October 2021 — Page 4 of 19 — Human Rights & Charity

COP26: SDG or NDC? Our guide to the language you need to know

COP26

Let’s start with the name of the event itself, COP26. In layman’s terms, this is the 26th UN climate change conference, but officially it is the 26th Conference of the Parties (or COP) to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). Let’s break that down a bit…

The UNFCCC was established following the 1992 UN Conference on Environment and Development in Rio (often referred to as the Earth Summit). The stated aim of the UNFCCC was to reduce greenhouse gases in order to prevent dangerous climate change caused by human activity.

Conferences of the Parties to the convention, or COPs, are the formal meetings that have taken place every year since 1995, apart from 2020: the COVID-19 pandemic meant that COP26 was delayed by a year.

SDG

There are 17 inter-linked Sustainable Development Goals, or SDGs, which focus on challenges ranging from clean energy access, to poverty reduction and responsible consumption.

Together, the SDGs make up the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, the UN’s blueprint for peace and prosperity for people and the planet.

Climate Change is one of the Goals (SDG 13), but t’s becoming increasingly clear that climate change plays a role in many, if not all of the SDGs, and that achieving the 2030 Agenda will be impossible without making serious inroads into tackling the problem.

NDC

This stands for Nationally Determined Contribution, the detailed plan that individual countries are required to make, under the Paris Agreement, to show how they will cut the amount of harmful greenhouse gases they emit. All countries are expected to revise their NDC to reflect greater ambition.

Presently, these plans are not sufficient to keep global warming to 1.5° Celsius above pre-industrial levels, so this year, there is increased pressure on countries to sharply increase their level of ambition.

Net Zero

Put simply, net zero means cutting emissions to as close to zero as possible, such as by moving toward a green economy and clean renewable energy, with any remaining emissions reabsorbed, including oceans and forests.

Practically every country has joined the Paris Agreement on climate change, which calls for keeping the global temperature to 1.5°C above pre-industrial era levels.

If we continue to pump out the emissions that cause climate change, however, temperatures will continue to rise well beyond 1.5, to levels that threaten the lives and livelihoods of people everywhere.

This is why a growing number of countries are making commitments to achieve “net zero” emissions by 2050. It’s a big task, requiring ambitious actions starting right now.

1.5°C

You’ll be hearing “the goal of 1.5 degrees Celsius” a lot during COP. In a 2018, an IPCC report, reviewed by thousands of scientists and governments, found that limiting global temperature rise to no more than 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels (in the mid-18th century), would help us avoid the worst climate impacts and maintain a liveable climate.

According to the latest data, our world has already warmed between 1.06 to 1.26 above pre-industrial levels, and even if current promises are met, we would still be on a course to reach 2.7°C this century. This would mean a “climate catastrophe” as highlighted by the UN Secretary-General, with a possible collapse of ecosystems, and life as we know it.

IPCC

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) is the UN body for assessing the science related to climate change.

Created in 1988 by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) and the UN Environment Programme (UNEP), the objective of the IPCC is to provide governments at all levels with scientific information that they can use to develop climate policies.

IPCC reports are also a key input into the international climate change negotiations that will be happening during COP26. A major report released in August showed that unless there are rapid, sustained and large-scale reductions of greenhouse gas emissions, including CO2, methane and others, the goal of limiting global warming to 1.5C will be beyond reach.

SIDS

Small Island Developing States are a distinct group of 58 low-lying island nations that are highly vulnerable and often affected by weather extremes and climate change, including the increased severity of cyclones, storm surges, heavy rains, droughts, sea-level rise and ocean acidification.

During the latest high-level week of the General Assembly, SIDS leaders from Fiji, Tuvalu and the Maldives took centre stage saying their nations are facing an existential threat if rich countries fail to make good on their promises to turn the tide on global warming.

Climate finance

Broadly speaking, climate finance relates to the money which needs to be spent on a whole range of activities to reduce the emissions that are causing climate change, and to help people adapt to and build resilience for the impacts of climate change that are already occurring.

