March 2022 — Page 3 of 17 — Human Rights & Charity

Ukraine invasion: Guterres appeals for ‘immediate humanitarian ceasefire’

“A cessation of hostilities will allow essential humanitarian aid to be delivered and enable civilians to move around safely. It will save lives, prevent suffering, and protect civilians”, said António Guterres, speaking to reporters outside the Security Council in New York, as Russia’s assault and bombardment of Ukrainian towns and cities continues.

“I hope a ceasefire will also help to address the global consequences of this war, which risk compounding the deep hunger crisis in many developing countries that already lack fiscal space to invest in their recovery from the pandemic, and now face soaring food and energy costs”, he added.

Nuclear weapons use ‘must be avoided’

Responding to questions from correspondents after his statement, the UN chief said that in relation to the possibility of any use of nuclear weapons by Russia, or any bio-chemical weapons use relating to the war in Ukraine. “That would be something that, I believe, will be avoided – it must be avoided.”

Mr. Guterres said that the UN Humanitarian Affairs chief, Martin Griffiths, would “immediately explore” an agreement with Russia and Ukraine for the ceasefire, and the UN chief added that he was in “close contact” with other countries in the hope of involving Russia in meaningful negotiations, including Turkey, Qatar, Israel, India, China, France and Germany.

Since the beginning of the Russian invasion one month ago, the war has led to the senseless loss of thousands of lives; the displacement of ten million people, mainly women and children; the systematic destruction of essential infrastructure; and skyrocketing food and energy prices worldwide”, said the UN chief.

UN ‘doing everything in it’s power’

This must stop”, he added, declaring that the UN is “doing everything in its power to support people whose lives have been overturned by the war.”

In the past month, beyond support to refugee hosting countries, the UN’s humanitarian agencies and partners have reached nearly 900,000 people, mainly in eastern Ukraine, with food, shelter, blankets, medicine, bottled water, and hygiene supplies, he said.

There are now more than 1,000 UN staffers in Ukraine, working via eight humanitarian hubs in Dnipro, Vinnytsia, Lviv, Uzhorod, Chernivitzi, Mukachevo, Luhansk and Donetsk.

Aid getting through

The World Food Programme (WFP) and partners reached 800,000 people in the past month and are scaling up to reach 1.2 million by the middle of next month, said Mr. Guterres.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) and partners have reached more than 500,000 people in the most vulnerable areas with emergency health, trauma and surgery kits, he added.

“Just today, a convoy of trucks brought food, medical and other relief supplies from WFP, WHO, UNHCR, UNICEF to Kharkiv, to be delivered by our national partners to thousands of people in hard-hit areas”, he said.

“Our agencies and partners are procuring vital supplies and setting up pipelines for delivery throughout Ukraine in the coming weeks.”

Political solution

But the UN chief made it clear that any solution “to this humanitarian tragedy is not humanitarian. It is political”, making a strong appeal to the parties to the conflict, and to the international community overall, “to work with us for peace in solidarity with the people of Ukraine and across the world.”

Aid to Kharkiv

In a statement issued later in the day by the UN Humanitarian Coordinator for Ukraine, Osnat Lubrani, she gave further details of Monday’s UN aid shipment to the besieged and decimated city of Kharkiv, in northeastern Ukraine, which is close to the Russian border.

“Today we were able to safely bring food rations, medical supplies and household items to Kharkiv for thousands…Thanks to our national partner the Ukrainian Red Cross, these supplies will be delivered to the most vulnerable communities…as well as hard-to-reach areas like Izium, Balakliia and Chuhuiv.

“We rely on the humanitarian notification system with Ukraine and the Russian Federation, facilitated by the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), to ensure our safe access”, she added, making clear that it was impossible to deliver aid, “when the shelling continues, and roads are mined.”

“Pauses in the fighting are needed to allow free, safe passage for people to leave in whichever direction they choose”. She said, calling for “the continued cooperation of all parties to protect civilians and humanitarian supplies and personnel.”

UNICEF support

On Monday, the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) said that it has already sent more than 1,000 tonnes of emergency supplies to Ukraine.

The agency is also launching an urgently-needed cash transfer programme to support 52,000 of the most vulnerable families with children.

And amid ongoing concerns over trafficking and abuse of unaccompanied minors, more and more safe spaces for refugee children and women – known as Blue Dots – are being set up in Ukraine’s neighbouring countries.

