• English

Month: June 2019

Two-thirds of global drug deaths now from opioids: UN drugs report

The study from the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), also shows that the negative health consequences associated with drugs are more severe and widespread than previously thought, with around 35 million people suffering from drug use disorders and requiring treatment services.

Higher figures attributed to improved research and data

Some 11 million people injected drugs in 2017, 1.4 million of whom are living with HIV, and 5.6 million with hepatitis C. UNODC explains the significantly higher figures are due in part to improved research and more precise data, including more knowledge of the extent of drug use from new surveys conducted in India and Nigeria, two of the most populous countries in the world.

“The findings of this year’s World Drug Report fill in and further complicate the global picture of drug challenges, underscoring the need for broader international cooperation to advance balanced and integrated health and criminal justice responses to supply and demand”, said Yury Fedotov, UNODC Executive Director, in a statement.

Overall rising trend in drug use, cocaine production at an all-time high

Whilst the overall figure for drug use in 2017, an estimated 271 million people, was similar to the previous year, the trend is rising, and the number of people using drugs is now some 30 per cent higher than it was ten years ago.

This is partly attributed to a 10 per cent increase in the global population aged 15-64, but also increased opioid use in Africa, Asia, Europe and North America, as well as higher cannabis consumption in North and South America, and Asia. Opiods are the class of illegal drugs derived from heroin – opium poppies – including synthetics such as fentanyl, and other prescription medications such as Oxycontin and Vicodin.

The manufacture of cocaine – chiefly from South America – reached an all-time high in 2017, with an estimated production of 2,000 tons in 2017, up by a quarter on the previous year. At the same time, seizures of cocaine rose 13 per cent to 1,275 tons, another record figure.

Synthetic opioid misuse, centred around Fentanyl and similar drugs, is an ongoing crisis in the US and Canada, with over 51,000 overdoses reported in 2017. Countries in West, Central and North Africa are experiencing an opioid crisis surrounding another drug, Tramadol, which has flooded the market in recent years: seizures of Tramadol jumped from less than 10 kilograms in 2010 to around 125 tons in 2017. 

Only one in seven receive treatment 

Not enough people with drug disorders are being adequately treated, with the study showing that just one in seven people with disorders are getting the help they need. Effective treatments, based on scientific evidence and in line with international human rights obligations, are not as available or accessible as they need to be, the report states. It calls on national governments and the international community to step up interventions in order to address this gap. 

A meeting was held on Tuesday at UN headquarters in New York to launch the annual study, where a ceremony to mark the 2019 International Day against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking – under the theme “health for justice, justice for health”, also took place. 

Referring to the wide-ranging impacts that the world-wide drug problem has on the “health and well-being of families and communities, as well as on the security and sustainable development of nations”, UN chief António Guterres welcomed the 2019 theme, and called on all governments to live up to a pledge made earlier this year to work together to come up with responses – including cracking down on drug trafficking and those who profit from human misery – that allow people to live in “health, dignity and peace, with security and prosperity”.

Peace dividend palpable in South Sudan, but ‘grassroots’ are moving faster than elites, says Shearer

Special Representative and head of the UN Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS), David Shearer, was briefing the Security Council in New York on efforts to build a durable peace and protect civilians from the ravages of a brutal conflict that erupted between forces loyal to President Salva Kiir, and his former deputy, Riek Machar, in 2013.  

Last September, a revitalized peace agreement was signed between the two, and it has largely held: “The drop in political violence…has meant hundreds, if not thousands of people are alive, who otherwise would not be”, said Mr. Shearer.

According to UN figures, more than half a million South Sudanese have chosen to return home, including more than 210,000 refugees from neighbouring countries.

If at a local level, former bitter enemies can put the past behind them and reconcile, their national leaders must do the same – UNMISS chief, David Shearer

“These positive signs come from a very low base. But it’s a glimmer of what is possible with peace. And it is vital that this trend continues”, he said. “Since the signing of the peace agreement, more than 110 rapprochements have occurred in communities around the country. UNMISS directly facilitated more than a quarter of these.”

