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La colère reste vive dans les campagnes polonaises concernant le Green Deal. À l’approche du scrutin présidentiel de dimanche, les agriculteurs comptent bien faire entendre leur opposition aux politiques climatiques défendues par certains responsables politiques.

The post Pologne : à l’approche de la présidentielle, la colère des agriculteurs monte contre le Green Deal européen appeared first on Euractiv FR.

Talks between Ukraine and Russia will begin today in Istanbul a day later than planned. Vladimir Putin, who first proposed the negotiations, will not attend. In the meantime Putin has extended Russia's defence plan by two years. The EU plans to impose new sanctions on Russia as of Tuesday.

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer has announced a U-turn in migration policy, declaring his aim of ending what he called a 'squalid chapter' of rising inward migration. Among other measures tougher requirements for obtaining work visas and citizenship are planned. For commentators, the government's proposed reforms raise fundamental questions.

On Tuesday, a Russian fighter jet briefly entered Nato airspace after the Estonian navy tried to intercept an unflagged tanker in the Baltic Sea which apparently belongs to Russia's "shadow fleet". The national press calls for consequences.

UNICEF found downward trends in overall child well-being when it comes to physical and mental health, and academic performance. Credit: UNICEF/Ezequiel Becerra

By Oritro Karim
UNITED NATIONS, May 16 2025 (IPS)

Due to the lingering effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, millions of children, particularly in some of the world’s wealthiest countries, experienced declines in their overall health and academic performances.

On May 13, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) issued a report detailing global downturns in child wellbeing in the 2020s. Titled Report Card 19: Child Wellbeing in an Unpredictable World, the report compares data from studies conducted in 2018 and 2022, with children from across 43 countries in the European Union and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). There were six markers of wellbeing that were studied: life satisfaction, suicide rates, child mortality, obesity, academic success, and social skills.

Over the past 25 years, these countries have noted significant upturns in child wellbeing, marked by decreased rates of suicide and child mortality, as well as increased rates of school completion. Despite this, rates of child wellbeing have begun to slip in the past five years due to th COVID-19 pandemic exacerbating a host of social inequities, as well as heightened risks brought on by climate shocks and world conflicts.

According to the report, the top three countries that showed the lowest rates of decline remained the same from 2018 to 2022, being the Netherlands, Denmark, and France. Mexico, Türkiye, and Chile were found to have experienced the highest rates of decline in child wellbeing. Other nations with highly developed economies, such as South Korea and Japan, reported gains in academic performance but significant losses in mental wellbeing.

Due to the widespread global shutdowns of schools during the COVID-19 pandemic, children around the world are estimated to have lost, on average, about 7 months to a year of progress in their academic careers. Although many schools attempted to supplement the absence of an in-person curriculum with remote learning, it was largely unsuccessful.

According to a study from the National Institutes of Health (NIH), many schools around the world reported lower scores on standardized tests compared to pre-pandemic years. Additionally, many students and teachers reported decreased academic performance due to increased rates of disorganization, a lack of motivation, as well as jarring lifestyle changes.

Declines in academic performance can also be attributed to a lack of essential tools such as internet access, as well as being in environments that are not conducive to learning, such as noisy or overcrowded households. Additionally, the pandemic spurred increased rates of electronics usage and decreased rates of interaction with peers, which led to impairments in social development, fewer hours of sleep, depression, anxiety, and attention deficits.

Due to the prolonged state of social isolation, many of these impacts can still be seen in children and young adults in the present day. In the 43 countries that were surveyed, out of 17.2 million 15 year-old children still in school, 8.4 million were determined to be not functionally literate and numerate. This indicates that roughly half of this age group has little to no understanding of basic reading, writing, and math skills. Illiteracy has increased the most in Bulgaria, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cyprus, and Mexico. Humanitarian organizations have expressed concern that these children will be largely unprepared for most sectors of their local economies.

The UNICEF report underscores that children from “disadvantaged” families, such as those experiencing poverty, disability, food insecurity, disease, conflicts, and violence, are disproportionately affected.

“Prior to the pandemic, children were already struggling on multiple fronts, and didn’t have access to adequate support – even in wealthy countries,” said UNICEF Innocenti Director, Bo Viktor Nylund. In the wake of the pandemic, the data set a worrying benchmark for children’s wellbeing, especially for children from disadvantaged backgrounds,” Nylund added.

Additionally, nations around the world have reported significant declines in mental health in the wake of the pandemic. Out of the 32 countries that yielded available data in mental health, 14 reported decreased rates of life satisfaction. In nearly all of the countries that experienced declines in this field, girls were found to have less life satisfaction than boys.