UNICEF said that its emergency supplies sent to Ukraine will address the needs of over eight million people – including two million children.

The supplies include medicines and medical equipment, winter clothes for children, institutional and family hygiene kits, educational kits and recreational kits.

In Ukraine’s east, in Luhansk and Donetsk, UNICEF said that 4,000 people sheltering in bunkers have received psychosocial support through online, face-to-face consultation and via telephone since Russian troops entered the country on 24 February.

Growing risk of Somalia famine, as drought impact worsens

Standing in front of his makeshift home in a camp for internally displaced people (IDP) in southern Somalia’s Luuq district, Ahmad Hassan Yarrow looks out towards what remains of the Juba River and shakes his head forlornly.

“Of all the droughts I have experienced in my 70 years, I have not seen anything as severe as this,” he says as he contemplates the scenery before him.

Mr. Yarow is one of hundreds of thousands of Somalis displaced by the country’s most recent and worsening drought, leaving their homes in the search for food, water and shelter.

The Luuq district, located in Jubaland’s Gedo region, is intersected by the Juba River. For more than three months now, the river’s waters have steadily dwindled, leaving only brown puddles.

As the waters evaporated, so did the hopes of local communities – made up mainly of farmers and pastoralists – which rely on the river for their livelihoods. Under a searing sun, their crops wilted, and their livestock died. Like many others around the country, they came a step closer to starvation.

“We lost everything in the drought,” says Salado Madeer Mursaal, a 28-year-old mother of one, who has also sought help at the IDP camp. “We need food, shelter, water and other basic human needs.”

Three failed rainy seasons

With decades of conflict, recurrent climate shocks and disease outbreaks, including the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, the humanitarian situation in Somalia was already grave. Even before the current drought, an estimated 7.7 million Somalis were in need of humanitarian assistance and protection this year – up 30 per cent in one year.

The situation has deteriorated, with the current drought wiping out crop harvests and livestock dying due to a lack of water and pasture, depriving many pastoral communities of their only source of income.

“The country has seen three consecutive failed rainy seasons. The fourth, which is supposed to start in April and continue through June, is also projected to be below average. If that happens, then we are looking at a risk of famine,” says the Humanitarian Coordinator for Somalia, Adam Abdelmoula.

An under-funded relief operation

The United Nations and its partners have been heavily engaged in providing humanitarian support. In February, they collectively reached 1.6 million people with assistance, but, with Somalia’s federal authorities, they are calling for more funds to provide urgent humanitarian assistance.

According to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), Somalia is currently one of the most severely drought-impacted country in the Horn of Africa. Some 4.5 million Somalis are directly affected by the drought, and about 700,000 people have been displaced.

Children especially vulnerable

“As we speak now, 1.4 million children under five years of age are severely malnourished, and if we don’t step up our intervention, it is projected that 350,000 of them will perish by the summer of this year. The situation cannot be more dire than that,” says Mr. Abdelmoula.

“So, I call on all those who are able to contribute, including the Somali diaspora, the business community, the traditional and non-traditional donors, everyone, to act and to act now,” he adds.

In the 2022 Somalia Humanitarian Response Plan, the UN seeks nearly $1.5 billion to provide humanitarian assistance to 5.5 million of the country’s most vulnerable people, including 1.6 million IDPs, 3.9 million non-IDPs, and people with disabilities.

However, just about four per cent – $56.1 million – has been received so far.

Seeking safety and shelter

In Luuq’s camps, there is a palpable mix of relief and resignation among the displaced.

After walking for several days, Fatuma Madeer Mursaal and her family arrived at the Boyle IDP camp. There, they joined more than 4,000 others seeking aid.

“We are farmers, and we also had our livestock but all animals died in the drought. We have nothing left and we have come here for water, food, shelter and help,” says Ms. Mursaal, a 39-year-old mother of six.

The Boyle IDP camp is one of several camps which have sprung up around the country as desperate people move to locations where they hope they can access help.

“It’s serious, and one of the biggest tragedies Somalia is facing today. The displaced communities have no shelter, water, medicine, or even food, and they depend on handouts. The drought has wiped out everything, and if the survivors don’t get urgent humanitarian assistance, they are likely to also die,” says the Luuq district’s local administrator, Commissioner Ali Kadiye Mohamed.

UN humanitarian agencies are working closely with partners on the ground to alleviate the situation. The International Organization for Migration (IOM) has been trucking water into camps such as the Boyle IDP camp, as well as constructing water tanks and pit latrines to help improve sanitation conditions.

