July 2021 — Page 3 of 13 — Human Rights & Charity

Progress on tobacco fight, but new nicotine products pose increasing threat

Compared with 2007, more than four times as many people — some 5.3 billion — are now covered by at least one WHO-recommended tobacco control measure.

These six MPOWER measures are:

Monitoring tobacco use and preventive measures
Protecting people from tobacco smoke; offering help to quit
Warning about the dangers of tobacco
Enforcing bans on advertising
Promotion and sponsorship
Raising taxes on tobacco

More than half of all countries and half the world’s population are now covered by at least two MPOWER measures – an increase of 14 countries – and almost one billion more people since the last report in 2019.

Whilst half of the world’s population are exposed to tobacco products with graphic health warnings, progress has not been even across all MPOWER measures.

Raising tobacco taxes has been slow to have an impact and 49 countries remain without any MPOWER measures adopted.

New nicotine threats

Of particular concern, new data shows that children who use electronic nicotine delivery systems, such as ‘e-cigarettes’ are up to three times more likely to use tobacco products in the future.

WHO is concerned that these products are often being marketed to children and adolescents by the tobacco and related industries that manufacture them, using thousands of appealing flavours and misleading claims about the products.

The Organization recommends governments do more to implement regulations to stop non-smokers from getting addicted in the first place, to prevent renormalisation of smoking in the community, and protect future generations.

Highly addictive

“Nicotine is highly addictive. Electronic nicotine delivery systems are harmful, and must be better regulated,” said Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General.

“Where they are not banned, governments should adopt appropriate policies to protect their populations from the harms of electronic nicotine delivery systems, and to prevent their uptake by children, adolescents and other vulnerable groups.”

Currently, 32 countries have banned the sale of electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS).

A further 79, have adopted at least one partial measure to prohibit the use of these products in public places, prohibit their advertising, promotion and sponsorship or require the display of health warnings on packaging.

This still leaves 84 countries where they are not regulated or restricted in any way.

‘Aggressive’ marketing

“More than one billion people around the world still smoke. And as cigarette sales have fallen, tobacco companies have been aggressively marketing new products – like e-cigarettes and heated tobacco products – and lobbied governments to limit their regulation.

Their goal is simple: to hook another generation on nicotine. We can’t let that happen,” said former New York mayor, Michael Bloomberg, WHO Global Ambassador for Noncommunicable Diseases and Injuries, and founder of Bloomberg Philanthropies.

Currently, of the estimated one billion smokers globally, around 80% live in low and middle-income countries (LMICs). Tobacco is responsible for the death of eight million people a year, including a million from second-hand smoke.

Rapidly evolving

Dr. Rüdiger Krech, Director of the Health Promotion Department at WHO, highlighted the challenges associated with their regulation. “These products are hugely diverse and are evolving rapidly.

“Some are modifiable by the user so that nicotine concentration and risk levels are difficult to regulate. Others are marketed as ‘nicotine-free’ but, when tested, are often found to contain the addictive ingredient.

“Distinguishing the nicotine-containing products from the non-nicotine, or even from some tobacco-containing products, can be almost impossible. This is just one way the industry subverts and undermines tobacco control measures.”

The report argues that while delivery systems, or ENDS, should be regulated to maximise the protection of public health, tobacco control must remain focused on reducing tobacco use globally.

UN-African Union Mission in Darfur in final shutdown phase

Atul Khare, Under-Secretary-General for Operational Support, updated ambassadors on progress towards the mission’s closure and final liquidation, following the end of its mandate last December after 13 years protecting civilians uprooted by conflict.

Nearly 6,000 troops and police were repatriated from the Sudanese province ahead of the drawdown deadline of 30 June, and nearly 1,200 civilian staff were separated from the mission.

Expedited timelines achieved

The UN General Assembly recently approved nearly $80 million to support final closure no later than 30 June 2022.

Mr. Khare was in Sudan earlier this month, where he met with senior officials as part of efforts to ensure progress remains on track.

“All leaders shared their satisfaction at the successful achievement of the expedited timelines and discussed ways to resolve outstanding issues related to the liquidation and wider transition implications,” he reported.

Only a 360-strong Guard Unit remains at UNAMID to protect staff working on the exit, and the remaining UN assets, though primary responsibility for security rests with the Sudanese Government.

Remaining UN assets in Darfur are being disposed of in two phases, the first of which is already underway.

