January 2020 — Page 2 of 13 — Human Rights & Charity

Coding in Namibia: UN supports young women’s computing career dreams

They were among a group of 39 counterparts from across the region who participated in the African Girls Can Code camp held in Pretoria, South Africa, last April.

The coders were this week gifted with laptops during a short handover ceremony at UN House in the capital, Windhoek, in partnership with the Ministry of Education, Arts and Culture.

“If young girls and women do not have the training and access to ICTs they will be left behind”, said Rachel Odede, the interim UN Resident Coordinator in Namibia.

“Teaching girls to code is needed to close the gender gap in the technology world, and the overall gender digital divide.”

In congratulating the young women, Ms. Odede quoted from actress Lupita Nyongo’s 2014 Oscar acceptance speech.

She encouraged them to continue believing in their dreams because “no matter where you’re from, your dreams are valid.”

Ngurimuje Tjivikua, who was 19 when she attended the coding workshop, spoke about its impact on the group.

“They taught us that we can do anything we want to… I will live to not only be a consumer, but to be a creator”, she said.

Edda Bohn, Deputy Executive Director for Namibia’s Ministry of Education, Arts and Culture, appealed to the girls to reach out to the community, particularly to out-of-school youth.

The African Union (AU) estimates that 90 per cent of future jobs will require ICT skills and that some two million jobs will be created in science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM).

However, women comprise around 28 per cent of those pursuing STEM careers; in sub-Saharan Africa, the average is 30 per cent, according to the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).

African Girls Can Code aims to provide 2,000 girls from across the continent with digital literacy skills, including coding, programming and leadership skills.

Established in 2018, the four-year programme is jointly implemented by the AU, the International Telecommunications Union (ITU), and UN Women.

Coronavirus spread now a global emergency declares World Health Organization

Latest WHO figures state there are more than 7,800 confirmed cases globally, with 7,736 confirmed in China, and a further 12,167 suspected cases inside the country where the outbreak began in Wuhan, a city of around 11 million which remains in lockdown.

Latest figures

So far, 170 people have died in China, and 1,370 cases there are officially described as severe. A total of 124 have recovered and been discharged from hospital.

Outside China, there are 82 confirmed cases, in 18 different countries, and only seven had no history of travel in China.

“There has been human-to-human transmission in three countries outside China”, according to a statement released by WHO’s Emergency Committee. “One of these cases is severe and there have been no deaths.”

When the committee met last week, there were “divergent views” on whether the outbreak which began last month, constituted a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC), but the expert body convened by the WHO Director-General, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, was in agreement on Thursday.

Chinese leadership welcomed

“The main reason for this declaration is not what is happening in China, but what is happening in other countries”, said the WHO chief, praising the “extraordinary measures” taken there by authorities.

“China quickly identified the virus and shared its sequence, so that other countries could diagnose it quickly and protect themselves, which has resulted in rapid diagnostic tools”, said the statement from the Committee.

With concern rising that less developed countries will be more vulnerable, China has agreed to work internationally, with others who need support and “the measures China has taken are good not only for that country, but also for the rest of the world”, the statement added.

However, there remain “many unknowns”, the Committee warned, concerning the speed and spread of the epidemic.

Virus can be contained

“The Committee believes that it is still possible to interrupt virus spread, provided that countries put in place strong measures to detect disease early, isolate and treat cases, trace contacts, and promote social distancing measures commensurate with the risk.”

Mr. Tedros tweeted following the meeting: “We must remember that these are people, not numbers. More important than the declaration of a public health emergency are the committee’s recommendations for preventing the spread…and ensuring a measured and evidence-based response.”

Travel and trade should continue

He said there was there was “no reason for measures that unnecessarily interfere with international travel and trade. We call on all countries to implement decisions that are evidence-based and consistent. WHO stands ready to provide advice to any country that is considering what measures to take.”

The Committee said evidence has shown that restricting the movement of people and goods during public health emergencies “may be ineffective and may divert resources from other interventions.

“Further, restrictions may interrupt needed aid and technical support, may disrupt businesses and may have negative effects” on the economies of those countries affected.

Advice to China:

The Committee is advising China to:

continue to implement a “comprehensive risk communication strategy”, regularly informing the population on developments. Public health measures need to be enhanced to contain the virus, and the resilience of the health system ensured, while health-workers are protected.
Enhance surveillance and active case finding.
Collaborate with WHO and partners to investigate and understand the spread and evolution of the disease.
Share full data on all human cases.
Strengthen the efforts to identify the animal-to-human source of the infection, and “particularly the potential for ongoing circulation with WHO as soon as it becomes available.”
Exit screening at international airports and ports, for early detection.