Surprisingly, socioeconomic status was found to have a relatively weak correlation with life satisfaction. According to UNICEF, decreased life satisfaction can be attributed to a lack of exercise, increased social media use, and worsened peer relationships, all of which have been exacerbated by the pandemic.

Additionally, 17 countries reported increased rates of suicide. Japan, South Korea, and Türkiye reported the largest increases in suicide rates. Humanitarian organizations also expressed concern of increased rates of suicide among small populations in Iceland and Malta, indicating widespread instability in these regions.

On the other hand, the report notes that in 2018, it was estimated that roughly 2 in every 1,000 children died in their youth. This figure has halved in 2022, dropping to only 1 out of every 1,000 children. Overall, rates of child mortality have been dropping for decades, with 33 out of 43 countries studied reporting vast decreases in child deaths.

Despite these gains, UNICEF found that rates of child overweightness and obesity have been on the rise following the pandemic. The biggest declines in physical health have been observed in Chile, Colombia, and the United States. In wealthy countries, children have been recorded to have higher rates of obesity, while food insecurity plagues the youth of lower income countries.

Increased rates of obesity and overweightness have been attributed to increased worldwide reliance on digital technology and decreased physical exercise. Use of digital technology is linked with consumption of nutritionally poor foods and the use of harmful cosmetic products that cause hormonal and reproductive issues. Additionally, wealthier countries face higher rates of obesity as unhealthy diets are associated with people who work more hours a week, on average.

“The extent of the challenges children are facing means we need a coherent, holistic, whole-of-childhood approach that addresses their needs at every stage of their lives,” said Nylund.

UNICEF has urged local governments to adopt programs that promote access to healthier food options, offer mental health services, and establish supplemental learning programs that ensure that all young people maintain the necessary skills for career success. Furthermore, it is imperative that these programs target the most vulnerable populations, such as disabled children or those that are living in protracted crises, and supply them with the essential services they will need to be self-sufficient.

IPS UN Bureau Report

 

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Deportee from the U.S., Aasis Subedi, with his father, Narayan Kumar Subedi. Credit: Diwash Gahatraj/IPS

By Diwash Gahatraj
JHAPA, Nepal, May 16 2025 (IPS)

Sitting in his small hut in the Beldangi refugee camp in Jhapa district, Nepal, Narayan Kumar Subedi feels relieved that his son, Aasis Subedi, is safe.

Aasis is one of four United States deportees who were the subject of Nepal’s Supreme Court landmark ruling on April 24, which directed the government not to deport four Bhutanese refugees who entered Nepal in March of this year after being disowned by Bhutan. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) deported the four after they had lived in various parts of the United States for nearly a decade.

The Apex body ordered that “Aasis Subedi, Santosh Darji, Roshan Tamang, and Ashok Gurung should not remain in police custody. Instead, they should be housed in the Bhutanese refugee camps in eastern Nepal, where they lived before moving to the United States.” The ruling came in response to a habeas corpus petition filed by Narayan, father of Aasis.

“It was a mixed feeling that night when my son and two other deported men—Santosh and Roshan—came to my house. I was thrilled to see my son after ten years but was equally sad that he was escaping like a stateless homeless person,” says the 55-year-old.

On March 27, the morning after their deportation, Nepali immigration authorities arrested the three men for entering the country without visas. The fourth refugee, Ashok Gurung, was detained separately in Bahundangi, a village on the Indo-Nepal border, two days later.

The Department of Immigration investigated their case for nearly a month while they remained in police custody until the country’s highest court granted them a second chance to live in Nepal. However, this decision will be reviewed after 60 days. Until then, the four men must remain within the camp premises and report to the local police station once a week, adds Narayan.

The four men have found themselves in legal and diplomatic limbo after Bhutan refused to accept them back. Now sheltered in Nepal’s refugee camps under a temporary court order, their case highlights the ongoing crisis of statelessness among the Lhotshampa community and exposes the fragile nature of third-country resettlement solutions.

Cruel Connection

Aasis Subedi photographed with his wife while in the United States.

The four men in their mid-thirties—Aasis, Santosh, Roshan, and Ashok—share a bitter connection of multiple displacements and statelessness.

They belong to the Bhutanese Lhotshampa community, a Nepali-speaking ethnic group that settled in southern Bhutan. The Lhotshampas (“southerners” in Bhutan’s Dzongkha language) migrated to Bhutan in the late 19th and early 20th centuries during the reign of King Ugyen Wangchuck, encouraged to develop the sparsely populated southern lowlands.

Initially granted citizenship in the 1950s and 1970s, the status of Lhotshampas changed when Bhutan introduced the “One Nation, One People” policy in the late 1980s. The policy promoted Drukpa cultural norms, which included mandatory dress codes and language use, resulting in protests from Lhotshampas who felt marginalized.