‘Enormous’ inventory list

The mission has so far handed over some $41 million in facilities and equipment to local authorities, but 10 of the 14 sites reportedly have suffered “varying degrees of destruction and theft”, which Mr. Khare called a major loss for local communities.

“I note that although authorities have made commitments to investigate these incidents, various Sudanese interlocutors have nevertheless suggested that these events resulted from underlying tensions among groups locally, along with concerns, whether real or perceived, surrounding equitable access to the facilities and equipment that was handed over,” he said.

Mr. Khare pointed to the potential of properties such as the UNAMID logistics base in El Fasher. Its numerous assets include more than 1,000 self-contained housing units, a hospital facility, a power generation and distribution network, a fuel storage depot, and water storage and purification equipment.

Hundreds of vehicles and other moveable property are also being stored there.

Pure water for a million

UNAMID also currently holds enough sodium hypochlorite salt to purify roughly seven billion litres of water, sufficient to meet the drinking and cooking needs for one million people for a year.

“It is critical that the Government of Sudan makes every effort to ensure that this enormous reserve of facilities and equipment is sustainably applied to national imperatives for civilian use,” he said.

Although some $8 million in equipment has been transferred to other UN field operations, or to a peacekeeping reserve in Italy, Mr. Khare stressed that the bulk will be donated to the Sudanese authorities for civilian use.

“To this end, during my recent visit to Sudan, I implored all government interlocutors to emphasize the immediate development of a single, holistic donation plan, with input and agreement from Government interlocutors at the national and local levels,” he said.

Handover challenges

The UN intends to gradually handover the El Fasher site to the authorities, starting in November, a process that would lead to the phased reduction of the Guard Unit.

“For all this to occur in an orderly and speedy fashion, I must raise the issue of the armed movements that have stationed forces around the El Fasher compound since the beginning of June,” Mr. Khare told the Council.

“After an initial period of confusion among these groups which led to the disruption of UNAMID movements, and, in some cases, harassment of United Nations personnel and vendors, movements have for the most part proceeded as needed in the recent weeks.”

However, he said coordination and leadership among these groups is critical if the liquidation process is to proceed smoothly “for the long-term sustainable benefit of Sudan and its people.”

Free, fair Palestinian elections, must include East Jerusalem: UN experts

The first parliamentary and presidential elections in 15 years were scheduled to take place in May and July, respectively.

But they were postponed by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on 29 April, amid concerns about the ability to vote in East Jerusalem.

Take all steps necessary

Expressing their deep concern over the postponement, the UN experts called on the Palestinian Authority and Israel “to take all steps necessary within their power” to reschedule the elections “within a reasonably short timeframe”, and to ensure they are free, fair, democratic, peaceful and credible.

“The Palestinian elections present a monumental opportunity to renew the democratic process, to address the long-standing internal political divisions, to strengthen accountable institutions and to take an important step towards achieving the fundamental national and individual rights of the Palestinian people,” they said.

“We call upon Israel to clearly state that it will allow the full democratic participation of Palestinians in East Jerusalem in the planned elections. As the occupying power in East Jerusalem, it must interfere as little as possible with the rights and daily lives of the Palestinians.”

‘A golden opportunity’

The rights experts noted that Palestinians in East Jerusalem have the right to participate in elections under the 2005 Oslo Agreements, and have voted on three previous occasions, albeit with considerable difficulties.

“The international community has repeatedly stated, through the UN Security Council and the General Assembly, that all Israeli alterations to East Jerusalem’s demography and to its political and legal status are null and void,” they said. “Here is a golden opportunity for the world to affirm these commitments in the name of democracy and international law.”

They called upon the Palestinian Authority to reschedule the elections for the near future and urged all sides, “including the occupying power”, to respect democratic when they are held.

Challenges, credibility

The Palestinian authorities were also encouraged to remove any legal barriers to full and free participation.

They were disturbed by some aspects of the eligibility rules which “appear to create unjustified obstacles to ensuring a democratic process”, such as the requirement for “political lists” of candidates to pay a $20,000 registration fee.

With half of all eligible voters aged 18 to 33 years, the UN experts observed that this would mark their first time at the polls as the last elections were in 2006.

“We do not underestimate the challenges of holding free and fair democratic elections while under an entrenched and harsh occupation,” they said. “But the elections will only achieve credibility and open the door to political renewal, particularly among younger Palestinians, if all sides respect the values of democracy and human rights.”

