February 2020 — Page 3 of 14 — Human Rights & Charity

More funding needed to combat locust swarms ‘unprecedented in modern times’

The locust upsurge is “a graphic and shocking reminder” of the region’s vulnerability, said a joint statement from Qu Dongyu, Director-General of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO); Mark Lowcock, UN Emergency Relief Coordinator; and David Beasley, Executive Director of the World Food Programme (WFP).

“This is a scourge of biblical proportions”, the statement read. “Yet as ancient as this scourge is, its scale today is unprecedented in modern times”.

Growing plague

Although the UN agriculture agency sounded the alarm in January, calling for financial assistance to control the outbreak, resources have been too slow in coming.

Since FAO launched its first appeal to help what was at the time three affected countries, the locust swarms have moved rapidly across vast distances and as of 12 February, have been sighted in Djibouti, Eritrea, South Sudan, Uganda and Tanzania.

Each day, more countries are affected.

Last week, a swarm crossed into South Sudan, one of Africa’s most food-insecure and fragile countries. And just this week, one swarm reached the eastern boundaries of the Democratic Republic of the Congo – a country that has not seen a locust incursion since 1944.

The potential impact of locusts on a country that is still grappling with complex conflict, displacement, Ebola and measles outbreaks and food insecurity would be devastating.

Cost to combat swells

As the locusts continue their invasion throughout eastern Africa, and more details emerge on the scale of need in affected areas, the cost of action has shot up to $138 million to support Governments in controlling the ravaging pests, especially over the next four months.

The money would fund activities to combat the locusts before new swarms emerge, provide help for people whose crops or pastures are already affected and protect families and their livelihoods.

Act now to avert food crisis

Desert locusts have a reproduction cycle of three months.

Acting now to avert a food crisis is a more humane, effective and cost-efficient approach than responding to the aftermath of disaster — UN officials

In just a few weeks, as crops begin to sprout, the next generation of locusts will take wing in a renewed frenzy of destructive swarm activity, threatening to devastate East Africa’s most important crop of the year.Today, mature swarms are laying eggs within vast areas of Ethiopia, Kenya and Somalia, many of which are already hatching.

“But that doesn’t have to happen”, the UN leaders said. “The window of opportunity is still open. The time to act is now”.

They maintained that action to control and contain the locusts before the new swarms take flight and farmers crops first break soil is “critical”.

At the same time, FAO needs additional resources to immediately begin boosting the resilience of affected communities so they can better withstand some inevitable shocks.

“Acting now to avert a food crisis is a more humane, effective and cost-efficient approach than responding to the aftermath of disaster”, the statement underscored.

They welcomed the $33 million international donor response that has been received or committed.

“But the funding gaps are clear, and needs are growing too rapidly”, they flagged. “We need to do more”.

WFP has estimated the cost of responding to the impact of locusts on food security alone to be at least 15 times higher than the cost of preventing the spread now.

It is time for the international community to act more decisively.

“The math is clear, as is our moral obligation”, concluded the statement. “Pay a little now or pay a lot more later”.

UN human rights chief warns of women’s rights complacency

Ms. Bachelet, taking part in a panel discussion, held at the UN Human Rights Council on Tuesday, said that the Beijing Declaration should be celebrated but noted that the Plan of Action agreed at the event is still unfinished.

According to Ms. Bachelet, the risks of setbacks to women’s rights are real, and growing. The rights chief noted that, whilst the Beijing conference is recognized as a demonstration of strong collective commitment to human rights, the scenario 25 years later is quite different.

“Women’s rights are threatened and attacked” on many fronts, she warned, adding that there over this period there has been “a backlash and the resurgence of gender inequality narratives based on age-old discrimination”.

However, for the UN human rights chief, women’s rights are not negotiable: “they cannot be an optional policy, subject to the changing winds of politics,” she warned. According to Ms. Bachelet, the women’s rights agenda must not be torn apart by the establishment of a hierarchy between what is acceptable and what is deemed “too sensitive”.

Ms. Bachelet called on the international community to “resist any challenge to a hard-won affirmation, namely that women’s rights are human rights. “Human dignity cannot be dissected, compartmentalized, negotiated, nor be the privilege of the few,” she said.