At the Luuq District Hospital, funded in part by the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF), the UN agency is working with an Irish charity agency, Trocaire, to treat, feed and stabilize children admitted with severe malnutrition.

Local staff say they have seen a worsening of the situation. “In January, 62 malnourished children were admitted here. In February, the number rose to 100, and as of 21 March, the number stands at 114,” said the hospital’s chief nurse, Abdirahman Mohamed Kasim.

“As soon as these children get to the hospital,” he continues, “we give them milk for primary and secondary stages of malnutrition, and, after their recovery, we transfer them to other feeding centres where they receive high energy biscuits and treatments for any further illnesses.”

“This drought has wiped out everything we had”

Elsewhere in Luuq, the UN World Food Programme (WFP), which is implementing cash and food voucher programmes for vulnerable groups in Somalia, is providing preventative and curative nutrition support to women and children. The humanitarian food agency is scaling up its interventions, aiming to support 2.5 million people with food relief in the first half of this year, but – like so many other UN agencies – it can only do so if it receives more funding; in this instance, some $203 million to close a funding gap.

For Mr. Yarrow, looking out from his home in the IDP camp in Luuq, the issues of funding of the country’s humanitarian response are remote, academic issues, far from his concerns. His needs, and those of the many other displaced Somalis facing starvation, are more immediate.

“This drought has wiped out everything we had,” he says. “We are relieved to be here at this IDP camp where we are getting assistance but there are too many of us, and we are struggling. The food, water and shelter are not enough. There are many women, the old and children who are malnourished and sick, but have no medicine. We are doing our best to survive, but we need help.”

Consensus emerging on many issues, UN’s Sudan envoy tells Security Council

“Unless the current trajectory is corrected, Sudan will head towards economic and security collapse as well as significant humanitarian suffering,” Volker Perthes, the Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Sudan, warned.

Political vacuum

The African country has had no functioning government in place since the military coup d’état of 25 October 2021.

Perthes, also the head of the UN’s transitional Assistance Mission in Sudan (UNITAMS), said the UN-led broad consultations on a political process – involving more than 800 participants from all parts of the country – have found “visible” consensus on many issues, including on the need to end the violence, establish a technocratic Government and an oversight body, and adopt critical legislation.

There was also wide-reaching agreement on the need to reconsider the role, size and membership of the Sovereignty Council, which was to have functioned as the collective head of state for a 39-month transitional period, scheduled to end in November 2022.

Points of agreement

The consultations also found common ground on a minimum of 40 per cent representation of women in transitional institutions, and on mechanisms to advance women’s rights.

Moreover, an overarching consensus emerged around the need for a single unified professional army, for the establishment of judicial entities, for the conditions for credible elections and for an inclusive constitutional process.

Going forward, he told the Security Council, the UN, the African Union and the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) will jointly lead efforts to support Sudan’s political process, drawing on their respective strengths. The intention is to facilitate an inclusive, Sudan-owned and Sudan-led political process.

New phase of talks

An intensive phase of talks is expected to start in the next couple of weeks with a view to a return to constitutional order and an empowered civilian-led government to steer Sudan through the transitional period.

“Time is not on Sudan’s side”, he warned, adding that Sudan could miss out on billions of external support, as disbursements from the World Bank, International Monetary Fund (IMF) and other major donors have been paused, and will continue that way as long as no functional government is in place.

UN analysis shows link between lack of vaccine equity and widening inequalities

In September 2021, the World Health Organization (WHO) set an ambitious global target. The UN health agency called for 70 per cent of the global population to be vaccinated by mid-2022.

At that point, just over three per cent of people in low-income countries had been vaccinated with at least one dose, compared to 60.18 per cent in high-income countries.

Six months on, the world is nowhere near reaching that target.

The overall number of vaccines administered has risen dramatically, but so has the inequality of the distribution: of the 10.7 billion doses given out worldwide, only one per cent have been administered in low-income countries.

This means that 2.8 billion people around the world are still waiting to get their first shot.

Vaccine inequity jeopardizes the safety of everyone, and is largely responsible for growing inequalities between – and within – countries. Not only does this state of affairs risk prolonging the pandemic, but the lack of equity has many other impacts, slowing the economic recovery of entire countries, global labour markets, public debt payments, and countries’ ability to invest in other priorities.