Role of independent experts

The three UN experts who issued the statement are: Michael Lynk, Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Occupied Palestinian Territory; Irene Khan, Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of expression, and Clément Nyaletsossi Voule, Special Rapporteur on rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association.

They were appointed by the UN Human Rights Council, and serve in their individual capacity and on a voluntary basis.

Independent experts are not UN staff, neither are they paid by the Organization.

Together, we must tackle growing hunger, urges Guterres

Up to 811 million people faced hunger in 2020 – as many as 161 million more than in 2019 – Mr. Guterres said, at the Pre-Summit of the UN Food Systems Summit in Rome beginning Monday.

Pointing to the disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the UN chief added that three billion people cannot afford to eat healthily, either.

“We are seriously off track to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030”, said Mr. Guterres, who highlighted how “poverty, income inequality and the high cost of food” were responsible for these ills, and how climate change and conflict are were “consequences and drivers of this catastrophe”.

Mohammed pledge

Echoing those concerns and urging action at this week’s Pre-Summit, UN Deputy-Secretary-General Amina Mohammed insisted that tackling growing hunger and poor nutrition were challenges that the international community should rise to, “as we have the means to do it”.

Ms. Mohammed welcomed the fact that 145 countries had already embarked on national dialogues to decide on how sustainable food systems should look by 2030, in reference to regular online meetings, public forums and surveys with youth, farmers, indigenous peoples, civil society, researchers, private sector, policy leaders and ministers of agriculture, environment, health, nutrition and finance.

The outcome of these exchanges will contribute to suggested actions organized around the Summit’s five action tracks to transform food production and leverage the far-reaching significance of food systems to help achieve the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the Deputy UN chief explained:

“There is no one size that fits all. We must work country by country, region by region, community by community, to ensure the diversity of needs are addressed to support each reality. The same applies for our food systems and the changes that are required so that we feed the world, without starving the planet of its future.”

The Pre-Summit, which is being held in a hybrid format, brings delegates together from more than 100 countries to launch a set of new commitments through coalitions of action and mobilize new financing and partnerships.

Fragile sustainability

Ms. Mohammed highlighted how the pandemic had reversed efforts towards sustainable development, with latest UN data indicating that around 100 million people have been pushed into poverty since the start of the global health crisis.

But she insisted that this week’s meeting in Rome hosted by the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) had the opportunity to “drive progress” on the delivering the 2030 Agenda, by agreeing positions on sustainable solutions, ahead of the Leaders’ UN Food Systems Summit in New York in September.

“Through the 2030 Agenda, we agree to transform our world. We can only do that by working together,” Ms. Mohammed said.

“That means we must listen to one another, appreciate diverse perspectives and understand the dynamic and interconnected challenges that we face. It means we must commit to making the choices that are needed to ensure we leave no one or country behind.”

Support mangrove conservation, UNESCO chief says

Audrey Azoulay, Director General of the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), made the appeal in her message for the International Day for the Conservation of the Mangrove Ecosystem, observed on 26 July.

Mangroves are found in tropical and sub-tropical regions, on the boundary between land and sea. Globally, they cover a surface of just 14.8 million hectares, or roughly equivalent to the size of Greece.

Coastal development threat

“They protect biodiversity by sheltering and nurturing marine life. They function like filtration systems, absorbing nutrients and pollutants. They fight coastal erosion, acting as breakwaters to dissipate storm surges and wave energy. Above all, they play an essential role as carbon sinks, sequestering atmospheric and oceanic carbon for long periods of time,” said Ms. Azoulay.

Yet despite these benefits, UNESCO estimated that some countries lost more than 40 per cent of their mangroves between 1980 and 2005, often due to coastal development.

Although human health has always depended on the health of the planet, Ms. Azoulay said the importance of mangrove systems is now increasingly clear.

“The world is now waking up to the importance of mangroves – and other blue carbon ecosystems, including salt marshes, seagrass beds and coastal wetlands,” she said.

Local partnerships

UNESCO strives to conserve mangroves through its work on Global Geoparks and World Heritage Sites, the latter of which alone spans more than 10 per cent of all marine protected areas globally, or 200 million hectares.

The agency’s initiative on Biosphere Reserves, which reconciles biodiversity conservation with sustainable use, also provides “a unique blueprint” for preservation, Ms. Azoulay added.

