The Universal Declaration of Human Rights reaches its 70th anniversary on Monday [10 December 2018], a chance to highlight the many important breakthroughs brought about by the landmark UN document, and to remind the world that the human rights of millions are still being violated on a daily basis.
UN Photo/Mark Garten | Special Event: Recreation of photo of children with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, to commemorate the declaration’s 70th anniversary.
Thanks to the Declaration, and States’ commitments to its principles, the dignity of millions has been uplifted, untold human suffering prevented and the foundations for a most just world have been laid.
This is a summary of what was said by UNHCR spokesperson Shabia Mantoo –to whom quoted text may be attributed –at today’s [7 December 2018] press briefing at the Palais des Nations in Geneva. Español | Français | عربي
Geneva, 7 December 2018 (UNHCR)* – Nearly 1,500 civilian casualties were reported in Yemen in the period between August to October this year, according to the UNHCR-led Protection Cluster in Yemen. This means an average of 123 civilian deaths and injuries every week during this period.
How would a day without migrants look like? Contrary to what some may believe, migrants play a vital role in the global economy.
Studies show that immigrants bring growth and innovation in both the countries they come from, and in those they move to.
In the United States alone, immigrants have founded or co-founded companies such as Google, Intel, WhatsApp, PayPal, eBay, Tesla and Yahoo!
Although they make up less than 15 percent of the population, skilled immigrants account for over half of Silicon Valley start-ups and over half of patents.
Geneva, 7 December 2018 (IOM)* – The first week of IOM’s Global Migration Film Festival (GMFF) underlined its international appeal.
The Global Migration Film Festival screening in Lamu, Kenya. Photo: IOM
Screenings of the 42 selected migration-themed films (from over 784 submissions) were held across the globe, from the Dominican Republic to Rwanda, from Romania to Indonesia.
Over the years, films have been used to inform, entertain, educate and provoke debate. It is in this spirit that IOM, the UN Migration Agency, launched The Global Migration Film Festival (GMFF) in 2016.
Cinema and migration have a magical bond stretching back over a century ago when film makers, many of whom were immigrants themselves, began making movies that depicted a world on the move.
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Their films brought the dramatic, poignant and comic stories of migrants to diverse audiences, through images that provoked feeling amongst people of every culture.
For the first time, more than half of the world’s population of nearly 8 billion will be using the internet by the end of 2018, the United Nations telecommunications agency announced on 7 December 2018.
Source: Video screen shot | The exponential growth in number of Internet users offers opportunities but also raises privacy concerns.
International Telecommunication Union (ITU) global and regional estimates for 2018 are “a pointer to the great strides the world is making towards building a more inclusive global information society,” Houlin Zhao, ITU Secretary-General, said.
The mission of the UN’s Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF), which enables humanitarian responders to deliver life-saving assistance whenever and wherever crises strike, is more critical than ever, said Secretary-General António Guterres on 7 December 2018, as a key pledging conference got underway at UN Headquarters in New York.
FAO/IFAD/WFP/Luis Tato | Several members of a family look from the windows of their house in the village of Dargué, Maradi region, Niger on August 16, 2018.
Looking back on his time as High Commissioner for Refugees, between 2005 and 2010, the UN chief described the CERF as the “most precious instrument” he had, to respond to new emergencies, and to address “forgotten” crises which the international community sometimes overlook.
Displaced Yemenis stand amid ruins in Sana’a’s Old City, Yemen, February 2017. © UNHCR/Mohammed Hamoud
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