Based on direct experience, the UNMISS chief said that the pace of dialogue and peacebuilding “at the grassroots level, is moving much faster than amongst the elites negotiating nationally. The country’s politicians need to listen to the mood of the people and follow the lead set by these local communities.”

Even though 79 per cent of people interviewed in a survey reported that a member of their immediate family had been killed in the civil war, a remarkable 89 per cent still believe “there will be lasting peace by the end of the year,” he said.

“Let’s be frank. The fighting has stopped because the leaders ordered their soldiers to stop. If it resumes – against the will of the people – it will be because those same leaders want it, and ordered it, to happen.”

He said the latest delay until November, in forming a united transitional Government, had to be the last, adding that more face-to-face meetings between the President and his former deputy were essential: “If at a local level, if former bitter enemies can put the past behind them and reconcile, their national leaders must do the same. These leader-to-leader meetings, preferably held in Juba (South Sudan’s capital), are critical because trust and confidence can’t cold start the day a new unified Government is formed.”

Safe, voluntary and dignified return ‘a growing trend’

Mr. Shearer said the safe and voluntary return of internally-displaced and refugees, should be seen in the context of the 2.3 million South Sudanese still living as refugees, and nearly two million IDPs. But prior to the revitalized peace deal, he noted, there were around 18,000 choosing to go home, compared with 76,000 each month today.

He said the most common reason why IDPs were reluctant to leave Protection of Civilian sites now, was so as not to interrupt their children’s education, not a fear of insecurity.

“Our protection role will naturally diminish if there is peace. We can then look to adjust our troop requirements accordingly, while continuing our mediation and peace building actions,” said Mr. Shearer, formerly a top politician in his native New Zealand.

‘No significant action’ taken against perpetrators of alleged war crimes

Briefing Council members next, was Assistant Secretary-General for Human Rights, Andrew Gilmour, who said the rights division of UNMISS had documented a “significant and welcome decrease” in overall violations and abuses by men in uniform – both Government and opposition – across the country.

But a “major exception” was “the continued prevalence of sexual violence” which peaked in Bentiu at the end of last year. In Central Equatoria today, Government and opposition fighters continue to clash, generating reports of harrowing abuse, said Mr. Gilmour, who noted that inter-communal violence had evolved from traditional grievances, to political ones, remaining a serious concern.

“Despite the existence of a body of evidence that war crimes and crimes against humanity have taken place in South Sudan, no significant action has been taken against the perpetrators”, he said. “Today, a general culture of impunity persists…and continues to fuel acts of violence against civilians.”

To break the cycle, the senior rights official said it was vital “to ensure that the transitional justice mechanisms outlined in the peace agreement, are implemented.”

He asked the Council to urge Government and opposition to abide by and implement their commitments, and rein in sexual violence. Finally, he called on “the entire international community to stop the cycle of impunity” and realize a court process to provide justice, for the victims of the brutal conflict.

Syria: Ease suffering, save lives, UN Emergency Relief Coordinator tells Security Council

“I repeat our call again today” to Syria’s warring parties, said Mark Lowcock, who is also the Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs: “Ease the suffering, save lives, end the fighting [and] obey the law”.

Speaking via video link, he noted that this was the Council’s fifth humanitarian briefing on Syria in the last eight weeks. He quoted High Commissioner for Human Rights, Michelle Bachelet, in summarizing reports of hundreds of civilian casualties and destruction to infrastructure, including hospitals and schools, mainly caused by Government air strikes and to a lesser extent, ground-based armed groups attacks.

“We have repeatedly asked you to make this stop”, Mr. Lowcock pleaded. “It has not stopped, or even slowed”.

A distressing overview

Despite ceasefire efforts in the northwest, hostilities continue unabated. Fighting among Government forces and their allies, armed opposition forces and the Security Council-listed terrorist organization Hayat Tahrir al-Sham continues to impact civilians every day, he said.

Last weekend, “we received reports of airstrikes affecting more than 55 communities in Idlib, Hama and Aleppo governorates, and artillery shelling affecting more than 21 communities”, that claimed 32 civilian lives, including women and children, he added.