“In these areas, UNESCO is committed to implementing science-based solutions in coordination with local and indigenous communities, to support humanity’s ability to cope with socio-ecological change,” she said, pointing to examples in Thailand, Senegal, and the United Arab Emirates.

More than 700 sites in 129 countries are part of the UNESCO World Network of Biosphere Reserves, which turns 50 this year, as the UN launches a Decade of Ecosystem Restoration.

“Through these initiatives and others, we are working to protect mangroves and to better support scientific research into these environments,” said Ms. Azoulay.

She urged people everywhere to contribute to conservation efforts “so that, together, we can put a stop to mangrove habitat destruction, and restore what we have already lost.”

Outstanding sites added to UNESCO World Heritage List

The UNESCO World Heritage Committee voted on Sunday to inscribe in its catalogue Quanzhou in China, Kakatiya Rudreshwara Temple in India, Trans-Iranian Railway in Iran, and Paseo del Prado and Buen Retiro in Spain.

Meeting online in this year’s host city of Fuzhou, China, the world body chose the newly added sites for their cultural, historical or scientific significance.

China

In China, Quanzhou’s Emporium of the World in Song-Yuan, thrived during a highly significant period for maritime trade in Asia.

According to UNESCO, the site illustrates the “vibrancy of the city” as a maritime centre of commerce between the 10th and 14th centuries and “its interconnection with the Chinese hinterland”.

Quanzhou’s Emporium encompasses religious buildings, including the 11th century Qingjing Mosque; Islamic tombs; and a wide range of archaeological remains, including buildings, stone docks, ancient bridges, pagodas and inscriptions.

In Arabic and western texts of that period it was known as Zayton.

India

In the southern Indian state of Telangana, the newly designated Kakatiya Rudreshwara, is popularly known as Ramappa Temple.

It is the main Shiva temple in a walled complex, built under the ruler of Rudradeva and Recharla Rudra between 1123–1323 CE (“Common (or current) Era” – equivalent to the abbreviation, AD).

The sandstone temple features decorated beams and pillars of carved granite and dolerite with a horizontally-stepped tower, called Vimana, made of porous ‘floating bricks’, which reduced the weight of the roof structures.

“The temple’s sculptures of high artistic quality illustrate regional dance customs and Kakatiyan culture”, said UNESCO.

The cite was chosen at the foothills of a forested area and amidst agricultural fields, close to the shores of the Ramappa Cheruvu, following the ideology that temples should be an integral part of nature, including hills and lakes.

Iran

The newly inscribed Trans-Iranian Railway connects the Caspian Sea in the northeast with the Persian Gulf in the southwest and crosses two mountain ranges as well as rivers, highlands and four different climatic areas.

Construction on the 1,394-kilometre-long railway, which ran from 1927 to 1938, was designed and executed between the Iranian Government and 43 contractors from a host of countries.

“The railway is notable for its scale and the engineering works it required to overcome steep routes and other difficulties”, according to UNESCO, which pointed out that its required extensive mountain cutting and constructing 174 large bridges, 186 small bridges and 224 tunnels, including 11 that spiralled.

Unlike most early railway projects, the Trans-Iranian Railway was funded by national taxes to avoid foreign investment and control.

Spain

UNESCO called Madrid’s tree-lined Paseo del Prado Boulevard and adjoining Retiro Park, located at the urban heart of Spain’s capital, “a landscape of arts and sciences”.

The 200-hectare cultural landscape evolved from the 16th century Hispanic alameda prototype and features major fountains, notably the Fuente de Cibeles and the Fuente de Neptuno, as well as the iconic Plaza de Cibeles.

“The site embodies a new idea of urban space and development from the enlightened absolutist period of the 18th century”, according to UNESCO.

Buildings dedicated to the arts and sciences join others in the site that are devoted to industry, healthcare and research – collectively, illustrating the aspiration for a utopian society during the height of the Spanish Empire.

The 120-hectare Jardines del Buen Retiro, or Garden of Pleasant Retreat – a remnant of the 17th-century Buen Retiro Palace – constitutes the largest part of the property and displays gardening styles from the 19th century to the present.

It also houses the terraced Royal Botanical Garden and the largely residential neighbourhood of Barrio Jerónimos developed with a variety of 19th and 20th century buildings, including cultural venues.

Natural attributions

On Monday, four islands in Japan, tidal flats in Korea, a forest in Thailand and wetlands in Georgia were among the sites inscribed for natural attribution.