Guterres concerned by setbacks to women’s rights

However, Ms. Bachelet declared that the gains made since the 1995 declaration were nothing less than revolutionary: “although we are still far from parity, the number of women national parliamentarians has almost doubled. More than 150 countries now have laws on sexual harassment. The number of child marriages has decreased worldwide”.

The High Commissioner highlighted the progress noted in the recording of data on violence against women worldwide. In addition, the percentage of women in gainful employment has increased, and more than 140 countries guarantee gender equality in their constitution.

Ms. Bachelet also welcomed the speech delivered to the Human Rights Council by UN Secretary-General António Guterres on Monday.

As part of his Call to Action for human rights, Mr. Guterres called on every country to “support policies and legislation that promote gender equality, to repeal discriminatory laws, to end violence against women and girls and to strive for equal representation and participation of women in all areas”.

In his speech, Mr. Guterres also worried about “setbacks to women’s rights, alarming levels of feminicide, attacks on women’s rights defenders, and the persistence of laws and policies that perpetuate submission and exclusion”.

“Violence against women and girls”, he said, “is the most widespread human rights violation”.

Women’s rights progress ‘slow and uneven’

Ms. Bachelet affirmed that the Beijing agreement was neither a coincidence nor an accident, but rather the result of deliberate action by governments, civil society and other partners.

“Over the past 25 years, we have built up good practices and are well equipped to speed up progress even more,” she said, asking stakeholders to rediscover the “unity and vision, as well as the purpose and determination that prevailed in Beijing”.

Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, the Executive Director of UN-Women reported “slow and uneven progress” on women’s rights, including the gap in the labour market.

“Although the employment rate has decreased in recent years, many women are employed and doing unpaid domestic work”.

Violence against women and girls persists, and remains a globally endemic crisis, she said, adding that more measures must be adopted, and Member States must reaffirm forcefully the commitments made in the Beijing Platform for Action.

UN panel to rally global political will to tackle internal displacement crisis

Opening the inaugural session of the High-Level Panel on Internal Displacement in Geneva on Tuesday, Mr. Guterres spoke of the acute and relentless crisis of people forced from their homes by conflict and human rights violations alone.

Many have been living in limbo stranded for years after their initial displacement without secure housing, jobs, education or other needs and opportunities.

He appealed to the Panel and its members from government, international organizations, civil society, the private sector and countries especially affected by displacement to draw attention to the issue.

The UN chief urged its members to bring fresh ideas to prevent forced displacement, better protect and assist displaced people and identify swifter solutions to displacement.

“It is unacceptable that millions of people are so brutally dislocated from their home and then linger without solutions for years”, Mr. Guterres said. “Being displaced should not be an interminable problem”.

Timely work

“Our work is timely”, said Panel co-chair Federica Mogherini, the European Union’s former foreign policy chief. “Since the beginning of the year, close to a million people have been displaced as Idlib in Syria is under attack”.

Noting reports that the majority of the displaced are women and children, now living in desperate conditions, she said: “This is a stark reminder that throughout our work, it is essential to pay specific attention to gender considerations, and to the way displacement affects different groups based on age, gender and other aspects”.

And while displacement continues in the Horn of Africa, it is also prevalent in countries such as Afghanistan, Cameroon, the Democratic People’s Republic of the Congo, South Sudan and Yemen.

The co-chair maintained the importance of managing the process carefully,” to ensure transparency and continued support, while allowing us to think and act independently”.

Noting the “challenging task ahead”, she pointed out that “as Panelists, we all have different backgrounds and experiences which can help us apprehend the issue of internal displacement through new perspectives and approaches.”

“My commitment to you fellow Panel members is to strive to provide leadership…while ensuring that we all have a strong voice and the space to propose new ideas to deal with internal displacement”, concluded Ms. Mogherini.

Tight timeframe

It is ultimately about political commitment especially by national Governments to tackle this problem — Panel co-chair

Acknowledging the tight timeframe for tackling such an enormous and complex subject, co-chair Donald Kaberuka, former President of the African Development Bank and current head of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB and Malaria, stressed that the Panel will have to undertake the broadest consultations possible.

“It is ultimately about political commitment especially by national Governments to tackle this problem in all its multifaceted dimensions supported by solid regional and international partnership, solidarity and responsibility sharing”, he said.