Other countries

“Countries are reminded that they are legally required to share information with WHO” now the health emergency is officially declared, said the Committee.

Despite encouraging countries not to impose blanket restrictions on trade and travel, “in certain specific circumstances, measures that restrict the movement of people may prove temporarily useful, such as in settings with limited response capacities and capabilities, or where there is high intensity of transmission among vulnerable populations.”

WHO is calling for greater support for low- and middle-income countries, to support their reponse to any cases, and allow them access to vaccines and drugs, as well as better surveillance and diagnostic tools.

India: Climate emergency message resonates at world’s largest literature festival – UN News special report from Jaipur

From shifting weather patterns that threaten food production, to rising sea levels that increase the risk of catastrophic flooding, the impacts of climate change are global in scope and unprecedented in scale. It is estimated that over 600 million Indians are likely to be impacted adversely by climate change if we don’t change course now.

Jaipur is the capital of the picturesque, almost magical Indian state of Rajasthan. It is known as the Pink City due to the colour of the stone used for many of its glorious palaces and historic monuments.

Acclaimed as the ‘greatest literary show on Earth’, the five-day Jaipur Literature festival attracts more than 400,000 book lovers; around 2,000 speakers addressing more than 200 sessions; and authors from 20 different countries. The books being discussed are penned in more than two dozen languages.

Limits of influence

Questioned over whether the UN is doing enough to resolve the climate crisis, the UN’s Resident Coordinator in India, Renata Dessallien, quipped that the Organization could not act as a “global police” force.

“We are also not a global Government, so there are limits, to which the UN is mandated and on what it is able to do.”

“In fact”, she added, “we are pushing the limits on many fronts. The best way to describe the United Nations is that we are the ‘world persuader’ – persuading people to do what is fundamentally right.”

She lauded the UN’s pioneering role in the science relating to the impact of climate change, in the late 1980s, “when a panel was established on climate change by the UN” known as the IPCC, which provides governments at all levels with trusted scientific information they can use to develop climate policies.

“So the science is out there and as an inter-governmental body we bring the nation states together to address the problem that’s staring us in the face, validated by the science.”

The session heard some startling stories of people living in India’s Ladakh region who are gravely affected by Climate crisis.

Solar Energy Innovator, Educationist and Managing Director of Himalayan Institute of Alternatives in Ladakh, Sonam Wangchuk said: “Up in the mountains, across the Himalayas, particularly in Ladakh, our glaciers are melting and while we always had water shortages, now we are seeing droughts in the spring season.

“I know at least two villages where people had to abandon the whole village due to water (shortages). These droughts are now accompanied by flash floods in autumn.”

In 2006, while volunteering in one such village that was washed away, leading to many deaths, he had asked villagers when the last flash flooding had occurred, but “they didn’t remember. The same village had another flash flood in 2010, then in 2015 and then another one in 2017. So it’s now becoming as frequent as that.”

‘Live simply’

He appealed to the people living in the plains and the cities to be responsible and “live simply” so that the people of the mountains in turn, can ‘simply live’.

Managing Editor of online journal PARI, Namita Waikar, who is chronicling the stories of how vulnerable populations across India are being most affected by climate change for the upcoming UNDP Human Development Report, chimed in with other first-hand accounts of how life is being adversely affected in the coastal cities.

“In the rural areas, there are communities in Tamil Nadu where seaweed farmers are forced to change livelihoods due to fast disappearing seaweeds.

“Similarly, in places like Delhi, inland fishing communities are catching dead fish. What they told me was heart breaking.” Fisherman told her that if they lay the net at night, all they catch are the “freshest of the dead fish” in the morning. Keeping sewage and industrial waste out of rivers and coastal areas in an urgent priority, she said” “Another fisherwoman said that some of the fish they caught earlier are now only seen on the Discovery channel. That clearly explains the gravity of the situation.”

Writer, educator and filmmaker, Shubhangi Swarup, who is exploring ecology in her fiction, explained how she is integrating climate change themes into her work.

“Our stories have become human-centric, self-obsessed and obnoxious. We don’t have appreciation of nature and universe in our stories.

“So, I tried to write a novel where a geological fault line is the thread of the narrative. It begins with the Andaman (islands), goes to Myanmar, then Nepal and ends in Ladakh. While telling the story, I realised how ridiculous the political borders are when we are talking about solving local problems”, she said.

Profit or progress?

Civil Society Activist, Apoorva Oza, reiterated the need to take profit considerations out of the climate change debate: “There’s this excessive focus on measuring everything in economic terms. When I write a proposal they ask me whether I’ll double the farmers’ income. All I can tell you is that they will protect nature, they’ll sustain the environment, they’ll not over-exploit groundwater. But I can’t guarantee that I can double their incomes. I can only guarantee their progress.”