Japan

Amami-Oshima Island, Tokunoshima Island, Iriomote Island and the northern part of Okinawa Island encompass 42,698 hectares of subtropical rainforests on a chain located in the southwest of Japan.

They form an arc on the boundary of the East China Sea and Philippine Sea whose highest point, Mount Yuwandake on Amami-Oshima Island, rises 694 metres above sea level.

“Entirely uninhabited by humans, the site has high biodiversity value with a very high percentage of endemic species, many of them globally threatened [and]…is home to endemic plants, mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, inland water fish and decapod crustaceans”, UNESCO said.

Korea

Situated in the eastern Yellow Sea on the southwestern and southern coast of Korea, UNESCO inscribed the Getbol Tidal Flats comprised of Seocheon, Gochang, Shinan and Boseong-Suncheon.

Exhibiting a “complex combination of geological, oceanographic and climatologic conditions, the site hosts high levels of biodiversity, with reports of 2,150 species of flora and fauna and is home to 47 endemic and five endangered marine invertebrate species, and 118 migratory bird species.

According to UNESCO, “the site demonstrates the link between geodiversity and biodiversity, and demonstrates the dependence of cultural diversity and human activity on the natural environment”,.

Thailand

Located at the cross-roads between the Himalayan, Indochina and Sumatran faunal and floral realms, Thailand’s Kaeng Krachan Forest Complex was designated for its rich biodiversity.

Its semi-evergreen/dry evergreen and moist evergreen forest mixed with deciduous, montane and deciduous dipterocarp forests are home to endemic and globally endangered plant species that overlap with two Important Bird Areas (IBAs).

The complex hosts critically endangered species, including the Siamese Crocodile, Asiatic Wild Dog, Banteng and Asian Giant Tortoise, and the Fishing Cat.

Georgia

Situated within an 80km long corridor along the warm-temperate and extremely humid eastern coast of the Black Sea, the Colchic rainforests and wetlands in Georgia, were also honoured with World Heritage status.

Providing a series of typical Colchic ecosystems, they consist of ancient deciduous forests, swamps, bogs and other types distinct in the mire region, at altitudes ranging from sea level to more than 2,500 metres.

The rainforests host high densities of endemic and globally threatened species as well as some 1,100 different vascular and non-vascular plants and 19 threatened animal species, including the critically endangered Colchic Sturgeon.

Rare removal

The inscription of sites on UNESCO’s World Heritage List is scheduled to continue through Wednesday, with some casualties: last week it removed ‘Liverpool – Maritime Mercantile City’ in the United Kingdom, citing “irreversible loss of attributes conveying the outstanding universal value of the property”.

Afghanistan: Record number of women and children killed or wounded

A particularly sharp rise in casualties occurred in May when international military forces began withdrawing from the country and fighting intensified following the Taliban offensive to take territory from Government forces.

The UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) reported in its Afghanistan Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict midyear update, that there were 1,659 civilians killed and 3,254 wounded; a 47 per cent increase compared with the same period last year.

Spike in May

UNAMA said it was particularly concerned about the acute rise in the number of civilian casualties in the period from 1 May, with almost as many recorded in the May-June period as in the entire preceding four months.

Women and children made up close to half of all these civilian casualties at 46 per cent, according to the report. 32 per cent were children, with 468 killed and 1,214 wounded. Fourteen per cent of civilian casualties were women, with 219 killed and 508 wounded.

“I implore the Taliban and Afghan leaders to take heed of the conflict’s grim and chilling trajectory and its devastating impact on civilians,” said Deborah Lyons, the UN Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Afghanistan.

“The report provides a clear warning that unprecedented numbers of Afghan civilians will perish and be maimed this year if the increasing violence is not stemmed,” Ms. Lyons added in a statement accompanying the report.

Escalation

Much of the fighting during the months of May and June took place outside cities, in areas with comparatively low population levels. UNAMA warned that without a significant de-escalation in violence, Afghanistan will likely witness the highest ever number of documented civilian casualties in a single year since it began keeping records in 2009.

The US-NATO withdrawal from Afghanistan is more than 95 per cent complete and is due to finish by 31 August. Ms. Lyons called on Taliban and Afghan leaders to intensify their efforts at the negotiating table: “Stop the Afghan against Afghan fighting. Protect the Afghan people and give them hope for a better future,” she said.

