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Leadership Lessons from Ramayana: JNU to conduct a two-day webinar in collaboration with The Ramayana School

OpIndia Staff
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Leadership Lessons from Ramayana: JNU to conduct a two-day webinar in collaboration with The Ramayana School

JNU’s Vice Chancellor Mamidala Jagadesh Kumar’s following tweet yesterday morning created a debate among twitteratties from the both the sides, about an upcoming webinar in JNU on Leadership Lessons from Ramayana, in partnership w

JNU VC said in his tweet, “About Rama, in 1946, Mahatma Gandhi said: He is one without a second. He alone is great. There is none greater than He. He is timeless, formless, stainless. Such is my Rama. He alone is my Lord and Master. JNU organizes ‘Leadership Lessons from Ramayana’. All from JNU are welcome.”

In another Tweet, the VC informed that JNU will be conducting a webinar on ‘Leadership lessons through Ramayana’ on May 2 and 3 from 4 pm to 6 pm. The webinar will be coordinated by Prof. Santosh Kumar Shukla, JNU and Prof. Mazhar Asif, JNU.

Founder of The Ramayana School, Shantanu Gupta, when contacted, thanked JNU’s VC for his proactive approach, to partner with the school for the Leadership workshop. 

The Ramayana School

Talking about The Ramayana School, Shantanu said – The Ramayana School is an endeavor to explore and contextualize the life lessons hidden in Ramayana to the present context. Ramayana School team has meticulously developed various innovative tools, to dive deep into the story, conversations & characters of Ramayana and to translate them in real life learnings for students, families, scholars, educators and entrepreneurs.

When asked about the details of the workshop, Shantanu told, that through various thought experiments and critical thinking tools, they try to work on critical & creative thinking skills of the participants, and in the process, participants develop, thorough understanding of the essence of Valmiki Ramayana. Learning from the leadership lessons from Rama’s journey, “Tracing Rama and Ravana within you” and “Killing the Ravana with you”, Ramayana Hackathon & Ramayana Olympiad Quiz are some of the popular tools among previous participants of the workshop.

When asked about the motivation behind the school, Shantanu told that he is homeschooling his son Abhiram, and around two years back, intrigued by a question by his son, he started engaging with Valmiki Ramayana deeply and being a management graduate, he found various leadership lessons in the wonderful ancient text of Ramayana. Shantanu has done multiple offline and online workshops on the topic, like at Rambhau Prabodhini in Mumbai and at 2nd World Ramayana Conference at Jabalpur. 

Shantanu added that The Ramayana School takes a cue from the fact that there is something magical in the thousands of years old biography of Rama, that it finds resonance in the culture of more than 100+ countries and got translated in more than 300 different variants and still counting, beyond the considerations of culture, religion and language. There is a hidden encrypted message in each of the 24000 slokas of Valmiki Ramayana, which can enrich humanity like nothing else.

MEA rejects USCIRF claims on religious freedom in the country, says US body’s misrepresentation has reached new levels

OpIndia Staff
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MEA rejects USCIRF claims on religious freedom in the country, says US body’s misrepresentation has reached new levels

The Indian government has categorically rejected the claims made by the controversial United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) in its report that the central government allowed violence against minorities in the country.

Responding to the recent USCIRF report, MEA spokesperson Anurag Srivastava stated that the government rejected the observations in the report. Referring to the comments against India as “biased and tendentious” Srivastava said that such comments against India are “not new”, but on this occasion “its misrepresentation has reached new levels”.

“We reject the observations on India in the USCIRF Annual Report. Its biased and tendentious comments against India are not new. But on this occasion, its misrepresentation has reached new levels. It has not been able to carry its own Commissioners in its endeavour. We regard it as an organisation of particular concern and will treat it accordingly,” said MEA Spokesperson Anurag Srivastava.

USCIRF Annual Report on religious freedom

The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF), an advisory body to the US Congress, on Tuesday released its 2020 annual report, where it recommended that the Trump administration to classify India as a “country of particular concern”, along with other countries like Pakistan, North Korea, China and Saudi Arabia.

The USCIRF, claimed that India was “engaging in and tolerating systematic, ongoing and egregious religious freedom violations”. The report also stated that the national government allowed violence against minorities and also engaged in and tolerated hate speech and incitement to violence.