“It is also crucial to hear directly from all those who have been impacted by internal displacement, including the internally displaced themselves, so that we are able to grasp properly the priority issues on which to focus our attention”.

Recognizing that efforts have been made over time to address the humanitarian aspects of internal displacement, the co-chair underscored the need for more comprehensive efforts.

“We need to examine the underlying social and economic causes of displacement including poverty, inequality, marginalization and exclusion, environmental fragilities, governance challenges and the impact of displacement on societies and countries to be able to propose the correct solutions”, he stressed.

The panel

The Panel, tasked with raising global awareness and finding concrete long-term solutions to the dire issue, is expected to meet four times over the next 12 months and consult with countries and relevant organizations before submitting its recommendations to the Secretary-General by February 2021.

It was created last October and is constituted by representatives from government, international organizations, civil society, the private sector and countries particularly affected by displacement to improve UN efforts and those of its Member States to help all those affected, including the displaced and their host communities.

We need to give voice to ‘We the Peoples’, says UN chief

“This  globalization that has created so much wealth around the world has been leaving people behind, has been squeezing middle classes in different parts of the world and is creating also the feeling that it is not working for all,” the UN chief told an audience of more than 600 people gathered in an auditorium at the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies in Geneva.

The discussion is one of the spotlight events taking place in the context of the UN Human Rights Council’s 43rd session, which is under way in the Swiss city through 20 March.

The heartfelt and sometimes blunt feedback to the UN leadership came as part of series of conversations being held over the coming year for the UN75 campaign, marking the 75th anniversary of the UN Charter and which aims to listen to people’s hopes and fears – as well as their expectations of the UN – in a rapidly changing world.

The Secretary-General set the stage for today’s discussion saying: “So, the UN, in a situation like this, needs to ask itself: ‘are we doing what we should be doing? Are we responding to the anxieties and to the aspirations of the peoples of the world? Or do we need to change, do we need to adapt to this new world?’”

‘Open up’ and create an ‘Everyone’s UN’

“You need to make the UN more democratic and more participatory, and open it up to the public, and create something like ‘Everyone’s UN’,”  said Martin Ostermaier, a young professional from Germany who currently works with the international Labour Organization (ILO) and was one of six panelist on stage with Mr. Guterres.

“This dialogue is a great first start, but it shouldn’t happen every 75 years. I should happen more often,” he added, drawing laughter from the audience.

 Marie Claire Graf, a Youth Parliamentarian and student at the University of Zurich,told the Secretary-General: “Open up decision-making, be bold, be unprecedented but also really give ownership to the people. Because we can’t just hide in our ivory towers, and think people will trust us.”

The notion of opening the UN up to more democratic participation and processes, as well as to the inclusion of young and marginalized people and groups, including refugees, found a very loud echo among the participants.

“My advice would be not just to listen to us, but to listen to people who have small voices or who have no voice at all,” said Adiba Quasim, a young Yazidi survivor and refugee from Iraq who is currently studying in Switzerland.

“I lost everything some years ago and because I have [faced] death so many times, and because I have [tried] everything to find a future for me, and today, in 2020, we see women getting raped, slavery and killing because of our identity, because of our religions, because of our colour, she said, “So what I want to see in 2045 is that people can live in peace, people can live really with dignity.”

“I would like to see a non-patriarchal world, because I believe that the patriarchy…cuts across all instances, not just gender, it cuts across race, it cuts across social classes. I’d like to see world that is non-racist world, as well,” said Jasmine Pokuaa Oduro, a dual citizen of Ghana and the UK, who later issued a very direct piece of advice to the UN for its use of stereotyped images on in income inequalities.

“One thing that I’d like the UN to start to prioritize now, and I think they could start doing it from now, is to stop using black and brown children in their publications to represent poverty.”

‘Declare a planetary emergency’

Many who took the floor expressed their desire for transformative policies that would broaden opportunities both within and across societies.

The need to address distortions and injustices brought about by severe disparities in wealth was a common thread running through the discussion – with several speakers highlighting the need to hold hyper-wealthy individuals and transnational corporations to greater account.

“I want to like to see that multinational corporations are held accountable for their actions,” said Jan Harvey Parfina, a student from the Philippines. “Especially if they already violating human rights, as well as degrading the environment.”

