United Nations
Gwyn Lewis of Ireland appointed UNRC in Bangladesh
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has appointed Gwyn Lewis of Ireland as the United Nations Resident Coordinator in Bangladesh, with the host government’s approval.
With more than 20 years of experience in international development, peacebuilding, and humanitarian affairs, Lewis previously served as Director of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) Affairs in the West Bank, and Deputy Director of Programmes for UNRWA Affairs in Lebanon.
Also read:USAID launches $20mn project to protect critical forests, wetland areas in Bangladesh
Lewis, who is fluent in English and French, also managed the Global Clusters Coordination section in the Emergency Division of the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) in Geneva, according to the UN.
She joined the agency from the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), where she focused on humanitarian policy and supporting FAO country offices.
Lewis also served in the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs in Geneva, building partnerships between the United Nations and non-governmental organizations, and supporting the rollout of the humanitarian reform agenda.
Also read: Bangladesh tops list of new countries to invest in: US delegation
She has also worked for both the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, the United Nations Mission in Kosovo and various non-governmental organizations in Tajikistan, Afghanistan and Albania.
The holder of a master’s degree in international relations and European studies from the University of Kent, Canterbury, in the United Kingdom, Lewis also has a bachelor’s degree in economics from San Francisco State University in the United States.
There're no real democratic societies without press freedom: Guterres
On World Press Freedom Day, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has said they honour the essential work of the media in speaking truth to power, exposing lies, and building strong, resilient institutions and societies.
"We call on governments, media organizations and technology companies everywhere to support these crucial efforts," he said in a message marking the day on Tuesday.
The United Nations is working to support journalists and media workers everywhere.
Read: Press Council sets roadmap for creating journalists' database: Info Minister
"Ten years ago, we established a Plan of Action on the Safety of Journalists, to protect media workers and end impunity for crimes committed against them," said the UN chief.
Without freedom of the press, he said, there are no real democratic societies and without freedom of the press, there is no freedom.
On World Press Freedom Day, Guterres said they shine a spotlight on the essential work of journalists and other media workers who seek transparency and accountability from those in power, often at great personal risk.
Throughout the Covid-19 pandemic, many media workers have been on the frontlines, providing accurate, science-based reporting to inform decision-makers and save lives.
"At the same time, journalists who cover climate, biodiversity and pollution have succeeded in bringing global attention to this triple planetary crisis," said the UN chief.
But the threats to the freedom of journalists and media workers are growing by the day, he said.
From global health to the climate crisis, corruption and human rights abuses, they face increased politicization of their work and attempts to silence them from many sides, Guterres said.
"Digital technology has democratized access to information. But it has also created serious challenges."
Read:UN chief says global warming goal on 'life support'
The business models of many social media platforms are based not on increasing access to accurate reporting, but on increasing engagement – which often means provoking outrage and spreading lies, Guterres said.
Media workers in war zones are threatened not only by bombs and bullets, but by the weapons of falsification and disinformation that accompany modern warfare.
"They may be attacked as the enemy, accused of espionage, detained, or killed, simply for doing their jobs," said the UN chief.
Digital technology also makes censorship even easier, he said.
Many journalists and editors around the world are at constant risk of their programmes and reports being taken offline.
"And digital technology creates new channels for oppression and abuse. Women journalists are at particular risk of online harassment and violence," Guterres said.
UNESCO found that nearly three in four women respondents had experienced online violence. Hacking and illegal surveillance also prevent journalists from doing their jobs.
The methods and tools change, but the goal of discrediting the media and covering up the truth remains the same as ever, said the UN chief.
"The results are also the same: people and societies that are unable to distinguish fact from fiction, and can be manipulated in horrifying ways," he said.
Dhaka calls for increased funding to support peacebuilding in conflict-torn countries
Bangladesh has called for increased funding to support peacebuilding and ensure inclusive community engagement in conflict-affected countries, a key to lasting peace.
Ambassador-at-large Mohammad Ziauddin made the call while speaking at the round-table discussion titled ‘Flexibility of funding for peacebuilding, including in transition settings’ on Monday.