The report recommended that the Trump administration should impose targeted sanctions on Indian government responsible for severe violations of religious freedom by freezing those individuals’ assets and barring their entry into the United States under human rights-related financial and visa authorities, citing specific religious freedom violations.

It recommended that the US administration “designate India as a ‘country of particular concern’, or CPC, for engaging in and tolerating systematic, ongoing, and egregious religious freedom violations, as defined by the International Religious Freedom Act (IRFA)”.

Three dissenters within USCIRF

Three out of nine commissioners at the USCIRF have dissented against the commission’s claim against India and have made separate qualifying notes to the report on India.

One of the USCIRF commissioners, Gary L. Bauer, said, “I must dissent from the decision of my fellow Commissioners to recommend India, the world’s largest democracy, for designation as a ‘country of particular concern’, or CPC, placing India in a gallery of rogue nations in which it does not belong.”

He added, “The trend line on religious freedom in India is not reassuring. But India is not the equivalent of communist China, which wages war on all faiths; nor of North Korea, a prison masquerading as a country; nor of Iran, whose Islamic extremist leaders regularly threaten to unleash a second Holocaust. India is our ally.”

USCIRF’s prejudice against India

The controversial US body has always been at the forefront of the misinformation campaign against the country. Ever since Narendra Modi returned back to power in 2019, the USCIRF has been meddling into India’s internal affairs by indulging in one-sided motivated propaganda against the Modi government.

The US congressional body emerged into the scene following the abrogation of Article 370 in the country with its misleading statements and continued to do so even during the implementation of historic Citizenship Amendment Act. It is notable here that the USCIRF has a history of fanning baseless rumours and leftist propaganda against India. They had also ranted against India’s Citizenship Amendment Act, calling it a ‘dangerous turn in the wrong direction’.

Ironically, the USCIRF, which claims to be standing for religious freedom and rights, resorted to peddling false propaganda against Indian government on CAA, a law which was implemented to guarantee rights in the country by granting Indian citizenship.

The Indian government has time-and-again rejected the one-sided prejudiced observations made by the US body. India had earlier said the American body on international religious freedom has chosen to be guided only by its biases on a matter on which it has no locus standi.

The USCIRF is the commission that had recommended the denial of US visa to PM Modi when he was the CM of Gujarat. It had also threatened ‘sanctions’ against Home Minister Amit Shah ‘if the CAB was passed’.

Fake news by USCIRF

Just weeks back, the self-proclaimed religious freedom body USCIRF, had indulged in a misinformation campaign by falsely claiming that coronavirus patients were being segregated on the basis of religious identity in an Ahmedabad hospital.

Citing a false propaganda report by Indian Express, the USCIRF had tweeted that it was “concerned with reports of Hindu and Muslim patients separated” into separate hospital wards in Gujarat. 

However, responding to the misinformation campaign of the Indian Express, the Gujarat government had categorically denied the claims. The Health Department of Gujarat had also clarified that no segregation is being done in the Ahmedabad civil hospital on the basis of religion for coronavirus patients.

Coronavirus: Death toll crosses 1,000 mark in India, over 31,000 have tested positive for COVID-19 till now

OpIndia Staff
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Coronavirus: Death toll crosses 1,000 mark in India, over 31,000 have tested positive for COVID-19 till now

The death toll for coronavirus has crossed the 1,000 mark in India and it stands at 1,007 as of 29 April, 2020. As of now 31,332 people have tested positive for COVID-19, the virus that originated in China.

MoHFW data on coronavirus

Coronavirus in India

India has been under a complete lockdown since 25th March 2020 and while it is expected to conclude on 3rd May, authorities have hinted that there may be further extension in hotspots where situation is still not under control. As per the data, there are currently 22,629 active cases in India while 7,695 people have recovered and have been discharged. Of the states, Maharashtra has been worst affected with coronavirus with as many as 9,318 positive cases and 400 deaths. This is followed by Gujarat that has recorded 3,744 positive cases and 54 deaths as per the official ministry data.

Delhi’s tally stands at 3,314 cases of which 1,078 have recovered. Rajasthan is at 2,364 positive cases of which 768 have recovered and Madhya Pradesh has 2,387 positive cases of which 377 have recovered.

Goa, Manipur, Tripura and Arunachal Pradesh have fully recovered while Sikkim and Nagaland have not recorded a single positive case of coronavirus.