Recovery harder than ever

Two years on from the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, poorer countries are finding it harder than ever to recover economically, labour markets are suffering, public debt remains stubbornly high, and there is little left in the coffers to invest in other priorities.

New analysis by UNDP shows that most of the vulnerable countries are found in Sub-Saharan Africa, including Burundi, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Chad, where less than one percent of the populations are fully vaccinated. Outside of Africa, Haiti and Yemen are still to reach two percent coverage.

The studies show that, if low-income countries had the same vaccination rate as high-income countries in September last year (around 54 per cent) they would have increased their GDP by US$16.27 billion in 2021.

The countries calculated to have lost most potential income during the pandemic, due to vaccine inequity, are Ethiopia, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Uganda.

This lost income could have been used to address other pressing development challenge in line with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) that make up the UN’s 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, the organization’s blueprint for a future that is fair for people and the planet.

In South Sudan, for example, the costs associated with COVID-19 vaccinations could have covered all social assistance programmes and education expenditure in the country, whilst in Burundi, the costs could have provided healthcare for some 4.7 million people.

Whilst the protracted lockdowns put in place worldwide hurt workers everywhere, those in developing countries were, again, disproportionately affected. Richer countries softened the blow by boosting economic support to both formal and informal workers, while in low-income countries, support declined between 2020 and 2021.

Where do we go from here?

Urgent access to vaccines and financing – such as the grants and concessions proposed by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) – is, according to the analysis, essential for the poorest countries, alongside support that is tailored to the situation faced by each individual nation.

Many, for example, have benefited from vaccination campaigns undertaken by international organizations, and this experience can inform the way that COVID-19 vaccinations are conducted.

And the Global Dashboard for Vaccine Equity, developed by UNDP, the World Health Organization (WHO) and the University of Oxford, is helping researchers and policy-makers to run their own analysis, and develop the programs that can most effectively benefit their citizens, and go some way to addressing global inequality.

If vaccine equity is not dealt with soon, the consequences could be grave. As the UN human rights chief, Michelle Bachelet, said on 10 March, greater cooperation between countries is needed to stop the pandemic fast, whilst delayed vaccination could lead to escalated societal tensions and violence, and a lost decade for development.

UN chief condemns attacks on civilian facilities in Saudi Arabia and Yemen

“The Secretary-General is deeply concerned about reports of ongoing airstrikes in Hudaydah city and the targeting of Hudaydah’s ports, which provide a critical humanitarian lifeline for the Yemeni population,” the UN chief’s spokesperson, Stéphane Dujarric, said in a statement.

Over 23 million Yemenis face hunger, disease, and other life-threatening risks as the country’s basic services and economy are collapsing, the UN Office for Humanitarian Coordination (OCHA) had said.

Deadly airstrikes

On Friday, Yemen’s Houthi forces, also known as Ansar Allah, launched aerial attacks on civilian and energy facilities in Saudi Arabia, including on an oil facility in Jeddah that triggered a huge fire, which sent up a column of black smoke.

Subsequently, on Saturday, the Saudi-backed coalition retaliated with airstrikes on the Houthi-controlled seaports of Hudaydah and Salif as well as Yemen’s capital, Sana’a, which reportedly killed eight civilians, including five children and two women.

“These airstrikes also resulted in damage to the UN staff residential compound in Sana’a,” Mr. Dujarric added.

Stop the hostilities

The UN chief is calling for “a swift and transparent investigation into these incidents to ensure accountability,” the statement continued.

As the conflict enters its eighth year, the UN chief reiterated his calls upon all parties to “exercise maximum restraint, immediately deescalate, cease hostilities and abide by their obligations under international humanitarian law, including the principles of distinction, proportionality, and precaution.”

He also urged the parties to “engage constructively, and without preconditions, with his Special Envoy to reduce violence and urgently reach a negotiated settlement to end the conflict in Yemen.”

Meanwhile, news media reported that Yemen’s Houthi Ansar Allah said it would suspend for three days, missile and drone strikes on Saudi Arabia. The group upheld that the unilateral peace initiative could be a lasting commitment if the Saudi-led coalition stopped airstrikes and lifted port restrictions.

Fighting child marriage in India, thanks to school and a mobile phone

The poster shows a tiny girl with braided hair, tied at the end with pink ribbons. Her face droops in despair as she walks next to an older man. The garlands around their necks indicate that they have just been wed.

