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Category: Humanitarian Aid

Gaza’s new terror: Booby-trapped cans of food for the unwary

“A 14-year-old boy was seriously injured and sustained limb amputations after opening a booby-trapped can of food found while looking for his belongings in his house that had been shelled by Israeli forces in Khan Younis,” the UN aid coordination office (OCHA) said, citing the Strip’s authorities.

The young victim who reportedly sustained life-changing injuries on Monday is just one of “many people recently injured” from supplies rigged with hidden explosive charges, OCHA said in its latest update on the emergency.

UN mine action experts have estimated that some 7,500 tonnes of unexploded ordnance could be “scattered” throughout Gaza which could take up to 14 years to clear. To mitigate the risk for civilians and aid teams in the meantime, the UN Mine Action Service, UNMAS, has issued increasingly urgent appeals for assistance from the international community to remove explosive remnants of war.

10,000 buried under the rubble

In another worrying development, OCHA reported late Wednesday that more than 10,000 people are believed buried under the rubble in Gaza.

Entire neighbourhoods have been levelled, leaving hundreds of buildings smashed, amid intense and ongoing Israeli bombardment “across much of the Gaza Strip” from the air, land and sea, the UN aid office said.

Citing the Palestinian Civil Defense authority, OCHA noted that the recovery of dead bodies from the debris is a huge challenge, owing to a lack of bulldozers, excavators and personnel. 

“It could take up to three years to retrieve the bodies using the primitive tools they have on hand,” the UN office continued, amid rising temperatures that will accelerate the decomposition of bodies, potentially increasing the threat of disease spread.

‘Nightmare’ must end: UNICEF chief

In a call for an end to the hostilities, sparked by Hamas-led terror raids on southern Israel on 7 October that killed some 1,250 people and saw more than 250 taken hostage, top UN humanitarian official Catherine Russell insisted that the “nightmare” must end.

Nearly all of the 600,000 children now sheltering in the southern border city of Rafah are “injured, sick or malnourished”, the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) chief said in a video post on X on Wednesday.

“Over 200 days of war have already killed and maimed tens of thousands of children in Gaza,” Ms. Russell added, amid deepening fears of a full-scale Israeli military operation in Rafah.

1,000-pound bombs 

Following the withdrawal of Israeli troops last month from the southern city of Khan Younis, a UN assessment team mission on 10 April reported that streets and public spaces were littered with unexploded weapons. In addition, 1,000-pound bombs were found “lying on main intersections and inside schools”.

UN-led efforts are ongoing to make areas safe for Gazans to return to Khan Younis, including damage assessments at facilities belonging to the UN refugee agency for Palestinians (UNRWA) and mapping high-risk areas containing shrapnel and unexploded ordnance.

Another vital aspect of this work is awareness-raising sessions, which the UN Mine Action Service (UNMAS) conducts via social media, mobile phone text messages and leaflets to around 1.2 million people in Gaza, as part of aid packages distributed by other humanitarian partners.

In total there is an estimated 37 million tonnes of debris in the enclave which likely contains about 800,000 tonnes of asbestos and other contaminants.

Rising toll

Between 29 April 1 May, OCHA reported that 80 Palestinians were killed and 118 injured amid Israeli bombardment, citing the Gazan health authorities. The same source has reported that since 7 October, at least 34,560 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza and 77,765 injured.

This includes a strike on 29 April “at about 12:25pm” when two Palestinian women and two girls were reportedly killed and others injured when a house was hit in Tall As Sultan neighbourhood in western Rafah.

OCHA also reported that between 28 April and 1 May, two Israeli soldiers were killed in Gaza, according to the Israeli military. As of 1 May, 262 Israeli soldiers have been killed and 1,602 soldiers injured in Gaza since the beginning of the ground operation.

 

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World News in Brief: UN supporting East Africa flood victims, dozens more migrant deaths at sea, disinformation in Myanmar

In a statement released late on Wednesday the UN Secretary-General António Guterres said he had been deeply distressed to hear of the hundreds of lives lost and many others affected by the deluge in Kenya as well as Burundi, Somalia, Tanzania and other parts of East Africa.

He extended his condolences to the Governments and people of the countries affected, especially the families of those who have died or been injured in this disaster, said Spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric.

The UN and its partners are working closely with national authorities to address humanitarian requirements. The Secretary-General stresses that the UN stands ready to offer additional assistance as needed.

Mr. Guterres said he was extremely concerned about the impacts of El Niño-triggered extreme weather, which risk further devastating communities and undermining their livelihoods.

Mr. Dujarric told correspondents earlier in New York that agencies were supporting Kenya’s Government-led response to the heavy rains which have left more than 170 deaths since the middle of March, according to news reports.

The UN and partners on the ground have been providing water, sanitation and hygiene supplies, together with food, health and psychosocial support.

Supporting Government response

“Our partners are also supporting rescue operations and setting up camps to host men, women and children displaced by the floods”, said Mr. Dujarric.

“According to national authorities, the floods have impacted more than 190,000 people and displaced over 150,000 people across the country.  The floods did not spare the agricultural sector. Over 4,800 livestock were lost and over 27,000 acres of cropland damaged”, he continued.

