UN
Tomorrow could be too late to halt fighting in Mariupol: UN
The UN's crisis coordinator in Ukraine Sunday called for an immediate stop to fighting in besieged Mariupol to allow trapped civilians to leave the city safely.
"The lives of tens of thousands, including women, children, and older people, are at stake in Mariupol," said Amin Awad.
"We need a pause in fighting right now to save lives. The longer we wait the more lives will be at risk. They must be allowed to safely evacuate now, today. Tomorrow could be too late."
Amin reiterated UN Secretary-General António Guterres' appeal for a halt to fighting to allow life-saving supplies into Mariupol and other areas under attack and enable the departure of those wanting to leave amid reports of the situation in Mariupol deteriorating dramatically.
"At a time of a rare calendar alignment of the religious holidays of Orthodox Easter, Passover and Ramadan, it is the time to focus on our common humanity, setting divisions aside," he said.
According to the UN agencies, the humanitarian situation in Ukraine continues to worsen, as a result of ongoing hostilities chiefly taking place in eastern and southern regions.
Over a quarter of Ukraine's population is now displaced internally or in neighbouring countries.
The latest assessment of the International Organization for Migration found that around 60 percent of those displaced are women, and more than half of those displaced expressed their need for food.
The World Food Programme said over one-quarter of internally displaced families with children under the age of five had reported difficulties in feeding their children since the start of the conflict.
As hostilities intensify, the basic needs of people stranded in hard-to-reach areas increase, while also hampering efforts to establish humanitarian corridors to both evacuate civilians and deliver life-saving assistance.
The most urgent and critical needs are in these locations with high levels of insecurity, disrupted food supply and retail capacities, and limited or sporadic humanitarian access, such as Mariupol.
UNGA chief calls for shift to green economies on Mother Earth Day
In keeping with this year's Mother Earth Day theme "Harmony with Nature and Biodiversity: Ecological economics and Earth-centered law," UN General Assembly (UNGA) President Abdulla Shahid Friday called for a shift to green economies.
"Nature is suffering. Oceans are filling with plastic and turning more acidic; extreme heat, wildfires and floods have affected millions; and we are still facing Covid-19, a worldwide health pandemic linked to the health of our ecosystem," the senior UN official said.
"Science has shown that our continued and careless encroachment into the world's ecosystems" has damaged biodiversity and endangered human health and well-being."
The international community needs to use the tools and targets of the Paris Agreement on climate change and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development as blueprints for a sustainable recovery from Covid, Abdulla said.
Climate change, man-made changes to nature as well as crimes that disrupt biodiversity, such as deforestation, land-use change, intensified agriculture and livestock production or the growing illegal wildlife trade, can accelerate the speed of destruction of the planet.
This is the first Mother Earth Day celebrated within the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration.
Ecosystems support all life on Earth. The healthier the ecosystems are, the healthier the planet and its people will be.
Restoring the damaged ecosystems will help end poverty, combat climate change and prevent mass extinction, says the UN.
Fate of sustainable development hinges on world's cities: UN
The future of sustainable development will hinge on the fate of cities as more than half of the world's population now live in urban environments, a number likely to rise to nearly 70 percent by 2050, according to the UN officials.
"The actions we take now must lead us to…a new social integration based on the principles of prosperity, transformation, adaptation, equity and respect for human rights," said Martha Delgado, president of the UN-Habitat Assembly Thursday.
Highlighting urbanisation as one of today's great megatrends, she called for resilient, sustainable "smart cities" that are more inclusively governed and better prepared to navigate future shocks and crises.
"Sustainable development will hinge on how we manage urbanisation," Economic and Social Council President Collen Vixen Kelapile said, adding that current discussions should be framed in the context of responding to Covid response and the climate crisis.
Around 1.2 billion people in the global South now live in informal settlements and slums and they have long struggled to prevent disease transmissions, now including Covid, Collen added.