Bangladesh, Ireland and the UN organized the session held at the ECOSOC Chamber, UN Headquarters in connection with the high-level meeting of the General Assembly on Financing for Peacebuilding, according to a message received here from Bangladesh Mission on Tuesday.
Also read:Cox's Bazar: Danish Crown Princess Mary to meet Rohingyas, host community Tuesday
Weary of many disasters? UN says worse to come
A disaster-weary globe will be hit harder in the coming years by even more catastrophes colliding in an interconnected world, a United Nations report issued Monday says.
If current trends continue the world will go from around 400 disasters per year in 2015 to an onslaught of about 560 catastrophes a year by 2030, the scientific report by the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction said. By comparison from 1970 to 2000, the world suffered just 90 to 100 medium to large scale disasters a year, the report said.
The number of extreme heat waves in 2030 will be three times what it was in 2001 and there will be 30% more droughts, the report predicted. It’s not just natural disasters amplified by climate change, it’s COVID-19, economic meltdowns and food shortages. Climate change has a huge footprint in the number of disasters, report authors said.
Also read: Despite emissions growth slowing, window for climate action 'closing fast': UN body
People have not grasped how much disasters already cost today, said Mami Mizutori, chief of the UN Office of Disaster Risk Reduction, “If we don't get ahead of the curve it will reach a point where we cannot manage the consequences of disaster,” she said. “We're just in this vicious cycle.”
That means society needs to rethink how it finances, handles and talks about the risk of disasters and what it values the most, the report said. About 90% of the spending on disasters currently is emergency relief with only 6% on reconstruction and 4% on prevention, Mizutori said in an interview Monday.
Not every hurricane or earthquake has to turn into a disaster, Mizutori said. A lot of damage is avoided with planning and prevention.
In 1990, disasters cost the world about $70 billion a year. Now they cost more than $170 billion a year, and that’s after adjusting for inflation, according to report authors. Nor does that include indirect costs we seldom think about that add up, Mizutori said.
For years disaster deaths were steadily decreasing because of better warnings and prevention, Mizutori said. But in the last five years, disaster deaths are “way more” than the previous five years, said report co-author Roger Pulwarty, a U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration climate and social scientist.
Also read: Twitter bans ads that contradict science on climate change
That's because both COVID-19 and climate change disasters have come to places that didn't used to get them, like tropical cyclones hitting Mozambique, Mizutori said. It's also the way disasters interact with each other, compounding damage, like wildfires plus heatwaves or a war in Ukraine plus food and fuel shortages, Pulwarty said.
Pulwarty said if society changes the way it thinks about risk and prepares for disasters, then the recent increase in yearly disaster deaths could be temporary, otherwise it’s probably “the new abnormal."
Disasters are hitting poorer countries harder than richer ones, with recovery costs taking a bigger chunk out of the economy in nations that can’t afford it, co-author Markus Enenkel of the Harvard Humanitarian Initiative said.
“These are the events that can wipe out hard-earned development gains, leading already vulnerable communities or entire regions into a downward spiral,” he said.
The sheer onslaught of disasters just add up, like little illnesses attacking and weakening the body's immune system, Pulwarty said.
The report calls for an overhaul in how we speak about risk. For example, instead of asking about the chances of a disaster happening this year, say 5%, officials should think about the chances over a 25-year period, which makes it quite likely. Talking about 100-year floods or chances of something happening a couple times in 100 years makes it seem distant, Mizutori said.
“In a world of distrust and misinformation, this is a key to moving forward,” said University of South Carolina Hazards Vulnerability and Resilience Institute Co-Director Susan Cutter, who wasn’t part of the report. “We can move forward to reduce the underlying drivers of risk: Inequality, poverty and most significantly climate change.”
UN chief wants Ukraine humanitarian cease-fire
The United Nations chief has launched an initiative to immediately explore possible arrangements for “a humanitarian cease-fire in Ukraine” in order to allow the delivery of desperately needed aid and pave the way for serious political negotiations to end the month-long war.
Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said Monday he asked Undersecretary-General Martin Griffiths, the head of the U.N.’s worldwide humanitarian operations, to explore the possibility of a cease-fire with Russia and Ukraine. He said Griffiths has already made some contacts.