This is the beginning of new dynamic of relationships between the UN and ‘We the Peoples’, and this relationship will hopefully be able to shape a new kind of multilateralism – UN chief Guterres

Equally pervasive was the concern about the future of the planet in the context of climate change.

“As we are facing the extinction of humanity, my advice is to declare a planetary emergency – right now,” Ms. Graf urged the Secretary-General.

She stressed: “We can’t solve this crisis with small fixes; we can’t just adjust ;somewhere, we cannot just put solar panels on the roof and think that this is going to solve the climate crisis. We must go much bigger.”

Mr. Guterres summed up by conceding that that, as the United Nations, “we need to be humble, to recognize our failures and to be able to understand that we need to give the voice to ‘We the peoples’ that we are supposed to represent as the UN.”

The important thing, he continued is that “we have a lot to change in order to be able to respond. We need to adapt to be able to respond to the will of the people … and to be trusted by the people, which means giving the people a very strong influence in what we do.”

“That’s a very clear message I got from everybody here,” said the UN chief.

Tackle the spread of ‘fake news’, misinformation

In addition to broad aspirational goals and transformative policies, some speakers also made very concrete suggestions for areas in which the UN could concentrate in a more targeted way – on emerging technological threats, for example, and in investing in programmes that can foster youth leadership.

“I’d like to see a global concerted effort to tackle the issue of fake news and the spread of misinformation. Because one of the most horrifying scenarios that I can imagine is a world where you cannot tell anymore what is real and what is false, and that’s becoming increasingly likely,” said Marwan al Chazli, an engineering student from Egypt. 

He said: “I would advise a focus on youth programmes that empower young people to become changemakers. Give young people the resource to do amazing things, and they will.”

Capping off his two-days in Geneva, Mr. Guterres told the young people gathered at the Graduate Institute that the conversation represented a new beginning for the UN.

“This is the beginning of new dynamic of relationships between the UN and ‘We the Peoples’, and this relationship will hopefully be able to shape a new kind of multilateralism – a multilateralism that is inclusive, in which not only the governments, but also civil society,academia, and local communities have a voice and have influence, he said, and added: “If we are able to do that, I think it will be a big change.”

“There will be a lot of resistance. I count on you to overcome that resistance.”

UN Convention that promotes mediation to resolve trade disputes moves closer to entry into force

During a ceremony at UN Headquarters on Tuesday, Singapore Senior Minister of State Edwin Tong Chun Fai and Ambassador Satyendra Prasad of Fiji deposited their instruments of ratification for the United Nations Convention on International Settlement Agreements Resulting from Mediation, which was adopted by the General Assembly in December 2018.

Also known as the Singapore Convention on Mediation, it aims to achieve universal recognition of mediation as a powerful tool to solve disputes and support its wider use as a quick and non-confrontational method for commercial dispute resolution.

“The Singapore Convention on Mediation is expected to bring certainty and stability to the international framework on mediation, thereby promoting more prosperous, stable and sustainable international trade relationships among States and regions, and further contributing to economic development, social progress, and maintenance of peace,” said Miguel de Serpa Soares, Under-Secretary-General for Legal Affairs and United Nations Legal Counsel.

The Singapore Convention on Mediation provides countries with something which had not existed before: an effective mechanism to enforce international settlement agreements resulting from mediation.

As the UN Office for Legal Affairs (OLA) explained, promoting the use of mediation in international trade and investment facilitates solving conflicts without going through formal – and sometimes lengthy and costly – legal processes.

Mediation also supports global efforts to realize a better future for all people and the planet through achieving the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030. It particularly reflects the ideals of SDG 16 on promoting peace, justice and strong institutions.

The Singapore Convention on Mediation opened for signature on 7 August 2019 and has been signed by 52 countries.

However, signatories still need to ratify, accept or approve the Convention, which is also open for accession by all countries that are not signatories.

It will enter into force six months after three States deposit their instruments of ratification.

‘Africa has both the energy and the determination’ to make sustainable development happen, says UN deputy chief

“Since no country is on track to deliver by 2030, every country must increase its ambition,” Ms. Mohammad said in her opening address to the Sixth Africa Regional Forum on Sustainable Development, running through Thursday, 27 February,in Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe.

That ambition starts with national plans, policies, budgets and institutions that are commensurate with what it will take to deliver universal access to quality social services and an economy that provides decent jobs for all.