Further rain is expected this week, which is likely to add to the destruction caused by flooding, landslides and infrastructure loss.

Kenya’s vital tourism industry has also been hit, with scores of safari-goers reportedly evacuated in the past day from the Massai Mara national reserve, after hotels and lodges were flooded.

Several major roads in the capital Nairobi were temporarily closed on Wednesday due to flooding, and on Monday dozens were killed in the Mai Mahiu area in western Kenya when a river overflowed into a tunnel. Around 80 were also reported missing.

Agencies mourn loss of nearly 50 migrants bound for Canary Islands

The UN migration agency (IOM) and refugee agency UNHCR on Wednesday mourned yet another major loss of life at sea, when at least 50 migrants trying to reach the Canary Islands from Senegal were reported dead or missing.

The vessel reportedly sank on Monday some 60 miles south of El Hierro. Nine people survived the tragedy and were rescued, according to reports.

“These people are seeking a better life, but their dreams are shattered because of greedy smugglers and flimsy boats,” said UN Spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric.

Migrant journeys

Recent data from the IOM revealed that drowning was a leading cause of migrant deaths in 2023, many of which occurred in the Sahara desert and on the sea route to the Canary Islands, where travellers hope for asylum and better opportunities to live and work, for themselves and their families, in Europe.

This journey, among others, is one way for migrants to escape life-threatening conflict and the impact of climate change, the IOM had reported.

In 2023, the journey across the Mediterranean Sea resulted in the deaths and disappearances of at least 3,129 migrants – the greatest death toll since 2017. Even further, about 1,866 unprecedented migrant deaths were recorded across Africa. 

Mr. Dujarric said that IOM and UNHCR are drawing attention to the fact that “safe and regular pathways must be accessible and inclusive to save the lives of the refugees and the migrants.”

Alarm grows over spread of disinformation in Myanmar’s Rakhine state

The UN team working on the ground in Myanmar has raised concern over the spread of misinformation, disinformation and hate speech, especially in northern Rakhine State – home to stateless mostly-Muslim Rohingya who have suffered years of persecution by Burmese authorities.  

The breakdown of a year-long informal ceasefire between the ruling military and the rebel Arakan Army last November has now plunged 15 out of Rakhine’s 17 townships into conflict.

“We fully support community leaders in Rakhine State, especially women, and youth, who are coming together and redoubling efforts to promote social cohesion amid increasing signs of tension and the risk of communal violence re-emerging in the current very volatile context”, said Mr. Dujarric, citing the UN team in Myanmar.

A child at an internally displaced persons (IDP) centre in Myanmar. (file)
© UNICEF/Patrick Brown

A child at an internally displaced persons (IDP) centre in Myanmar. (file)

He added that addressing the root causes of systemic discrimination and impunity in Rakhine State “is essential in establishing a sustainable pathway out of the current crisis facing Myanmar.”

Cycle of violence

The failure to do so will only fuel Myanmar’s vicious cycle of violence, the UN team added.

“And we have of course been consistent in condemning all forms of violence against civilians in Myanmar, and we reiterate our call for the protection of civilians, including aid workers, in accordance with international humanitarian law, for the cessation of hostilities, and humanitarian access”, Mr Dujarric concluded.

Last month, the UN human rights chief Volker Türk warned that Rakhine state “has once again become a battleground involving multiple actors, and civilians are paying a heavy price, with Rohingya at particular risk”.

He said it was “particularly disturbing” that whereas in 2017, the Rohingya were targeted by just the Burmese military and other security forces, “they are now trapped between two armed factions who have a track record of killing them. We must not allow the Rohingya to be targeted again.”

Gazans on tenterhooks awaiting news of ceasefire call

“One-third of all the families who live here have children under five, so many babies, so many kids,” said Matthew Hollingworth, UN World Food Programme (WFP) Palestine Country Director, speaking from a school in Deir Al Balah, run by the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA.

“What they need is school, though what they need is more clean water, what they need is more stability. They need a normal life,” the veteran aid official insisted, in a video post on X.

Echoing those concerns, UNRWA noted that there have been more than 360 attacks on its facilities since the beginning of the war. In additional to the tens of thousands of victims, vital infrastructure has been impacted, including the agency’s water well in Khan Younis city.

Getting the precious water source up and running again will require clearing tonnes of debris which the UN Mine Action Service (UNMAS) has found to contain “a lot of dangerous materials and shrapnel”, said communications officer Louise Wateridge. “Which means that instead of coming in with bulldozer and clearing it, it all needs to be removed piece by piece, safely.”

Finding refuge at school

The Al Qastal UNRWA school in the central Gaza Strip is now home to around 2,400 families who have been displaced by nearly seven months of war in Gaza. 

“People come from all over the Strip, from Gaza City itself, from Khan Younis next door. From all of the different neighbourhoods where people have been impacted because of the war,” Mr. Hollingworth explained, his comments coming amid unconfirmed reports that two children died in an overnight Israeli strike on a house in Rafah, with more killed when an apartment block was hit in Gaza City.

