The 73rd United Nations General Assembly officially starts this week and is supposed to be the
place where the key pressing issues of our time -- the ones that affect people around
the world --- take center stage.
But as previous years have shown, sometimes the things that make the headlines during
the assembly, are not the very issues that need to be addressed the most.
So we’ve compiled five key global issues we think you should keep an eye on during
this General Assembly.
The first is China, where the central government in Beijing is reportedly imprisoning more
than a million minority Uyghur muslims in secret internment camps.
The United Nations says it has received credible reports that indicate China has been locking
up the minority group in mass numbers for months, to politically indoctrinate them,
in the region of Xinjiang.
The alleged targeting of this minority group would make it China’s largest internment
program since the Era of Mao Zedong.
The move is reportedly part of a larger effort by the government to crack down of religious
liberty in the country.
China vehemently denies that it’s imprisoning millions of Uyghurs to indoctrinate them,
despite overwhelming evidence and testimony from those who were recently released from
the camps.
The United Nations and others have condemned this crackdown, including the United States
who is now weighing the implementation of sanctions against the country.
The second is the Rohingya crisis.
The plight of the Rohingya people now stretches into its second year.
Myanmar’s alleged state-sponsored violence against the ethnic and religious minority
group has claimed the lives of at least 10,000 people and forced the over 700,000 others
fleeing across international borders for safety.
A recent report by the United Nations Human Rights council detailed systematic forms of
violence perpetrated by security forces; including torture, imprisonment, mass rape, arson, and
indiscriminate killing.
The group accuses the state of committing genocide against the Rohingya.
Myanmar has refuted these claims, despite the overwhelming evidence against it, as well
as victims testimony who have fled the country.
This will be the first time world leaders gather after a UN report called the violence
genocide -- Follow this story to see if the world’s
policy makers and leaders push for more action against the southeast Asian country.
The third is South Sudan’s civil war.
South Sudan, the world’s youngest country, continues to be afflicted by civil war and
violence.
Since 2013, the war has killed well over 50,000 people and created Africa’s worst refugee
crisis today, with more than 2 million people being forced out of their country to seek
safety.
South Sudanese not only face the threats of war, but also a food shortage that could put
over 1 million at risk of severe hunger.
Most recently in August 2018, the warring sides signed another agreement that seems
to be holding for the moment.
But as they wait for the agreement to take effect, the war continues.
Neighboring countries have accepted millions who are seeking safety and the UN and other
international organizations have continued relief efforts.
The United States and european countries have even placed sanctions and travel restrictions
against key military officers.
Fourth is the conflict in Yemen.
The conflict has devastated what was already the poorest country in Arab world.
Over 6,000 civilians have died during the conflict and 8.4 million others are now on
the brink of starvation.
The war started as a civil conflict after popular uprising destabilized the country
in 2011.
That civil conflict turned into an outright proxy war between regional archrivals Iran
and Saudi Arabia in 2015, which has created what some have called “the worst humanitarian
crisis in the world” today.
Some world powers, like the United States and United Kingdom have even backed Saudi
Arabia’s brutal campaign.
The United Nations Human Rights Council has said that both sides in the war need to be
investigated for likely war crimes over their targeting of civilian locations, like hospitals,
schools, and markets.
So as the leaders of Saudi Arabia, Iran, and the United State’s, all gather on the world
stage to send out their messages, listen out for what they have to say about Yemen.
And finally, the U.S. family separation policies.
The United State’s typically takes center stage at the General Assembly for the president’s
speech.
But, this year it will be talked about for another reason -- its actions that have separated
asylum seeker and immigrant families at its southern border.
In April 2018 -- U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced a new “zero tolerance
policy” that resulted in the arrest and criminal prosecution of immigrants who crossed
the border illegally and asylum seekers..
The policy has even resulted in babies and toddlers being held inside what some have
described as “cages.”
While President Trump signed an executive order in June to end family separations, some
experts say a number of the families that were separated will never be able to be reunited.
The Trump Administration’s policy has been criticized by multiple countries, human rights
groups, and political leaders within the United States.
The United Nations Human Rights Council has even strongly condemned the U.S. for the separation
and detention of the families, calling it “unconscionable” and equating it to child
abuse.
So as the General Assembly gathers, remember to pay attention to what world leaders will
say, or not say, about some of the most important world issues of today.