Developing a holistic response to humanitarian challenges in the Sahel and West Africa
Statement by Ambassador James Roscoe at the Security Council briefing on West Africa and the Sahel
From:
11 January 2021 (Transcript of the speech, exactly as it was delivered)
Thank you Mr President. I would like to thank Special Representative Chambas for his briefing today and for his ongoing work over the past six months, during the terrible security and humanitarian challenges across the region. The United Kingdom will continue to work with UNOWAS and the countries in the region to form a well-calibrated and holistic response.
Mr President, the United Kingdom also welcomes the largely peaceful elections and strong voter turnout last year in Burkina Faso, Niger and Ghana. And we remain concerned by the violence and tension which have marked some elections in the region. And we encourage all parties to continue to use dialogue to resolve their political differences. We’re grateful to
The recent abduction of 344 students of the Government Secondary School, Kankara, Katsina State from their school hostels is the single most audacious mass kidnapping since the crime became rife in Nigeria.
The Kankara abductions drew the attention of the global community almost in the way that the 2014 abductions of 276 schoolgirls from Chibok by Boko Haram did.
While the Kankara boys have been released after six days in captivity, over a hundred of the Chibok girls remain unaccounted for.
Other mass abductions of students in the country included the Dapchi abductions of February 19, 2018, where jihadi group, Boko Haram, stormed a school in Borno and kidnapped 110 students.
In a Pandemic Year, Some Good News for Children
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10 Points of Progress in 2020
This year has been devastating for children. The Covid-19 pandemic disrupted the education of 1.5 billion students, pushed an estimated 150 million additional children into poverty, left many without caregivers, and increased child labor, child marriage, and violence in the home.
But despite the enormous hardships, the year has also brought some good news for kids. As we finish the year, here are 10 areas of progress from 2020:
Greece ended its longstanding practice of detaining unaccompanied migrant children in jail cells.
Both Sierra Leone and Zimbabwe committed to ending the exclusion of pregnant girls and teenage mothers from school.
Concerns About Human Rights Violations in Afghanistan outlookafghanistan.net - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from outlookafghanistan.net Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.