August 2021 — Page 3 of 14 — Human Rights & Charity

Afghanistan: UN chief condemns terrorist blasts near Kabul airport

“He condemns this terrorist attack which killed and injured a number of civilians… He stands in solidarity and wishes a speedy recovery to those injured”, UN spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric told journalists.

Mr. Dujarric underscored that it was the responsibility of the de-facto authorities to protect civilians and civilian infrastructure, including the airport.

‘Horrific terrorist attack’

Later in the day at the Security Couincil stakeout, the UN chief personally expressed “in the strongest possible way”, his “total condemnation about the horrific terrorist attack in Kabul”.

He sent condolences to the families of all those who perished, both Afghans and those who were there to help them, noting that they “died serving the lives of others”.

“I have also asked my Special Representative [Deborah Lyons] to convey directly to Kabul my deep condolences to the Afghan people”, Mr. Guterres said.

According to media reports, suspected suicide bombers struck the Kabul airport gates with at least two explosions, leaving at least 60 people dead, including children, and 140 other wounded.

Dashing hopes, taking lives

The attacks occurred amid crowds outside the airport where thousands of Afghans are gathering with the hope of leaving the country now under Taliban rule.

“This incident underscores the volatility of the situation on the ground in Afghanistan but also strengthens our resolve as we continue to deliver urgent assistance across the country in support of the Afghan people”, added Mr. Dujarric.

The spokesperson said that the UN is currently doing a headcount, but as of now, there is no indication of UN personnel causalities – although some staff were thought to be around the airport compound.

Afghans need more help

The UN High Commissioner for Refugees, Filippo Grandi, also reacted to the terrorist attacks.

“Today’s horrible bomb attack in Kabul, in addition to everything else, should make us all even more determined not to leave the Afghan people alone”, he said on his official twitter account.

Mr. Grandi added that now is the time to do more for Afghans at risk and in need, and for those who are displaced or refugees in neighbouring countries.

Meanwhile, General Assembly President Volkan Bozkir said that violence, terrorism, an unstable security situation and growing civilian casualties have “strong potential” to derail and Afghan-led, Afghan-owned peace and reconciliation, “which is the only path to enduring peace and stability”.

“Protection of civilians and rights and freedoms of Afghan people – in particular women and children must be a priority”, he stated. “This is a sine qua non of sustainable peace and inclusive development”.

Catastrophe ‘unfolding before our eyes’ in Ethiopia’s Tigray region – UN chief

“A humanitarian catastrophe is unfolding before our eyes”, António Guterres warned. “The unity of Ethiopia and the stability of the region are at stake”, he added calling for an immediate ceasefire and the launch of national political dialogue.

Outlining the severity of the situation, the UN chief said the military front lines in Tigray have reached the regions of neighbouring Amhara and Afar.

The Government’s 28 June declaration of a unilateral ceasefire, and withdrawal of the National Defence Forces from Mekelle have not led to a comprehensive ceasefire.

Tigray remains under a de-facto humanitarian blockade and cut off from electricity and communications, the UN chief informed the Ambassadors.

Dire situation

Mr. Guterres said that actors in Ethiopia have entered the fight through mass mobilization and the activation of regional and armed groups.

“Inflammatory rhetoric and ethnic profiling are tearing apart the social fabric of the country”, he emphasized.

Moreover, the human price of the war is “mounting by the day”, as more than two million people have been displaced and millions more are in immediate need of food, water, shelter and health care, said the Secretary-General.

At least 400,000 people are living in famine-like conditions, with the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) warning that 100,000 face severe acute malnutrition within the year.

Amid reports of sexual and gender-based violence, refugee camps have been destroyed and hospitals looted.

“I condemn these atrocious acts in the strongest possible terms”, underscored the Secretary-General. “There must be accountability”.

Tigray access limited, empty warehouses

While the Organization and its partners have mobilized to reach five million people with food, Mr. Guterres said that the response is “severely” constrained by insecurity, delays and a host of arbitrary restrictions on the work of humanitarian agencies.

