10 March 2017 – Although a decline in cases of Zika virus infection has been reported in some countries, there is still a need for heightened vigilance, the World Health Organization (WHO) reported today, issuing fresh guidance on the virus that has been linked to birth defects and neurological complications.

The new WHO data also lists countries where the Aedes aegypti mosquito is present, but where there is no sign of the Zika virus.

The insect is considered to be the main transmitter of the disease, which has been identified in more than 80 countries to date.

As such, WHO says that overall, the global risk assessment has not changed and “the [Zika virus] continues to spread geographically to areas where competent vectors are present.

The current data adds some 70 countries to the list of those considered to be ‘at-risk.’ These are countries where there’s no sign of the virus, but where the Aedes aegypti mosquito is present; it is considered to be the main carrier of the virus.

Speaking to UN News in Geneva, WHO technical Officer Monika Gehner said: “[The new guidance] helps us because now we can assess risks more precisely. Now, even if you do not have Zika virus transmission, but if you have the Aedes aegypti mosquito, you are at risk of Zika virus transmission.”

She went on to stress that amid surging global travel, “a traveller who is infected with Zika virus may go to an area in a country and in fact mosquitos that are established there, and a mosquito can then transmit to other people and so on, so you have a cycle of transmission.”

The aim of this new WHO guidance is not to spread alarm. Instead, it’s a call to governments to do more to prevent the spread of Zika.

This requires greater surveillance of mosquito populations and research into suspected Zika infections, as well as better diagnostic techniques and updated health advice to at-risk communities and travellers.

10 March 2017 – The United Nations-backed meeting on tourism has spotlighted the leading role of Governments in preventing all forms of child exploitation in the leisure travel industry.

“There is a bright and black side to tourism […] We cannot allow the tourism infrastructure to be used for this and shouldn’t have any issues in exposing such situations,” said UN World Tourism Organization (WTO) Secretary-General Taleb Rifai in a press release.

Mr. Rifai was addressing the 32nd meeting of the UNWTO World Tourism Network on Child Protection held yesterday in Berlin, Germany.

The meeting was attended by the Ministers of Tourism of Ghana and Sudan and was an opportunity to share best practices from a number of countries, including India, Kenya, Maldives, Myanmar, and Uruguay.

The meeting highlighted cross-government coordination and commitment as well as cross-sectoral cooperation as key factors to advance child protection in tourism.

The World Tourism Network on Child Protection, formerly the Task Force for the Protection of Children in Tourism, is an open-ended network featuring the multi-stakeholder participation of a range of tourism stakeholders, from governments, international organisations and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) to tourism industry groups and media associations.

Since 2007, its mandate has been to prevent all forms of youth exploitation in the tourism sector, such as sexual exploitation, child labour and child trafficking.

The activities of the World Tourism Network on Child Protection are co-ordinated by the UNWTO Secretariat.

10 March 2017 – With tens of thousands of civilians forced to flee their homes following a spike in fighting across western and central Yemen, the United Nations refugee agency today appealed for more international support, as well as unrestricted access within the country so that it can reach those now facing “abysmal conditions.”

According to the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), more than 62,000 Yemenis have been displaced over the last six weeks.

“A number of those displaced, including many children, have been reported as suffering from malnutrition, while others are distressed and in need of psycho-social assistance,” William Spindler, a spokesperson for the UN agency, told journalists at a media briefing at the UN Office at Geneva (UNOG) today.

“Many of those displaced are in urgent need of food, shelter and medicine and lack adequate water and sanitation facilities. A number of women also reported psychological distress and malnutrition.”

Facing danger from both the sky and the land

A 28-year-old mother of three who fled her home in Al Mokha (western Yemen) with her husband and children, and another family, crammed into a vehicle for a 150-kilometre, eight hour journey.

This is what she said:

UN response

Together with its partners, UNHCR has stepped up their efforts to help those newly displaced. The response, however, has been hampered by ongoing fighting and restricted access such as in Taiz governorate, which has the highest number of recent displaced.

