World News in Brief: Bangladesh student protests, South Sudan attacks continue, opportunity knocks for climate action in Africa
As violent protests continued at university campuses in Bangladesh on Wednesday, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights urged authorities to engage with students demanding an end to the quota system for government jobs amid rising unemployment.
The demonstrations erupted two weeks ago, and students have been clashing with their pro-government counterparts and the police in the capital, Dhaka, and other cities.
The Bangladeshi Government closed all public and private universities after the protests turned deadly on Tuesday, with six people killed and scores injured, according to media reports.
Writing on social media, UN rights chief Volker Türk said that all acts of violence and use of force, especially resulting in the loss of life, must be investigated and perpetrators held to account.
“Freedom of expression and peaceful assembly are fundamental human rights,” he added.
The students are protesting quotas which reserve a third of government jobs to the children of veterans of the 1971 war of independence from Pakistan.
The quotas were abolished in 2018 but reinstated earlier this month.
South Sudan: Community-based militias continue attacks on civilians
Widespread attacks against civilians - driven primarily by sub-national armed violence involving community-based militias and civil defense groups — are continuing in South Sudan, the UN Mission in the country, UNMISS, said on Wednesday in its latest quarterly report.
Between January and March, UNMISS documented 240 incidents of violence impacting 913 civilians nationwide.
Of this number, 468 were killed, 328 injured and 70 abducted, with 47 subjected to conflict related sexual violence. This represents a 24 percent rise compared to the 194 violent incidents reported during the same period in 2023.
The Mission said inter and intra-communal violence by community-based militias and/or civil defense groups remains the primary source of sub-national violence, accounting for 87 percent of victims, or 796 persons.
On a positive note, the report also showed a 30 per cent decrease in the number of documented abductions compared to the fourth quarter of 2023 (from 100 to 70). Similarly, incidents of conflict-related sexual violence decreased by 25 per cent, of from 63 to 47.
The Head of UNMISS, Nicholas Haysom, called for collective action by authorities and communities to resolve longstanding grievances peacefully, particularly as South Sudan approaches its first elections, scheduled for December.
“Building a culture of human rights is fundamental to achieving sustainable security, peace, and democracy,” he said.
New UNDP report highlights climate action opportunities in Africa
Also on Wednesday, the UN Development Programme (UNDP) launched the third edition of its Africa Investment Report Climate Opportunities at the Africa Impact Summit 2024 in Nairobi, Kenya.
The report outlines private sector opportunities with economic, social and environmental potential for sustainable development in Africa, and presents data and trends on Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) investments across the continent.
“Through the UNDP Africa Investment Insights Report, we turn Africa’s climate challenges into investment opportunities for the private sector, as per the continent’s own ambition captured in national NDCs,” said Maxwell Gomera, Director of the UNDP Africa Sustainable Finance Hub.
Private sector opportunity
This third edition of the report highlights climate-related investment opportunities using insights from 16 African SDGs Investor Maps. Partnering with UNDP’s Climate Promise, it shows how the private sector can support African countries' Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) under the Paris Agreement.
The report emphasises that climate action presents significant opportunities for the private sector, with over half of the identified SDGs investment opportunities in Africa contributing to climate action and NDCs.
Mr. Romera said UNDP is calling on investors to participate in “realising opportunities for positive climate action.”