'Unseen' News and Views
Opening ceremony features refugee athletes marching out under the Olympic flag, showcasing the power of sport and sending a message of hope to 82 million displaced people worldwide. | Français | عربي
Members of the Refugee Olympic Team meet UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi and IOC President Thomas Bach at the Olympic Village in Tokyo. © Stephen Pattison
World Hepatitis Day- 28 July 2021
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– As a wisecracking cynic once remarked: “The sun would never set on the British empire because God wouldn’t trust an Englishman in the dark“. Perhaps it was an uncharitable remark because most of the British colonies have long gone.
Trusteeship Council. Credit: UN Photo/CCOI
But when I quoted this witticism to a British journalist, he countered: “I am sure it was told by a Scotsman.“
Since Scotland is not a colony, its demand for independence is not a matter of decolonization, which is virtually dead on the UN’s political agenda.
WHO/Yoshi Shimizu
World Drowning Prevention Day – 25 July 2021
First World #DrowningPrevention Day calls for accelerated action to prevent drowning, offers strategies to save lives
– Devastating floods in Europe. Temperatures soaring to 45ºC in Canada. Mudslides in Japan. Cloud bursts in India. Floods in New York subways, central China and Uganda, and a sweltering heatwave in Morocco.
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A woman is trying to move in a flooded street following heavy rains in Liege, on July 15, 2021. Illustration shows the scene in Liege after heavy rainfall, Thursday 15 July 2021. – The provincial disaster plan has been declared in Liege, Luxembourg and Namur provinces after large amounts of rainfall. Water in several rivers has reached alarming levels. – Belgium OUT (Photo by BRUNO FAHY / Belga / AFP)
24 July 2021 (UN News)* — Farmers, especially women and indigenous people, work tirelessly to put food on our tables. UN Deputy Secretary General Amina Mohammed met on Saturday 24 July 2021 women producers at a farmers’ market in Circo Massimo, Rome, ahead of the Food Systems Pre-Summit taking place next week.
©IFAD/ David Paqui
“Rural people have long been side-lined in food value chains. While they toil to produce much of our food, too often they receive a pittance for their efforts and are left vulnerable to shocks,” said Gilbert F. Houngbo, President of IFAD, the UN agency which leads on tackling rural poverty and hunger.
“This is a critical moment to address the inequity of our food systems. Without concrete actions that result in real changes for rural producers, hunger and poverty will only grow, and increased instability and migration will follow,” he added.
HUMAN WRONGS WATCH 