Climate-related displacement and food insecurity is not a future possibility, but it is already happening and it’s only projected to worsen without urgent action in coming years. According to the UN, weather-related hazards such as storms, droughts, and wildfires displaced 16.1 million people in 2018.
Latin American countries have some of the most restrictive abortion laws in the world. For instance, Nicaragua has a complete ban on abortion while Guatemala has an exception only when a girl or woman’s life is at risk. Access to abortion has also become a point of contention in the United States as a total of 27 bans have been enacted across 12 states so far in 2019.
Seventy-two percent of child deaths and injuries across the world’s deadliest conflict zones are caused by landmines, unexploded ordinance, air strikes, and other explosives. In fact, children are seven times more likely to die from blast injuries than adults involved in fighting. In Afghanistan, explosive weapons were the cause of death in 84 percent of child conflict fatalities over a two-year period compared to 56 percent of civilian adult deaths.
Modern slavery and human trafficking is one of the fastest growing criminal industries and one of the biggest human rights crises today, according to the United Nations.
Around the world, millions of women are employed by the 2.4 trillion-dollar apparel industry. Many face daily sexual and verbal harassment on the job.
“Survivors deserve a safe and secure pathway home or safe passage elsewhere. We must support efforts to focus on humanity, and overcome political and cultural divisions. We must not only imagine a better future for women, children and persecuted minorities, we must work consistently to make it happen – prioritizing humanity, not war,” said U.N. Goodwill Ambassador Nadia Murad.
Copyright Toward Freedom 2019