She holds a little blackboard in her hand, with the first letters of the Hindi alphabet on it, a sign that she would rather be in school.

The next image shows another life for the girl: she is grinning happily, dressed for school, and sitting next to her smiling mother.

The message is simple, but effective: educate your children, stop child marriage.

Sapna’s story

The little girl in the Naubat Baja poster could well have been Sapna*, a young girl from Jaipur in her early teens. Even though she is still a minor, her family removed her from the classroom, and were preparing to marry her off, when Shreya*, a volunteer with Jeevan Ashram Sansthan (JAS), an NGO that works to empower women and girls, intervened.

Shreya knew about the Naubat Baja mission and had its phone number. In June 2021, she heard that a minor in Jaipur was to be wed to a 30-year-old man.

Sapna’s father had taken a loan from the man’s family. When he could not repay it, the lender – the would-be groom’s father – said he would write off the loan, if Sapna married his son.

Shreya called the helpline, and the police swung into action. The wedding was stopped. Sapna was sent to a shelter for two months, but is now back home and has gone back to the schoolroom.

From music to mobiles

The poster is part of campaign by Naubat Baja Missed Call Radio, a cloud telephone-based radio channel in the western Indian state of Rajasthan, that addresses issues of adolescents’ well-being, empowerment and health.

The words Naubat Baja, stand for an ensemble of musical instruments that were played together in earlier times to catch the attention of people. This initiative is a new incarnation for the digital age, relaying messages against harmful practices such as child marriage and gender discrimination.

Launched on International Women’s Day in 2019, Naubat Baja relies largely on the strength of mobile phones, which have penetrated the remotest corners of India. The initiative banks on the fact that the cell phone is the youth’s favourite mode of communication, particularly in areas where people have little access to television, cable, or the internet.

Although child marriage is banned in many Indian states, including Rajasthan. Shreya has witnessed this first-hand in her own family: her two elder sisters, she says, were married off when they were minors.

“I have seen the difficulties they face now because of lack of education. I do not want other girls to fall into this trap,” says Shreya, who escaped her sisters’ fate, and is studying for a post-graduate degree.

100 million girls at risk

In a March 2021 report, the UN Children’s Fund, UNICEF, pointed out that some 100 million girls are at risk of child marriage over the next decade.

The COVID-19 pandemic, says the study, has led to “school closures, economic stress, service disruptions, pregnancy, and parental deaths”, leaving a further 10 million vulnerable girls facing the possibility of child marriage.

In Rajasthan, civil society organisations such as JAS are battling the practice, and succeeding in spreading awareness about its dangers, through innovative programmes such as Naubat Baja.

“Families that find it hard to sustain themselves would rather marry off their girls even if they are not yet of age. It would mean fewer mouths to feed,” says JAS director Radhika Sharma.

Arranging a wedding in pandemic times also means less spending because of restrictions on gatherings and, with people leaving homes and travelling to distant areas in search of work, getting daughters married early, assures parents of their offspring’s safety.

“Parents often feel their girls would be safe if they are married off early”, adds Ms. Sharma. “They would not be abused physically if it is known they are married. Poverty, lack of education, patriarchy and gender inequalities are also important factors behind the practice”.

Music, entertainment, empowerment

The aim of the Naubat Baja programme is not only to counter the practice of child marriage, but also to empower girls in other ways.

Girls phone the Naubat Baja number and receive a call back, which contains a 15-minute recording of free entertainment, peppered with Hindi film songs, short stories and audio dramas themed around social issues narrated through comedy or satire.

There is news about job opportunities, general knowledge facts and information about government welfare schemes aimed at the youth.

Messages on themes such as child marriage, domestic violence, adolescent girls’ health, menstrual hygiene, gender sensitisation, financial awareness, COVID-19 protocols and precautions are conveyed through the dramas.

The regularly updated programme, overseen by UNFPA representatives, is produced in studios with the help of a content team of researchers and presented by professional audio content makers.

The programme is popularised through social media, graffiti and awareness campaigns in rural and urban areas by volunteers, community leaders, members of Panchayats (rural governing bodies), Anganwadi (rural child care centres) and Asha (Accredited Social Health Activist) workers.

Volunteers and adolescent group leaders associated with Naubat Baja are called champions: Shreya is one of them.

Dare to dream

In Rajasthan, efforts are on to draw in more partners in the drive against child marriage. Local frontline workers and members of the Nehru Yuva Kendra Sangathan (NYKS) — one of the largest youth networks in the world — are being trained to hold meetings and talks with adolescent girls and families in the community on messages aired by Naubat Baja.