While deep concerns persist about a possible Israeli invasion of Rafah – which UN Secretary-General António Guterres warned on Tuesday “would be an unbearable escalation” – the WFP official noted that UN aid agencies along with international and local relief partners have worked together successfully to provide lifesaving assistance further north. 

In the case of Al Qastal school, recipients assistance includes food and special nutritional supplements for babies and infants to ensure healthy growth, Mr. Hollingworth explained.

Aid access frustration continues

UN aid coordination office OCHA reported that Israeli authorities blocked or excessively delayed the passage of three quarters of all UN-coordinated aid missions to areas requiring coordination across Gaza on Monday.

“One of those missions went to northern Gaza following full coordination with the Israeli authorities, but the team was forced to wait for a combined time of more than nine hours before departing, on the way north, and on the way back to Rafah.”

“Such delays put humanitarian missions in jeopardy and humanitarian workers in harm’s way, as fighting between Palestinian armed groups and Israeli forces often takes place near checkpoints.”

OCHA also reported that when upon returning, the same mission collected the body of a boy who had apparently been killed near the checkpoint.

West Bank demolition update

In a related development and a sign of the worsening tinderbox situation in the wider Middle East, the UN aid coordination office, OCHA, published new data from the occupied West Bank, showing that demolition of Palestinian property and displacement continue unabated.

Latest data from OCHA indicated that up to 22 April, more than 380 structures have been demolished in West Bank governorates, uprooting 650 people. 

If the destruction continues at this rate, by the end of the year, a record 1,500 properties face being razed, the highest number since OCHA began compiling data in 2009. 

Jerusalem governorate saw the highest level of damage, with 80 buildings demolished and 115 people displaced.

Toll keeps rising

Latest information from Gazan health authorities indicates that at least 34,568 Palestinians have been killed and 77,765 wounded in Israeli attacks on Gaza since 7 October. 

Some 1,250 people were killed in Hamas-led terror attacks on southern Israel that sparked the war, with more than 250 taken hostage. Dozens are still believed to be held captive in the enclave.

New York protest cleared

The development came as hundreds of police officers reportedly cleared a pro-Palestinian protest involving hundreds of people at Columbia University in New York late Tuesday.

At the authorities’ behest, police removed demonstrators who had barricaded themselves inside a building on campus, while there were reports of major clashes between rival demonstrators overnight on the campus of the University of California, Los Angeles.

Hours earlier, UN rights chief Volker Türk cautioned against any “heavy-handed steps” by some universities in the United States when dealing with Gaza war protests.

The Columbia university president had announced that dialogue with protesters had failed and the institution would not bow to demands to divest itself from Israel.

Gaza destruction impossible to even process, UN humanitarian says

That’s the message from Louise Wateridge, Communications Officer with the UN agency that assists Palestine refugees, UNRWA, who is stationed in the southern city of Rafah.

Ms. Wateridge had worked with UNRWA before and recently returned to the region and was shocked by what she saw on a visit to Gaza City, a place she knows well.

Unbelievable devastation 

“It didn’t feel real seeing out of every single window in the car, as far as you could see was just destruction,” she told UN News. 

Ms. Wateridge has been using her mobile phone to document the devastation in places such as Khan Younis, where she visited an abandoned UNRWA school-turned-shelter that once housed tens of thousands of displaced people who hastily fled the facility ahead of Israeli bombardment. 

“It was devastating to see unmarked graves, even in the corner of our facility in the Khan Younis Training Centre,” she said. “On the wall above one of the children’s graves there was a message saying ‘Marwa, your sister misses you and loves you.’” 

This interview has been edited for clarity and length. 

Louise Wateridge: Over the last couple of days I’ve been to Gaza City and Jabalia camp, and also in Khan Younis. I’ve worked in the region for the last four years, so it’s my first time being here since the war began and it’s just unbelievable to see Gaza City.  We went with the World Food Programme (WFP) on a joint mission to the Jabalia camp. The agencies are working very closely in the north to try to expand food distribution there. But the drive up was absolutely shocking for me. Just this city that I’ve known for years, and seeing everything around you just completely flattened. 

There were homes because you could see where they were still standing.  There were walls missing, and you could see into the living rooms, into the dining rooms.  It’s like there was life there. You can very clearly see life there – pictures on the wall, clothes kind of around the room – but there’s nobody in there. It was a very haunting, shocking experience. 

You referenced the video I took. I was sitting in the front of the car.  Everywhere I was looking there was destruction. Your mind can’t even process that it’s real to see that much devastation in front of you. 

But then as we went to Jabalia, the markets kind of pick up and you see more people around. The really good news from our trip is it appears that within the last few weeks, there’s been a lot more commercial food on the market, so there were a lot more people at the markets.  

My colleagues who have been here a lot longer than I have were explaining that two or three weeks ago, it was a very different place. People were very, very hungry; very scared. There was not a lot available in the market, whereas when we went this weekend, it was very positive to see that that had somewhat shifted. The agencies are going to continue to work together, UNRWA and WFP, to make sure that people in the north do have the food that they need after all of this time.  