“And it requires the delivery of strong commitments at this year’s major global meetings on climate change, biodiversity, sustainable transport and oceans – all of which are crucial for Africa’s future,” she explained, adding that: “We need to see a stronger involvement of the general public for sustainable development.”;

Yet she stressed that the absolute number of people living in poverty on the continent had increased to 428 million, with 22.8 million people facing severe food insecurity. This had brought with it increased income inequalities and youth unemployment.

Success on Global Goals hinges on success of ‘Africa 2063’

“The scale of the task before us is immense, but the success of the SDGs depends on the success of [Africa’s] Agenda 2063,” she said, stressing that accelerating the pace and scale of collective action was the only solution.

“Just as China’s remarkable achievements in lifting its people out of poverty contributed to major advances under the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), Agenda 2063 can have similar impact on the SDGs.”

She said the nexus between climate change, hunger, terrorism, conflict and displacement was causing havoc and human suffering in many countries, not least in the Sahel and the Horn. Moreover, gender inequality was costing sub-Saharan Africa $95 billion every year in lost opportunities.

“Success is possible, but only if we generate more ambition, more mobilization and more solutions,” she said.

She underscored that with a staggering three quarters of Africa’s population under the age of 35, ‘young people must be a central focus – not just in terms of economic inclusion but as the drivers of the change that these Agendas demand’.

A call for ‘African solutions’ to deliver change

“To deliver change on the scale that our agendas demand, major increase in international investment and support for African solutions are needed urgently,” Ms. Mohammed explained.

For his part, Zimbabwe’s President, Emmerson Mnangagwa welcomed the delegates and assured them that the country remained committed to fully implementing political, economic and legislative reforms.

He said the nation’s Vision 2030 addresses aspirations highlighted by the SDGs and Agenda 2063 and seeks a development path to leave no one behind.

“As Zimbabweans, we are convinced that the interlinked threats and challenges to sustainable development confronting our continent require everyone to share experiences, responsibility and to contribute to the attainment of common vision and implementation framework,” said Mr. Mnangagwa.

AU Deputy Chairperson Thomas Quartey Kwesi said that conflict was one of the major challenges facing Africa.

“Without peace, security and stability, prosperity in Africa will continue to remain elusive. Without peace and security, the commitment to leave no one behind will remain mere talk again,” he said.

“The potential consequences for us Africans, and for our teeming youth if things continue this way will be too dire to contemplate. This really is our challenge.”

‘It’s your future to define’, says UN deputy chief, urging young African leaders to push for Global Goals

“Use your phones not to sow hatred and division, but to bring us together to achieve the [Goals],” she said, adding the youth should take their future seriously and work hard to ensure no one else controlled their narrative.

Ms. Mohammed, who is in Zimbabwe to attend several key meetings, including the Sixth African Forum for Sustainable Development, said today’s youth had more tools to use in their quest for a better future than those of yesteryear. These include gadgets like mobile phones./p>

Use science, technology and innovation for change

“You are young. It’s your time now, not tomorrow. Use your youth power, for it’s your future to define,” the UN deputy chief told the gathering.

Earlier, the young leaders had shared their desire for their governments to enact inclusive policies; eliminate conflicts and poverty; create the much-needed jobs; act against climate change; promote gender parity; give the youth opportunities to participate in decision-making processes; and facilitate and fund innovation hubs, among other issues and ideas.

“What I have heard here today is inspiring. You have given me more energy to go back and fight the good fight,” Ms. Mohammed said, promising the young people that she would take their concerns and suggestions on how to move the continent to the next level – with youth involvement – to the continent’s leaders.

The role of youth

Among the youth on the panel was Aya Chebbi, the African Union Youth Envoy, who highlighted youth perspectives on UN-African Union collaboration.

While welcoming the UN-AU Framework on peace and security and other collaborative mechanisms, she called for a more visible youth component “to guide our work.”

In the ensuing discussion, speakers highlighted, among others, the importance of institutionalizing “generational co-leadership” to ensure a genuine transition to the younger generation, as well including young people in the issue-based coalitions.

Asked by Ms. Mohammed how they saw the future, most of the youth were optimistic that it was bright, but a few were more pessimistic, saying nothing was likely to change.