Delhi Minority Commission chief says Hindus will face an ‘avalanche’ if Indian Muslims complain to their friends in the Arab world

OpIndia Staff
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Delhi Minority Commission chief says Hindus will face an ‘avalanche’ if Indian Muslims complain to their friends in the Arab world

Delhi Minorities Commission chairman Zafarul Islam Khan on Tuesday indulged in blatant provocation against Hindus of the country after he threatened with an ‘avalanche’ by the Muslims of the country.

Islam Khan, took to Facebook, to share a provocative post to thank Kuwait for “standing with the Indian Muslims” and attacked Hindus by referring to them as “Hindutva bigots”, who according to him miscalculated the reaction of the Arab world about the “persecution of Muslims in India”.

In his post, Khan went on to assert that Indian Muslims enjoy huge goodwill in the Arab and Muslim world for their services over centuries to Islamic causes. His post comes amidst reports that Kuwait had expressed concern regarding the alleged atrocities against Muslims in the country amidst coronavirus outbreak.

AAP leader hails radical Islamist Zakir Naik

Shockingly, the Delhi Minority Commission chairman hailed notorious radical Islamist and terror sympathiser Zakir Naik in his post as he claimed people like Naik are respectful household names in the Arab region and Muslim world.

He claimed that Indian Muslims like hah Waliullah Dehlavi, Iqbal, Abul Hasan Nadwi, Wahiduddin Khan, Zakit Naik earned respect for their in the Arab world.

“Mind you, bigots, Indian Muslims have opted until now not to complain to the Arab and Muslim world about your hate campaigns and lynchings and riots. The day they are pushed to do that, bigots will face avalanche,” he added.

Kuwait ambassador’s statement

Recently, an old statement by the Secretary-General of Kuwait cabinet had gone viral on social media, where the Secretary-General had parroted Pakistan’s favourite lines about Muslims being persecuted in India.

However, the Kuwait government, through their ambassador in India Jassem Al-Najem, have clarified that they respect the UN charter of non-interference in other countries’ affairs and respecting the sovereignty of nations. The Kuwaiti ambassador had also highlighted the current cooperation between the two nations.

Recently, upon request from the Kuwaiti government, India had deployed a Rapid Response Team to assist in their fight against coronavirus. For two weeks, the Indian RRT had rendered emergency medical assistance in testing and treatment of coronavirus patients to Kuwaiti professionals.

Anti-India propaganda in Arab world

The Hinduphobic comments of Zafarul Islam come on the heels of several reports that some section in Kuwait has raised their voice against the alleged persecution of Muslims in India amid the coronavirus outbreak.

It is pertinent to note that just yesterday, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) reiterated that the government of Kuwait does not support interference in India’s internal matters and deeply respects the friendly relations between the two countries.

Last week, after the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, had urged the Indian government to take “urgent steps” to protect the rights of its minority Muslim community. However, Minority Affairs Minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi had asserted that Muslims are prosperous in the country and those trying to ‘vitiate the atmosphere cannot be their friends’.

Soon after, Saudi Arabia, Oman and Qatar had officially stated that they do not support the anti-India propaganda currency going on by ‘foreign-sponsored social media handles and posts’.

It was recently found that many Pakistani nationals have been impersonating Arab elites on social media to share controversial statements against India in order to create discord between the nations and to dox Indians working in Gulf nations.

BJP hits back

BJP national spokesperson Nalin Kohli has hit out at Zafarul Islam Khan for “inviting” foreign countries to interfere in India’s internal affairs and questioned the Delhi government’s stand on his comments.

Nalin Kohli also slammed the Delhi minorities panel chief for mentioning the name of Zakir Naik among honourable Indian Muslims.

Yogi takes on Shiv Sena over Bulandshahr priests’ murder, says Raut’s comments show appeasement is part of their changed politics

OpIndia Staff
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Yogi takes on Shiv Sena over Bulandshahr priests’ murder, says Raut’s comments show appeasement is part of their changed politics

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Tuesday took on Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut over his sarcastic comments over Bulandshahr twin murders of temple priests.

Taking to microblogging site Twitter, Yogi Adityanath said that Raut’s politicising the murder of priests in Bulandshahr is perverse ideology he now subscribes to. “Your comments are soaked in blood of incivility and reflect your changed political beliefs. Without doubt, this is what opens floodgates of appeasement,” he said.