Overland access into Tigray now depends on a single route, through Afar, which involves passing through numerous checkpoints.

At the same time, although agencies require roughly 100 trucks worth of assistance to reach Mekelle every day, no trucks have arrived for over a week.

“Warehouses are now empty”, the UN chief lamented.

Beyond Tigray

Beyond Tigray, the conflict in Afar and Amhara has displaced reportedly 300,000 more people, he said, events that have unfolded alongside efforts to maintain broader support across Ethiopia in response to intercommunal violence, flooding and locust infestation.

Mr. Guterres said the fighting has drained one billion dollars from Ethiopia’s coffers, while noting that debt is mounting.

Credit access is drying up, inflation is on the rise and the country is suffering from the fifth-highest incidence of COVID-19 cases on the continent.

End hostilities, launch national dialogue

Against that backdrop, the Secretary-General repeated his call on parties to immediately end hostilities, without preconditions, and to negotiate a lasting ceasefire.

He underscored that foreign forces should leave the country, full humanitarian access be guaranteed for all areas in need, public services restored and conditions created for an inclusive national political dialogue to address the causes of the conflict and ensure Ethiopian voices direct the pathway to peace.

Noting that he has been in close contact with Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed and similarly received a letter from the President of the Tigray region, Mr. Guterres said the UN is ready to work with the African Union and other partners to support dialogue.

“In the period ahead, the attention and unity of the Security Council will be critical”, he attested.

Young Ethiopians casualties of ‘needless conflict’

The UN Chief expressed profound regret over the tragic events unfolding.

“It is heart-breaking to see many young Ethiopians being instrumentalized and mobilized in the war effort” with their energies channelled into a path of division and destruction, rather than one of building a better future for all Ethiopians, he said, calling them “the ultimate casualties in this needless conflict”.

“In every sense, the future of Ethiopia is at stake”, said the Secretary-General. “Let us pledge to do all we can to advance the path of national cohesion and peace

WFP steps up support in Haiti

More than 2,200 people were killed, and over 12,000 injured, in the 7.2-magnitude quake, which struck the southwest of the country and was followed by a tropical storm just two days later. It is estimated that more than 130,000 homes were damaged or destroyed.

The UN and partners this week launched a $187.3 million appeal to provide shelter, water and sanitation, emergency healthcare, food, protection and early recovery assistance to roughly half a million people.

Confronting multiple crises

Lola Castro, WFP Regional Director for Latin America and the Caribbean, who was in the city of Les Cayes, described the scene as heartbreaking, with families sleeping on the streets.

“Their houses have been reduced to dust. Public buildings like schools, churches and hotels where they could have found temporary shelter have also been destroyed”, she said.

“The earthquake rattled people who were already struggling to feed their families due to economic and climate shocks, and insecurity. The compound effects of multiple crises are devastating communities in the south faced with some of the highest levels of food insecurity in the country”.

Feeding hungry families

WFP plans to provide food aid to some 215,000 people in Sud, Grand’Anse and Nippes departments, the three worst-affected areas. This represents an increase from the 138,000 people the agency was supporting before the earthquake through food and cash assistance.

Over the past two weeks, WFP has reached 48,000 people and distributed more than 15,000 hot meals, mainly to patients in hospitals, their families and medical staff.

The agency also provided food to 13,000 people in two remote areas in Sud department, where residents told staff they had resorted to picking fruit from trees due to limited access to food.

Disasters and deep poverty

The UN Deputy Emergency Relief Coordinator, Ramesh Rajasingham, was among officials who launched the funding appeal in Haiti on Wednesday, alongside Prime Minister Ariel Henry.

Speaking on Thursday from the capital, Port-au-Prince, Mr. Rajasingham said survivors listed access to health care, water, sanitation, shelter, education and protection, as the most critical needs.

“Haiti obviously, as you know, has suffered year after year from disasters and deep poverty. It is 170th on the Human Development Index right now. This just cripples the civilian population there,” he told journalists attending the daily briefing at UN Headquarters in New York.

