Large numbers of fighters from the Islamist militant group JNIM attacked a military base, homes and a camp for displaced people in the city of Djibo on Sunday.
At least 40 people were killed and more than 42 injured. The attackers also set fire to 20 stores and three sites for displaced people.
Stop attacking civilians
“Attacks against civilians are inexcusable and must stop, and those responsible must be held accountable following thorough, impartial and independent investigations by the authorities,” OHCHR spokesperson Seif Magango said in a statement.
He recalled that “deliberately attacking civilians or people not directly participating in hostilities constitutes a war crime.”
UNAIDS Mozambique Country Director Michel Kouakou (left) and UNAIDS Executive Director Winnie Byanyima in Maputo, Mozambique, June 2023.
Support communities that 'light the way to the end of AIDS'
Ending AIDS as a public health threat by 2030 is possible, but only if governments and donors fully support grassroots communities on the front lines of the disease.
That's the message from UNAIDS in a report released ahead of World AIDS Day on December 1, showing how communities have been the driving force for progress.
From the streets to the courts and parliaments, community advocacy has achieved groundbreaking policy changes.
Through campaigns, they have opened access to generic HIV medications, thereby reducing the cost of treatment from $25,000 per person per year in 1995 to less than $70 in many countries.
Ready to lead
UNAIDS recalled that every minute a life is lost due to AIDS. while 4,000 girls and young women are infected with HIV every week. Of the nearly 40 million people living with HIV worldwide, more than nine million do not have access to life-saving treatment.
While communities around the world have demonstrated that they are ready, willing and able to lead, they must be adequately resourced, said UNAIDS head Winnie Byanyima.
“Too often, decision-makers treat communities as problems to be managed, rather than recognized and supported as leaders,” he said. “Communities do not get in the way, they illuminate the path to the end of AIDS.”
Increase in rapes against children caught in the Syrian war
Children continue to suffer the long-term consequences of the war in Syria, with a sharp increase in violations against them, a new UN report on children and armed conflict reveals.
The report covers the period from July 2020 to September 2022. A total of 5,219 serious violations were verified against 5,073 children, including murders, mutilations, abductions and recruitment and use in combat.
Drafted for combat
This represents a 10 percent increase from the previous reporting period, although the actual figure is likely higher due to access restrictions and insecurity.
Most of the violations were committed in the northeast and northwest, and 65% were responsible for armed groups, while 13% were attributed to government and pro-government forces.
Recruitment and use cases doubled from the previous report, with the majority of children being used in combat roles. Child casualties, already high, increased by 30 percent, with explosive munitions the leading cause of death and injury.
HE Sheikha Hind and Sir Mo Farah launched the Bank of England during the Global Health Innovation Summit
Olympic athlete Sir Mo Farah, new goodwill ambassador for the UN migration agency
Four-time Olympic champion long-distance runner Sir Mo Farah of the United Kingdom has been named the first global Goodwill Ambassador for the United Nations migration agency, the IOM.
Farah, 40, retired from the race in September after a long and celebrated career. Last year, he revealed that he had been trafficked as a child from Somalia to the UK.
“No child should ever go through what I went through; The victims of child trafficking are just children. They deserve to be children. “They deserve to play and be children,” she stated.
Farah plans to use her position to raise awareness about issues affecting “people on the move,” including protection and trafficking. He will also champion the transformative power of sport, especially for women and girls.
IOM Director General Amy Pope said the United Nations agency is honored to have Mr. Farah as its first global Goodwill Ambassador.
“An advocate on and off the court, and a survivor of human trafficking, he brings true dedication, commitment and drive to the work of IOM, helping millions of people on the move and inspiring us all,” he said.