It can involve local, national, or transnational financing, which may be drawn from public, private and alternative sources of financing. Climate finance is critical to addressing climate change, because large-scale investments are required to significantly reduce emissions, notably in sectors that emit large quantities of greenhouse gases, and to help adaptation efforts.

In 2009, during the COP15 in Copenhagen rich nations promised to channel $100 billion a year to less-wealthy nations by 2020, to help them adapt to climate change and mitigate further rises in temperature.

The promise still hasn’t been delivered—climate finance to developing countries presently amounts to about $80 billion–, and therefore climate finance will be one of the biggest issues of discussion during COP26.

SBTi

This stands for the UN-backed Science Based Target initiative. Companies which sign up to the initiative set science-based emission reduction targets, which leave them better equipped to tackle climate change, and making them more competitive, in the transition to a net-zero economy.

Science-based target setting has become a standard business practice, and corporations are playing a major role in driving down global greenhouse gas emissions and in supporting the implementation of country commitments.

Nature-based Solutions

Nature-based Solutions are actions to protect, sustainably manage, and restore natural and modified ecosystems that address societal challenges effectively and adaptively, simultaneously providing human well-being and biodiversity benefits.

Nature-Based Solutions are an essential part of the overall global effort to achieve the goals of the Paris Agreement on Climate Change: they are a vital complement to decarbonisation, reducing climate change risks and establishing climate resilient societies.

Examples include massive tree planting programmes, which absorb carbon and provide protection from intense rainfall, and rebuilding mangroves, which provide effective and cheap natural barriers against coastal floods and shoreline erosion.

G20

The Group of 20 (G20) is an intergovernmental forum comprising most of the world’s largest economies: 19 nations and the European Union. They work to address major issues related to the global economy, such as international financial stability, climate change mitigation, and sustainable development.

The UN Secretary-General has made clear that climate action must be led by G20 nations, which collectively account for around 90 per cent of gross world product, 75-80 per cent of international trade and two thirds or the world’s population.

Their commitment during COP26 is crucial for curbing greenhouse gases and stop fuelling climate change.

AGN

The African Group of Negotiators on Climate Change (AGN) was established at COP1 in Berlin, Germany in 1995 as an alliance of African member states that represents the interests of the region in the international climate change negotiations, with a common and unified voice.

GCAA

Outside the formal intergovernmental negotiations, countries, cities and regions, businesses and civil society members across the world are already taking action for the climate.

The Global Climate Action Agenda (GCAA), initiated under the Lima Paris Action Agenda, was launched to spur rapid climate action, boost cooperation between governments, local authorities, the business community, investors, and civil society, and to support the adoption and the implementation of the Paris Agreement.

UN News is producing special coverage from COP26 in Glasgow. You can find all our COP-related stories here.

Guterres calls again for detained leaders’ release after Sudan coup

Pro-democracy demonstrations continued in the country’s capital, Khartoum, one day after the army dissolved the transitional government and detained civilian Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok, and his cabinet.

Appeal for restraint

“I once again strongly condemned the forceful military takeover of power in Sudan,” said Mr. Guterres, responding to a journalist’s question during a press conference at UN Headquarters on Tuesday morning.

“I urge of course all stakeholders to exercise maximum restraint, but the Prime Minister and other officials that were unlawfully detained must be released immediately.”

Military and civilian leaders had been sharing power in Sudan, which has been on the path to democratic transition in the wake of the April 2019 overthrow of former President Omar al-Bashir, who had ruled for 30 years.

Preserve ‘important milestones’

The UN chief said it was true that Sudan had achieved “important milestones”, and these cannot be reversed.

“And so, it is essential that all transitional arrangements and institutions as defined in the constitutional document be reinstated.  A civilian-military partnership is critical. It needs to be reestablished at the level at which it was established. I think the Sudanese people have shown very clearly their intense desire for reform and democracy,” he said.

UN Spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric said ambassadors meeting behind closed doors in the Security Council on Tuesday afternoon were due to be briefed by Volker Perthes, the Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Sudan and head of UNITAMS, the UN mission in the country which is assisting the political transition.  