Challenges to aid delivery

Bruno Lemarquis, UN Humanitarian Coordinator for Haiti, added that funding is also needed to assist people displaced by a steep rise in gang violence in the capital since June.

Roughly one-third of the population in the greater metropolitan area has been affected, he said. Overall, some 20,000 people are displaced, and 7,000 are living in camps. The UN is working with the Government to try to relocate them.

Gang violence, along with recurrent political unrest and roadblocks, have made it difficult to access the south. Damage to roads and bridges, and heavy rain, have created additional challenges.

The Haitian Government has negotiated to allow the safe passage of aid convoys during the day, and the UN has also established means to transport trucks by sea. A helicopter from the UN Humanitarian Air Service (UNHAS), which WFP manages, is flying in medical and humanitarian supplies, as well as frontline workers.

Prioritize disaster-risk reduction

Mr. Lemarquis stressed the importance of applying lessons learned from the devastating 2010 earthquake, which killed some 200,000 people, including 102 UN staff.

He commended national leadership in coordinating relief efforts, and highlighted both the need for aid partners to rely on local expertise and knowledge, and to purchase products from local vendors to support economic recovery.

Haiti is currently in the midst of the Atlantic hurricane season. As one of the most disaster-prone countries in the world, Mr. Lemarquis stated “structural obstacles” must be addressed before the next crisis occurs. He pointed to measures such as enforcing building codes, as well as zoning and planning, which help countries to absorb shocks.

“Haiti, in this regard, has not done a very good job, nor (have) its international partners. Too much is going in Haiti to response, and too little to avoid disasters,” he said.

Mr. Lemarquis urged Haiti’s leaders and people, as well as aid partners, to prioritize disaster risk reduction and climate change adaptation “so that next time there is a natural hazard…instead of the massive loss of life, massive impact on the GDP (Gross Domestic Product), massive impact on human development, Haiti, like some of its neighbours, can sustain those natural hazards.”

No Denying It episode 1: Ezra Miller Introduces Chief Dana Tizya-Tramm

Haiti: $187.3 million appeal to support people affected by earthquake

The funding will be used to provide shelter, water and sanitation, emergency healthcare, food, protection and early recovery.

The 7.2 magnitude earthquake on 14 August killed more than 2,200 people and injured over 12,000 others. More than 130,000 homes were destroyed or damaged, along with other infrastructure such as roads.

The tragedy was followed by Tropical Storm Grace just two days later, which dumped extremely heavy rains in affected areas, causing flash floods and mudslides.

Solidarity needed now

In the immediate aftermath of the disaster, aid partners, under the leadership of the Haitian Government, began a massive relief operation. Search and rescue, and medical teams, are working to find survivors and provide urgent medical care in hard-to-reach areas.

“Haiti and its people need the world’s solidarity more than ever today as they deal with multiples crises at the same time,” said Bruno Lemarquis, the UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator, thanking countries which have provided personnel and aid so far.

“In the context of this response, moving towards recovery, and taking into account lessons learned from the devastating 2010 earthquake, it will be absolutely essential to support and rally behind national leadership and coordination efforts, support national and local capacities, systems, economic actors, and to build on Haitian knowledge and expertise for a contextualized response.”

The earthquake impacted some 800,000 Haitians. The appeal targets 500,000 of the most vulnerable people of the 650,000 identified to be in need of assistance.

UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed, who travelled to Haiti last week, witnessed firsthand the disastrous humanitarian situation, and the pain and suffering of those who lived through the earthquake.

“The UN and our international partners need the support of the international community in providing vital supplies to help us build back better from this catastrophe. We cannot and must not leave the people of Haiti behind,” she said in a video message shared on her Twitter account on Wednesday.

Appeal for access

Meanwhile, a surge in gang-related violence in recent months has displaced roughly 19,000 people in areas near the Haitian capital, which has made it difficult to reach the areas affected by the earthquake.

Ramesh Rajasingham. the UN’s Deputy Emergency Relief Coordinator, underscored the urgent need for immediate funding and humanitarian access.