‘Afghan fighting Afghan’

The UNAMA report noted that this is the first time that it has not attributed a single civilian casualty to international military forces. It stated that the conflict has now apparently become an exclusively civilian fight.

“Anti-government elements” were responsible for 64 per cent of the total casualties, of which 39 per cent were attributed to the Taliban, nearly nine per cent to Islamic State-Khorasan Province (ISIL-KP), and 16 per cent to undetermined non-state actors.

Pro-Government Forces (PGFs) were responsible for 25 per cent of civilian casualties: 23 per cent by Afghan national security forces, and two per cent by pro-Government armed groups or undetermined PGFs.

Eleven per cent of all civilian casualties were attributed to “crossfire” during ground engagements where the exact party responsible could not be determined, and other incident types, including unattributable unexploded ordnance/explosive remnants of war.

Civilian casualties attributed to anti-Government elements increased by 63 per cent compared with the same period in 2020, while civilian casualties attributed to PGFs increased by 30 per cent.

Casualties – Jan to Jun 2009-2021
Casualties by Incident Type
Casualties by Party to Conflict

IED use increases

The leading causes of civilian casualties in the first half of 2021 were the extensive use of improvised explosive devices (IEDs) by opposition forces, ground engagements between parties, targeted killings by non-state groups and airstrikes by the Afghan Air Force.

UNAMA said it was deeply concerned about these attacks which deliberately target civilians, including government workers, human rights defenders, media workers, religious elders, and humanitarian workers, and sectarian-motivated attacks.

Schoolgirls attacked

Children, it stated, were deliberately targeted on at least one occasion. The most shocking incident was the 8 May attack outside the Sayed ul-Shuhuda school in Kabul, which resulted in more than 300 civilian casualties, mostly schoolgirls, including 85 killed, for which no group has claimed responsibility.

UNAMA also recorded a resurgence of deliberate sectarian-motivated attacks against the Shi’a Muslim religious minority, most of whom also belong to the Hazara ethnic group, nearly all claimed by the Islamist extremist group ISIL-KP.

The UN mission said it was also concerned about the increasing number of reports of killing, ill-treatment, persecution and discrimination in communities affected by the fighting and its aftermath. It warned that all parties to respect the human rights and dignity of people and prevent such abuses and violations.

UN climate science talks open amid heatwaves, floods and drought

The assessment comes as record-breaking heat waves, devasting floods and drought struck across three continents in recent weeks. “This report has been prepared in exceptional circumstances, and this is an unprecedented IPCC approval session,” Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Chair, Hoesung Lee, told the opening session of the meeting.

The report, Climate Change 2021: the Physical Science Basis, by IPCC Working Group I brings together the latest advances in climate science and multiple lines of evidence to provide an up-to-date physical understanding of the climate system and climate change.

‘Climate crossroads’

“Assessments and special reports have been foundational to our understanding of climate change, the severe and growing risks it poses throughout the world and the urgent need for action to address it,” said UN Climate Change Executive Secretary Patricia Espinosa, on Monday.

But she warned that the world is at a “climate crossroads” and decisions taken this year would determine whether it will be possible to limit global warming to 1.5°C above the pre-industrial era by the end of the century.

3 degrees looming

“The world is currently on the opposite track, heading for a 3°C rise,” she said. “We need to change course urgently.”

Following the recent deadly flooding in several western European countries, the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) called for all nations to do more to hold back climate change-induced disasters.

“Climate change is already very visible. We don’t have to tell people that it exists,” WMO Secretary-General Petteri Taalas told the opening session. “We are seeing more extreme events. Heatwaves, drought and the flooding events in Europe and China,” he said.

“Massive heating” in the Arctic is affecting the atmospheric dynamics in the northern hemisphere, as evidenced by stagnant weather systems and changes in the behaviour of the jet stream, added the WMO chief.

‘Science has spoken’

Some 234 authors have contributed to the assessment, which will provide the latest detailed assessment on past warming and future warming projections; show how and why the climate has changed and include an improved understanding of human influence on the climate.

There will also be a greater focus on regional information that can be used for climate risk assessments.

Time for action

“We have been telling the world that science has spoken and it’s now up to the policymakers for action”, said IPCC Chair Hoesung Lee.

The meeting is being held remotely from 26 July to 6 August, with the aim of ensuring that the summary for policymakers is accurate, well-balanced and presents the scientific findings clearly.