The session took a sombre turn when the famous Bollywood Actress and UN Advocate for Sustainable Development, Dia Mirza reached out to the audience and asked, “Do you have time? We just have a decade. Listen to women, listen to mothers, listen to children. And if you don’t understand science, just watch nature.”

The message was clear: everyone is responsible for creating a more environmentally sustainable world – And the arts and cultural sector is no exception.

As Moderator, Sameer Saran aptly concluded: “Since this festival is attended by the literati, stories come out of such places. If climate change becomes a part of these stories, we’ll be inspired to take better steps in mitigating climate change. Stories we tell about ourselves define our actions. And if our stories are green, then probably our future will also be green and prosperous.”

Festival attractions

The 13th year of the Jaipur Literature Festival saw a host of literary big-hitters in attendance, including Nobel Laureate Abhijit Banerjee, Pulitzer Prize Awardee Forrest Gander, Journalist Christina Lamb, the New Yorker journalist Dexter Filkins, Man Booker Prize winner Howard Jacobson, Elizabeth Gilbert and popular Indian writers like Shashi Tharoor and Javed Akhtar engaging in ideas, debate and dialogue.

Stepped-up efforts needed to combat pneumonia; save nearly nine million children’s lives

According to a new scientific model produced by Johns Hopkins University, in the United States, improving pneumonia treatment and prevention services could prevent up to 3.2 million children under the age of five from dying.

At the same time, it would create ‘a ripple effect’ that would prevent the deaths of an additional 5.7 million children from other major childhood diseases, underscoring the need for integrated health services.

Coronavirus shows needs for action

“If we are serious about saving the lives of children, we have to get serious about fighting pneumonia”, said UNICEF Executive Director Henrietta Fore. “As the current coronavirus outbreak shows, this means improving timely detection and prevention”.

Pneumonia is caused by bacteria, viruses or fungi, and leaves children fighting for breath as their lungs fill with pus and fluid. The current coronavirus epidemic which began in China, causes pneumonia and other respiratory diseases in patients.

Pneumonia is the biggest single killer of children worldwide and claimed 800,000 last year, or one child every 39 seconds.

Although some types of pneumonia can be easily prevented with vaccines and treated with low-cost antibiotics, tens of millions of children remain unvaccinated and one-in-three children with symptoms do not receive medical care.

Fighting pneumonia means “making the right diagnosis and prescribing the right treatment”, the UNICEF chief spelled out.

Prevention yields results

Deprived and marginalized children in the world’s poorest countries are most affected by the killer disease.

Current trends forecast that 6.3 million children under-five could die from the infection between 2020 and 2030 with the highest number of deaths predicted to be in Nigeria, with 1.4 million; India 880,000; the Democratic Republic of Congo 350,000; and Ethiopia 280,000.

However, the benefits of implementing key reduction-risk measures – such as improving nutrition, providing antibiotics and increasing vaccine coverage – would be many, including preventing the deaths of 2.1 million children from diarrhoea, 1.3 million from sepsis and another 280,000 from measles, said WHO.

The air we breathe

Outdoor air pollution contributes to one-in-five pneumonia deaths among under-age-five children worldwide, according to a study by the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation.

And 91 per cent of the world’s population is breathing outdoor air that exceeds World Health Organization (WHO) standards, the scale of which could potentially undermine the impact of scaling up pneumonia-related interventions.

Other causes of pneumonia deaths include malnutrition, and lack of access to vaccines and antibiotics.

According to the Johns Hopkins modelling, of the 8.9 million whose deaths could be averted over the next decade, 3.9 million could be saved by greater efforts to reduce malnutrition levels alone.

Ms. Fore pointed to the need to address “the major causes of pneumonia deaths like malnutrition, lack of access to vaccines and antibiotics, and tackling the more difficult challenge of air pollution.”

Barcelona forum

The first-ever global forum on childhood pneumonia kicked off on Wednesday in Barcelona, Spain, and will include discussions on a more affordable pneumonia vaccine and political commitments from governments in high-burden countries to develop national strategies to reduce pneumonia deaths.

The Global Forum on Childhood Pneumonia will run until Friday.

Youth leaders share positive visions of the future, as Guterres launches UN75 in New York

They took part in a discussion with Secretary-General António Guterres marking the official launch of dialogues being held worldwide this year to mark the UN’s 75th anniversary.

As Mr. Guterres explained, this initial high-profile UN75 dialogue will set the tone for these global conversations on how the Organization can work harder to create a better future for all.

“We want to change, we want to be better, we want to respond to your aspirations, to your concerns,” he said.

“We want you to have the opportunity to play the role that youth must play in the modern world in which we live, and especially in the world we are trying to build.”