In northern rural Hama, seven others, including a child, were reportedly killed by airstrikes and artillery shelling and hundreds of thousands have been displaced.

Mr. Lowcock spoke emotionally about regular attacks on Maarat Al-Numan, in southern Idlib, voicing concern over Maarat National Hospital, which at peak times treated about 20,000 people a month. It is now operating under emergency conditions but remains the main referral hospital in southern Idlib.

“While operating in a conflict zone and in an area under the control of a Security Council-listed terrorist organization”, Mr. Lowcock stressed, “they keep their life-saving services going with the support of humanitarian organizations”.

“There is serious reason to worry”, he continued saying that on 20 June an ambulance was hit, killing the patient and three medical workers and seriously injuring two paramedics. “We must see an end to such attacks on medical workers, transport and facilities. We must see hospitals like Maarat National Hospital protected”.

Beyond Idlib, suffering continues

In Rukban, along the Syrian-Jordanian border, “some 27,000 people remain in desperate need of humanitarian assistance”, he flagged, adding that “inadequate, basic services are costing lives”.

Recalling the UN’s unapproved request for access to Rukban on 9 May, he said “We continue to call for humanitarian access…to deliver life-saving aid, and to assist those who would like to leave the camp”, saying that “another request is being prepared”.

We continue to call for humanitarian access…to deliver life-saving aid – UN Emergency Coordinator

In al-Hol Camp, in northeast Syria, humanitarian agencies continue to respond to the considerable needs of some 73,000 mainly women and children in the camp, particularly in the areas of health, water, sanitation and hygiene.

“At the same time”, Mr. Lowcock said, “we continue to be concerned about restricted humanitarian access to the annex, where 11,000 foreign nationals are living”. Both victims of the terrorist group ISIL and families of former-fighters, are sheltering in the camp.

While some positive reports of foreign national children being repatriated, thousands more in the camp face uncertainty, prompting him to call upon Member States to repatriate their nationals “for rehabilitation and reintegration, or prosecution, as appropriate, in line with international law and standards”.

And in the south of Syria, rising tensions between government forces and local groups threatens to reignite.

“We have repeatedly pleaded for the protection of civilians. To ensure humanitarian access. To ensure that the parties fully abide by their obligation to respect international humanitarian law and international human rights law”, he said.

Security Council approves ‘historic’ political Haiti mission, ending UN peacekeeping role in the country

BINUH will be run by a Special Representative, who will assist the Government of Haiti with planning elections; training the Haitian National Police on human rights; responding to gang violence; ensuring compliance with international human rights obligations; improving prison oversight; and strengthening the justice sector.

Speaking on behalf of the United States, which drafted the resolution, acting Ambassador Jonathan Cohen, described the adoption of the resolution as “a historic moment”, but said that US was “clear-eyed” about the challenges that lie ahead, and recognized that a successful transition in Haiti will depend on the Government assuming responsibility for a range of issues, including ensuring free and fair elections, a reduction in gang violence, and the protection of human rights.

Mr. Cohen added that close coordination between UN entities, international partners, and others invested in Haiti’s success, will be necessary, and that “constructive and inclusive dialogue”, will “lay the foundation for a sustainable future for all Haitians”.

‘Disappointment’ over removal of climate change references

However, some top diplomats in the Council expressed their disappointment that the resolution did not stress Haiti’s vulnerability in the face of climate change.

Germany’s Ambassador to the United Nations, Christophe Heusgen, pointed out that, since 2011, the Security Council has repeatedly made clear its concern that the effects of climate change may aggravate existing threats to peace and security. Mr Heusgen added that, in Haiti, climate change is a “threat multiplier”, which could further destabilize the country, and “create new conflicts over increasingly diminishing resources and derail efforts in peace-building and stabilization.”

Haitian Chargé d’Affaires Patrick Saint-Hilaire, said that the creation of BINUH was “a step in the right direction”, and pressed the UN to ensure that all Haitians enjoy stability, human rights, democracy and the rule of law, adding that he wanted the new Office to be ready to tackle the many difficulties faced by the country. Mr. Saint-Hilaire also raised the subject of climate change, citing the crisis as one of the many risks facing Haiti, alongside cholera, national disasters and “even hunger riots.”