In the global North, dependence on welfare, where available, increased manifold during the pandemic and many people entered the ranks of the homeless.
In response, cities have deployed creative actions and provided services in underserved areas, while new urban models are beginning to pay more attention to pedestrians and mixed land uses.
"The world's cities have been absorbing much of Covid's socio-economic impact," UN-Habitat chief Maimunah Mohd Sharif said.
"However, that has often resulted in closer cooperation between national and local governments, which, in turn, has led to greater reclamation, greening and inclusive use of public space."
"Cities can spearhead innovations to bridge the inequalities gaps, deliver climate action and ensure a green and inclusive Covid recovery," said Amina Mohammed, deputy secretary-general of the UN and chair of the UN Sustainable Development Group.
"Urban spaces connect the dots on many of today's global challenges."
Bangladesh Permanent Mission to the UN observes Mujibnagar Day
Bangladesh Permanent Mission to the United Nations has observed the historic Mujibnagar Day.
At the beginning of the programme on Tuesday, the President of the Mujibnagar government, the greatest Bengali of all time, Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, Vice President Syed Nazrul Islam and Prime Minister Tajuddin Ahmad, including the late members of the government, four national leaders and three million martyrs of the Great Liberation War were remembered.
Special prayers were offered for the forgiveness of their souls.
Later, the speeches of the President and the Prime Minister were read out.
A documentary video on the Mujibnagar government was screened at the programme.
Ambassador Rabab Fatima, Permanent Representative of Bangladesh to the United Nations, gave a welcome address on the occasion.
She explained the significance of Mujibnagar Day and the history of how this temporary capital was named as Mujibnagar after Bangabandhu.
She said, “After the beginning of the freedom struggle through the historic speech of March 7, the Father of the Nation declared independence on March 26. Under the leadership of the Father of the Nation, the Bengali nation jumped into the War of Liberation. Therefore, the Mujibnagar government had no choice but to establish the institutional recognition and legal basis of the great Liberation War. The Mujib Nagar government formed on 10 April was officially sworn in on 17 April:
READ: Govt let loose police against BNP, alleges Rizvi
Referring to the leadership, strategy and timely direction of the Mujibnagar government, Ambassador Fatima said that the Liberation War was moving towards a successful conclusion in the quickest time.
"The biggest challenge of the Mujibnagar government was to bring the world public opinion to Bangladesh by tackling the hostile environment. This government took several timely steps to bring the world community in favor of Bangladesh. Bengali diplomats working in Pakistani embassies around the world, including in India, took immediate steps to leave Pakistan and show allegiance to the Mujibnagar government."
She called upon the new generation to highlight the history of Mujibnagar government, the history and significance of the great liberation war.
"Under the leadership of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, we will contribute from our own position to further strengthen Bangladesh's position in the international arena, including the United Nations. May this be our pledge on Mujibnagar Day," she said.
All the officials and employees of the mission participated in the event.
UN says boat capsizes off Libya, 35 dead or presumed dead
A migrant boat has capsized off the Libyan coast, leaving at least 35 people dead or presumed dead, the U.N. migration agency said Saturday.
The shipwreck took place Friday off the western Libyan city of Sabratha, a major launching point for the mainly African migrants making the dangerous voyage across the Mediterranean, said the International Organization for Migration.
The IOM said the bodies of six migrants were pulled out while 29 others were missing and presumed dead. It was not immediately clear what caused the wooden boat to capsize.
The tragedy was the latest to involve migrants departing from North Africa to seek a better life in Europe. This past week alone, at least 53 migrants were reported dead or presumed dead off Libya, according to the IOM.
“Dedicated search and rescue capacity and a safe disembarkation mechanism are urgently needed to prevent further deaths and suffering,” the IOM said.
Read: It’s not over: COVID-19 cases are on the rise again in US
Investigators commissioned by the United Nations’ top human rights body found evidence of possible crimes against humanity committed in Libya against migrants detained in government-run prisons and at the hands of human traffickers.