Here to listen

Diverging from most UN meetings, where speeches from the dais are the norm, the Secretary-General instead sat in a semi-circle with the participants, stressing that he was there to listen, not to take questions.

For recent graduate Jahan Rifai, from Jordan, a better world means the more than 71 million people who have been uprooted by war or persecution, being able to return home.

“I would also like to see the resolution of the conflicts of today as well as of yesterday that have continued on with no seeming end in sight,” she added.

“This may be a little too optimistic, or a little too cliché, but I would like to see a world with no fear, a world with no hatred, and a world where people can hope—but hope, with reason.”

Earlier, Mr. Guterres had asked the panellists, as well as scores of young people in the room, if they felt the world will be better, worse or the same in 25 years’ time, when the UN turns 100.

“I think there is a wave of optimism,” he stated, based on the show of hands.

Natalia Herbst from Argentina was in the glass-half-full camp, but with reservations. As an activist for social inclusion, she said the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) already provide a roadmap for a more just future, but only if everyone gets on board.

“The ongoing resistance from many power holders to adhere to a very basic fact-based consensus which is relevant to climate change and to reproductive rights is becoming very challenging to fulfil the SDG agenda by 2030, which would be a very promising step towards a better 2045”, she stated.

The tech challenge

Gender equality is a UN priority, and the Secretary-General found an ally in Isaiah Owolabi, co-founder of the HACEY Health Initiative which works to improve the lives of women and girls in Nigeria.

He has found that technology is an obstacle to achieving gender equality but also to eradicating poverty.

“And if we also look at climate change, it’s something that the world should be very, very concerned about because it has the capacity to negatively impact generations across different sectors, and it has also the capacity to cause chaos beyond what we can imagine”, he added.

“So even when we are making the biggest of plans and we are deploying the biggest of technology tools, we should be very wary of the threats posed by climate change.”

Eleonore Pauwels from Belgium researches the security and governance implications of artificial intelligence (AI) and other technologies. She underscored the “unique role” of the UN to act as a bridge between the political and technical sectors, promoting the use of powerful new technologies for the common good.

She explained that while AI and cybersecurity can help prevent hate speech, reduce human trafficking, ward against election fraud, and deter cybercrime, they are not entirely risk-free.

“AI plus DNA technologies mean that we can develop precision medicine; we can also develop more powerful biotech weapons”, she said. “So, how do we train the next generation to anticipate, think and translate norms into accountability mechanisms that will protect us? I think that is really the next challenge.”

UN staff member Ahmit Joshi, from Nepal, also hoped for more action to curb the negative use of AI, and to protect people’s right to privacy.

“Data can be collected by both corporations as well as governments,” said Mr. Joshi, who is a member of the Young UN network.

“Corporations try to collect data in the name of making profits without getting explicit consent from you. At the same time, Governments start collecting and monitoring and tracking you 24/7 to suppress your voice. So where are we now heading to? There is no freedom of speech.”

UN75: More than a birthday celebration

The Secretary-General will present the opinions, ideas and solutions generated through the various UN75 dialogues globally, and an online survey initiative, at a high-level summit for world leaders in September. 

Cristina Petcu, a global governance researcher from Romania, hoped this anniversary year will be “more than just a birthday celebration”.

She told Mr. Guterres: “I would also encourage you to treat the UN’s 75th anniversary as a landing pad for a few timely innovative reforms for global governance, but more as a launch pad for more ambitious reforms that might take more time to mature and to garner political support.”

Coronavirus: First case confirmed in Gulf region, more than 6,000 worldwide

‘The whole world needs to be on alert now’

WHO announced that four members of a family from Wuhan, who had travelled to the UAE earlier in January, were hospitalized on 25 and 27 January after testing positive for coronavirus. The virus has now spread to 15 countries: the cases in UAE mark the first time that a nation in the Eastern Mediterranean Region has been affected.

The Director-General of WHO, Tedros Ghebreyesus, confirmed on Wednesday that 68 cases of novel coronavirus have been confirmed outside of China. While this represents only one per cent of the total, the geographic spread is wide, with patients diagnosed in North America, Europe and Australia, as well as several countries in Southeast Asia.

At a press briefing in Geneva on Wednesday, Michael Ryan, the head of the WHO health emergencies programme, said that “the whole world needs to be on alert now. The whole world needs to take action and be ready for any cases that come from the epicentre or other epicentre that becomes established”.

The actions of the Chinese authorities have, he said, helped to slow the international spread of the virus, but it has not been halted: “The continued increase in cases and the evidence of human-to human transmission outside China are of course most deeply concerning. Although the numbers outside China are still relatively small, they hold the potential for a much larger outbreak”.