“The UN Mission in Sudan continues to encourage all of the parties to de-escalate tensions, maintain the constitutional partnership, and advance the political transition under the provisions of the Constitutional Document,” said Mr. Dujarric, speaking during his daily press briefing in New York.

Aid operations ‘critical’

Meanwhile, the UN continues to work with partners to provide life-saving support to nine million vulnerable people across Sudan.

“It is critical that these operations continue unimpeded to prevent a further deterioration of the humanitarian situation, and that people’s access to humanitarian assistance is ensured wherever they are, including access to medical facilities,” said Mr. Dujarric.

This year, humanitarians have been seeking $1.9 billion for Sudan, but their appeal is only 30 per cent funded.

Aid agencies reached 7.4 million people across the country with protection and humanitarian assistance, during the period from January to June.

General Assembly debate underscores need to deliver on climate action

The day-long meeting comes just ahead of the COP26 climate change conference for countries to deliver on the promise of keeping global temperature rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius, in line with the 2015 Paris Agreement.

In his opening remarks, Assembly President Abdulla Shahid highlighted the “blunt realities” of climate impacts such as rising sea levels, which are threatening island nations like his homeland, the Maldives.

Act as one

However, as the architect of a “Presidency of Hope”, Mr. Shahid stressed that countries can confront these challenges if they work together.

“Today’s event will not solve climate change, only action will,” he said, speaking from the rostrum. “Today’s event is about reminding people of what we are capable of if we act in concert, trust in science, and intelligently mobilize the many resources we have at our disposal.”

Scientists are unequivocal about the causes of the climate emergency. Human activities have warmed the atmosphere, ocean and land, driving ice melt and leading to unprecedented and rapid changes, said Valérie Masson-Delmotte from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), the UN body that has published a series of ground-breaking but alarming reports on the issue.

“Human-caused climate change is already affecting every region on Earth in many ways, strengthening the frequency and intensity of extreme events such as heatwaves, heavy precipitation events, droughts and fire weather,” she said, speaking via videolink. “The changes we already experience will increase with further warming.”

COP26 Moment of truth

The UN and its General Assembly, where all 193 Member States are represented, were created so that countries could unite to address common crises such as climate change, Secretary-General António Guterres told the meeting.

COP26 in Glasgow will be a moment of truth, he added, because despite the alarm bells, governments’ actions so far “simply do not add up to what is so desperately needed.”

The world currently remains on a track for global temperature rise of 2.7 degrees Celsius, far from the 1.5 degree goal, or what Mr. Guterres called “the only liveable future for humanity.”

No more ‘diplomatic niceties’

He said the situation can only be reversed through reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 45 per cent this decade, when compared to 2010 levels, and net-zero emissions by mid-century. Leaders must also come to COP26 with bold targets and new concrete policies.

“The time has passed for diplomatic niceties,” the UN chief said. “If governments – especially G20 governments – do not stand up and lead this effort, we are headed for terrible human suffering.”

And while people expect their governments to lead, Mr. Guterres stressed that everyone has a role in achieving a future where fossil fuels, which create greenhouse gases, are abandoned for cleaner energy sources. This includes businesses, investors and average citizens.

Action and solidarity

“Individuals in every society need to make better, more responsible choices – in what they eat, how they travel, and what they purchase as consumers,” said Mr. Guterres. “And young people – and climate activists – need to keep doing what they’re doing: demanding action from their leaders.”

The Secretary-General also underlined the need for solidarity, urging richer countries to meet their commitment of at least $100 billion in annual climate finance for developing nations.

He also called for donors and development banks to devote at least 50 per cent of their climate support towards adaptation and resilience in the developing world.

Leaving no one behind

Climate action and sustainable development must go hand-in-hand, said the President of the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), Collen Kelapile. He underlined that everyone must be part of the net-zero future.

“The global transformation to address climate change must be just, inclusive, and equitable to ensure that no one is left behind, especially women, children, youth, indigenous peoples and displaced populations,” he said.