“The initiative is one of the innovative strategies employed by UNFPA and partners involved, to ensure young people are aware of their rights and opportunities, have access to accurate information and services regarding their health and well-being, and are able to participate and contribute to addressing social issues that affect them.”, explains UNFPA India representative, Sriram Haridass.

Once the strategies start to bear fruit, and when there are numerous initiatives such as Naubat Baja engaging and empowering young people like Shreya, thousands of Sapnas will dare to dream.

The Naubat Baja poster against child marriage sums it up well. “I will let my children’s dreams soar,” says the mother next to the happy girl child in school.

A version of this story was published by the UN reproductive rights agency (UNFPA) earlier this month. You can find it here.

*name changed to protect identity

The Naubat Baja project

The Naubat Baja project is a joint initiative of the Directorate of Women Empowerment, Government of Rajasthan, the Rural Electrification Corporation (REC) Foundation and UNFPA. Jeevan Ashram Sansthan (JAS), a non-governmental organisation (NGO), is the implementing agency.
Child marriage is prevalent in several parts of the world. In 2016, UNICEF, with UNFPA, launched the ‘Global Programme to End Child Marriage’ in India and 11 other countries.
In India, according to the National Family Health Survey (2019-21), underage marriage accounted for 23.3 per cent of marriages. Child marriage is one where the bride is below the age of 18 and/or the groom is below 21. A Bill to amend the law on child marriage has been referred to a Parliamentary Standing Committee.

‘Sharp rise’ in Nicaraguans fleeing to Costa Rica, strains asylum system

Doubling in number over the last eight months, the agency now estimates that there are more than 150,000 Nicaraguans who have crossed over the southern border, seeking refuge in Costa Rica.

“These figures, as of February 2022, confirm more Nicaraguans are currently seeking protection in Costa Rica than all the refugees and asylum seekers combined, during Central America’s civil wars in the 1980s, when Costa Rica was a sanctuary for those fleeing violence,” UNHCR spokesperson Boris Cheshirkov, told a press conference in Geneva.

Troubling trend

UNHCR is concerned that this trend could seriously strain Costa Rica’s already stretched asylum system and overwhelm support networks in the country.

“The sharp rise in the number of asylum seekers from Nicaragua corresponds with major socio-political events in the country,” explained Mr. Cheshirkov.

Moreover, Nicaraguans are also increasingly seeking protection further afield.

During the first two months of 2022, the number seeking asylum in Mexico, represented nearly a third of the total, for all of 2021.

Open borders

Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, the Government of Costa Rica has kept its doors open for those seeking international protection.

According to UNHCR’s border monitoring in Costa Rica, many of the new asylum seekers are finding employment through the seasonal coffee harvest.

“However, their economic security could be compromised once the harvest is over, increasing the pressure on response institutions and UNHCR programmes,” warned the UNHCR spokesperson.

He noted that due to the pandemic-induced economic crisis, which has weakened individual support networks that provide shelter and economic opportunities to Nicaraguans, Costa Rica is experiencing a high level of unemployment.

This adds to the need for support from UNHCR and its partners.

Off the world’s radar

UNHCR assists Costa Rica and its host communities in welcoming asylum seekers and refugees through registration, legal aid, cash assistance, and donations of hygiene and cleaning kits, food and mattresses, Mr. Cheshirkov said.

The agency also provides psychosocial support, emergency shelter, vocational training, and activities to promote peaceful coexistence between refugees and the communities that host them.

“At a moment when the crisis in Ukraine is making daily headlines, these figures highlight the importance of remembering other less visible situations of displacement that persist and grow around the world,” said the UNHCR spokesperson.

“We urge the international community to continue supporting Costa Rica and other countries hosting Nicaraguans in their efforts to receive and provide international protection to those who are forced to flee their country”.

First Person: I know what it’s like to go hungry as a child

As a child, Rose Senoviala Desir lived in the northern Haitian city of Cap Haitien and received hot meals as part of the WFP’s school feeding programme, but went hungry at the weekends when there was no school. She says feeding young Haitians in this way influenced her decision to one day work with WFP.

“My mother was a teacher and had to travel a long way to her work, so she was unable to cook for me and three brothers until very late in the day. I was fortunate as I attended a school where the WFP provided free hot meals to children. I received these meals from the age of five or six to 12 years old.