Also read: Ukraine refugees near 4 million. Will exodus slowdown last?
The 193-member U.N. General Assembly, by an overwhelming majority of about 140 nations, has called for an immediate cessation of hostilities in Ukraine twice -- on March 2 and on March 24 -- and Guterres told reporters he thinks “this is the moment” for the United Nations “to assume the initiative.”
Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24, the secretary-general said there has been a “senseless loss of thousands of lives,” displacement of 10 million people, systematic destruction of homes, schools, hospitals and other essential infrastructure, “and skyrocketing food and energy prices worldwide.”
Also read: Ukraine pleads for help, says Russia wants to split nation
Discussion in UN: Recognition of 1971 genocide sought
The facts of 1971 Genocide are well documented, yet it has not been recognized in the UN discourses, says Bangladesh.
"We believe UN's mandate to advance prevention will be incomplete if the past tragedies, such as ours, remain un-recognized," said Ambassador Rabab Fatima, Permanent Representative of Bangladesh to the United Nations.
She made the remarks at a virtual seminar on “Genocide prevention: recognition of past tragedies and restoring dignity of victims” organized by the Permanent Mission of Bangladesh to the UN in New York as part of the observance of the National Genocide Day 2022.
Also read: Genocide Day: Bangladesh observes symbolic one-minute blackout
UN to vote on blaming Russia for Ukraine humanitarian crisis
The U.N. General Assembly votes Thursday on a resolution backed by over 90 countries that blames Russia for the escalating humanitarian crisis in Ukraine and demands an immediate halt to hostilities, especially attacks on civilians and their homes, schools and hospitals.
Russia has denounced the resolution as “anti-Russian” and accuses its supporters of not really being concerned about the humanitarian situation on the ground, saying they want to politicize aid.
The vote follows the Security Council’s overwhelming defeat on Wednesday of a Russian resolution that would have acknowledged Ukraine’s growing humanitarian needs -- but without mentioning Russia's invasion that has left millions of Ukrainians in desperate need of food, water and shelter.
The council acted few hours after the General Assembly started considering a separate resolution titled “Humanitarian consequences of the aggression against Ukraine,” which was drafted by Ukraine and two dozen other countries from all parts of the world. There were over 70 scheduled speakers and only 62 were able to deliver their remarks, so the final speeches and vote were postponed until Thursday.
The assembly will also consider a rival South African resolution, which doesn't mention Russia and is similar to the Russian resolution rejected by the Security Council.
The vote on the Russian resolution reflected Moscow’s failure to get widespread backing for its military offensive in Ukraine, which marks its one-month anniversary Thursday.
Read:Russia-Ukraine war: Russian journalist killed in Kyiv shelling
To be adopted, Russia needed a minimum of nine “yes” votes in the 15-member Security Council and no veto by one of the four other permanent members — the U.S., Britain, France and China. But Russia got support only from its ally China, with the 13 other council members abstaining.
Britain’s U.N. ambassador, Barbara Woodward, called Russia's draft “a cynical effort to exploit the crisis which they have caused” and told reporters that “Russia has consistently misplayed its hand here, and seriously underestimated the consequences of what it’s done and the international perception of what it’s done.”
Before and after the vote, Russian Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia and U.S. Ambassador Linda Thomas Greenfield argued about Russia’s offensive and its decision to even draft a humanitarian resolution.
Nebenzia told the council that Russia's resolution, like other humanitarian resolution, “is not politicized.”
Thomas-Greenfield countered that Russia was “attempting to use this council to provide cover for its brutal actions.”
“Russia does not care about the deteriorating humanitarian conditions," she said. “If they cared, they would stop fighting. Russia is the aggressor, the attacker, the invader, the sole party in Ukraine engaged in a campaign of brutality against the people of Ukraine, and they want us to pass a resolution that does not acknowledge their culpability.”
China's vote Wednesday marked the first time it supported a Russian draft on Ukraine since the Feb. 24 invasion. It abstained on a March 2 General Assembly resolution demanding an immediate cessation of hostilities and withdrawal of all Russian forces from its smaller neighbor.
Chinese Ambassador Zhang Jun said China’s support for the resolution was to stress its call for the international community “to place high importance to the humanitarian situation in Ukraine” and for the parties to protect the safety of civilians.