Mr. Kelapile added that countries must also invest in reskilling affected workers, and in economic diversification of communities. Like the Secretary-General, he also called for greater support for developing countries as they pursue a greener path.

More than 70 speakers are expected to participate in the debate, which will conclude on Tuesday evening.

Women under fire in Belarus, activists tortured and exiled – UN expert

“The Government’s efforts to promote some rights of women at a policy level are rarely translated into concrete advancement of women’s rights in law and in practice”, said Anaïs Marin, Special Rapporteur on the human rights situation in Belarus.

“Flaws in legislation have for decades led to inequalities, discrimination, and protection gaps in cases of gender-based violence and abuses”.

Physical, psychological pressure

In presenting her report on the human rights of women and girls in Belarus, including lesbian, bisexual and transgender women, and intersex persons, Ms. Marin cited long-standing societal gender stereotypes “that reach to the very top of the State” and pointed out that women are generally “discouraged from participating in public life as proactive citizens”.

Millions in Belarus took to the streets in protest against the authoritarian Government following the disputed presidential election of August 2020. President Alexander Lukashenko has been in office since July 1994, following the dissolution of the Soviet Union.

The UN expert observed that “some women became victims of enforced disappearances, torture, ill-treatment, and other forms of physical and psychological pressure, including the threat of seizure of their children” by agencies supposed to be offering social protection.

“Others have been forced into exile for fear of repression and retaliation”.

Pattern of suppression

The Special Rapporteur described a pattern in which the Belarus Government suppresses civil society, curtailing women’s civic and political rights – most notably their freedom of assembly, association and expression.

Meanwhile, some 800 people in Belarus have been imprisoned on political grounds and more than 270 civil society organizations and independent media have been or are being liquidated.

“Media freedoms were further restricted by legal, administrative and practical obstacles that undermined the work of independent journalists and bloggers”, she said.

“Academics and human rights defenders were forced into exile on a huge scale while perpetrators of grave human rights violations continue acting boldly without fear of facing justice for their crime”.

‘Model for women and girls’

The independent expert described how courageous Belarusian women and girls have peacefully stood up for their fundamental rights, describing them as “truly inspiring”.

She said the served as “a model for women and girls everywhere who seek respect for their right to a better life, free of violence and discrimination”.

She called on the authorities in Belarus to view peaceful public activism not as a threat, but as an opportunity for improving the protection of rights for the entire population.

Ms. Marin and all Special Rapporteurs are appointed by the Geneva-based UN Human Rights Council to examine and report back on a specific human rights theme or a country situation. The positions are honorary and they are not paid for their work.

First Person: Earthquake brings out 'heartwarming resilience' of Haitians

Joseph Chlela, who is from Lebanon, is an emergency coordinator with IOM and has been working in the earthquake zone.

“I arrived from Bangladesh just two weeks before the earthquake hit Haiti. I’m grateful for my experience working in crisis situations, which helped me set up the emergency response immediately after the earthquake struck.

The most important first step is to contain the emergency. I put together a response team working closely with government bodies and local partners. These colleagues were then quickly deployed to the areas most affected to conduct a rapid assessment of the damage and needs and to start distributing non-food kits and shelter items such as tarps, tents, solar lanterns as well as hygiene kits and kitchen sets.

A quick response is extremely important to limit the damage and casualties and to provide urgent assistance to those without a roof to sleep under.

Volatile Security

The main challenges have been logistical and linked to the volatile security situation in Haiti, which has made it more difficult to reach those people in need. The COVID-19 pandemic has further complicated the humanitarian response.

Many communities live in hard-to-reach areas where access is typically limited and now nearly impossible due to the bridges and roads which were damaged by the earthquake.

If people hadn’t received any support and items such as hygiene kits, the incidence of contagious and water-borne diseases would have drastically increased.

Lack of shelter is also closely linked to an increased risk of gender-based violence.

Other governmental and local authority partners as well as UN agencies, including UNICEF and WFP, have also contributed to the response.

