The war in the Gaza Strip led to a rollback of Palestinian socio-economic development by more than 20 years. Top news of the day | Thursday: Palestine, Georgia, EU, refugee team UN
The main news of the day in the UN and in the world: growing poverty and economic losses in Palestine, the UN’s chief human rights activist on protests in Georgia, detention of migrant children in the countries of the European Union, the refugee team at the Olympic Games in Paris.
Economy of Palestine
The war in the Gaza Strip has set back the socio-economic development of Palestine, including the West Bank, by more than 20 years. This is stated in a new UN report published on Thursday. A joint study by the United Nations Development Program and the Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia found that the poverty rate in Palestine has risen to 58.4 percent since the escalation that began following the Oct. 7 Hamas attacks. Another 1.74 million people fell below the poverty line. At the same time, GDP fell 26.9 percent, resulting in a loss of $7.1 billion compared to pre-war levels.
Protests in Georgia
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk expressed concern over reports of unjustified and disproportionate use forces by law enforcement officers against demonstrators and journalists in the Georgian capital Tbilisi. Thousands of people have been protesting against the Transparency of Foreign Influence bill for several days. Turk said authorities must respect and protect the rights to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly. Any restrictions on these rights must comply with the principles of legality, necessity and proportionality, he noted.
Migrant children
European Union countries that are preparing for implementation of the EU Pact on Migration and Asylum should ban immigration detention of children, UN human rights experts said today. “The detention of migrant and asylum-seeking children because of their migration status or the migration status of their parents is not in the best interests of the child and is in all circumstances a violation of children’s rights,” the Special Rapporteurs said in a statement. Human rights activists have called on the European Commission to develop specific guidelines for the reception of children, both accompanied and unaccompanied by adults. They added that the detention of adult migrants and asylum seekers must also stop.
Refugee Team
36 athletes from 11 countries were named members of the Refugee Olympic Team on Thursday. They will compete in 12 sports at this year’s Paris Games. The refugee team, which represents millions of displaced people around the world, will take part in the Olympic Games for the third time. According to UNHCR, as of September 2023, there were approximately 114 million people around the world who were forced to flee their homes. For the first time, the refugee team will compete under its own logo.