Russia introduced its resolution on March 15. A day earlier, France and Mexico decided to move their proposed humanitarian resolution blaming the Russian invasion for the humanitarian crisis out of the Security Council, where it faced a Russian veto, to the 193-member General Assembly where there are no vetoes.
Unlike Security Council resolutions, General Assembly resolutions are not legally binding, but they do have clout in reflecting international opinion.
Read:7,000 to 15,000 Russian troops dead in Ukraine: NATO
Throughout Wednesday, the assembly heard speeches starting with Ukrainian Ambassador Sergiy Kyslytsy, who urged all nations to vote for the resolution on the humanitarian consequences of Russia's military assault. He said this would send a powerful message aimed at helping people caught in the conflict and ending Moscow’s military action.
Nebenzia told the assembly that by considering the Ukraine-backed resolution, it was engaging in “another political anti-Russian show, set this time in an allegedly humanitarian context.”
He warned that adoption of that draft “will make a resolution to the situation in Ukraine more difficult” because it will likely embolden Ukrainian negotiators to maintain their “current unrealistic position” and not tackle the root causes of Russia’s military action.
Thomas-Greenfield sharply criticized Russia in her assembly speech, saying, “In one month, Russia caused the fastest-growing humanitarian catastrophes in the world.”
According to the U.N., about 10 million Ukrainians -- a quarter of its population -- have fled their homes and are now displaced in the country or among the 3.6 million refugees, she told the assembly, and 12 million need aid and 5.6 million children are unable to go to school.
South Korean Ambassador Cho Hyun compared what Ukrainian children are experiencing to the plight of kids in his own country during the Korean War in the 1950s. “It is this organization’s most urgent and collective responsibility to stop this haunting replication of the agonies of children in the 20th century.”
Albanian Ambassador Ferit Hoxha urged the world’s nations not to forget the responsibility of Russian President Vladimir Putin. "This is a war of one man, in his own seclusion, and who, by his reckless actions, has managed to generate in a few weeks, the biggest ever solitude and world isolation of his own country.”
But Russia has some supporters other than China, including Syrian Ambassador Bassam Sabbagh, who said the assembly once again “is seeing an exploitation of human rights issues in order to create a state of polarization and politicization, used to serve the political interests of some.”
The draft reiterates the demand of the March 2 resolution for an immediate Russian cease-fire and it demands protection for all civilians and infrastructure indispensable to their survival.
The resolution deplores the “dire humanitarian consequences” of Russia’s aggression which it says is “on a scale that the international community has not seen in Europe in decades.” It deplores Russia’s shelling, airstrikes and “besiegement” of densely populated cities, and demands unhindered access for humanitarian aid.
The South African draft calls for “an immediate cessation of hostilities” as a first step in easing the humanitarian crisis and encourages “political dialogue, negotiations, mediation and other peaceful means aimed at achieving lasting peace.” It makes no mention of Russia’s attack.
Russian authorities maintain they did not start the war and have repeatedly and falsely decried reports of Russian military setbacks or civilian deaths in Ukraine as fake news. State media outlets and government officials insist Russian troops target only military facilities.
Zelenskyy vows to keep negotiating with Russia
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said he will continue negotiating with Russia and is waiting for a meeting with Vladimir Putin.
Zelenskyy has repeatedly called for a meeting with Putin. But so far, his requests have gone unanswered by the Kremlin. Zelenskyy said Sunday during his nightly address to the nation that his delegation has a “clear task” to do everything to ensure a meeting between the two presidents.
Read:Russian airstrike escalates offensive in western Ukraine
Zelenskyy said talks are held daily between the two countries via video conference. He said the talks are necessary to establish a cease-fire and more humanitarian corridors. He said those corridors have saved more than 130,000 people in six days.
The humanitarian convoy to the besieged city of Mariupol was blocked Sunday by Russian forces. Zelenskyy said they would try again Monday.
Zelenskyy has also said it is a “black day” after Russia shelled a military base in the western part of his country.
Zelenskyy said in his nightly address on Sunday that Russia fired 30 rockets at the Yavoriv military base. He said the attack killed 35 people and injured 134 injured others.