The government subsequently revoked citizenship for many Lhotshampas, labeling them “illegal immigrants.” Between 1990 and 1993, persecution and mass arrests forced over 100,000 Lhotshampas to flee—a situation many consider ethnic cleansing. Most ended up in refugee camps in eastern Nepal.

A few decades ago, the families of the four deported individuals also came to Nepal as expelled citizens of Bhutan, and they lived as refugees in the camps until a decade ago, when they became part of a third-country resettlement program.

After years of unsuccessful attempts to return to Bhutan through numerous petitions to the king and internal organizations, as well as appeals for help from nations like India and Nepal, the refugees’ hopes for repatriation dimmed.

A turning point came in 2007 when the UN refugee agency (UNHCR) launched a third-country resettlement program, offering the displaced Bhutanese both a ray of hope and a path to citizenship elsewhere. By 2019, more than 113,500 refugees had relocated to eight different countries, with the majority settling in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom. Approximately 96,000 Bhutanese resettled in the United States.

Following the resettlement program, only two of the original seven refugee camps—Beldangi and Pathri in Jhapa district—remain operational, housing around 6,300 residents. These individuals either declined third-country resettlement in the hope of returning to their homeland, Bhutan, or missed the opportunity due to a lack of valid documentation.

Now, the four men have rejoined camp life. All four had U.S. Green Cards—despite this, the Trump administration deported them. Officials suspected them of criminal acts. Some had finished long jail terms. Then ICE took them for deportation. After days in custody, they were taken to Paro, Bhutan, via New Delhi.

At Paro Airport, Bhutanese officials interrogated them but refused to recognize them as citizens. Authorities escorted them out through the Phuentsholing-Jaigaon border. Each received INR 30,000 (about USD 350).

“With nowhere to go, my son and the others decided to come to Nepal. They had no documents to show at the border, so they had to cross illegally with help from an Indian fixer,” explains Narayan.

Bhutan’s refusal to recognize the deportees as citizens has resulted in a diplomatic impasse between the two Himalayan countries. 

“The order from the Supreme Court of Nepal to stop deportation gives these men temporary relief but doesn’t solve the bigger problem,” said Dr. Gopal Krishna Siwakoti, President of INHURED International, a human rights organization. “The court only directed the government to finish its investigation within 60 days, leaving their future uncertain after that period.”

“Nobody seems to have clear answers in this complex situation,” Siwakoti noted, describing it as a “bureaucratic black hole.”

“We had hoped the Supreme Court would direct the government to start diplomatic talks with Bhutan, India, and the USA at the same time, considering these men were essentially made stateless and moved between countries against their will. Unfortunately, the issue wasn’t mentioned in the ruling,” Siwakoti added.

So far, America has deported 24 Bhutanese refugees. Besides the four men in Nepal, there are no official records on the whereabouts of the others.

United States Travel Ban

Bhutan, known for promoting the Gross National Happiness Index, has traditionally maintained favorable diplomatic relations with the United States. However, since early this year,  Bhutan has been included in a draft “Red List” proposed by the United States government.

This list suggested a complete travel ban for citizens of certain countries, including Bhutan, due to concerns over national security and irregular migration patterns. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security reported a 37 percent increase in visa violations. Reportedly, over 200 Bhutanese nationals were found to be residing illegally in the United States between 2013 and 2022.

This policy shift appears to have been influenced in part by the unresolved issue of Bhutanese refugees. Sivakoti, a long-time advocate for resolving the Bhutanese refugee crisis, stated, “We understand that the United States administration had discussions with the Bhutanese government prior to the deportations. The United States presented documentation showing that while these individuals had refugee status in Nepal, their country of origin was Bhutan.”

On this basis, the United States contended that Bhutan should assume responsibility for these people. Bhutan, however, remained reluctant.

“The U.S. administration then took strict action and placed Bhutan in the ‘red zone.’ After such a move by the United States, Bhutan hesitated and was forced to evacuate these refugees,” Siwakoti said in an interview with Sethopathi, a Nepali news outlet.

Meanwhile, the Bhutanese government has reportedly requested a review of this decision, asserting that their citizens do not pose a significant security threat. As of now, the draft travel ban has not been officially implemented.

Meanwhile, the future looks uncertain for the four men stuck in the Beldangi camp and others who may face deportation in the coming days. Sivakoti says, “The complex legal and immigration challenges surrounding their cases make it unlikely that any country would accept them.”

“Today, resettlement opportunities have shrunk worldwide. There might be a small chance through family or institutional sponsorship in another country, but even that requires proper documents—like a refugee registration card or a travel document—which are nearly impossible to get now or anytime soon.”

IPS UN Bureau Report

 

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