Subject to the decisions of the panel, the report will be released on 9 August, just weeks ahead of the UN General Assembly opening, a G20 summit, and the 197-nation COP26 climate summit in Glasgow. The document is the first part of the Sixth Assessment Report, which will be will be finalised in 2022.

Child malnutrition expected to quadruple in Southern Madagascar

The number of acutely malnourished children is likely to “increase fourfold” since the previous assessment conducted last October, including 110,000 in severe condition whose growth and development will suffer “irreversible damage”, the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and the UN World Food Programme (WFP) said in a joint statement.

“What is currently happening in southern Madagascar is heart-breaking”, said WFP Representative Moumini Ouedraogo. “We cannot turn our backs on these children whose lives are at stake”.

Drastic deterioration

Four consecutive years of drought have wiped out harvests and cut off access to food.  

More than 1.14 million people are food insecure in southern Madagascar and the number of people categorized as surviving in phase 5 ‘catastrophic’ conditions, risks doubling to 28,000 by October, the agencies said.

And with the lean season – the time of year when food stocks run low – around the corner, the crisis is forecasted to “drastically worsen”.

‘’We need to double our efforts to curb this catastrophic rise in hunger, but we cannot do it without significant funding resources and buy in from partners”, underscored Mr. Ouedraogo.

‘Urgent need’ to invest

With global acute malnutrition rates touching an alarming 27 per cent in the worst-affected Ambovombe-Androy district in the far south, urgent steps are needed to prevent further deterioration.

This crisis has been exacerbated by poor health and sanitation facilities as well as a lack of safe water. 

“There is an urgent need to invest in the prevention and treatment of malnutrition in children to prevent the situation from becoming even more critical”, said UNICEF Representative Michel Saint-Lot.

Continuous price increases of basic foods topped with marked decreases in markets serve to threaten the health and well-being of young and old alike.

In addition to the danger of food insecurity, ongoing COVID-19 restrictions are posing additional challenges by limiting people’s access to food, markets and jobs.

Stepped-up efforts

Since last year, WFP and UNICEF have been working closely with the Malagasy Government and partners to address severe hunger in the south.

But as the crisis deepens, actions must be intensified.

While UN agencies are strengthening their emergency nutrition response in the south, there is a need for an integrated response tackling all drivers of malnutrition.

Treatment must go hand in hand with robust prevention on multiple sectors and a response in collaboration with all partners and national authorities, the UN agencies said.

“By providing families with access to safe water and treating malnourished children with therapeutic food, lives can be saved”, said Mr. Saint-Lot, adding “but we have to act now”.

No pathway to reach the Paris Agreement’s 1.5˚C goal without the G20: UN chief

“There is no pathway to this goal without the leadership of the G20. This signal is desperately needed by the billions of people already on the frontlines of the climate crisis and by markets, investors and industry who require certainty that a net zero climate resilient future is inevitable”, the Secretary General urged in a statement.

The UN chief reminded that science indicates that to meet that ‘ambitious, yet achievable goal’, the world must achieve carbon neutrality before 2050 and cut dangerous greenhouse gas emissions by 45 % by 2030 from 2010 levels. “But we are way off track”, he warned.

The world needs the G20 to deliver

With less than 100 days left before the 2021 United Nations Climate Conference COP 26, a pivotal meeting that will be held in Glasgow at the end of October, António Guterres urged all G20 and other leaders to commit to net zero by mid-century, present more ambitious 2030 national climate plans and deliver on concrete policies and actions aligned with a net zero future.

These include no new coal after 2021, phasing out fossil fuel subsidies and agreeing to a minimum international carbon pricing floor as proposed by the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

“The G7 and other developed countries must also deliver on a credible solidarity package of support for developing countries including meeting the US$100 billion goal, increasing adaptation and resilience support to at least 50% of total climate finance and getting public and multilateral development banks to significantly align their climate portfolios to meet the needs of developing countries”, he highlighted.

The UN Chief informed that he intends to use the opportunity of the upcoming UN General Assembly high-level session to bring leaders together to reach a political understanding on these critical elements of the ‘package’ needed for Glasgow.

A setback for Glasgow

The G20 ministers, which met in Naples, Italy on July 23-25, couldn’t agree to a common language on two disputed issues related to phasing out coal and the 1.5-degree goal, which now will have to be discussed at the G20 summit in Rome in October, just one day before the COP 26 starts.