Earlier this month, more than 90 people in an overcrowded boat drowned in the Mediterranean Sea, days after they left Libya, according to the Doctors Without Borders aid group.
Migrants regularly try to cross the Mediterranean from Libya in a desperate attempt to reach European shores. The country has emerged as the dominant transit point for migrants fleeing war and poverty in Africa and the Middle East.
Human traffickers in recent years have benefited from the chaos in Libya, smuggling in migrants across the oil-rich country’s lengthy borders with six nations. The migrants are then typically packed into ill-equipped rubber boats and set off on risky sea voyages.
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At least 476 migrants died along the Central Mediterranean route between Jan. 1 and April 11, according to the IOM.
Once back in Libya, the migrants are typically taken to government-run detention centers rife with abuse and ill-treatment.
30,000 Ukrainians returning home every day: UN
More than 870,000 people, who fled abroad since the Russian invasion on February 24, have now returned to Ukraine amid concerns about worsening food security inside the country, according to the United Nations (UN).
Citing the State Border Guard Service, the UN aid coordination office, OCHA, said 30,000 people are crossing back into Ukraine every day.
The recent returnees reportedly include women with children and older persons, compared to men mostly at the beginning of the escalation.
"This significant figure suggests that migration back to Ukraine might continue increasing, potentially creating new challenges for the humanitarian response as people will need support to reintegrate into their communities or find suitable host communities if returning to their homes is no longer viable," the OCHA said.
Of the 12 million people in need in Ukraine, humanitarians have reached 2.1 million of them, and the UN's $1.1 billion flash appeal for Ukraine is now 64 percent funded.
Read: Russia loses warship, says attacks on Kyiv will increase
Fighting is now concentrated in the eastern and southern Ukraine, causing damage and civilian casualties and driving humanitarian needs.
In its latest emergency update, the OCHA reported that two humanitarian workers and five of their relatives had been killed in eastern Donetsk oblast.
They were sheltering at the Caritas Mariupol office when the building was reportedly hit by rounds fired from a tank, probably on March 15, although the information only became available recently, as the city had been cut off for weeks.
"Tens of thousands of civilians in Mariupol – which has been an epicentre of horror since the conflict began – and in other locations around Ukraine have now endured 50 days of violence and shelling. More than 1,932 civilians have died since 24 February, including more than 150 children," UN Emergency Relief Coordinator Martin Griffiths said.
Meanwhile, the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) said there are "immediate food insecurity issues" in nearly three in 10 regions – with a further 11 percent of regions (that are partially exposed to fighting) expecting shortages within two months.
Rural and isolated communities have been hit hardest by food insecurity, FAO said, as it announced support for farmers to plant their fields, save livestock and produce food.
Read: IMF chief: Ukraine war and inflation threaten global economy
Urgent cash support is also planned for the most vulnerable families, including those headed by women, the elderly and those with disabilities.
Meanwhile, the OCHA also noted that Russia reported that more than 783,000 people – including nearly 150,000 children – crossed into Russia from Ukraine since 24 February.
The latest data from the UN refugee agency, UNHCR, indicates that more than 4.7 million people have fled Ukraine since the war began. Another seven million are internally displaced.
UN warns Earth 'firmly on track toward an unlivable world'
Temperatures on Earth will shoot past a key danger point unless greenhouse gas emissions fall faster than countries have committed, the world’s top body of climate scientists said Monday, warning of the consequences of inaction but also noting hopeful signs of progress.
U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said the report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change revealed "a litany of broken climate promises” by governments and corporations, accusing them of stoking global warming by clinging to harmful fossil fuels.
“It is a file of shame, cataloguing the empty pledges that put us firmly on track toward an unlivable world,” he said.
