UN Secretary-General visits coffee farm in Laos. Main news of the day | Friday: Ukraine, Nobel Prize, children online, Myanmar UN
Main news of the day in the UN and around the world: as a result of the strike in the Odessa region, civilians were killed and injured, the head of the UN congratulated the Japanese organization awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, cases of sexual exploitation of children have become more frequent in the digital environment, at the UN-ASEAN summit, the Secretary-General called for a settlement of the conflict in Myanmar.
Strike on Odessa region
As a result of the night strike on Odessa region, four people were killed, including a 16-year-old girl. Another 10 people were injured. Residential buildings were damaged. This was reported on Friday by the UN press service, citing the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA). Humanitarian workers continue to provide assistance to people in the south of the country in areas that have been subjected to a series of attacks over the past few days.
Nobel Peace Prize
Nuclear weapons remain a real threat to humanity and are once again making their way into the everyday rhetoric of international relations, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said on Friday. He congratulated a Japanese organization that won the Nobel Peace Prize. The organization is a movement of survivors of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The UN chief has met with them several times in the past. Guterres called for the complete elimination of nuclear weapons.
Sexual exploitation of children online
Child sexual exploitation has become more common in the digital environment: more than 300 million children a year are estimated to become victims of such crimes online, according to a report released on Friday by the UN Special Rapporteur on the sale and sexual exploitation of children. The report also says that the misuse of technology has left children even more vulnerable to the risks of sexual violence.
UN Chief in Laos
The UN chief is concerned about the deteriorating political, humanitarian and human rights situation in Myanmar, he said while speaking to reporters at the UN-Association of Southeast Asian Nations summit in Laos. He called on the international community to remember the plight of the Rohingya and to create conditions for their return to Myanmar by resolving the country’s political problems.