“We need safe and unimpeded access to all people in need,” he said. “All parties, including armed groups, must ensure that humanitarian organizations and aid supplies have sustained and safe access to the affected areas.”

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Iraq: Clock ticks on all-important elections, commitment to credibility needed

Briefing Council members for the first time in over a year, Ms. Hennis-Plasschaert, who is also the head of the Mission, also called claims that UNAMI is advocating for a postponement of the elections “frankly absurd”.

She urged everyone to “stick to the facts”, focus on their own roles and refrain from using the United Nations as a scapegoat.

“Truth, discipline and, yes, courage, are required at this critical juncture”, said the UN official

Misinformation ‘risky business’

If misinformation overtakes reality, “it is not only an enormous energy-drain for those working hard for the greater good of Iraq,” she cautioned. “It is also risky business.”

The UNAMI chief urged media outlets to provide accurate, reliable and timely information, instead of fuelling “false perceptions to suit their backers”.

Stressing that Iraq “leads and owns” the 10 October elections, she reminded that their credibility would prove essential for its future.

Elections at hand

Detailing joint efforts, Ms. Hennis-Plasschaert said that the Independent High Electoral Commission has reached “several complex milestones” while noting that UNAMI has provided technical assistance wherever it can.

She outlined that candidate lists have been finalized; a ballot lottery conducted for all 83 constituencies; ballot printing is ongoing; and all ballot papers expected in country by mid-September.

Meanwhile, polling and results management systems are being reviewed by an independent audit firm.

In parallel, she said preparations for UN monitoring are moving rapidly, with most members of the preparatory team being deployed to Baghdad “as we speak” and regional teams due on the ground in early September.

The Special Representative emphasized that the October elections have “the potential to be different” from those in 2018, and noted that that five times as many UN personnel are currently engaged as were three years earlier.

To calls for a boycott, she cautioned that “a vote not cast, is in fact a gift to those you may be opposed to.”

“With the election date rapidly approaching – Iraq will have our support at every step of the way”, assured the UNAMI chief.

“These elections were hard earned. And I can only emphasize the importance of credible elections for the future of Iraq’s young democracy”.

Deep reforms needed

Iraq is desperately in need of deep, structural reforms, which require unwavering determination, immense patience, and lots of time, according to the UN official, who urged authorities, officials, political parties and candidates not to let the Iraqi people down.

“Understand that accountability is key to restore public trust”, she stressed.

Turning to the issue of missing Kuwaiti, third-country nationals and Kuwaiti property, including the national archives, Ms. Hennis-Plasschaert said that Kuwait “conclusively identified” the remains of a further 10 individuals from its list of those missing since 1991.

With a total of 30 cases of missing persons formally closed since November 2020, she expressed hope that “this important step will bring some closure to the families”.

Coming months critical for future pandemic preparedness: WHO chief

Although the COVID-19 caseload stabilized last week, after nearly two months of increases, the level remains high, said WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreysus, speaking during his regular press briefing from Geneva.

Cases have surpassed 4.5 million globally, with 68,000 deaths.

“Some regions and countries continue to see steep increases in cases and deaths, while others are declining,” he reported. “As long as this virus is circulating anywhere, it’s a threat everywhere”.

Preparing for future pandemics

WHO is progressing on plans to strengthen global defense against future epidemics and pandemics, Tedros said.

He pointed out that with the UN General Assembly in September, followed by the G20 Summit in October, and a special session of WHO’s governing body set for November, the next three months represent “a critical period for shaping the future of pandemic preparedness and response”.

Last month, a high-level independent panel established by the G20 published its report, which is being discussed now.

COVID-19 is not “a one-off disaster”, warned the panel’s co-chair, Tharman Shanmugaratnam, Senior Minister of Singapore, who also addressed the WHO briefing.

“What is clear is that global health security is dangerously underfunded,” he said. “We are consequently vulnerable to a prolonged COVID-19 pandemic, with repeated waves affecting all countries, and we are also vulnerable to future pandemics. We can fix this.”