I have been impressed to see all the partners, local and international, coming together to help those affected despite the myriad of logistical challenges. And it’s heartwarming to witness the resilience of Haitians and their determination to stay put in their homes and build back better.

IOM has assisted over 150,000 people with shelter and non-food items and I think the people we have helped, especially those living in very remote areas, were grateful for and maybe even surprised by IOM’s prompt response.

What is important is that as a first responder, IOM has given people hope that they were not forgotten when they needed it the most”.

‘Vague’ net-zero promises not enough: planet still on track for catastrophic heating, UN report warns

Tuesday’s new Emissions Gap Report shows that updated Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) – the efforts by each country to reduce national emissions, as well as other commitments made for 2030 but not yet officially submitted – would only lead to an additional 7.5 per cent reduction in annual greenhouse emissions in 2030, compared to previous commitments.

This is not enough. According to the agency, the world needs a 55 per cent reduction to limit global temperature increase below 1.5°C, the capstone defined by scientists as the less risky scenery for our planet and humanity’s future.

“Less than one week before COP26 in Glasgow, we are still on track for climate catastrophe”, said UN Secretary-General António Guterres during a press conference.

“As the title of this year’s report puts it: “The heat is on”. And as the contents of the report show — the leadership we need is off. Far off”, he warned.

The world must wake up

The report finds that net-zero pledges, if fully implemented, could make a big difference and bring down the predicted global temperature rise to 2.2°C, providing hope that further action could still head off the most catastrophic impacts of climate change.

However, so far these promises are “vague” and inconsistent with most 2030 national commitments, UNEP warns.

A total of 49 countries plus the European Union have pledged a net-zero target. This covers over half of global domestic greenhouse gas emissions, over half of global GDP and a third of the global population. Eleven targets are enshrined in law, covering 12 per cent of global emissions.

Yet, many NDCs delay action until after 2030, raising doubts over whether net-zero pledges can be delivered, the report says.

Moreover, although twelve G20 members have pledged a net-zero target, ambiguity still surrounds the means of reaching that goal, says the report.

“The world has to wake up to the imminent peril we face as a species. Nations need to put in place the policies to meet their new commitments and start implementing them within months”, warned Inger Andersen, UNEP’s Executive Director in the foreword of the report.

“They need to make their net-zero pledges more concrete, ensuring these commitments are included in NDCs, and action brought forward. They then need to get the policies in place to back this raised ambition and, again, start implementing them urgently”, she added.

The clock is ticking

The report is clear: to have a chance of reaching the 1.5°C target, the world needs to almost halve greenhouse gas emissions in the next eight years. This means removing an additional 28 gigatonnes of CO2 equivalent from annual emissions, over and above what is promised in the updated NDCs and other 2030 commitments.

According to the agency, post-pandemic emissions, after lowering initially, have bounced back and are now raising atmospheric concentrations of CO2, higher than at any time in the last two million years.

Missed opportunity

Experts point out that the opportunity for using COVID-19 fiscal rescue and recovery spending to stimulate economies, while fostering a low-carbon transformation, “has been missed in most countries so far”.

Only a small number of high-income economies account for the majority of green spending, with developing nations and emerging markets in danger of being left behind.

COVID-19 spending has been far lower in low-income economies ($60 per person) than advanced economies ($11,800 per person). Gaps in finance are likely to exacerbate gaps in vulnerable nations on climate resilience and mitigation measures, the report warns.

Methane in the spotlight

The Emissions Gap Report 2021 also explores the potential of the reduction of methane emissions from the fossil fuel, waste and agriculture sectors, to curb warming in the short term.

Cuts to methane could limit temperature increase faster than cuts to carbon dioxide, the experts explain. The gas, the second largest contributor to global warming, has a heating potential over 80 times that of carbon dioxide over a 20-year time horizon; it also has a shorter lifetime in the atmosphere than carbon dioxide – only twelve years, compared to potentially hundreds, for CO2.