Over 9,000 suspected cases in China

On Wednesday, WHO announced that 1,239 of the confirmed cases in China are severe, and there have been 132 deaths attributed to the virus so far. There are now 9,239 suspected cases in the country. The WHO risk assessment for China is “very high”, whilst the regional and global assessment remains “high”.

The WHO’s senior leadership, including Mr. Ghebreyesus, met with Chinese President Xi Jinping on Tuesday to share information on the outbreak and reiterated their commitment to bring it under control.

Containment measures in Wuhan will be improved, said WHO, and public health measures in other Chinese cities and regions are being strengthened. WHO and Chinese authorities pledged to continue sharing data, and China will share biological material with WHO, with the aim of developing effective vaccines and treatments against the new virus strain.
WHO to assess global emergency risk on Thursday

On his return from China, Mr. Ghebreyesus welcomed the country’s invitation for WHO to assemble and lead an international team of experts to assess the coronavirus outbreak, and support their Chinese counterparts.

The WHO chief announced that the agency’s Emergency Committee will meet, for a second time, on Thursday, to decide whether or not the outbreak constitutes a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC).

The previous meeting of the Committee ended on January 23 with a decision not to declare a PHEIC, although members were split on the issue.

UN sends protective clothing to virus-hit China

Meanwhile, the UN Children’s Fund, UNICEF, announced on Wednesday that it has shipped 6 metric tons of protective clothing for health workers battling the novel coronavirus in China.

This coronavirus is spreading at a breakneck speed and it is important to put all the necessary resources into halting it –UNICEF Executive Director Henrietta Fore

The UNICEF supplies of respiratory masks and protective suits have landed in Shanghai, and will be sent to the city of Wuhan, where most of the cases have been found. UNICEF is planning to send more items in the coming days and weeks.

“This coronavirus is spreading at a breakneck speed and it is important to put all the necessary resources into halting it,” said UNICEF Executive Director Henrietta Fore. “We may not know enough about the virus’s impact on children or how many may be affected – but we do know that close monitoring and prevention are key. Time is not on our side.”

A question of trust: the UN political chief working behind the scenes to prevent tomorrow’s wars

Behind the scenes, however, a team of mediators, overseen by the UN’s political chief, Rosemary DiCarlo, is using quieter diplomacy in conflict zones across the world, to bring warring parties together and make the world a safer place.

Ms. DiCarlo, the Under-Secretary-General for Political and Peacebuilding Affairs, is one of the UN’s most senior official on matters of peace and security, and is often seen briefing members in the Security Council, delivering the UN’s analysis and recommendations – in contrast to sometimes vocal national disagreements – concerning key conflict areas such as Syria and Yemen.

The role of the Under-Secretary-General and the Department of Political and Peacebuilding Affairs (DPPA) has changed, and grown, over the years and, today, it involves policy analysis, diplomatic efforts to prevent conflict from occurring in the first place, overseeing the peaceful conduct of elections, and the UN’s field-based political missions.

Mediators: the unsung heroes of peacebuilding

Mediation, however, has been a mainstay of the department, and remains crucial today. DPPA has a standby team of experienced mediators, who help warring parties come to the negotiating table, assist in inter-communal dialogue, provide advice on constitution drafting and security sector reform, and, broadly, deal with a range of issues often at the root of mounting conflicts.

They work in both mission and non-mission settings, including some very large operations such as Afghanistan and Iraq, where they work to help promote peace and reconciliation. And, because of the sensitive nature of their work, much of what they do is destined to remain in the shadows.

At the end of 2019, UN News interviewed Ms. DiCarlo at UN Headquarters in New York, and she shared some of her insights regarding the Organization’s evolving role in conflict prevention, and her hopes and fears for the future.
She started by explaining that the UN’s ability to act as an “honest broker”, including safeguarding the confidentiality of sensitive negotiations, is vitally important.

Impartial negotiation

“First of all, we approach every situation from a very impartial perspective. We go into negotiations in an impartial way, and we don’t have a certain mindset of how something should end: we just want people to be able to decide for themselves how to move forward. And if we can help that through mediation, that’s what we do.

Our first priority is to build trust with our interlocutors, but also to ensure confidentiality. A lot of what we do is never written about, and certainly never disseminated, because our goal is the following: we want people to be able to come together and feel as if they have come to an agreement that will be lasting between them.

We’ve had a number of instances where we have been able to diffuse tensions surrounding elections, where a particular leader would like to extend his mandate, and we’ve managed to have discussions, and bring parties together. These are situations which are extremely difficult to overcome in many societies.

We send experienced diplomats, sometimes a former UN official, or a former high-level official from a Member State, to lead discussions on the way forward and to look at whether the parties can accept the results of an election or, in some cases, redo certain aspects of an election”.