UN News: Was UNRWA able to provide any assistance during this trip to Jabalia? 

Louise Wateridge: The trip was more of an assessment to review the facilities that UNRWA has. 165 facilities across the Gaza Strip have been attacked or damaged, so we really need some space and some warehouse and distribution areas that we can offload the food and then distribute to the community.  

So, this trip was an assessment of those facilities to see where we could restore, where we could start using again.  There was one warehouse that had bullet holes throughout the roof and some of them had walls missing, so they really are in a very bad way, and they’ve been very severely damaged.  

We also visited our colleagues. I was with the Director of UNRWA affairs in Gaza, Scott Anderson, and he was talking to and meeting with our colleagues in the north in Jabalia who have been running the health services throughout the whole duration of the war.  

We have a group of incredible colleagues who have still been going to work every day. They themselves are displaced. I spoke to some of the women in the group and it’s devastating. They’ve all lost something. Many of them have lost more than you can imagine. And they talk about how they have homes now without walls that they’re still living in.  

They really have gone a very long time without food. They discuss the struggles they’ve had with going to work and serving the community, and then going home to their children in the evening, trying to put food on the table while they’re still at work all the time.  

UN News: Do they feel a little safer now?  

Louise Wateridge: I don’t think anyone feels safe. No, not at all. There was a feeling of slight relief that there was more food available. Even just seeing UNRWA and WFP working together in the north, they were very hopeful for this opportunity that these two organizations will expand the food distribution in the area. But they’re tired. They’re very tired. They’re very scared.  

They’ve been through more than we could imagine the last six-and-a-half months. And they are very scared of what tomorrow brings. They are very scared if more military action will happen. They’re scared if they’ll be displaced again. They’re scared of the nights. 

 I don’t think anyone feels safe. 

They explained that they get home with their children and how their children feel at home; the way they sleep together and huddle together in fear. There’s just no safety here. No one feels safe.  

UN News: Tell us about your trip to Khan Younis. 

Louise Wateridge: We went to Khan Younis on a joint mission with the UN Mine Action Service (UNMAS) to sweep the area and assess the area for any potential shrapnel, any potential unexploded ordnance in the UNRWA facilities there. It was devastating to see the facilities that we visited – a training centre, health clinic and two schools. I know all of these facilities from before the war, so it was completely devastating to see the condition that they were in now. And the thing that really shocked me the most was it was very evident how quickly people had fled these facilities. We’re talking about four huge UNRWA compounds. 

There were tens of thousands of people sheltering in these UNRWA facilities, and almost overnight they had to evacuate. There was an Israeli forces’ warning to evacuate Khan Younis and evacuate these UNRWA facilities.  

Walking around, there were shoes, children’s shoes – one here, one there; toothbrushes, hairbrushes, clothes, socks. You could see kind of half-eaten food. 

And it just seemed that everything had been abandoned very, very quickly. Nobody had the luxury to pack up even what they had there, and it’s not like they had an abundance of things with them at this point. And yet, there was still so much left behind.  

Some of our colleagues in the training centre were sharing their experiences of this situation, saying how terrified they were then, how terrifying it was for everyone sheltering there. They really had to evacuate within a matter of hours.  

It was devastating to see unmarked graves, even in the corner of our facility in the Khan Younis Training Centre. There were some graves for children.  On the wall above one of the children’s graves there was a message saying “Marwa, your sister misses you and loves you.” 

You cannot believe it’s a UN facility. You cannot believe that this is a place that people thought they were safe. Walls of the perimeter were completely knocked down.  

Bullet holes throughout every room, almost every classroom. There was clear damage to the roof that had come through. So, the whole experience in Khan Younis was devastating, really beyond devastating. 

UN News: I would like to ask you about our colleague Abdullah, the photojournalist who survived the bombardment in the north but had to have his legs amputated. Could you tell us more about his condition? 

Louise Wateridge: We had some really good news this week that our colleague Abdullah was medically evacuated out of Gaza and is now in Doha, so we’re absolutely thrilled. Everyone at UNRWA is so relieved that he and his family are no longer in Gaza. I saw Abdullah on Tuesday, alongside some colleagues who had been visiting him regularly at a field hospital in Rafah. 

 I think for everyone, it’s like their life ended and then something else has begun. 

He needed further surgery that wasn’t possible in Gaza City due to the facility he was in and the medical supplies that were available, so we’re very relieved that he will now be able to receive this treatment. It’s been a horrific journey for Abdullah.  

He was taken to Al-Shifa hospital where he initially received treatment. This hospital was then under siege by Israeli forces for two weeks, and Abdullah was inside for the whole duration. We cannot imagine what Abdullah has been through, and we’re all just very relieved and very thankful that he is now getting the treatment that he needs.  

 

Louise Wateridge of UNRWA in Rafah, southern Gaza.
UNRWA/Louise Wateridge

Louise Wateridge of UNRWA in Rafah, southern Gaza.

UN News: Finally, in the beginning of the interview, you said that this is not your first time in Gaza. What comes to mind when you see all of this devastation and reflect on your previous experiences? And what’s your message?  