The report outlines three priorities, starting with strengthening WHO. It also calls for repurposing the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and other multilateral development banks, so that they can help countries during normal times and speedy response whenever a pandemic emerges.

For the global good

The panel has also proposed the creation of a Global Health Threats Fund to mobilize $10 billion annually, and establishment of a new governance mechanism that brings together financial and health decision-makers.

“The collective investments required as part of this deal are affordable. They will help us avoid blundering into pandemics again and again,” said Mr. Shanmugaratnam.

“We have to proceed with urgency. It would be economically and politically myopic, and morally indefensible, to defer the collective actions and investments that are in both the global interest and the national self-interests everywhere.”

COVID, natural hazards and climate crisis in Asia and the Pacific expand ‘riskcape’

In the Asia-Pacific Disaster Report 2021, the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) described how while dealing with the pandemic, countries in the region have also been hit by multiple biological and natural disasters, such as cyclones, landslides, heatwaves and volcanic eruptions.

At the same time, as climate change has continued to warm the world it is also exacerbating many of these disasters.

The capacity of disaster management and public health systems to respond to this “expanded risk environment” will determine the recovery path for COVID-19 and beyond, the report argues.

Countries must not ‘wait this out’

UN representatives serving throughout Asia and the Pacific met on Wednesday at the seventh session of the ESCAP Committee on Disaster Risk Reduction, where they were called on to intensify efforts to prepare for and tackle these complex, overlapping crises and increase the resilience of people as well as economies.

“The string of record-breaking weather events show that we do not have the luxury of ‘waiting this out’: Action must be taken now to address these risks”, said Mami Mizutori, UN Special Representative for Disaster Risk Reduction.

“This includes increasing international funding for disaster risk reduction and climate adaptation, especially for countries graduating from the least-developed category”, she added.

Despite progress made by many countries in devising more robust systems of early warning and responsive protection, which have led to far fewer people deaths resulting from natural disasters, ESCAP chief Armida Salsiah Alisjahbana said, “the COVID-19 pandemic has demonstrated that almost without exception, countries around the world are still ill-prepared to deal with multiple overlapping crises, which often cascade, with one triggering another”.

“Tropical cyclones, for example, can lead to floods, which lead to disease, which exacerbates poverty”, she elaborated.

Economic impact of ‘triple threat’

Significant economic losses have also resulted from the “triple threat” of disease, disaster and climate change, according to ESCAP.

The annual average of disaster-related losses currently stands at $780 billion, which could nearly double, to around $1.4 trillion, in a worst-case climate scenario.

At an annual cost of $270 billion, choosing a proactive strategy of adapting to natural and other biological hazards would be far more cost-effective.

‘Paradigm shift’ in disaster risk management

The meeting – the first of a four-event series to exchange ideas and solutions to key challenges facing Asia and the Pacific – also highlighted the importance of climate change mitigation and the need for regional countries to advance digital transformations to tackle the dual challenges of climate-related disasters and Covid-19.

Accentuating the urgency of building universal resilience against the vulnerabilities that the pandemic has exposed and tackling rising levels of inequality and poverty, Ms. Alisjahbana called for a “paradigm shift” from managing disasters to investing in prevention and the building of resilience.

‘Solutions must be found’ for millions displaced from Sudan and South Sudan

During the trip Mr. Grandi met Sudan’s Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok and South Sudan’s President Salva Kiir where they discussed how the two countries can work together to help their displaced populations.

“Returning home is one solution but it is not the only one”, the High Commissioner said. If someone chooses to remain displaced, the initiative must ensure “they can do so with dignity and sense of belonging”.

A unique opportunity

After the Governments of Sudan and South Sudan signed the Revitalized Peace Agreement in 2018, close to 300,000 South Sudanese refugees spontaneously returned, with over one million more displaced inside the country also going back to their homes.

In June, the Secretary-General’s Special Representative, Nicholas Haysom, who also heads the UN Mission in South Sudan, known as UNMISS, warned that pervasive insecurity – in particular intercommunal violence – continues to obstruct the realization of a durable and sustainable peace and nearly three years later, many of the requirements of the Revitalized Agreement have not been met.

