1 January 2022

UN

UN Security Council Unanimously Adopts Resolution 2615 (2021), Enabling Provision of Humanitarian Aid to Afghanistan as Country Faces Economic Crisis

United States Representative, Introducing Text, Says It Exempts Activities to Meet Basic Needs from Taliban-Related Sanctions

The Security Council today adopted a resolution providing for a humanitarian exemption to the sanctions regime established by resolution 1988 (2011), enabling the provision of humanitarian aid to Afghanistan as the country verges on economic collapse.

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UNICEF issues historic humanitarian appeal to save the lives of millions of children in Afghanistan

UNICEF launched its largest ever single-country appeal to urgently respond to the humanitarian needs of over 24 million people in Afghanistan, half of whom are children. UNICEF’s appeal for US$2 billion will help to avert the imminent collapse of health, nutrition, WASH, education and other vital social services for children and families.

”The current humanitarian situation in Afghanistan is dire, especially for children. Winter has already set in and, without additional funding, UNICEF and partners will be unable to reach the children and families that need us the most,” said Alice Akunga, UNICEF Afghanistan Representative a.i.

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International Migrants Day
18 December

A broad range of factors continue to determine the movement of people. They are either voluntary or forced movements as a result of the increased magnitude and frequency of disasters, economic challenges and extreme poverty or conflict. Approximately 281 million people were international migrants in 2020, representing 3.6 per cent of the global population.

All these will significantly affect the characteristics and scale of migration in the future and determine the strategies and policies countries must develop in order to harness the potential of migration while ensuring the fundamental human rights of migrants are protected.

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The UN Human Rights Office urges the authorities of Belarus and Poland to allow access to the border areas for human rights actors

From 29 November to 3 December, a UN Human Rights team visited Poland. 'We thank the Polish Government for its cooperation and ongoing dialogue, although our team was not granted access to the restricted border area. Belarus regrettably did not accept our request to visit.' - stated Spokesperson for the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Liz Throssell at the press briefing. 

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INTERPOL

Asia: Thousands of firearms destroyed following counter-terrorism operation

Checks against INTERPOL databases detected 19 wanted persons subject to Red Notices.

LYON, FRANCE: Terrorism and organized crime are invariably linked to the illicit trafficking of firearms, often across borders.

A recent INTERPOL-led operation codenamed Trigger-Salvo saw law enforcement from 10 countries in Central, East and Southeast Asia coordinate in a series of border enforcement actions aimed at preventing firearms trafficking and detecting any links with terrorism and organized crime.  

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Europol

Europol’s highlights of 2021: a year in review

2021 was a challenging year, but the pandemic did not stop Europol from fighting crime. Europol successfully supported hundreds of significant operations and made a remarkable difference in making Europe safer for EU citizens.

Here are Europol’s six key highlights from 2021: 

  • Economic and financial crime: Operation Jumita
  • Counter-terrorism: right-wing extremist takedown in Finland
  • Cybercrime: EMOTET takedown 
  • Organised crime: Operation Trojan Shield/Greenlight
  • Criminal networks: illegal use of Sky ECC communications blocked
  • Flagship Europol report: Serious and Organised Crime Threat Assessment 2021

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17 arrests in Spain for large-scale drug trafficking and money laundering

The criminal network allegedly smuggled tonnes of hashish and cocaine from Morocco to Spain

The Belgian Federal Police (Police Fédérale/Federale Politie), the French Gendarmerie (Gendarmerie Nationale) and the Spanish Civil Guard (Guardia Civil), supported by Europol, successfully dismantled an organised crime group involved in drug trafficking and money laundering. 

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