Louise Wateridge: Gaza to me has always been a wonderful place to work. The colleagues here are some of the best I’ve ever worked with, not just with UNRWA but anywhere in the world.  

I feel so privileged to have these colleagues and friends in my life and it’s just appalling to see the lives that they are now living.  I think for everyone, it’s like their life ended and then something else has begun.  

My colleague Hussein was showing me pictures and videos of his new apartment that he was moving into at the beginning of October. He showed me a video of the building today and it’s completely destroyed.  

Everyone has the same story where they’re now sleeping under plastic sheeting; they’re crammed into rooms with all of their family and neighbours. Nobody knows what’s coming next. Everybody is visibly tired.  

I know so many familiar faces here but they all look so different after the last six and a half months. You can just see the suffering a lot of people have been through. 

They’ve lost a lot of weight, collectively. Everybody has changed so significantly in what is quite a short amount of time. But they’re all wearing this war.  

And I think the biggest problem is they just don’t know what tomorrow brings. There’s a lot of fear for their children. Every day, people wonder if a ceasefire is coming. And that’s what everyone’s hanging on to.  

World News in Brief: DR Congo conflict could spell catastrophe, plastics treaty progress, enforced disappearances rise ahead of Venezuela poll

The Inter-Agency Standing Committee (IASC) called for greater international support for the Congolese people to avoid a potential catastrophe for the country and the region.

Current conflicts have escalated levels of gender-based violence, displacement and hunger in the restive eastern region where multiple armed groups are battling the national army and each other for control.

Over the past few months over 700,000 people have been forced from their homes, bringing the total forcibly displaced to 7.2 million – an all-time high.

The IASC said it was important that the Congolese receive swift and sufficient aid, however, the existing Humanitarian Response Plan is severely underfunded with only 16 per cent of the needed $2.6 billion received. 

Civilian lives at risk

With insufficient funds, humanitarian organizations are not capable of fully assisting civilians, leaving mostly women and girls in a vulnerable state as some have been exposed to high levels of sexual violence.

Children are also at risk of being abducted, killed, maimed or recruited into armed groups.

Over a quarter of the DRC’s population – more than 25 million people – are facing emergency levels of food insecurity, and with a deteriorating health sector, diseases like cholera and measles have been quickly spreading. 

The IASC statement said the root causes of the DRC crisis need to be addressed before it can end. These include “conflict, the exploitation of natural resources, illicit financial flows, prevailing gender inequality and development deficits.”

Ottawa negotiations bring global plastics treaty one step closer

The UN Environment Programme (UNEP) has reported significant progress in talks this week in Ottawa to draw up the world’s first treaty curbing plastic pollution next year.

Since its introduction in the 1950s, a staggering 9.2 billion tonnes of plastic have been produced, with seven billion tonnes of those ending up as waste.

Today around 430 million tonnes of waste plastics are generated each year with that figure projected to triple by 2060. 

The meeting which ended on Monday brought more than 2,500 delegates from 170 Member States to Canada’s capital to discuss new global rules on how plastics are produced, used, disposed of and recycled. 

Progress achieved 

Discussing the draft, delegates focused on emissions, production, waste management, and financing. A legal drafting group will be established during the next round of talks to be held in the South Korean city of Busan. 

“We leave Ottawa having achieved both goals and a clear path to landing an ambitious deal in Busan ahead of us,” said Inger Andersen, Executive Director of the UN Environment Programme (UNEP).

After the elements of the draft text are reviewed in November, the ambitious objective set before the negotiators is to have an historic treaty ready for signing in mid-2025. 

“It has been an ambitious timeline of just 18 months and four sessions to get us to this point, and we are now firmly on the road to Busan. Compromise and commitment remain strong at this advanced stage of the negotiations,” said Jyoti Mathur-Filipp, Executive Secretary of the negotiating committeesecretariat (INC).

She underscored that the process was crucial for “saving future generations from the global scourge of plastic pollution”.

Alarming rise in enforced disappearances ahead of Venezuela poll

There has been an alarming increase since December in enforced disappearances of Venezuelan citizens exercising their rights to freedom of expression and association, said the UN’s independent human rights working group on this issue, on Tuesday.

Most of the disappeared are members of the main opposition party together with serving military personnel. 

“As the country gears up for the presidential election in July 2024, enforced disappearances could have a chilling effect and hinder the people’s right to vote freely,” the Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances said.

“These prolonged incommunicado detentions amount to enforced disappearances”, the five Human Rights Council-appointed experts emphasized. 

Sinister pattern

“They appear to follow a pattern whereby individuals are deprived of their liberty by State authorities, taken to recognised detention facilities and denied fundamental rights and protections such as contact with the outside world and access to legal assistance,” they added.

They said it was crucial that accurate information on those who have disappeared “be guaranteed without delay to those with a legitimate interest, such as their relatives and legal representation of their choice”.

The crime of enforced disappearance entails the violation of multiple human rights, they said. These include the right to recognition as a person before the law, the right to liberty and security, and the right to be free from torture. 

