'Unseen' News and Views
(UN News)* — Around 275 million people used drugs worldwide in the last year of unprecedented upheaval caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, up by 22 per cent from 2010.
ROME (FAO)* – The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), together with the Alliance of Bioversity International and The International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT) on 25 June 2021 released a new study identifying hundreds of diverse plant and animal species that Indigenous Peoples around the world depend on and care for to generate food sustainably and enhance biodiversity – and warning of increasing threats to these sophisticated food systems.
A building damaged by an Israeli air strike amid a flare-up of Israeli-Palestinian violence in Gaza City. Only a political solution will end the “senseless and costly cycles of violence” between Israelis and Palestinians, UN Middle East envoy Tor Wennesland said in a briefing to the UN Security Council in May. Credit: UNRWA/Mohamed Hinnawi
A fire in an area that registered Prodes deforestation warnings between 2017-2019. Photo: Christian Braga / Greenpeace.
New survey points out that forest education must be strengthened to meet global challenges
ROME, 24 June 2021 (FAO)* – Forest education at all levels – from primary schools to universities – is insufficient in many countries of the world, according to the results of a global survey led by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the International Tropical Timber Organization (ITTO) and the International Union of Forest Research Organizations (IUFRO) with the support of other international and regional partners.
25 June 2021 (UNEP)* — The plants and animals that live along the world’s coasts are coming under increased pressure from pollution tied to harbours, agriculture, and fish and shrimp farming warns a new report from the International Resource Panel.
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The study, Governing Coastal Resources, says there is an urgent need to limit coastal pollution and other byproducts of industry, including the introduction of invasive species.
Failing that, some coastal ecosystems, as well as the ocean-based economy they support, could collapse, said the report.
24 June 2021 (United Nations)* — Torture seeks to annihilate the victim’s personality and denies the inherent dignity of the human being.
Despite the absolute prohibition of torture under international law, torture persist in all regions of the world. Concerns about protecting national security and borders are increasingly used to allow torture and other forms of cruel, degrading and inhuman treatment.
This report, based on interviews with survivors and experts, and a survey, documents the spread and impact in South Korea of what are referred to there as “digital sex crimes.”
Digital sex crimes are crimes involving non-consensual intimate images.
These crimes are a form of gender-based violence, using digital images that are captured non-consensually and sometimes shared, captured with consent but shared non-consensually, or sometimes faked.
(Stockholm) — The Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) on 14 June 2021 launches the findings of SIPRI Yearbook 2021, which assesses the current state of armaments, disarmament and international security. A key finding is that despite an overall decrease in the number of nuclear warheads in 2020, more have been deployed with operational forces.
HUMAN WRONGS WATCH 