Photo : UNICEF
NIAS Area Studies
AFRICA MONITOR
Photo : UNICEF
IN BRIEF
by Apoorva Sudhakar
Democratic Republic of Congo: 24,000 grave violations against children recorded in 2021, says UN report
On 11 July, the UN released its report on "Children and Armed Conflict" focusing on the impact of conflict escalation and protraction, military coups, and violation of international law. The report says there were 24,000 grave violations against children in 2021; the violations include killing and maiming of children, recruitment into armed forces and armed groups, and restrictions on humanitarian access. In 2021, children from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Israel and parts of Palestine, Somalia, Syria and Yemen faced the highest number of grave violations. However, 2021 also witnessed some progress; 12,214 children were rescued from armed forces and armed groups in Myanmar, Syria, Colombia, the Central African Republic and the DRC. ("Thousands of children endure ‘horrific conditions’ in conflict zones: UN report," UN News, 11 July 2022)
United Nations: Global population expected to reach eight billion in November 2022
On 11 July, the United Nations released the World Population Prospect report which predicts that world population would reach eight billion on 15 November 2022, 8.5 billion by 2030, 9.7 billion in 2050 and peak at 10.4 billion in the 2080s. The report noted that the population growth rate had been the slowest since the 1950s, after dropping to less than one per cent in 2020. According to the report, eight countries, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Egypt, Ethiopia, India, Nigeria, Pakistan, the Philippines and Tanzania would lead the increase in global population until 2050. ("World population to reach 8 billion this year, as growth rate slows," UN News, 11 July 2022)