The report indicates that available no or low-cost technical measures alone could reduce anthropogenic methane emissions by around 20 per cent per year, and with broader structural and behavioural measures, by approximately 45 per cent.

Afghanistan on ‘countdown to catastrophe’ without urgent humanitarian relief

The latest Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) report co-led by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and World Food Programme (WFP), revealed that the lives, livelihoods and access to food for 22.8 million people will be severely impacted.

“It is urgent that we act efficiently and effectively to speed up and scale up our delivery in Afghanistan before winter cuts off a large part of the country, with millions of people – including farmers, women, young children and the elderly – going hungry in the freezing winter”, said FAO Director-General QU Dongyu. “It is a matter of life or death”.

The IPC report found that more than one-in-two Afghans will face Phase 3 crisis or Phase 4 emergency levels of acute food insecurity from November through the March lean season, requiring an urgent international response to prevent a humanitarian catastrophe.

“We cannot wait and see humanitarian disasters unfolding in front of us – it is unacceptable”, he added.

Promises won’t feed people

This is the highest number of acutely food insecure people ever recorded by the UN, during 10 years of conducting IPC analyses in Afghanistan.

And globally, the country is home to one of the largest number of people facing acute hunger.

“Hunger is rising and children are dying”, said WFP Executive Director David Beasley. “We can’t feed people on promises – funding commitments must turn into hard cash, and the international community must come together to address this crisis, which is fast spinning out of control”.

Demographic spread

The report revealed a 37 per cent surge in the number of Afghans facing acute hunger since its last assessment in April.

Among those at risk are 3.2 million children under five, who are expected to suffer from acute malnutrition by the end of the year.

Last month, WFP and the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) warned that without immediate life-saving treatment, one million children risked dying from severe acute malnutrition.

And for the first time, urban residents are suffering from food insecurity at similar rates to rural communities.

Meanwhile, rampant unemployment and a liquidity crisis are putting all major urban centres in danger of slipping into a Phase 4 emergency level of food insecurity, including formerly middle class populations.

In rural areas, the severe impact of a second drought in four years continues to affect the livelihoods of 7.3 million people who rely on agriculture and livestock to survive.

“Afghanistan is now among the world’s worst humanitarian crises – if not the worst – and food security has all but collapsed”, said the WFP chief. “This winter, millions of Afghans will be forced to choose between migration and starvation unless we can step up our life-saving assistance, and unless the economy can be resuscitated”.

Total disaster in play

With another La Niña event on the horizon, threating to extend this year’s drought into 2022, immediate financial support has become crucial to meet the most basic humanitarian needs as Afghans confront a winter with no jobs, cash, or prospects.

To meet rising needs, the UN will need to mobilize resources at unprecedented levels, yet the UN’s Humanitarian Response Plan remains only a third funded.

“We are on a countdown to catastrophe and if we don’t act now, we will have a total disaster on our hands”, underscored the top WFP official.

UN rights experts condemn US expulsion of Haitian migrants and refugees

According to their analysis, US policies have also deterred Haitians from pursuing protection including asylum claims and forced them to return to other countries, “where they face an atmosphere of racial discrimination, gender violence and xenophobic violence”, said a news release issued on behalf of the experts, on Monday.

‘Impermissible risks’

“In expediting the collective expulsion of Haitian migrants, the United States is subjecting a group of predominantly Black migrants to impermissible risks of refoulement and human rights abuse without any individualised evaluation,” the experts said.

“International law prohibits arbitrary or collective expulsions. States cannot label all migrants of a certain nationality per se threats to national security, and all migrants, no matter their nationality, race or migration status, must be guaranteed the protections called for under international law,” they reminded the US Government.

The mass deportations seemingly continue a history of racialized exclusion of Black Haitian migrants and refugees at US ports of entry, the experts said.

Blanket policy

Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Title 42 policy carried out by the US Government, initially under the previous Trump administration, has authorized the collective expulsion of any migrants and asylum seekers who seek to cross US land borders, without an individual evaluation of their circumstances and protection needs, experts noted.

When it comes to relevant international law, the US has ratified the 1967 Protocol Relating to the Status of Refugees, the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), and the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination.