Concluding his visit, Mr. Grandi urged continued support for the initiative, which aims to find lasting solutions for refugees, internally displaced people (IDPs), returnees and host communities through reform, political transformation, security, development and national reconciliation.

“This initiative is a unique opportunity to place the respective Governments and displaced people at the center of planning for the future and so, it will require concerted efforts to ensure their sustained stability and security”.

A case in point

UNHCR described how many South Sudanese returnees come back to find their homes destroyed, with little or no infrastructure or social services.

Regina Ochala is one such case. After fleeing her home in northwestern South Sudan’s Wau over two decades, ago the 42-year-old spent most of her adult life in a refugee camp in Sudan.

She relocated to Khartoum before recently returning home where she planned to ask her brother for assistance. But when she arrived in Juba, she discovered that he had died and she was stranded.

Now she struggles to cope with life back home as her entire family was killed in the conflict.

‘Solutions must be found’

According to the UNHCR, many like Ms. Ochala require support to restart their lives in secure areas.

Mr. Grandi emphasized that UNHCR will continue working with the Governments of Sudan and South Sudan as it relies on the support of the international donor community to assist the displaced as well as returnees to live in safety and dignity.

“Solutions have to be found as part of the peace process”, he concluded.

Climate solutions, changemakers, and celebrities: major UN podcast series launched

Across the world, young people are refusing to accept the state of the climate, and are fighting to make the planet a better place for them, their families and their communities.

However, their stories tend to be overshadowed by the stream of worrying, and sometimes overwhelming, news surrounding climate change, and the real, immediate, dangers it presents to life in this planet.

Young activists transforming their communities

All the more reason to highlight the fact that, whilst governments and big business need to fundamentally overhaul the global economy, we all have the power to make positive changes to our communities, and influence others to do something similar: seemingly small projects can have big impacts.

The activists, engineers and entrepreneurs featured in this series range from a young woman engineer in Kenya using waste to make low-cost building materials, to a social entrepreneur who has built a network for young climate leaders in South America, and the founder of the first fishing school in Greece, training fishermen to collect plastic from the sea.

Each, in their own way, is working on initiatives that could be replicated in other countries and regions, helping to solve some of the big environmental problems facing the planet, such as pollution, waste, water shortages and, of course, fossil fuel use.

The title of the series reflects the fact that so-called “climate change deniers” have lost the argument: the fact of man-made climate simply cannot be denied any longer. There really is no denying it – we have to tackle the climate emergency. Burning fossil fuels to get energy has to end. It’s doable but it’s going to take solutions in every industry, at every scale, in every nation in the world.

Supporting star-power

Every episode of No Denying is narrated by a high-profile celebrity, many of whom are Goodwill Ambassadors and Messengers of Peace.

They include the actor Michelle Yeoh, who features in the forthcoming Marvel Studios movie Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, and is best known for roles in Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon and the Bond film Tomorrow Never Dies

Ms. Yeoh has been associated with the United Nations for several years, as a Goodwill Ambassador for the UN Development Programme, where she focuses on empowering the most vulnerable, including women, those living in poverty and those facing disasters and crises.

The first episode, released on 26 August, features an interview with Chief Dana Tizya-Tramm, elected chief of the Vuntut Gwitchin First Nation, based in Old Crow, Canada.

Mr. Tizya-Tramm is helping Arctic communities to move away from polluting fossil fuels, and become more sustainable, using renewable sources such as solar power. This episode is narrated by Ezra Miller, star of the Fantastic Beasts films, and the forthcoming Flash movie.

You can find more information about No Denying It, as well as all episodes, here. You can also find the series wherever you get your podcasts.

The 10 episodes of the series, which is produced by UN News and Good To Do Today, an independent podcast production company, will be released every Thursday, beginning 26 August and ending 28 October, on the eve of the COP26 UIN climate conference in Glasgow, billed as a crucial step towards a more sustainable world.