Yogi’s mention of “appeasement” appears to be a targeted criticism of Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray as of late, he has been accused of mishandling the coronavirus situation in Maharashtra as well as the barbaric lynching of Sadhus in Palghar. People have alleged missionaries dominant in the area could have been responsible for the lynching, while him appeasing Congress interim President Sonia Gandhi is also known.

“Dear Sanjay Raut, is it politics to express grief at the barbaric murder of the Sadhus? The Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister called up Maharashtra Chief Minister because the two sadhus lynched in Palghar had association with the Nirmohi Akhara. Who is playing politics now?” he questioned. Yogi Adityanath further said that the law and order situation in UP is under control with Yogi Adityanath as the chief minister. “Within hours the investigation was carried out in Bulandshahr incident and the culprit was arrested. Take care of Maharashtra, don’t worry about UP,” he said.

On Tuesday, following the murder of two saints in Bulandshahr, Shiv Sena’s Sanjay Raut had taken to Twitter to draw false equivalence between the two incidents and sarcastically said that Bulandshahr incident should not be communalised the way Palghar incident was.

Bulandshahr and Palghar incidents

On Tuesday early morning, two temple priests were murdered in a local temple. Within hours, the police caught the prime suspect who was roaming on the streets, half naked in an inebriated state with a sword, possibly the murder weapon, in his hand.

On 16th April, two Sadhus were lynched by a mob of over 100 people in Maharashtra’s Palghar. Videos of the lynching that had gone viral on social media showed that the police stood as mute spectator as the two sadhus along with the driver were brutally lynched and beaten to death by the mob. When Republic TV’s Arnab Goswami questioned Congress interim President Sonia Gandhi’s silence over the lynching, multiple FIRs were filed against him by Congress leaders and supporters. He was also attacked by two men who are believed to be Youth Congress workers. On Monday, Mumbai Police interrogated Goswami for over twelve hours.

Aurangabad: Around 40 gather for namaz in Mosque amid lockdown, attack police with help from women in the area, three policemen injured

OpIndia Staff
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Aurangabad: Around 40 gather for namaz in Mosque amid lockdown, attack police with help from women in the area, three policemen injured

Maharashtra is the worst-hit state by the Wuhan Coronavirus pandemic. Under such circumstances, many cases of people violating lockdown in the state have been observed throughout the month. In the latest such case, around forty Muslims in Aurangabad gathered on Monday at a mosque to offer ‘namaz’ completely defying the lockdown orders to curb the spread of the virus.

When the local police reached the spot to investigate the matter after a tip-off citing the ban on religious and social gatherings due to the ongoing health crisis in the country, the namaazis engaged in violence against the policemen. As per Aurangabad (rural) Superintendent of Police, Mokshada Patil, when some of them were arrested by the police for violating lockdown, the locals pelted stones on the police leading to injuries to some of the police officers.

SP Patil said, “Yesterday, we received information that 40 people had gathered to offer namaz. When some of them were being brought to the police station, locals pelted stones at police injuring three personnel. 31 accused have been arrested and we will nab others soon.” The incident happened at 7:30 pm on Monday. SP Patil claimed that an FIR has been registered in connection with the same.

As per reports, the group that attacked the Police was also supported by women present in the area who also started attacking the Police. An officer and two other policemen were attacked and additional forces had to be summoned in order to prevent further attacks against them. The mob fled when the additional forces came to the aid of the policemen under attack. The three injured policemen have been hospitalised and are receiving treatment at a hospital in Paithan, Aurangabad.

Other instances when police attacked by Muslims

Policemen were attacked in Howrah, West Bengal on Tuesday after they entered the area to enforce the lockdown in the wake of the Wuhan Coronavirus pandemic. It is one of the worst affected areas of West Bengal, second only to Kolkata. As per reports, two to three policemen were injured in the mob attack. The incident occurred at the Belilious Road in Howrah when the Police asked people defying the lockdown to go back to their homes. The mob also attacked the Tikiapara Police Station and pelted stones at the policemen. Bottles were also thrown at the Police. A heavy police force and RAF have been deployed in the area.