Words from the wise: the former leaders helping the UN’s peace efforts

Since the beginning of his mandate in 2017, the current UN Secretary-General, António Guterres, has made mediation one of his key priorities and, in 2017, set up a High level Advisory Board on Mediation, made up of 18 members, all highly experienced in diplomacy and mediation.

The Board, says Ms. DiCarlo, has already made a tangible difference to the UN’s ability to resolve conflict, and has helped the Organization to include more diverse voices in the peacebuilding process.

“If we see an issue in, say, Latin America, where there are disagreements between the government and protesters, or the government and the opposition, we might ask one of our members with experience in the region to deploy for a few days or weeks to help resolve any disagreements.

They also provide us with guidance and wisdom from their past experiences, because many of them are former leaders of their countries, former foreign ministers or high-level officials who really have done a great deal in their own careers, and are now helping us to look at a situation and help mediate a conflict or prevent a conflict from arising.

The need for diverse voices

“We have worked with the advisory board a lot on the inclusion of women and youth in various political processes and, when our envoys in the field submit their periodic reporting to the Secretary-General and the Security Council, they include aspects related to women and youth in their analysis.

When we are the ones leading a particular peace process or negotiation, we are very clear that a certain percentage of the participants have to be women, and they should meaningfully participate. One example is the Syrian Constitutional Committee, where we are working very hard to ensure 30 per cent female participation amongst the 150 members.

We meet frequently with experts on given issues, and it’s been extremely useful to get diverse opinions from civil society groups dealing with issues such as women’s rights, refugees, displaced persons or other issues. We make it a practice to be sure to hear their voices when we’re in the field”.

An increasingly complex landscape

In recent years, the conflict landscape has changed, with a growing involvement of non-State actors, which has had a significant impact on the activities of the DPPA. This is just one of many destabilizing factors, however, and one of the most significant is the changing climate which Ms. DiCarlo describes as a “threat multiplier”.

“We’ve seen this in Africa, for example, with farmers and herders fighting over land, the displacement of people that then leads to inter-communal tensions and, in some cases, inter-communal violence. And, whilst we seek to reap the benefits of innovation, we know that new technologies can also be destabilizing. So, there are many areas that we have to take into account.

There’s also the fact that we have to get up to speed on so many issues that traditionally weren’t really part of what a political department was dealing with, such as climate, innovation, or cyber-attacks. These are all areas that were new to us and, over the last few years, we’ve had to build up the understanding of these issues in order to be able to take steps and move forward with our work.

When it comes to climate change, for example, we have a small cell in our policy division which has been working with the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) and the UN Development Programme (UNDP) for about a year and a half, looking at the impact of climate change on security and ways to deal with communities that find themselves displaced because of climate change, and making very clear that this can, in many cases, be an early warning of something more serious, in terms of violence or conflict”.

Don’t let me be misunderstood

Although Ms. DiCarlo is confident that her department is adapting to the changing demands of global conflict, she is often frustrated by the lack of understanding of the important contribution DPPA makes to world peace:

“It can be very hard to listen to Member States or individuals questioning the merits of the United Nations, (for example, what does it do, what are they all doing there, sitting in meetings etc) when you know that you’ve had people in the field working very hard to bring sparring groups together.

I think there is a concern on the part of some members States and individuals that our actions could be perceived as interference in internal affairs, which is not at all what we are trying to do. First of all, we only go when we’re invited, when people seek our help. We offer our help, but we don’t force ourselves upon them”.

Beyond the misconceptions that some may have regarding her department, Ms. DiCarlo also worries that the consensus regarding the very principles on which the UN was founded, is not as strong as it was in earlier times:

“I think that there is a sense that what worked for us before, doesn’t work now. There was always, perhaps, a difference of views, but it was never manifested in quite the way it is manifested today. As the Secretary-General says, we went from a bi-polar to a uni-polar to a multipolar world, which is making things quite different and more complicated”.

Despite these fears, the UN’s political chief is determined that, by the end of her mandate, she is able to leave behind a department that has all the necessary tools for dealing with conflict prevention, and conflict resolution and has genuine support for the ideas the Secretary-General has put forward regarding conflict prevention, but also preventing climate change.

“The General Assembly”, she says “has already embraced the concept of sustaining peace and looking at the world through a sort of prevention lens, and I think that we have to do that in all of our activities, not just in my department, but across the UN”.

Who is Rosemary di Carlo?

Rosemary A. DiCarlo, a US citizen, was appointed Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs in May 2018. In this role, she advises the Secretary-General on peace and security issues globally, while overseeing “good offices” initiatives and field-based political missions carrying out peacemaking, preventive diplomacy and peace-building activities in Africa, Europe, the Middle East, Central and Southeast Asia and the Americas. She also oversees the United Nations electoral assistance provided to dozens of its member states each year.