Much of Taiz, Yemen, has been destroyed by two years of fierce fighting. Photo: ICRC/Khalid al-Saeed

“Whilst [our] assistance has previously reached Taiz, intensified hostilities at present are hampering access,” Mr. Spindler added, noting similar problems in Dhamar governorate, bordering capital Sana’a.

“[We] continue to advocate for unfettered access and [are] trying to mobilize a response with all national actors on the ground,” he stressed.

At the same time, local host communities are also stretched to capacity and are buckling under the strain of hosting additional, newly displaced populations.

Not including the tens of thousands newly displaced, the governorates of Taiz, Hudaydah and Ibb between them host 25 per cent of Yemen’s total displaced population – more than half a million individuals.

Budget shortfall by 93 per cent

UNHCR too is struggling to cope with the crisis and calling for international support to help its efforts.

Its 2017 budget for Yemen, so far, is only seven per cent funded, leaving it with resources only sufficient to deal with urgent emergency needs and restricted to new waves of displacement.

“We are no longer able to support regular distributions including to internally displaced Yemenis living in collective centres and informal settlements,” said Mr. Spindler.

Before the latest surge, Yemen already had more than two million internally displaced people and one million who provisionally returned to their places of origin but still needing humanitarian assistance.

10 March 2017 – Despite a peace agreement, ongoing fighting in the Colombian Pacific Coast has displaced more than 3,500 people so far this year &#8211 many of them from the Afro-Colombian or indigenous communities, the United Nations refugee agency today announced.

The violence comes despite a peace agreement signed last Novembers between the Government and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia or FARC.

&#8220Since the signing of the peace agreement, increased violence by new armed groups has resulted in killings, forced recruitment — including of children — gender-based violence and limited access to education, water and sanitation, as well as movement restrictions and forced displacement of the civilian population,&#8221 said William Spindler, the spokesperson for the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).

Speaking to journalists in Geneva, Mr. Spindler said that the families most affected are from the Chocó, Cauca, Valle del Cauca and Nariño departments.

About 13 per cent of the 7.4 million internally displaced persons in the country are from the Afro-Colombian communities and indigenous peoples.

The UN refugee agency reiterated the need to ensure that the civilian population has access to protection and assistance.

&#8220At the same time, any eventual returns of IDPs to their areas of origin need to take place in conditions of safety and dignity,&#8221 Mr. Spindler stressed.

10 March 2017 – Unless the fighting in eastern Ukraine is stopped and precautions are taken to secure industrial facilities in the area, the armed conflict could lead to a catastrophic chemical disaster, an independent United Nations human rights expert today warned.

&#8220Battles are now being fought in cities, close to industrial centres, with factories increasingly becoming at risk of being hit: the consequences for anyone living close-by would be severe,&#8221 said Baskut Tuncak, the UN Special Rapporteur on human rights and hazardous substances and wastes.

Most of Ukraine’s industrial facilities are located in the eastern part of the country. These include heavy industrial infrastructures operating in the mining, metallurgical, chemical and power sectors.

&#8220The presence of a range of explosive and toxic substances at these sites is a source of serious concern,&#8221 according to the press release from the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR).

As an example, on 24 February, a shell hit a building housing more than 7,000 kg of chlorine gas. While no damage was reported damage to just one fraction of the containers would have killed anyone within 200 meters and severely impact the health of anyone within 2.4 km, according to experts cited by OHCHR.

The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) has also voiced concern about potential impact to the health of residents. According to information cited in the press release, OCHA and humanitarian partners have called for demilitarizing the areas adjacent to civilian infrastructure and for essential safety equipment to be stored at facilities out of the reach of the government.

UN human rights experts are part of what it is known as the Special Procedures of the Human Rights Council, the general name of the independent fact-finding and monitoring mechanisms that address either specific country situations or thematic issues in all parts of the world. The experts work on a voluntary basis; they are not UN staff and do not receive a salary for their work.