HIGHLIGHTS OF THE UNITED NATIONS SYSTEM

TUESDAY, 14 MARCH 2017
 

RIGHTS COMMISSIONER: SYRIA WORST MAN-MADE DISASTER SINCE WWII

• In remarks at a high-level debate of the Human Rights Council on Syria, the High Commissioner for Human Rights, Zeid Ra’ad al-Hussein, said that “in a sense the entire country has become a torture-chamber: a place of savage horror and absolute injustice.” He said that the Syrian conflict is the worst man-made disaster the world has seen since World War II.
• He urged all parties to end torture, to halt executions and cease unfair trials by special and ad-hoc courts. Humanitarian actors and international monitors must be given access to all detention centres. He also urged all parties holding detainees or captives to release them or at least provide the following basic information: the names and localities of those in detention, and the place of burial of those who have died.
• Also today, the Commission of Inquiry on Syria released its latest report, which says that Government and pro-Government forces continued to conduct airstrikes to attack protected objects and vital civilian infrastructure including hospitals, schools and water stations. Hundreds of civilians were killed in these attacks, which were intended to deprive the population of basic goods and services essential to their survival.
• The suffering of the population was further compounded by obstruction to the delivery of humanitarian aid, the report adds.
• “While the world’s eyes were on Aleppo, Syrian civilians across the country, and in particular children, continued to fall victim to tactics that favoured military gains over respect for international law and human life,” said Commission Chair Paulo Pinheiro.
• In one of the most vicious attacks investigated by the Commission, the Syrian Air Force deliberately targeted a school complex in Idlib, which killed 21 children and injured another 61. The deliberate attack, which also killed parents and first-responders, led to the closing of the schools and deprived students, including hundreds of girls, from access to education, the report notes.

U.N. HUMAN RIGHTS WING VOICES CONCERN OVER SITUATION IN LIBYA’S OIL CRESCENT AREA

• The Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights said today that since the outbreak of hostilities in the oil crescent area in eastern Libya on 3 March, it had received numerous reports of serious violations and abuses of international human rights and international humanitarian law committed by the parties to the conflict.
• Credible reports suggest that unlawful killings, including summary executions, hostage-taking, arbitrary detentions, torture, as well as widespread raids of civilian homes have been occurring, particularly in the towns of Ajdabiya, Benghazi, Brega and Beishir.
• The Human Rights Office urges all parties to the conflict to fully respect international human rights and humanitarian law and to take all possible precautions to ensure civilians are not harmed and to treat detainees humanely. It also urges those with influence to work to de-escalate the situation.

UNITED STATES JOINS PLANT GENETIC RESOURCES TREATY

• The United States is the newest member of the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture, a ground-breaking instrument that works to strengthen global food security by promoting the conservation, sharing, and sustainable use of agricultural plant genetic resources.
• The United States officially deposited its certificate of adherence to the treaty with the Food and Agriculture Organization three months ago, triggering a count-down to its entry into force for the country.
• 143 countries are now participating in the treaty, with five other countries – Argentina, Bolivia, Guyana, Tuvalu and Chile — becoming recently active contracting parties. Antigua and Barbuda is poised to become so by mid-2017.
• The Treaty's centrepiece is its "Multilateral System" that facilitates access to a globe-spanning collection of plant genetic resources, exclusively for use in research, breeding and training efforts — and which includes measures to ensure the fair and equitable sharing of any financial benefits that result.

• Economic growth has virtually eliminated hunger in Europe and Central Asia, but rising affluence is leading to an increase in the proportion of people who are overweight or obese, according to a new report by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).
• The publication analyzes data such as dietary energy supply; undernourishment indicators such as stunting and wasting; anaemia; obesity; and what people on average are eating.
• It finds that as incomes increase, there is a progression towards a diet high in sweeteners, vegetable and animal fat while low in grains.