“The fundamental rights of the relatives of the disappeared person are also being violated,” they said. 

The experts urged the Government of Venezuela to prevent, eradicate, and condemn all enforced disappearances, provide full information on anyone being held or taken.

Special Rapporteurs, working group members and other UN-appointed rights experts are independent of any government, are not UN staffers and receive no salary for their work.

Gaza war spillover compounds misery for most vulnerable in Lebanon

In a call for an immediate end to the war in Gaza which sparked intensifying exchanges of fire between armed militants Hezbollah and the Israeli military, the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) warned that airstrikes are hitting “deeper and deeper” into Lebanon, with 344 people killed to date, including eight youngsters.

“Together with those killed and the scores who have been injured, 30,000 children have now been displaced” out of some 90,000 since Hezbollah fighters stepped up strikes targeting northern Israel following Hamas-led terror attacks on southern Israel on 7 October and Israel’s subsequent intense bombardment of the Gaza Strip, said UNICEF spokesperson James Elder. 

“Even with our greatest efforts, a permanent ceasefire is essential,” Mr. Elder insisted. “Without that ceasefire, Lebanon is at risk of a full-scale war, which will be utterly devastating for the country’s 1.3 million children as well as well, of course, for the region’s children.”

Inside Lebanon, the UN official reported that key water station infrastructure has been destroyed, leaving “around 100,000 people now denied access to clean drinking water”. Around 23 health facilities serving 4,000 people are also closed as a result of the violence.

Entire families sent out to beg

In a sign of the deteriorating humanitarian situation in Lebanon linked to the crisis, the UN agency warned that new food insecurity data indicated that rates of wasting were found to be unexpectedly high among children living in informal tented settlements for the displaced.

“We had indications that the crisis was getting worse in terms of nutrition because we have seen a three-fold increase to children being referred to our malnutrition programmes over the past 12 months,” said Ettie Higgins, UNICEF Lebanon deputy head of office. “And these are now programmes that in some cases were suspended in parts of the country because of the lack of humanitarian funding.” 

As a result, communities are now “sending the entire family out for begging; they’re forcing children as young as four to work in agriculture…I spoke to a doctor recently who said that he had seven-year-olds coming to him with back problems because of the heavy loads of trash that they’re carrying on a daily basis.”

The UNICEF officer noted that children could expect to earn “maybe $2 per day, just to be able to eat and put a meal on the table. So, these stories unfortunately are getting more and more frequent and more and more severe and tragic.”

Displaced have lost everything – again

Even before the latest hostilities, Lebanon faced a deep economic crisis – made worse by the COVID-19 emergency and chronic political instability – which has left around half the Lebanese population living below the poverty line. 

Even more vulnerable are the one million-strong Syrian refugee population, nine in 10 of whom live in “extreme poverty”, according to the UNICEF report on the crisis, Caught in the Crossfire: The impact of six months of conflict on children in Lebanon.

The majority of those now displaced in the south of the country are Lebanese, and many who work in farming and olive growing have lost their livelihoods for a second time, explained Ms. Higgins.

“We’ve been supporting families…to get back on their feet since the economic crisis began three or four years ago, since 2019, and they have again lost everything,” she told journalists in Geneva via videolink from Beirut. 

“Many who have been working in agriculture, such as in olive farms, have also been destroyed, and even if they were able to go back, even tomorrow, the type of suffering that they’re subject to is going to be long-term because of the huge amount of unexploded ordnance that is now in many of these agricultural areas, meaning that it would be very, very difficult for them to re-establish themselves.”  

Funding collapse

Amid growing needs and a spike in tensions between Lebanese and Syrian refugee communities, which could be defused with prompt humanitarian action, the UNICEF officer warned that a number of donor countries had “significantly reduced” critical funding.

“We are facing a massive collapse in humanitarian funding over the past three months, four months in Lebanon,” Ms. Higgins said. “This has forced us to cut back virtually all of our services, including the provision of safe drinking water and simple things like getting rid of sewage from communities that are already overburdened.”

Syria influx

Following the outbreak of the Syria crisis in 2011, many Lebanese villages that are now reeling from the hostilities welcomed more than a million refugees “into their schools, their clinics, their, their communities”, the UNICEF officer continued. 

Today, “we are seeing tensions really spike and having an impact on children on a daily basis,” she continued, noting the high level of trauma displayed by Palestinian refugees now living in “terrible conditions in the camps here” while also suffering the “secondary trauma” of seeing what is happening to fellow Palestinians in Gaza.

 

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World News in Brief: Violence blocking Darfur aid, new Iraq law, Chad elections appeal

In the past month, WFP supported more than 300,000 people there with food, including 40,000 in El Fasher, the capital of North Darfur state.

“We must be able to reach those who need us most in Sudan,” Executive Director Cindy McCain wrote in a post on social media. 

Separately, UN Humanitarian Affairs Coordinator Martin Griffiths warned that an escalation of hostilities there would be “catastrophic”. 

Civilians in El Fasher are already struggling to survive hunger and deprivation, and they must be spared from violence, he wrote on social media. 