During her distinguished career with the United States Department of State, she served, among other functions, as Deputy Permanent Representative to the United Nations with the rank and status of Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary.

Ms. Di Carlo also served as President of the National Committee on American Foreign Policy from August 2015 to May 2018, and was concurrently appointed a Senior Fellow and Lecturer at Yale University’s Jackson Institute for Global Affairs.

Ms. DiCarlo graduated from Brown University with a B.A., M.A. and Ph.D. in comparative literature, as well as Slavic languages and literature. She speaks French and Russian.

End Syria fighting to avoid ‘even greater humanitarian catastrophe’

“Hostilities have escalated in recent days in the Idlib area, especially around Ma’arat al-Numan, Saraqeb and western Aleppo”, said relief chief Mark Lowcock, describing the fighting in those areas as appearing to be “more intense than anything we have seen in the last year”.

Civilians continue to be subjected to heavy bombardment and shelling. The UN human rights office (OHCHR) documented at least 81 mostly women and children killed by air and ground-based strikes between 15-23 January alone.

“This total is in addition to the more than 1,500 civilian deaths that OHCHR has verified since the escalation began in late April”, he detailed.

While the most alarming reports are from southern Idlib, where hundreds of Government airstrikes have been concentrated, non-State armed groups continue to shell Aleppo city, killing or injuring dozens of civilians.

“Many families are moving multiple times”, said Mr. Lowcock. “They arrive in a place thought to be safe, only for the bombs to follow, so they are then forced to move again”.

‘Make it stop’

Amidst the fighting, humanitarian organizations have provided food to more than 1.4 million civilians and health supplies to treat almost 200,000 people.
“This has all come in through the cross-border operation, as re-authorized under your Resolution 2504” Mr. Lowcock told the Council, calling it “the only way to assist the more the 2.8 million people in need in northwest Syria.”

Noting that cross-border humanitarian operations have “staved off a massive humanitarian catastrophe” there, he emphasized that civilians are “still suffering terribly”.

He painted a picture of traumatized people under siege feeling “totally abandoned by the world”.

“They don’t understand why this Council is unable to stop the carnage amongst a civilian population trapped in a war zone”, he underscored.

“Their message to you is essentially the same one I relayed when I briefed you on 30 July: “We are afraid. Please help us. Make it stop.’”

Stressing that the most urgent need is “to protect the civilian population and to scale up the humanitarian response”, the Humanitarian Coordinator called on “all parties to facilitate safe and unhindered access for humanitarian workers and supplies to address civilians’ essential needs”.

70,000 still displaced across the northeast

Turning to northeast Syria, he said that some 70,000 people have remained internally displaced since military operations began last October.

“An additional 90,000 people are living in IDP camps”, said the relief chief, noting that overall there are around 1.8 million in the northeast in need of humanitarian assistance.

While an average of 850,000 people in 2019 had received monthly assistance from within Syria, the removal of the Al Yarubiyah border crossing with Iraq, has prompted the World Health Organization (WHO) to forecast a reduction in the medical services and supplies.

As requested in Resolution 2504, the Council will be updated by end-February on the feasibility of using alternative modalities for that border crossing to ensure that humanitarian assistance reaches those in need throughout Syria.

‘Devasting consequences’

“There is a grave and in many ways worsening situation on the ground”, UN Deputy Special Envoy for Syria, Khawla Matar said, updating the Council on the current political landscape of the war-torn country.

She spotlighted that the alarming scale of military operations in the northwest has resulted in “devasting consequences” for three million people in the Idlib area and reiterated the Secretary-General’s call for an immediate ceasefire and urged a “sustained de-escalation” by all parties to the fighting.

Ms. Matar informed the Chamber that the Special Envoy continues to engage with all Syrian political players, including the groundbreaking Constitutional Committee, and key international partners “to unlock progress in the difficult path out of the Syrian conflict”.

Meanwhile, for the first time the working group on the release of detainees and abductees, the handover of bodies and the identification of missing persons – comprising Iran, Russia, Turkey and the UN – will convene, as part of an ongoing rotation, in Geneva next month.

“We realize progress on this file is not easy, but it would be of enormous significance to so many Syrians to see the pace and scale of releases increase”, she said.

She also said that “countering Security Council-listed terrorist groups is imperative”, noting that it must be done in a way that protects civilians and fully respects international humanitarian and human rights law, which is “only likely to be effective with genuine cooperation among relevant players”.

Crisis repercussions

Ms. Matar reported on the “turbulent” north-east, “protracted tensions” in southern Syria and the “presence of five foreign armies” operating in the country – a reminder of the continuing dangers the crisis presents to international peace and security and the challenges to Syria’s territorial integrity.