In another appalling incident, four cops were injured in an attack by a group owing allegiance to the Tablighi Jamaat in Madhubani, Bihar in early April. The policemen were attacked for admonishing them for defying the nationwide lockdown imposed to curb the spread of the pandemic. Four were arrested in connection with the incident and efforts were on to nab the other accused. An attack was launched on policemen at Gomtipur in Ahmedabad when they went to search for members of the Tablighi Jamaat. Stones were pelted at the policemen one cop was injured. Two were detained over the matter.

More than half of Coronavirus cases among Indian nationals abroad in Singapore and Kuwait, cases almost double in little more than a week

OpIndia Staff
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More than half of Coronavirus cases among Indian nationals abroad in Singapore and Kuwait, cases almost double in little more than a week

Singapore and Kuwait now account for more than half of the total Indians abroad who are infected by the Wuhan Coronavirus. A total of 6200 such infections have been reported in countries around the world, more than half of which are living in the two countries mentioned. As per reports, more than 2300 infections among Indian nationals, a major portion of which lives in the dormitories of Singapore, were recorded till late last week and more than 1300 infections were reported among expatriate Indians in Kuwait.

Other countries where a sizeable number of Coronavirus infections among Indians have been reported are Bahrain and Qatar with five hundred each and Iran with the number at three hundred. As per reports, on April 16 the total number of Indians infected in 53 countries was 3,336 and a total of 40 Indians have been reported dead abroad.

The total number of infections among Indians abroad has almost doubled in the past 8 or 9 days as it stood at 3,336 on the 16th of April. Between the 18th of March, when the government had informed the parliament that the number was 276 as on that day, 255 of which were in Iran, and the 16th of April, it took a month almost for the number to reach 3,336 but the jump from that to 6,300 took only a little over a week.

The welfare and treatment of the infected Indians have reportedly featured in the conversations between the Prime Minister and the external affairs minister and their counterparts in countries such as Singapore and Kuwait. During a conversation with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on April 23, Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said that his government will take care of the Indian migrant workers here as they take care of Singaporeans. In a recent conversation with PM Modi, his Kuwaiti counterpart Sheikh Sabah Al-Khaled al-Hamad al-Sabah also said that his government “values the contributions of the large Indian community and would continue to ensure their safety and welfare in the present situation.”

Howrah: Mob defies lockdown, attacks Police trying to enforce guidelines as Coronavirus crisis deepens in West Bengal

OpIndia Staff
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Howrah: Mob defies lockdown, attacks Police trying to enforce guidelines as Coronavirus crisis deepens in West Bengal

Policemen were attacked in Howrah, West Bengal on Tuesday after they entered the area to enforce the lockdown in the wake of the Wuhan Coronavirus pandemic. It is one of the worst affected areas of West Bengal, second only to Kolkata. In a video shared by a journalist associated with Times of India, security personnel can be seen running for cover after the mob came after them. A voice can be heard saying in the video, “These people are attacking the police station.” Loud noises can also be heard in the video.

In a different video shared by an associate editor at India Today, the mob can be seen dragging a policeman, apparently, to safety. A voice in the video [explicit language, viewer discretion advised] says that the face of the policeman has been injured. Another voice agrees. The voices appeared angry with the mob and wanted the Police to crack down on the mob.

As per reports, two to three policemen were injured in the mob attack. The incident occurred at the Belilious Road in Howrah when the Police asked people defying the lockdown to go back to their homes. The mob also attacked the Tikiapara Police Station and pelted stones at the policemen. Bottles were also thrown at the Police. A heavy police force and RAF have been deployed in the area.

Coronavirus Crisis Critical in West Bengal

The health-care experts believe that the situation in Bengal is very grave as the Mamata Banerjee-led government has not been giving real data to assess the actual seriousness of the pandemic. From threats to doctors for whistleblowing against the state government against lack of facilities to allegations of state government illegally disposing of dead bodies, there have been serious allegations against the Mamata Banerjee government in Bengal.

Meanwhile, the Chief Minister herself is engaging in rants against the Central Government and a lack of cooperation on her part with authorities at the centre has been reported on numerous occasions. She is busy making false claims about the central government and accuse them of undue political interference in the affairs of her state. Mamata Banerjee has also asked Coronavirus positive patients to quarantine themselves at home, indicating that the spread of the virus is much greater than admitted by the state government.