Tuesday’s Daily Brief: funding for Palestine refugees, families today, tech surveillance

UN chief praises impact of Palestine refugee agency as ‘our common success’, at key pledging conference

The work of the UN body responsible for assisting Palestine refugees, UNRWA, which has allowed millions of children to receive an education that promotes UN values of human rights and tolerance, as well as democracy and conflict resolution, should be viewed “not only as our common responsibility, but as our common success”, said Secretary-General António Guterres on Tuesday.

The UN chief was speaking at the opening of the 2019 pledging conference for UNRWA, officially the Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East, alongside the President of the General Assembly, María Fernanda Espinosa Garcés, and the agency’s Commissioner-General, Pierre Krähenbühl.

Find our full coverage here.

And here’s our interview with Matthias Schmale, the head of UNRWA, on the humanitarian situation in Gaza: 

New UN report on families in a changing world puts ‘women’s rights at their core’

While women’s rights have advanced over the decades, gender inequalities and other fundamental human rights violations within families persist, according to a flagship study released on Tuesday, from the UN’s gender empowerment agency.

UN Women’s new report, “Progress of the World’s Women 2019-2020: Families in a Changing World”, shows that families, in all their diversity, “can be critical drivers of gender equality, provided decision-makers deliver policies rooted in the reality of how people live today, with women’s rights at their core”, said UN Women Executive Director Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka.

Find out more about the findings of the report here.

Moratorium call on surveillance technology to end ‘free-for-all’ abuses: UN expert

Surveillance technology should be banned immediately until “effective” national or international controls are put in place to lessen its harmful impact, a UN-appointed independent rights expert said on Tuesday.

David Kaye, who’s the United Nations Special Rapporteur on freedom of opinion and expression, made the appeal as he prepared to present his latest report to the Human Rights Council in Geneva.

Find our complete story here.

20,000 migrants rescued in Sahara since 2016

Nearly 20,000 people have been rescued from the desert in Niger since 2016 after trying to reach North Africa and being abandoned by traffickers, the UN migration agency IOM said on Tuesday.

Ten days ago, IOM found more than 400 migrants in the Tenéré desert, among them seven women and four children.

In Geneva, spokesperson Joel Millman said that although the migrant routes were not a secret, it was extremely difficult for rescuers to find migrants, whose trucks often break down or who are simply abandoned:

“We know that probably thousands of victims and the remains aren’t even evident because they’re covered by sand or consumed by animals. We can only rely on luck, I would say mostly, and the ability to get resources marshalled. Sometimes local authorities can be really helpful, sometimes resources are really stretched. So it’s a big region and we do our best with the knowledge we’re given at any given month.”

In the latest rescue mission, Mr. Millman said that migrants had come from 14 West African countries, mainly Guinea, Mali and Côte d’Ivoire. Of all those rescued, 98 per cent opted for voluntary return to their countries of origin, he noted.

Concern over slow decline of malnutrition in India

And finally to India, where the World Food Programme (WFP) has warned that despite progress in combating malnutrition, more than three in 10 children are stunted in much of the country.

According to WFP, large numbers of India’s 1.3 billion people do not get enough vitamin A, iron and iodine, especially women and children.

Prolonged periods without an adequate diet can have an irreversible impact on a child’s physical growth and brain development, the agency says.

This is despite the fact that India is self-sufficient in food grain production and has seen a large increase in rice, wheat and cereal production.

In a report published jointly by WFP and the Indian Government assessing the country’s progress towards achieving zero hunger by 2030, it notes that in the last decade, the body mass of Indian women and men dropped by 10 per cent 14 per cent respectively.

While stunting has declined by one fifth in India in the last decade, it is still seeing the slowest rate of decline of other emerging economies and most countries in Asia, WFP says.