My brother, who is five years younger than me, did not get school meals, so I went to the kitchen after all the children has eaten and asked to take some food home for him. On the weekend, we did not receive those hot meals, so we sometimes didn’t eat, so I know like what it’s like to be hungry. And I understood how much more difficult it was to study on an empty stomach. My mother spent all the money she had on sending her children to school. It made me realize how important WFP was for my family and for my country.

I was always interested in plants, animals, and farming. In the school holidays, I would always go to my grandparents’ house which was outside the city and help on their small plot of land. I learned how to raise goats, as well as chickens, ducks and turkeys and I went to the fish farm with my grandfather to choose fish that we would buy for sale or to eat ourselves.

I was also taught how to grow and harvest breadfruit, which is a delicious fruit that my grandmother sold at the market. I would help to sort through beans my grandparents had grown; the white beans got the best price followed by the red ones and then black, so my job was to sort them out for sale.

I learned such a lot helping my grandparents and enjoyed it so much that building on that knowledge, by studying agronomy at university, was an obvious choice for me. I worked as a housekeeper to a doctor so I could afford to pay the fees, and I graduated in 2014.

I have always been keen to learn, but also to share my knowledge, and have trained a lot of women on agricultural issues. I realized that what I wanted most from life was to help vulnerable people, even to save lives, so my values really aligned with the values of WFP.

My work now is focused on building resilience amongst rural populations, helping them to adapt to the changing climate and supporting their efforts to protect their land and livelihoods by building structures which will prevent erosion and help irrigation. Most of this work was completed in the last year and already we are seeing an improvement in terms of crops standing up to adverse weather conditions as well as increasing yields.”

Safety of UN workers ‘our top priority’, says Guterres

In his message marking the International Day of Solidarity with Detained and Missing Staff Members, Secretary-General António Guterres said that UN staffers and contractors “work tirelessly to serve the people of the world”, and it was important to recall the dangers they face, on a daily basis.

Since the beginning of last year, 142 UN personnel have been detained, including 15 in 2022 alone.

‘Unacceptable threats’

“In total, 22 United Nations personnel are still in detention. National staff are often at particular risk and face unacceptable threats to their safety and security”, said the UN chief.

“We continue to monitor these cases and seek the immediate release of all our colleagues. I thank the Standing Committee on the Security and Independence of the International Civil Service of the United Nations Staff Union for its steadfast advocacy and vigilance.”

Mr. Guterres reminded that anyone working for the UN should be allowed to do their job unhindered, wherever they are based, and that they have privileges and immunities as civil servants, including those contained in the 1946 Convention on the Privileges and Immunities of the United Nations.

Protection protocols

“I also call on all countries, which have not yet done so, to accede to and fully implement the 1994 Convention on the Safety of United Nations and Associated Personnel as well as the 2005 Optional Protocol to the Convention”, said the Secretary-General, “which extends protection to personnel delivering humanitarian, political or development assistance.”

He said the safety of anyone who works with the UN, “is our top priority.”

“On this International Day, let us stand in solidarity with all detained colleagues and pledge to protect all United Nations personnel as they work to advance peace and human rights, protect the planet and build a better future for all.”

Dimming the lights for a brighter future

“Without nature’s help, we cannot thrive or even survive on this planet Earth”, Secretary-General António Guterres underscored in his message for Earth Hour, commemorated annually on the last Saturday of March.

“It’s time to re-evaluate and reset our relationship with nature,” he continued, describing 2022 as “a year to change course.”

For people and planet

The top UN official said that solutions are “available, affordable, practical and realistic.”

“We can provide renewable energy and sustainable food systems for all…reduce emissions and use nature-based solutions to help us build a more resilient, carbon-neutral world,” he said.

Mr. Guterres urged everyone to do their part “to safeguard our planet”, saying that “together, we can build a brighter and more prosperous future.”

Be bold, be ambitious

The UN is proud to join in the global effort to mark Earth Hour, said the UN chief, calling it “a reminder that small actions can make a big difference.”

He called on citizens everywhere, to join in the global switch off, for an hour on Saturday, at 8.30pm local time – wherever you call home.

In what he dubbed a “make-or-break” year, the Secretary-General encouraged everyone to let their actions and voices send a clear message to leaders everywhere: “Now is the time to be bold and ambitious”.

“Let’s show the world that we are determined to protect the one home we all share,” he concluded.