The deputy envoy underscored the need for a process that “builds trust and confidence step-by-step” to create a safe and neutral environment, which would also bolster confidence among refugees for safe, voluntary and dignified refugee returns and to those who wish to support the reconstruction of Syria.

And while the Special Envoy, Geir Pedersen, is carefully exploring “modest openings” to further pursue this, his deputy acknowledged that “genuine dialogue among key international players” was needed.

The Special Envoy will continue to press for an end to the violence — Khawla Matar

Ms. Matar affirmed that the Special Envoy prioritizes the inclusion of a full range of Syrian voices in the process and continues to consult widely and build bridges whenever possible.

“The Special Envoy will continue to press for an end to the violence”, she concluded, saying that he also seeks to “unlock the kind of comprehensive political process that would result in a lasting political settlement, that meets the legitimate aspirations of the Syrian people, and that respects and restores Syria’s sovereignty, unity, territorial integrity and independence.”

Yemen: Escalation in fighting must stop ‘before it’s too late’, Griffiths tells Security Council

Martin Griffiths briefed ambassadors in New York behind closed doors, but said in a tweet posted to his office account that he had “reiterated the importance of stopping the ongoing military escalation…He warned that recent developments jeopardize the progress the parties had made on de-escalation and confidence-building.”

The renewed fighting between Saudi-led coalition forces and Houthi rebels, formally known as Ansar Allah, has seen air raids stepped up northeast of the capital Sana’a, leading to many casualties amid fierce fighting, according to news reports, while rebels have reportedly gone on the offensive in Government-held areas, including a mortar attack which struck a market in the city of Taiz.

Reports suggest that fighting has escalated in three areas, in Nehm, close to Sana’a, the mountainous district of Jawf in the north, and the province of Marib, where a missile attack on a Government military base in the middle of January, reportedly left more than 100 dead.

On Monday, Mr. Griffiths told the Guardian newspaper that “whoever started this renewed violence, it is unequivocally the case that there has been a huge rupture of confidence and a huge loss of life for the sake of uncertain territorial gains.”

Yemenis deserve better

He also tweeted that the focus must remain on the impact of nearly five year conflict on the country’s long-suffering civilian population noting that “the Yemeni people deserve better than a life of perpetual war.”

The escalation began just days after the Special Envoy had briefed the Security Council with a relatively upbeat assessment of how Yemen had emerged unscathed during the crisis provoked in the Gulf region by the killing of Iran’s top general, by the United States.

He said “no major acts of military provocation” had occurred, noting the previous week “had been one of the quietest weeks of the war in Yemen, since the war began, with only one airstrike, very limited military movement on the ground and no drone or missile attacks on neighbouring States.”

UNICEF welcomes release of children

Meanwhile, the UN Children’s Fund UNICEF’s representative in Yemen, on Tuesday welcomed the release in Sana’a by Ansar Allah of 64 children allegedly captured during military operations.

“UNICEF hopes that this step also leads to the signing by the Ansar Allah of the Action Plan to end the recruitment and use of children in the conflict in Yemen”, the agency said.

West Darfur tensions could see 30,000 flee across Sudanese border to Chad: UN refugee agency

So far, 11,000 people have crossed the border since deadly inter-communal clashes erupted in the state capital, El Geneina, in late December, with some 4,000 fleeing in the past week alone.

The violence has also uprooted another 46,000 people within Sudan, most of whom were already displaced.

“With El Geneina only 20 kilometers from the border, thousands of refugees crossed into Chad, a number UNHCR anticipates could reach 30,000 in the coming weeks as tensions persist. UNHCR teams on the ground are hearing accounts of people fleeing after their villages, houses and properties were attacked, many burnt to the ground”, agency spokesperson Babar Baloch told journalists in Geneva.

The arrivals are scattered in several border villages in Chad, around the town of Adré, which already is hosting some 128,000 Sudanese refugees.

Mr. Baloch described their conditions as dire: “Most are staying in the open or under makeshift shelters, with little protection from the elements. Food and water are urgently needed, while health conditions are a concern.”

UNHCR and its partners are on the ground, registering refugees and providing them with food, water and other lifesaving aid. Humanitarian workers are also assisting those refugees who require special care, such as unaccompanied children.

However, Mr. Baloch reported that the rate of arrivals “risks outpacing our capacity”, and that more resources and support are needed. UNHCR is working with the Chadian Government to identify a new relocation site further from the border, he added.

Back in West Darfur, humanitarians continue to assist displaced people gathered at over three dozen locations.

UNHCR trucks have been rushing in relief items from its warehouses in other states in the Darfur region, with more aid expected.