 

Listen to or download our audio News In Brief for 25 June on SoundCloud:  

 

UN chief praises impact of Palestine refugee agency as ‘our common success’, at key pledging conference

The UN chief was speaking at the opening of the 2019 pledging conference for UNRWA, officially the Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East, alongside the President of the General Assembly, María Fernanda Espinosa Garcés, and the agency’s Commissioner-General, Pierre Krähenbühl.

Mr. Guterres vaunted the accomplishments of the agency over its almost 70-year existence. As well as running more than 700 schools, providing free education for over half a million Palestine refugee children, UNRWA maintains high-quality and cost-effective health care services; runs emergency and social services; and provides food aid, which includes meeting the needs of one million Palestine refugees in Gaza.

‘Cost-effective’ aid for Palestine refugees faces ‘serious funding shortfall’

The presence of conference delegates in New York, sent a powerful message that they are convinced of UNRWA’s value, and that they are willing to act, by pledging generous donations to allow the agency to carry on its vital work, said Ms. Espinosa.

The General Assembly President warned that the agency was $211 million short of the $1.2 billion needed to deliver its aid programmes. She went on to ask delegates to consider the consequences of a failure to meet the funding requirements, for “half a million boys and girls, for 5.4 million refugees, for the wider region and for the world.”

Mr. Krähenbühl explained that, in the absence of new contributions, the funding gap will rise throughout the year, adding that it is “absolutely crucial” to open schools on time in August and September, and to avoid a break-down of the agency’s food pipeline for a million people in Gaza.

The head of UNRWA reminded delegates that the agency’s work takes place against a backdrop of “psychosocial trauma resulting from years of conflict, blockade and violence”, where the lives of Palestine refugees are defined in every aspect by occupation, “from home demolitions and forced evictions, to lack of freedom of movement and violence.”

Echoing these remarks, the Secretary-General underscored the efficiency of UNRWA operations, stressing the “extraordinary reform and cost-control measures to reduce inefficient spending.” Thanks to these measures, he said, UNRWA has saved $500 million. The international community, Mr. Guterres continued, must “rise to the challenge”, so that UNRWA can continue its “important and impressive work.”

UNRWA schools provide ‘hope for a better future’

Following the remarks from the senior UN officials, Hanan Abu Asbeh and Hatem Hamdouna, teenage students from the West Bank and Gaza, elected to represent 536,000 UNRWA students from Gaza and the West Bank, spoke of their daily experiences, and the importance of UNRWA schools in their lives.

UN Photo/Manuel Elias
Hanan Abu Asbeh (foreground), a 15-year-old girl from the West Bank and 14-year-old Hatem Hamdouna from Gaza address delegates at the UN in New York about life as students in schools run by United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Middle East.

 

Scenes of war and destruction are still in my head, and haunt me in my sleep Hatem Hamdouna, Palestine refugee student

Hanan, who said that she had “led a life of suffering”, hearing the sounds of explosions and bullets in the streets, expressed her hope that schools will open on time this year. She said that for some children, the end of the school year meant long holidays, free from the classroom. For Palestinian refugee children however, it is “not fun”, she said, because education is the most important thing they have.

Although he is only fifteen, Hatem has already lived through three wars, and he told the delegates that, although “scenes of war and destruction are still in my head, and haunt me in my sleep”, an UNRWA education has been his only hope for a better future, and allowed him to learn about his rights, even in the darkest times.

World faces ‘climate apartheid’ risk, 120 more million in poverty: UN expert

“Even if current targets are met, tens of millions will be impoverished, leading to widespread displacement and hunger,” said the UN Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights, Philip Alston.

Underscoring that climate change will have the greatest impact on the most vulnerable, he added that “it could push more than 120 million more people into poverty by 2030 and will have the most severe impact in poor countries, regions, and the places poor people live and work.”

Even in the best-case scenario of a 1.5°C temperature increase by 2100, extreme temperatures in many regions will leave disadvantaged populations food insecure, with less incomes and worsening health.

Moreover, many will have to choose between starvation and migration, he said.

“Perversely, while people in poverty are responsible for just a fraction of global emissions, they will bear the brunt of climate change, and have the least capacity to protect themselves,” Mr. Alston flagged.