El Fasher has more than 330,000 people facing acute food insecurity, and nearly half of its residents are internally displaced. 

Over the weekend, the UN Security Council appealed for the warring parties in Sudan to immediately halt the military build-up and take steps to de-escalate the situation in El Fasher. 

The call came amid reports of an imminent offensive by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and their allied militia, which could threaten the lives of hundreds of thousands of displaced persons currently sheltering in the city. 

Iraq urged to shelve new law criminalising same-sex relations 

The UN human rights office, OHCHR, has urged Iraq to discard a new law that criminalises consensual same-sex relations and other forms of private consensual behaviour with heavy jail sentences. 

“The law runs contrary to several human rights treaties and conventions ratified by Iraq, including the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, and should be shelved,” spokesperson Ravina Shamdasani said on Monday. 

She added that “everyone, without distinction, is entitled to enjoy all human rights, including the right to privacy, the right to be treated as equal before the law and the right to protection from discrimination on various grounds that include sexual orientation and gender identity.” 

Under the new law, those found guilty of “establishing a homosexual relationship” will face 10 to 15 years in jail, while anyone who “promotes homosexuality” will be imprisoned for at least seven years and fined at least 10 million Iraqi dinars (approximately $7,600). 

Additionally, anyone accessing or performing gender-affirming medical treatments will face up to three years behind bars, and people who dress in clothing associated with the opposite gender will receive jail terms of up to three years or a fine of at least 5 million Iraqi dinars.

Chad: Guterres appeals for restraint ahead of presidential election 

UN Secretary-General António Guterres has urged stakeholders in Chad to ensure a peaceful, inclusive, transparent and credible vote as the country prepares for the first round of presidential elections next week. 

“The Secretary-General encourages all political leaders to refrain from any acts or discourse that could undermine a peaceful process, to overcome any disagreements through dialogue and to address complaints that may arise through established legal channels,” his spokesperson said on Monday. 

Chadians go to the polls on 6 May. The elections are part of the transition back to democracy after three years of military rule following the death of President Idris Deby in April 2021. 

The longtime leader died fighting rebels in the north and his son, Mahamat Idriss Deby, was installed as head of the Transitional Military Council. 

The younger Mr. Deby promised a return to civilian rule and elections within 18 months, but extended the transition by two years. 

The Secretary-General reiterated UN commitment to continue to support efforts towards building a peaceful and prosperous future in Chad. 

 

UN expresses solidarity with Kenya following deadly floods

Mr. Guterres was saddened by the loss of life and damage caused by flash flooding in the capital, Nairobi, and other parts of the country, his spokesperson said on Monday.

The Secretary-General extended his condolences and solidarity to the families of the victims and to the people and Government of Kenya.

On Monday, rescue teams were searching for survivors after a dam burst in Mai Mahiu in western Kenya, killing at least 35 people, according to international media reports.

The heavy rains began in March, killing more than 100 people across the country since then. This season’s flash flooding follows similarly heavy rains that began late last year, affecting almost 600,000 people.   

Solidarity and support

The UN Resident Representative in Kenya, Dr. Stephen Jackson also expressed solidarity with the people and Government during an event to distribute emergency aid to flood survivors, which was led by Vice President Rigathi Gachagua.

More than 300 households received aid, provided through the UN refugee agency, UNHCR, that included food, mattresses, blankets, water tanks, mosquito nets and equipment to help them rebuild.

“Together, we are taking steps to meet urgent needs. What worries me is how Kenya is currently facing a climate emergency that it did not cause; drought and floods,” said Dr. Jackson.

The UN team on the ground has been working closely with national and international partners since the start of the flooding to help support nearly 25,000 people with food and non-food items directly.   

Meanwhile, UNHCR in Kenya said the heavy rains are causing serious flooding and displacement at the Dadaab refugee camps, located in the north.

“Many refugees have been forced from their homes, seeking shelter in schools and on higher ground,” said UNHCR Representative to Kenya Caroline Van Buren, writing on the social media platform X, formerly Twitter.

The agency is coordinating with local government authorities, including to move people to safety.

Sudan: Civilians trapped in El Fasher as UN warns of imminent attack

In a note to correspondents issued on Friday, the UN said there were “increasingly alarming reports of a dramatic escalation of tensions”.

“The Rapid Support Forces (RSF) are reportedly encircling El Fasher, suggesting a coordinated move to attack the city may be imminent. Simultaneously, the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) appear to be positioning themselves,” the statement added.

An attack on the city would have devastating consequences for civilians, the statement from the UN Spokesperson’s Office continued.

“This escalation of tensions is in an area already on the brink of famine. The Secretary-General reiterates his call on all parties to refrain from fighting in the El Fasher area.”

Overall, around 25 million people, or half Sudan’s population, require humanitarian aid, with over eight million forced to flee their homes. More than 14,000 people have been killed and tens of thousands wounded.

Around 1.8 million have fled across the country’s borders trying the escape the brutal fighting.

