls, Bergamo, Italy. Photo: UNESCO/ SiTI – Higher Institute on Territorial Systems for Innovation

Landscapes of Dauria, Mongolia, Russian. Shared between Mongolia and the Russian Federation, this site is an outstanding example of the Daurian Steppe eco-region, which extends from eastern Mongolia into Russian Siberia and north-eastern China. Cyclical climate changes, with distinct dry and wet periods lead to a wide diversity of species and ecosystems of global significance. Photo: UNESCO/ Evgeniy Kokukhin

Assumption Cathedral and Monastery of the town-island of Sviyazhsk, Russia. Located in the town-island of Sviyazhsk and part of the monastery of the same name, the Assumption Monastery illustrates in its location and architectural composition the political and missionary programme developed by Tsar Ivan IV to extend the Moscow state. Photo: UNESCO/ Regional Foundation of Revival of Historical and Cultural Monuments of Republic of Tatarstan

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Africa

In Africa an additional three sites have been listed: Asmara, a modernist city of Africa (Eritrea) Mbanza Kongo, political and spiritual capital of the Kingdom of Kongo (Angola) and Khomani Cultural Landscape (South Africa).

Asmara: a Modernist City of Africa, Eritrea. After 1935, Asmara underwent a large scale programme of construction applying the Italian rationalist idiom of the time to governmental edifices, residential and commercial buildings, churches, mosques, synagogues, cinemas, hotels, etc. Photo: UNESCO/ Asmara Heritage Project

Mbanza Kongo, Vestiges of the Capital of the former Kingdom of Kongo, Angola. The town of Mbanza Kongo, located on a plateau at an altitude of 570 metres, was the political and spiritual capital of the Kingdom of Kongo, one of the largest constituted states in Southern Africa from the 14th to 19thcenturies. Photo: UNESCO/ INPC

Khomani Cultural Landscape, South Africa. Located at the border with Botswana and Namibia in the northern part of the country, the landscape is coinciding with the Kalahari Gemsbok National Park (KGNP). The large expanse of sand contains evidence of human occupation from the Stone Age to the present and is associated with the culture of the formally nomade Khomani San people and the strategies that allowed them to adapt to harsh desert conditions. Photo: UNESCO/ Francois Odendaal Productions (FOP Films)

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Americas

In the Americas Valongo Wharf (Brazil) has been listed as an archaeological site while also Los Alerces National Park (Argentina) has been inscribed.

Valongo Wharf Archaeological Site, Brazil. Located in central Rio de Janeiro, the site encompasses the entirety of Jornal do Comércio Square. It is in the former harbour area of Rio de Janeiro in which the old stone wharf was built for the landing of enslaved Africans reaching the South American continent from 1811 onwards. An estimated 900,000 Africans arrived in South America via Valongo. Photo: UNESCO/ Milton Guran.

Los Alerces National Park, Argentina. Located in the Andes of northern Patagonia, the park has a western boundary, which coincides with the Chilean border. Successive glaciations have moulded the landscape in the region creating spectacular features such as moraines, glacial cirques and clear-water lakes. Photo: UNESCO/ Ricardo Villalba

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Asia

In the Asian region have been inscribed: Qinghai Hoh Xil, world’s highest and largest plateau and Kulangsu, a historic international settlement (China), historic city of Ahmedabad (India), sacred island of Okinoshima and associated sites in the Munakata Region (Japan), Temple Zone of Sambor Prei Kuk, archaeological site of ancient Ishanapura (Cambodia) and the historic city of Yazd (Iran).

Qinghai Hoh Xil, China. Located in the north-eastern extremity of the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau, Qinghai Hoh Xil is the largest and highest plateau in the world. This extensive area of alpine mountains and steppe systems is situated more than 4,500 m above sea level, where sub-zero average temperatures prevail all year-round. Photo: UNESCO/ Peking University

Kulangsu: a Historic International Settlement, China. Kulangsu is a tiny island located on the estuary of the Chiu-lung River, facing the city of Xiamen. With the opening of a commercial port at Xiamen in 1843, and the establishment of the island as an international settlement in 1903, this island off the southern coast of the Chinese empire suddenly became an important window for Sino-foreign exchanges. Photo: UNESCO/ Cultural Heritage Conservation Center of THAD

Temple Zone of Sambor Prei Kuk, Archaeological Site of Ancient Ishanapura, Cambodia. The archaeological site of Sambor Prei Kuk, “the temple in the richness of the forest” in the Khmer language, has been identified as Ishanapura, the capital of the Chenla Empire that flourished in the late 6th and early 7th centuries CE. The art and architecture developed here became models for other parts of the region and lay the ground for the unique Khmer style of the Angkor period. Photo: UNESCO/ So Sokun Theary

Sacred Island of Okinoshima and Associated Sites in the Munakata Region, Japan. Located 60 kilometres off the western coast of Kyushu island, the island of Okinoshima is an exceptional example of the tradition of worship of a sacred island. The archaeological sites that have been preserved on the Island are virtually intact, and provide a chronological record of how the rituals performed there changed from the 4th to the 9th centuries CE. Photo: UNESCO/ World Heritage Promotion Committee

Historic City of Yazd, Iran. Located in the middle of the Iranian plateau, 270 kilometres southeast of Isfahan, close to the Spice and Silk Roads, the city bears living testimony to the use of limited resources for survival in the desert. Photo: UNESCO/ ICHHTO

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Middle East

Additionally, in the Middle East Hebron/Al-Khalil Old Town (Occupied Palestinian Territories) have been listed.

Hebron/ Al-Khalil Old Town, Occupied Palestine Territory. The use of a local limestone shaped the construction of the old town of Hebron/ Al-Khalil during the Mamluk period between 1250 and 1517. The centre of interest of the town was the site of Al mosque-Ibrahim/ the tomb of the Patriarchs. This place became a site of pilgrimage for the three monotheistic religions: Judaism, Christianity and Islam. Photo: UNESCO/ Firas AL_Hashlamoun

List of World Heritage in Danger

In the same session, the Committee inscribed the Historic Centre of Vienna on the List of World Heritage in Danger due to high-rise projects in the middle of the Austrian capital. The UNESCO Committee regrets that the Vienna Ice-Skating Club—Intercontinental Hotel project fails to comply fully with previous Committee decisions, notably concerning the height of new constructions and argues the project will impact adversely the outstanding universal value of the site.

The Committee stressed that Vienna developed from early Celtic and Roman settlements into a Medieval and Baroque city to become the capital of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Vienna played an essential role as a leading European music centre, from the great age of Viennese Classicism through the early part of the 20th century while the historic centre of the Austrian capital is rich in architectural ensembles, including Baroque castles and gardens, as well as the late-19th century Ringstrasse.

St. Stephen’s Cathedral in Stephansplatz, Vienna, Austria. Photo: UN Photo/ Rocio Franco