“We risk a ‘climate apartheid’ scenario where the wealthy pay to escape overheating, hunger and conflict while the rest of the world is left to suffer.”

Climate change carries immense implications for human rights, including to life, food, housing and water. It will also impact democracy said Mr. Alston, as governments struggle to cope with climate consequences and persuade constituents to accept the major social and economic transformations required – rendering civil and political rights vulnerable.

“Most human rights bodies have barely begun to grapple with what climate change portends for human rights, and it remains one on a long laundry list of ‘issues’, despite the extraordinarily short time to avoid catastrophic consequences,” he asserted.

“As a full-blown crisis that threatens the human rights of vast numbers of people bears down, the usual piecemeal, issue-by-issue human rights methodology is woefully insufficient”, the UN expert added.

“States have marched past every scientific warning and threshold, and what was once considered catastrophic warming now seems like a best-case scenario,” Mr. Alston forecast. “Even today, too many countries are taking short-sighted steps in the wrong direction.”

There is no shortage of alarm bells ringing over climate change – UN expert

States are even failing to meet their current carbon emissions reduction and climate financing commitments and continue to subsidize the fossil fuel industry with $5.2 trillion per year.

“Maintaining the current course is a recipe for economic catastrophe,” Mr. Alston spelled out, noting that while economic prosperity and environmental sustainability are “fully compatible”, they require “decoupling economic well-being and poverty reduction from fossil fuel emissions.”

This transition needs local policies to support displaced workers and ensure quality jobs.

“A robust social safety net will be the best response to the unavoidable harms that climate change will bring,” Mr. Alston explained, saying that this “should be a catalyst” for states to fulfil “long ignored and overlooked economic and social rights”, including to social security and access to food, healthcare, shelter, and decent work.

 “If climate change is used to justify business-friendly policies and widespread privatization, exploitation of natural resources and global warming may be accelerated rather than prevented,” argued the UN expert.

“There is no shortage of alarm bells ringing over climate change, and an increase in biblical-level extreme weather events appear to be finally piercing through the noise, misinformation, and complacency, but these positive signs are no reason for contentment,” Mr. Alston concluded. “A reckoning with the scale of the change that is needed is just the first step.”

Moratorium call on surveillance technology to end ‘free-for-all’ abuses: UN expert

David Kaye, who’s the United Nations Special Rapporteur on freedom of opinion and expression, made the appeal as he prepared to present his latest report to the Human Rights Council in Geneva.

He highlighted that while States were largely responsible, companies appeared to be “operating without constraint” too, in a “free for all” private surveillance industry environment.

“Surveillance tools can interfere with human rights, from the right to privacy and freedom of expression to rights of association and assembly, religious belief, non-discrimination, and public participation,” the Special Rapporteur said in statement. “And yet they are not subject to any effective global or national control.”

Surveillance linked to detention, torture, extrajudicial killings

According to Mr. Kaye’s report, the surveillance of journalists, activists, opposition figures, critics and UN investigators can lead to arbitrary detention.

Surveillance tools can interfere with human rights, from the right to privacy and freedom of expression to rights of association and assembly – UN expert, David Kaye

It has also been linked to torture and possibly to extrajudicial killings, the Special Rapporteur said, citing various ways that States and other actors monitor individuals who exercise their right to freedom of expression.

These include hacking computers, networks and mobile phones, using facial recognition surveillance and other sophisticated surveillance tools to shadow journalists, politicians, UN investigators and human rights advocates.

Among the Special Rapporteur’s recommendations is an appeal to States to adopt domestic safeguards to protect individuals from unlawful surveillance, in line with international human rights law.

In particular, Mr. Kaye calls for the development of publicly-owned mechanisms for the approval and oversight of surveillance technology.

In addition, countries should strengthen export controls and provide assurances of legal redress to victims.

“It is imperative that States limit the uses of such technologies to lawful ones only, subjected to the strictest sorts of oversight and authorisation,” he said. “And that States condition export of such technologies on the strictest human rights due diligence”.

Companies operate in ‘free-for-all’ snooping environment

Addressing the issue of corporate responsibility, Mr. Kaye insisted that companies should adhere to their human rights responsibilities, as they “appear to be operating without constraint”.