The event was part of series of conversations being held over the coming year for the campaign, UN75, marking the 75th anniversary of the UN Charter and which aims to listen to people’s hopes and fears – as well as their expectations of the UN – in a rapidly changing world.

Through these conversations, the UN aims to build a global vision of 2045 – the Organization’s centenary, increase understanding of the threats to that future, and support enhanced international cooperation to realize that vision.

The discussion on Monday was held under the theme ‘UN@75 – The Future is Now: African Youth Engagement for the Decade of Action.’

Somalia: Further consensus-building needed ahead of ‘historic’ election

Since his last briefing in November, Somalia has passed key legislation on finance, became eligible for debt relief, and approved a national policy on refugees, returnees and displaced persons, among other priorities.

However, Mr. Swan reported that consultations between President Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed ‘Farmajo’ and political leaders have stalled, contributing to the absence of broad consensus on the way forward in what he described as a potentially “transformative year” for the country.

“There is much to do in the year ahead, only by working together, as Somalis, as partners, and in a spirit of unity and compromise, will progress be made,” he said.

“Further impetus and consensus-building are needed to ensure that key benchmarks for elections, security and relations between the Federal Government and Federal Member States do not fall further behind schedule”.

Mr. Swan added that the UN, alongside the African Union (AU), the European Union (EU) and regional body the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) have emphasized the need to resume dialogue, and stand ready to offer support as required.

Outstanding questions remain

The “historic” parliamentary election in December will be a critical test of Somalia’s progress in state-building, according to Mr. Swan, who is also head of the UN Assistance Mission in Somalia (UNSOM).

It represents a shift from recent political processes in which clan elders chose delegates who would then vote for leaders.

This will mark just the third time that Somalia has had universal suffrage since gaining independence in 1960.

The last such election was held in March1969 and the government was overthrown in a bloodless military coup that October.

President Farmajo recently signed the new electoral code into law.

While an important step, Mr. Swan said it does not address outstanding questions related to the locations of constituencies, guaranteeing 30 per cent of seats for women, and modalities that would allow people across the country to participate.

He called for these issues to be resolved urgently.

Security challenges

On security, the al-Shabaab terrorist group still continues to carry out attacks in Somalia.

Peacekeepers with the African Union Mission to Somalia (AMISOM) are supporting the national army, and have been gradually handing over responsibilities to them.

By the end of this month, AMISOM will reduce its force by another 1,000 soldiers: the third such drawdown since 2018.

Mission chief Francisco Caetano José Madeira spoke of challenges in re-generating and equipping their Somali counterparts.

“The process is slow, underfunded, profoundly dependent on the goodwill of individual partners with no shared and coordinated training plans and no evident correlation with the need to timely generate forces capable of taking full security responsibility from AMISOM and allow the completion of the current transition by 2021,” he said.

Locusts and the climate threat

The authorities are not only fighting against militants. Somalia has endured back-to-back droughts and floods and currently is battling the worst locust infestation in decades, affecting other Horn of Africa countries.

The UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) is helping the Government to stave off the potentially catastrophic impact on food security.

At a meeting earlier this month in New York, UN Humanitarian Coordinator Mark Lowcock told ambassadors that weather events such as poor rains, drought, and floods created the environment that facilitated the current locust outbreak.

In the future, peace operations will be undertaken in environments which are frequently influenced by, and vulnerable to, climate change, according to researchers at the Stockholm International Peace Institute.

Dan Smith, the Institute’s Director, who also spoke in the Council, explained that because floods and droughts exacerbate conflict and displacement, they risk undermining efforts to build peace in Somalia.

“Addressing the negative impact of environmental change on peace operations could offer an opportunity to build a positive relationship between environmental resilience and sustainable peace,” he suggested.

UN-brokered Libya talks show ‘seriousness’, reach draft ceasefire deal

Ghassan Salamé, Special Representative of the Secretary-General and Head of the UN Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL), together with delegates from the UN-recognized Government of National Accord (GNA) and the Libyan National Army (LNA) participated in the 5+5 Libyan Joint Military Commission (JMC) talks.

Appraising parties’ spirit of high professionalism during the discussions, UNSMIL said a draft ceasefire agreement to restore security to civilian areas with the implementation of a joint monitoring mechanism under the auspices of UNSMIL and the JMC had been prepared.

