2020 was one of the hottest years ever recorded since time immemorial.According to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), the average global land and ocean temperature last year was the highest ever measured, edging out the previous record set in 2016 by less than a tenth of a degree.The World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) too announced recently that 2020 “rivalled 2016 for the top spot,” adding that the years from 2011 to 2020 had been the warmest decade recorded.

Back in November, the Indonesian government instructed all schools to be ready to reopen in January 2021. But the Indonesian Paediatric Society (IDAI) stated that reopening schools will lead to an increase in COVID-19 cases in the country.

Manila teenager Rose Alvarez was 13 when she started having sex with a man who was more than twice her age.

There have been historic gains overall for children around the world in the past few years as “more and more are living longer, better and healthier lives,” said Henrietta Fore, Executive Director of the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) last year.A UNICEF 2019 report in conjunction with the 30th anniversary of the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) cited some of the progress in child rights over the last three decades such as the decrease in the under-five mortality rate

Are children a major source of contagion for COVID-19?

Back in May, a Thai woman reported at a local police station that her 14-year-old granddaughter had been raped over the course of more than a year. The attacks, said to have been perpetuated by five teachers and two male alumni occurred several times at the girl’s school in north-eastern Thailand.

Social media has become an essential facet in many societies.

The COVID-19 crisis is the worst crisis that has plagued the world since the Great Depression. It is continuously devastating economies, people’s lives, jobs, and businesses around the globe.

The Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), defines violence against children (VAC) as “all forms of physical or mental violence, injury and abuse, neglect or negligent treatment, maltreatment or exploitation, including sexual abuse.” Article 1 of the CRC defines a “child” as every human being below the age of 18 years. Today, VAC is not just limited to conventional spaces (e.g., home, school, community). There are new forms of VAC taking place online or in cyberspace.

Cambodia’s premier Hun Sen, launched his own anti-drugs campaign in 2017, inspired by the controversial war on drugs waged by Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte. According to the Cambodian government, the campaign aims to reduce drug use and the related harm it causes. The campaign also includes arresting people who use drugs as part of its strategy.Using far less deadly tactics than in the Philippines, the crackdown was still rather aggressive in the kingdom.