To remedy this, firms should disclose data transfers, conduct “rigorous” human rights impact assessments, and avoid transfers to States unable to guarantee compliance with human rights norms, the Special Rapporteur said.

“The private surveillance industry is a free for all,” Kaye noted, “an environment in which States and industry are collaborating in the spread of technology that is causing immediate and regular harm to individuals and organisations that are essential to democratic life – journalists, activists, opposition figures, lawyers, and others.

“It is time for governments and companies to recognise their responsibilities and impose rigorous requirements on this industry, with the goal of protecting human rights for all,” Mr. Kaye said.

New UN report on families in a changing world puts ‘women’s rights at their core’

UN Women’s new report, “Progress of the World’s Women 2019-2020: Families in a Changing World”, shows that families, in all their diversity, “can be critical drivers of gender equality, provided decision-makers deliver policies rooted in the reality of how people live today, with women’s rights at their core”, said UN Women Executive Director Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka.

But it also adds that families can also be breeding grounds of conflict, inequality and, far too often, violence.

Anchored in global data, innovative analysis and specific case studies, the report paints a picture of the diversity of families globally and provides recommendations to support laws and policies that meet the needs of all family members, especially women and girls, and concrete proposals for implementation.

“Around the world, we are witnessing concerted efforts to deny women’s agency and their right to make their own decisions in the name of protecting ‘family values’”, Ms. Mlambo-Ngcuka stated.

Today, three billion women and girls live in countries where rape within marriage is not explicitly criminalized. But injustice and violations take other forms as well. In one-out-of-five countries, girls do not have the same inheritance rights as boys, while in a total of 19 others, women are legally required to obey their husbands. Moreover, in developing countries, about one-third of married women report having little or no say over their own healthcare decisions.

What’s trending

The report observed that the average marriage age has increased in all regions while birth rates have declined, and women overall have increased economic autonomy. Globally, 38 per cent of households are couples with children; and 27 per cent are extended families, including other relatives.

Single-parent families led by women, comprise eight per cent of households, where women have to juggle paid work, child-rearing and unpaid domestic work. Same-sex families are increasingly visible in all regions.

The study notes that women continue to enter the labour market in large numbers, but marriage and motherhood reduce their participation rates along with the income and benefits that come with it.

Half of married women between the ages of 25 and 54, two-thirds of single women and 96 per cent of married men, participate in the global labour force, according to new data. The fact that women continue to do three times as much unpaid care and domestic work as men, is a major driver of these inequalities.

The report sheds some positive light on parental leave, with an uptick in participation by fathers, particularly in countries where specific incentives, such as ‘daddy quotas’, are in place.

Report recommendations:

  • Amend and reform family laws to ensure that women can choose whether, when and who to marry; and enable women’s access to family resources.
  • Recognize diverse forms of partnership, to protect women in cohabiting and same-sex partnerships.
  • Invest in public services, especially reproductive healthcare, to expand women’s and girls’ life choices.
  • Push for social protection systems, such as paid parental leave and State support for children and older care to sustain families.
  • Ensure women’s safety by implementing laws to eliminate violence against women and girls and provide justice and support for violence survivors.

It also points out that families serve as a home for equality and justice, which is not only a moral imperative, but essential to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the world’s most comprehensive agenda to ensure human progress.

The UN Women chief cited research and evidence showing “that there is no ‘standard’ form of family, nor has there ever been”.

FROM THE FIELD: Changing world, changing families

UN Women/Ryan Brown | Cielo Gomez (center) and her family live in Nariño territory, Colombia. She took a loan to buy land. ​​​​

The agency’s Progress of the World’s Women 2019-2020: Families in a Changing World, says that traditional perception of men as the heads of household is no longer relevant and modern families take many different forms.

Taking that into account, UN Women is urging that laws and policies should reflect that new reality.

Read more here about how families around the world are changing.
 

Get help now

Send a message with a description of your problem and possible ways of assistance and we will contact you as soon as we consider your problem.

    [recaptcha class:captcha]