Governments agreed in the 2015 Paris accord to keep global warming well below 2 degrees Celsius (3.6 Fahrenheit) this century, ideally no more than 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 Fahrenheit). Yet temperatures have already increased by over 1.1C (2F) since pre-industrial times, resulting in measurable increases in disasters such flash floods, extreme heat, more intense hurricanes and longer-burning wildfires, putting human lives in danger and costing governments hundreds of billions of dollars to confront.
Also read: WMO: Antarctica 'should not be taken for granted' amid extreme weather uptick
“Projected global emissions from (national pledges) place limiting global warming to 1.5C beyond reach and make it harder after 2030 to limit warming to 2C,” the panel said.
In other words, the report’s co-chair, James Skea of Imperial College London, told The Associated Press: “If we continue acting as we are now, we’re not even going to limit warming to 2 degrees, never mind 1.5 degrees."
Ongoing investments in fossil fuel infrastructure and clearing large swaths of forest for agriculture undermine the massive curbs in emissions needed to meet the Paris goal, the report found.
Emissions in 2019 were about 12% higher than they were in 2010 and 54% higher than in 1990, said Skea.
The rate of growth has slowed from 2.1% per year in the early part of this century to 1.3% per year between 2010 and 2019, the report’s authors said. But they voiced “high confidence” that unless countries step up their efforts to cut greenhouse gas emissions, the planet will on average be 2.4C to 3.5C (4.3 to 6.3F) warmer by the end of the century — a level experts say is sure to cause severe impacts for much of the world’s population.
“Limiting warming to 1.5C requires global greenhouse gas emissions to peak before 2025 at the latest and be reduced by 43% by 2030,” he said.
Such cuts would be hard to achieve without without drastic, economy-wide measures, the panel acknowledged. It's more likely that the world will pass 1.5C and efforts will then need to be made to bring temperatures back down again, including by removing vast amounts of carbon dioxide — the main greenhouse gas — from the atmosphere.
Many experts say this is unfeasible with current technologies, and even if it could be done it would be far costlier than preventing the emissions in the first place.
The report, numbering thousands of pages, doesn’t single out individual countries for blame. But the figures show much of the carbon dioxide already in the atmosphere was released by rich countries that were the first to burn coal, oil and gas beginning with the industrial revolution.
The U.N. panel said 40% of emissions since then came from Europe and North America. Just over 12% can be attributed to East Asia, which includes China. But China took over the position as world’s top emissions polluter from the United States in the mid-2000s.
Many countries and companies have used recent climate meetings to paint rosy pictures of their emissions-cutting efforts, while continuing to invest in fossil fuels and other polluting activities, Guterres charged.
“Some government and business leaders are saying one thing but doing another," he said. “Simply put, they are lying. And the results will be catastrophic.”
The report isn’t without some hope, however.
Also read: 99% of world's population breathes poor-quality air: WHO
Its authors highlight myriad ways in which the world can be brought back on track to 2C or even, with great effort, return to 1.5C after that threshold has been passed. This could require measures such as the removal of CO2 from the atmosphere with natural or artificial means, but also potentially risky technologies such as pumping aerosols into the sky to reflect sunlight.
Among the solutions recommended are a rapid shift away from fossil fuels toward renewable energy such as increasingly cheap solar and wind power, the electrification of transport, less meat consumption, more efficient use of resources and massive financial support for poor countries unable to pay for such measures without help.
The situation is as if humanity has “gone to the doctor in a very unhealthy condition,” and the doctor is saying “you need to change, it’s a radical change. If you don’t you’re in trouble,” said report co-author Pete Smith, a professor of soils and global change at the University Aberdeen.
“It’s not like a diet,” Smith said. “It is a fundamental lifestyle change. It’s changing what you eat, how much you eat and get on a more active lifestyle.”
One move often described as “low-hanging fruit” by scientists is to plug methane leaks from mines, wells and landfills that release the potent but short-lived greenhouse gas into the atmosphere. A pact forged between the United States and China at last year’s U.N. climate conference in Glasgow aims to do just that.