The two parties will present the draft agreement to their respective leaderships for further consultations and resume discussions next month to complete the preparation of the Terms of Reference of the sub-committees in charge of the implementation of the agreement.

UNSMIL reiterated its call for both parties to fully abide by the current truce and the protection of civilians, properties and vital infrastructure.

Launched by UNSMIL, the JMC is part of the three-track intra-Libyan process aiming to reach a lasting ceasefire by addressing the economic and financial situation, military and security matters, and political dialogues.

With Gaza violence ‘escalating as we speak,’ UN envoy calls for ‘immediate stop’

“While there may be different interpretations and proposals how, this remains our shared objective”, UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process Nickolay Mladenov said, briefing the UN Security Council via video conference from Jerusalem.

Before updating the members on the situation on the ground, he began by detailing a developing situation that began over the weekend after Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) said it had fired at two Palestinian Islamic Jihad militants who were attempting to plant an explosive device along the Gaza perimeter fence.

“Since then more than 60 rockets have been fired by Palestinian Islamic Jihad militants towards Israel. As of now, the IDF is responding by conducting multiple airstrikes in the Strip,” Mr. Mladenov explained.

“The situation is escalating as we speak with continuing projectiles being fired from Gaza and retaliatory Israeli airstrikes.”

He called for “an immediate stop” to the firing of rockets and mortars that “only risk dragging Gaza into another round of hostilities with no end in sight”.

“The indiscriminate launching of rockets against civilian population centres violates international law and must end”, stressed the UN envoy.

He elaborated on security, humanitarian and political crises in the enclave, including restrictions that are contributing to an “ongoing health disaster in the Gaza Strip”.

“According to local interlocutors, as of the end of January, stock levels for 46 per cent of essential medicines have been completely depleted”, highlighted Mr. Mladenov.

While $1.2 million worth of medicines were subsequently allowed to enter to “somewhat alleviate the dire situation”, he encouraged the Palestinian government to work with the UN and increase its efforts to help resolve the health crisis.

West Bank

Turning to the West Bank where “violence has also continued”, the UN envoy painted a picture of clashes and death, including of children.

“Violence against civilians, and particularly against children, is unacceptable, and must be condemned by all”, asserted Mr. Mladenov. “All incidents must be thoroughly investigated”.

The situation around the Holy Sites in Jerusalem also remained tense

Violence against civilians, and particularly against children, is unacceptable — UN envoy

Amidst calls by religious and political leaders for Palestinians to pray en masse at Muslim sites, he updated that “there were limited clashes and arrests reported, including after Friday prayers” and the police arrested a former Israeli Knesset Member for ignoring police directives while visiting the site.

Edging away from two-State solution

With no meaningful bilateral negotiations on the horizon, developments on the ground continued to undermine prospects for a two-State solution.

Moreover, Israeli authorities continued to evict people from their homes, seize and demolish structures, and approve plans for building further settlements.

If implemented, the latest constructions would consolidate a ring of settlements cutting between East Jerusalem and Bethlehem, significantly constraining the possibility of a future contiguous Palestinian State.

“I reiterate that all settlements are illegal under international law and remain a substantial obstacle to peace”, the UN envoy reminded.

Meanwhile, Israeli and United States officials have formed a joint committee to produce detailed maps of relevant areas of the occupied West Bank to advance annexation.

This would have a devastating impact on the prospect for a two-State solution.

“They would close the door to negotiations, have negative repercussions across the region, and severely undermine opportunities for normalization and regional peace”, Mr. Mladenov underscored.

Other updates

Protests continue throughout Lebanon and a serious incident occurred in which some 15 people blocked a UNIFIL (UN Interim Force in Lebanon) patrol, seized items and injured one peacekeeper.

An in the Golan, recent developments involved a ceasefire breach and continued volatility.

“UNDOF (UN Disengagement Observer Force) engaged both parties in order to prevent an escalation of tensions and reminded them of their obligation to respect the 1974 Disengagement of Forces Agreement”, which, among other things, established a separation zone.

As negative trends continue, Mr. Mladenov reaffirmed the UN’s commitment to supporting a peaceful future for the Middle East and underscored that the Organization’s “preventive diplomacy efforts continue to play an integral role” on the ground.

Month: February 2020