Read:U.S. journalist killed by attack near Kyiv
The base is less than 25 kilometers (15 miles) from the Polish border. Zelenskyy said he had given Western leaders “clear warning” of the danger to the base. He asked NATO leaders again to establish a no-fly zone over Ukraine. He warned “it is only a matter of time” before Russian missels fall on NATO territory.
Military analysts say the U.S, Britain and their European allies are unlikely to impose a no-fly zone because they believe it could escalate the war in Ukraine into a nuclear confrontation between NATO and Russia.
Bangladesh elected WFP executive board president
For the first time, Bangladesh has been elected the president of the executive board of the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP).
The 36-member executive board of the Rome-based world's largest humanitarian organisation unanimously elected Bangladesh as the president of the board for 2022 in its first regular session on Monday, said Bangladeshi Ambassador to Italy Shameem Ahsan.
Also read: WFP ED lauds Bangladesh's development journey
“A Sustainable Feminist Recovery”
As the world moves ahead to mark International Women’s Day, the clock on women’s rights is moving backwards. All of us are paying the price.
The cascading crises of recent years have highlighted how women’s leadership is more crucial than ever.
Women have heroically confronted the COVID-19 pandemic as doctors, nurses, and public health and social care workers.
But at the same time, women and girls have been the first to lose out on jobs or schooling, taking on more unpaid care work, and facing skyrocketing levels of domestic and cyber abuse and child marriage.
The pandemic has highlighted even more starkly an age-old truth: the roots of patriarchy run deep. We still live in a male-dominated world with a male-dominated culture.
As a result, in good times or bad, women are more likely to fall into poverty. Their healthcare is sacrificed and their education and opportunities are curtailed.
Read:UN chief urges Putin to ‘give peace a chance’ in Ukraine
As we look to the future, a sustainable and equal recovery for all is only possible if it is a feminist recovery — one that puts progress for girls and women at its centre.
We need economic progress through targeted investments in women’s education, employment, training and decent work. Women should be first in line for the 400 million jobs we are called to create by 2030.
We need social progress through investments in social protection systems and the care economy. Such investments yield huge dividends, creating green, sustainable jobs, while supporting members of our societies that need assistance, including children, older people and the sick.
We need financial progress, to reform a morally bankrupt global financial system, so all countries can invest in a woman-centred economic recovery. This includes debt relief and fairer tax systems that channel some of the massive pockets of wealth around the world to those who need it most.
We need urgent, transformative climate action, to reverse the reckless increase in emissions and gender inequalities that have left women and girls disproportionately vulnerable. Developed countries must urgently deliver on their commitments on finance and technical support for a just transition from fossil fuels. The successful, stable economies of the future will be green, gender-inclusive and sustainable.
We need more women in leadership in government and business, including finance ministers and CEOs, developing and implementing green and socially progressive policies that benefit all their people.
We know, for example, that having more women in parliaments is linked with stronger climate commitments and higher levels of investment in healthcare and education.
We need political progress through targeted measures that ensure women’s equal leadership and representation at all levels of political decision-making, through bold gender quotas.
Gender inequality is essentially a question of power. Uprooting centuries of patriarchy demands that power is equally shared across every institution, at every level.
At the United Nations, we have achieved — for the first time in the organization’s history — gender parity in senior management at headquarters and around the world. This has dramatically improved our ability to better reflect and represent the communities we serve.
Read: UN chief says global warming goal on 'life support'
Every step of the way, we can take inspiration from women and girls pushing for progress in every sphere and every corner of our globe.
Young women climate campaigners are leading global efforts to pressure governments to live up to their commitments.
Women’s rights activists are bravely demanding equality and justice, and building more peaceful societies as peacekeepers, peacemakers and humanitarians in some of the world’s trouble zones and beyond.
In societies where women’s rights movements are vibrant, democracies are stronger.
When the world invests in expanding opportunities for women and girls, all of humanity wins.
As a matter of justice, equality, morality and plain common sense, we need to turn the clock forward on women’s rights.
We need a sustainable, feminist recovery centred around — and driven by — women and girls.
António Guterres is Secretary-General of the United Nations.