Dozens already killed

In a further alert on Friday over Darfur, UN rights chief Volker Türk cited reports that the rival militaries have launched indiscriminate attacks using “mortar shells and rockets fired from fighter jets in residential districts”.

Since the RSF began their push into the state capital, El Fasher, at least 43 people have been reportedly killed, including women and children.

“Civilians are trapped in the city, the only one in Darfur still in the hands of the Sudanese Armed Forces,” and they are afraid of being killed if they attempt to flee, the High Commissioner said.

Mr. Türk noted that the dire situation had been made worse by a severe shortage of essential supplies as delivery trucks “are unable to freely transit through Rapid Support Forces-controlled territory”.

He said the RSF had burned down villages in western El Fasher, including Durma, Umoshosh, Sarafaya and Ozbani, raising the possibility of “further ethnically motivated violence in Darfur, including mass killings”.

Last year, fighting and attacks between the ethnic Arab Rizeigat tribe and the ethnic African Masalit people in West Darfur left hundreds of civilians dead or injured and thousands displaced, the High Commissioner noted, as he called for an end to the more than year-long conflict.

‘Wholly man-made crisis’

The UN’s head of Political and Peacebuilding Affairs, Rosemary DiCarlo, told the Security Council last week that the situation across Sudan is “a crisis of epic proportions; it is wholly man-made”.

The director of operations at the UN humanitarian affairs office, OCHA, Edem Wosornu, warned the same meeting that the siege by the RSF of El Fasher posed an extreme and immediate danger to civilians there and in other parts of Darfur, where more than nine million are in dire need of assistance.

World News in Brief: Support for Haiti mission, challenge of ‘commodity dependence’, Iran's 'strict' hijab law

Kenya has offered to lead the multinational mission that aims to provide much needed back up to the national police in a bid to regain control of the streets from gang rule, which has plunged the country into chaos in recent months. 

Kenya was joined by the Bahamas, Bangladesh, Barbados, Benin, Chad and Jamaica in pledging support. The UN Spokesperson’s Office said “other countries have expressed interest, including publicly, but have not notified the Secretary-General yet.” 

Currently, $18 million has been deposited in the support mission’s Trust Fund, provided by Canada ($8.7 million), France ($3.2 million) and the United States ($6 million). 

Meanwhile, armed violence continues across the country, with Port-au-Prince and the Ouest department the worst hit. 

The situation also remains volatile at the national port, said UN Spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric. 

“The Varreux fuel terminal is now closed after several attacks by gangs. However, on a more positive note, our humanitarian colleagues tell us that in the past three weeks, more than 100 humanitarian containers were retrieved at the Caribbean Port Service.” 

Meanwhile, the humanitarian response continues, and the World Food Programme (WFP) has provided daily food assistance to displaced people in Port-au-Prince, and in other departments.  

UN health agency WHO and the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) have set up mobile clinics at displacement sites to provide medical consultations. Migration agency IOM is also providing basic medical and psychosocial services to people displaced. 

General Assembly President raises alert over ‘commodity dependence’ 

The President of the General Assembly on Friday called for Member States and stakeholders to address commodity dependence in countries and its effect on the global economy during an informal dialogue on the issue. 

According to Dennis Francis, commodity dependence is “a scenario where 60 per cent or more of a country’s export revenue depends on basic goods”, disproportionately affecting mainly developing countries. 

While commodity markets are important to the global economy, excessive commodity dependence leaves countries and their citizens vulnerable to economic instability, he said.  

Mr. Francis called for the issue to be addressed urgently amid ongoing global discussions over debt sustainability and reform of the international financial architecture. 

“I believe that breaking free from commodity dependence, while challenging, is achievable,” Mr. Francis said.  

Dependent nations 

Based on UN trade and development body UNCTAD’s State of Commodity Dependence report, 85 per cent of the world’s least-developed countries are commodity dependent along with many landlocked developing nations and small island developing States, leaving their economies “vulnerable and highly susceptible to external shocks”. 

The Assembly President said the two-decade long increase in countries impacted should “sound the alarm bell” for Member States as addressing the issue is necessary for achieving the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals. 

Iran police enforces ‘strict’ hijab rules, OHCHR says

Police in Iran are enforcing a violent crackdown against women and girls under the country’s hijab laws, resulting in the arrest and harassment of girls between ages 15 and 17, said Jeremy Laurence, spokesperson for the UN human rights office, OHCHR, on Friday. 

The Tehran head of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) announced on 21 April a new body that would allow them to enforce existing mandatory hijab laws; members of the IRGC are reportedly allowed to implement these laws “in a more serious manner” when in public.

OHCHR is concerned about the Supporting the Family by Promoting the Culture of Chastity and Hijab draft bill, which, in its earlier form, states that violators of the mandated dress code could face flogging, fines or up to 10 years in prison.

Mr. Laurence reiterated that corporal punishment is arbitrary under international law.

As the draft bill is nearing final approval by the Guardian Council, OHCHR is calling for its shelving.

The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk, is calling on the Iranian government to remove “all forms of gender-based discrimination and violence, including through the revision and the repeal of harmful laws, policies and practices, in line with international human rights norms and standards”.

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