Afoul of the law

The experts have written to the US Government, expressing concern that its recent immigration enforcement activities against Haitians abroad, likely run afoul of international refugee law and international human rights law.

The independent experts questioning US actions over the expulsions are Tendayi Achiume, Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance; together with Dominique DAY (Chair); Ms. Catherine Namakula, Miriam Ekiudoko, and Sushil Raj – all members of the Working Group of Experts on People of African Descent.

Special Rapporteurs are part of what is known as the Special Procedures of the Human Rights Council, and along with other independent experts are appointed by the Council, without being paid for their work, or becoming UN staff.

They are independent from any government or organization and serve in their individual capacity.

Lives in danger

In Haiti, humanitarians warned on Monday that lives are likely to be lost if fuel supplies do not reach hospitals immediately, as the country continues to be rocked by multiple crises including the aftermath of a major earthquake, economic turmoil and widspread political unrest, following the assassination of its president earlier in the year.

Roadblocks are preventing the delivery of fuel, creating obstacles to the provision of essential services and are also preventing access by humanitarian workers, said the UN Spokesperson, briefing journalists in New York.

Hospitals and medical centres are hit especially hard. In Port-au Prince, as well as other cities, hospitals are reporting extremely low fuel reserves needed to power the generators that keep services going.

In two of the capital’s major hospitals, pediatric services for 300 children, maternal health care for 45 women and critical care for 70 other patients will be interrupted if supplies are not received by tomorrow.

The UN is calling on all those who have an influence over the current situation to ensure that fuel supplies can be delivered to hospitals, and that humanitarian access to earthquake-impacted victims in the southwest is not further disrupted.

Middle East Green Initiative: ‘pathbreaking work’ to protect the planet

With only a few days until the G20 Summit of leading industrialized nations in Rome, followed immediately by the UN climate conference (COP26) in Glasgow, Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed lauded the new initiative.

“It will not only help reduce emissions from the oil and gas industry in the region but will also create new carbon sinks and help restore and protect vast swaths of land through afforestation”, she said.

“It is now clear that the global economy is irreversibly heading towards the deep decarbonization of all sectors, from energy, to manufacturing, transport, and food systems”.

‘Historic juncture’

Ms. Mohammed echoed the Secretary-General’s warning that global temperature rises greater than 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels, would condemn the world’s children to a “hellish future”.

“We need to urgently peak, reduce, and stabilize global greenhouse gas emissions to Net Zero by 2050” by cutting global emissions by 2030 by 45 per cent, compared to 2010 levels, she said.

“Your leadership is needed more than ever at this historic juncture”.

A region exposed

Entire communities the world over, are already being hurt by climate impacts, with the Middle East and North Africa particularly vulnerable.

Exposed to a range of systemic risks, such as desertification, food insecurity, forced displacement and extreme heat waves, without action the region will face 200 days of extreme heat, and temperatures of 50°C, every year by the end of the century, according to Ms. Mohammed.

“But the region also has incredible assets to leverage, which could make it a frontrunner for a post-carbon, resilient, and inclusive economy”, she added.

Choose not to fail

Everyone must act quickly for a fair net-zero transition in all regions, especially those dependent on oil and gas revenues, Ms. Mohammed said, spelling out: “In our fight against climate change, failure is a choice, not a certainty”.

While transitioning away from fossil fuels will be “a challenge of epic proportions”, requiring targeted support to those temporarily impacted, she upheld that those investments “could yield innumerable benefits in the long term”.

“Solidarity and fairness are core principles that underpin the multilateral regime” she said. “That is why I am pleased to see that the Middle East Green Initiative is a regional and cooperative approach to climate action”.

Make COP26 ‘a turning point’

During COP26, the deputy UN chief urged the leaders to be prepared to make it not only a success, but a real turning point towards “a green, resilient, and just transition”.

Against that backdrop, she suggested that all countries update their Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC) for increasingly ambitious climate actions that “bring us closer to our collective emission reduction goal” globally.

