Hate speech incites violence and has devastating effects on communities. Its scale and impact are nowadays amplified by new technologies and social media to the point that online hate speech has become one of the most frequent methods for spreading divisive rhetoric and violent ideologies.
Alice Nderitu, the Special Adviser of the UN Secretary-General on the Prevention of Genocide tells about the real world examples of crimes committed as a result of hate speech, and how engaging local communities holds the key to preventing future incidents.
The International Day of the Tropics takes place annually on 29 June to celebrate the extraordinary diversity of the tropics while highlighting unique challenges and opportunities nations of the Tropics face. It provides an opportunity to take stock of progress across the tropics, to share tropical stories and expertise and to acknowledge the diversity and potential of the region.
All over the world women and girls are impacted by the effects of climate change. In Jordan, women are playing a key role in tackling climate related threats in their own communities.
Following the political instability and clashes which broke out in the small landlocked country of Burundi in East Africa in 2015, hundreds of thousands of people fled to nearby countries in search of safety and security.
In July 2021, the UN General Assembly highlighted global concerns over “the exponential spread and proliferation of hate speech” around the world and adopted a resolution on “promoting inter-religious and intercultural dialogue and tolerance in countering hate speech”. The resolution recognizes the need to counter discrimination, xenophobia and hate speech and calls on all relevant actors, including States, to increase their efforts to address this phenomenon, in line with international human rights law. The resolution proclaimed 18 June as the International Day for Countering Hate Speech, which will be marked for the first time in 2022.
Droughts have become an urgent global issue. Aggravated by human-induced climate change and desertification, they threaten all types of countries, negatively impacting food security and socioeconomic development. And prospects are not reassuring as droughts may affect over three-quarters of the world’s population by 2050.
Originally constructed in 1976 as a supertanker and converted into a floating storage and offloading facility a decade later, the vessel holds an estimated 1.14 million barrels of light crude oil. Maintenance operations were suspended on the tanker in 2015 as the civil war escalated.