Coronavirus scare: Four employees test positive, Maharashtra Secretariat to remain shut for 2 days

OpIndia Staff
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Coronavirus scare: Four employees test positive, Maharashtra Secretariat to remain shut for 2 days

On Tuesday, an official informed that the Maharashtra Secretariat would remain shut for sanitisation on April 29 and April 30, after four housekeeping employees were diagnosed with the Wuhan Coronavirus. The same has been reiterated by the State Additional Chief Secretary (Services), Sitaram Kunte, in a circular.

Reportedly, the infected patients have been shifted to the isolation ward of a government-run hospital. While 3 of them tested positive on Sunday, one employee was diagnosed with the Chinese virus on Monday. Over 50 sanitation workers who work in the building had been placed under quarantine and tracing of people who have come in contact with them is underway.

The Maharastra Secretariat is functioning with fewer employees in light of the lockdown imposed in the wake of the Wuhan Coronavirus outbreak. It is important to mention that the Secretariat is being frequented by State politicians, several times a week.

Coronavirus Scare in other Government Institutions

On April 20, 125 families in the Rashtrapati Bhavan were asked to self-isolate after the daughter-in-law of a sanitation worker who lives in the same complex tested positive for the Wuhan Coronavirus. Earlier, the mother of the woman’s daughter-in-law had died of the Chinese virus infection and her funeral was attended by all family members. As such, 25 families that are within the same block of the Rashtrapati Bhavan have been kept under strict isolation while an additional 100 families have also been asked to self-isolate.

Earlier, a staff of Parliament house who was working as a housekeeper was found infected with the Wuhan Coronavirus. As per reports, there are 3,000 staffers in the Lok Sabha, among them, this has emerged as the first case. The staffer was not at work since the budget session was adjourned on March 23. “Approximately ten days ago, he fell ill and went to Ram Manohar Lohia hospital for check-ups including ECG. He was discharged on the same day,” an official said.

NITI Ayog shut for 48 hours too

Earlier today, the NITI Ayog building in Delhi was also shut for 48 hours after a director-level employee tested positive. The building will be shut for sanitisation. Healthcare workers are currently tracing the other employees who had come in contact with the concerned patient. An employee of the Supreme Court was tested positive for coronavirus too.

Extremists exploiting lockdown during the Wuhan Coronavirus Pandemic to recruit youth online: UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres

OpIndia Staff
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Extremists exploiting lockdown during the Wuhan Coronavirus Pandemic to recruit youth online: UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres

United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres has warned that radical groups are exploiting the Wuhan Coronavirus pandemic to and intensifying their efforts on social media to recruit youth online. Extremists are trying to capitalise on the ‘anger and despair’ unleashed by the economic crisis caused by the virus to increase their strength.

Guterres told a UN Security Council meeting on youth, peace and security that “these frustrations and, frankly, failures to address them by those in power today, fuel declining confidence in political establishments and institutions”. “When such a cycle takes hold, it is all too easy for extremist groups to exploit the anger and despair, and the risk of radicalisation climbs,” he said. He said that despite all of this, young people “are still finding ways to engage, support each other, and to demand and drive change” including in the fight against the Wuhan Coronavirus.

Jayathma Wickramanayake, the secretary-general’s envoy on youth, criticised the media for emphasising “the small minority of young people who disregarded guidelines” but “completely sidelining the thousands of young people who were already fighting in the front lines of the crisis.” She dedicated her speech “to all the young people who are putting their communities ahead of themselves within war zones, within refugee camps, within favelas and within settlements, showcasing grit and leadership that sometimes we even fail to see in our own political leaders.”

“Young people are a huge source of new ideas, solutions and innovation,” Estonia’s UN Ambassador Sven Jürgenson said. “During the current pandemic, however, they can be among the greatest victims.” He added that between 42 million to 66 million children could fall into “extreme poverty” as a result of COVID-19 and an analysis from the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization showing that 91 percent of the world’s students are affected by school closures, and more than 1.5 billion students in 191 countries have trouble continuing their studies normally.” “This will lead to increased educational gaps, serious damage to the prospects for a better future and can potentially lay seeds of radicalization among young people, constituting a threat to peace and security,” Jürgenson warned.

US Ambassador Kelly Craft warned that the 400 million young people directly affected by violence or conflict are the most vulnerable in the matter. “Now, the imperative to protect them is even greater: on top of social, education, and health systems that (are) already weakened by conflict or disaster, the COVID-19 pandemic is triggering multiple, interlinked crises impacting hundreds of millions of young people,” she said.

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