“G20 countries, who are responsible for up to 80 per cent of global emissions must lead by example”, said the UN official, asking donors to allocate at least half of their climate finance to adaptation.

“As shareholders of multilateral, regional and national development banks and funds, you can instruct your representatives at the Boards of these institutions to work toward allocating 50 per cent of climate finance to adaptation”, she said.

Credibility ‘will be key’

Pointing out that the Paris Agreement on climate change requires that all public and private finance investment flows be aligned with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), she urged that private finance reach constituencies that are “not always on their radar”, such as least developed countries, small-developing islands and in general vulnerable communities.

“And private finance institutions…need to pass the credibility test…[including] robust taxonomies and standards; mandatory climate risk disclosure; and more transparency across the board to ensure that all financial flows contribute to keeping the 1.5C degree goal within reach”, she said. “Credibility will be key”.

And top executives in the private sector, should understand that developing countries should not be saddled with unsustainable levels of debt, forced to make “impossible trade-offs to the detriment of their people and our planet”.

UN chief condemns ‘ongoing military coup’ in Sudan

Long-time ruler Omar al-Bashir was overthrown by the military following months of popular protest in April 2019, and a transitional government was set up comprising both military and civilian leadership, after a power-sharing agreement, that was due to lead to full democratic elections in 2023.

Now, according to news agencies, Sudan’s military has dissolved civilian rule, arrested political leaders and declared a state of emergency. Protesters have reportedly taken to the streets of the capital, Khartoum, and there are reports of gunfire.

In a statement posted on Twitter, the Secretary-General said that “there must be full respect for the constitutional charter to protect the hard-won political transition.”

In a full statement issued later in the day, through his Spokesperson, Mr. Guterres said that “Sudanese stakeholders must immediately return to dialogue, and engage in good faith to restore the constitutional order and Sudan’s transitional process.

“The United Nations reiterates its unwavering commitment and support to the realization of Sudan’s political transition. Any attempts to undermine this transition process puts at risk Sudan’s security, stability and development.

He added that the UN “will continue to stand with the people of Sudan as they strive to fulfil their aspirations for a peaceful, prosperous and democratic future.”

Progress in jeopardy

The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights also condemned the attempted coup.

“These actions threaten the Juba Peace Agreement and jeopardize the important progress made towards democracy and respect for human rights”, Michelle Bachelet said.

She called on military authorities to abide by the constitutional order and international law, withdraw from the streets, and resolve any differences with civilian leaders serving on the Transitional Council through dialogue and negotiation.

“I utterly deplore the reported arrest of the Prime Minister, several Ministers, leaders of the Forces of the Freedom and Change and other civil society representatives, and call for their immediate release”, she continued.

Communication systems down

Ms. Bachelet also pointed out reports that the internet is down in the country and other means of communication are suspended.

“Blanket internet shutdowns contravene international law, and Internet and mobile services must be restored, as they are essential for people to seek and receive information, particularly in these unsettling circumstances”, she explained.

She asked military and security forces to refrain from unnecessary and disproportionate use of force, to respect people’s freedom of expression, as well as the right of peaceful assembly.

According to her, “it would be disastrous if Sudan goes backwards after finally bringing an end to decades of repressive dictatorship.”

“The country needs to move forward to consolidate democracy, a wish expressed countless times by the Sudanese people, including loudly and clearly on the streets last week and today”, she added.

UN Mission

The head of the UN Integrated Transition Assistance Mission Sudan (UNITAMS), also released a statement, declaring that the arrests of the Prime Minister, government officials and other politicians are “unacceptable.” 

“I call on the security forces to immediately release those who have been unlawfully detained or placed under house arrest”, Volker Perthes said. “It is the responsibility of these forces to ensure the security and wellbeing of people in their custody.” 

The UNITAMS chief, who acts as a Special Representative of the Secretary-General, also urged everyone involved to exercise the utmost restraint.

“All parties must immediately return to dialogue and engage in good faith to restore the constitutional order”, Mr. Perthes concluded.