“The big message we’ve got (is that) human activities got us into this problem and human agency can actually get us out of it again,” said Skea, the panel's co-chair.
The panel’s reports have become increasingly blunt since the first one was published in 1990, and the latest may be the last before the planet passes 1.5C of warming, Skea told the AP.
Last August, it said climate change caused by humans was “an established fact” and warned that some effects of global warming are already inevitable. In late February, the panel published a report that outlined how further temperature increases will multiply the risk of floods, storms, drought and heat waves worldwide.
Still, the British government’s former chief science adviser David King, who wasn’t involved in writing the report, said there are too optimistic assumptions about how much CO2 the world can afford to emit.
“We don’t actually have a remaining carbon budget to burn,” said King, who now chairs the Climate Crisis Advisory Group.
“It’s just the reverse. We’ve already done too much in the way of putting greenhouse gases up there," he said, arguing that the IPCC's calculation omits new risks and potentially self-reinforcing effects already happening, such as the increased absorption of heat into the oceans from sea ice loss and the release of methane as permafrost melts.
Such warnings were echoed by U.N. chief Guterres, citing scientists' warnings that the planet is moving “perilously close to tipping points that could lead to cascading and irreversible climate impacts."
“But high-emitting governments and corporations are not just turning a blind eye; they are adding fuel to the flames,” he said, calling for an end to further coal, oil and gas extraction. “Investing in new fossil fuels infrastructure is moral and economic madness."
Vulnerable nations said the report showed big polluters have to step up their efforts before the next U.N. climate summit in Egypt this fall.
“We are looking to the G-20, to the world’s biggest emitters, to set ambitious targets ahead of COP27, and to reach those targets – by investing in renewables, cutting out coal and fossil fuel subsidies,” said Tina Stege, climate envoy for the Marshall Islands. “It’s long past time to deliver on promises made.”
UN finds link between widening inequalities and vaccine access
Only a tiny proportion of Covid vaccines have been administered in developing countries, leading to a widening gap between rich and poor, according to the UN Development Programme (UNDP).
In September 2021, the World Health Organization (WHO) called for 70 percent of the global population to be vaccinated by mid-2022.
At that point, just over three percent of people in low-income countries had been vaccinated with at least one dose, compared to 60.18 percent 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 percent has 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 jeopardises 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.
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.
READ: G7 must ensure vaccine access in developing countries: UN experts
A 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 study, released this month, shows that, if low-income countries had the same vaccination rate as high-income countries in September last year (around 54 percent) 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 challenges in line with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) that make up the UN's 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, the organisation’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, while in Burundi, the costs could have provided healthcare for some 4.7 million people.
While 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.
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.
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 members urged to acknowledge Rohingya genocide, refer Myanmar to ICC
United Nations member states should publicly acknowledge the Rohingya genocide in Myanmar and ensure that the UN Security Council refers the situation to the International Criminal Court (ICC), said Fortify Rights Monday.
Today, the US announced that the Myanmar military is responsible for committing genocide against the Rohingya people.
"It is a signalling and remarkable milestone for Rohingya victims and survivors that the US has formally determined that the violence committed against Rohingya by the Myanmar military amounts to genocide and crimes against humanity," said Zaw Win, human rights specialist at Fortify Rights.
"It has been a long-term expectation for the Rohingya community. Declaring that what happened to the Rohingya is in fact genocide should spur international accountability efforts and make it more difficult for the Myanmar military to continue its atrocity crimes."
In November 2019, the Gambia filed a case against Myanmar at the International Court of Justice in The Hague, the UN's highest court, for failing to prevent or punish genocide against Rohingya Muslims. The case is ongoing.
In September 2018, the ICC granted the chief prosecutor jurisdiction to investigate and possibly prosecute the crime against humanity of forced deportation of Rohingyas to Bangladesh, as well as persecution and other inhumane acts.
Last month, Chief Prosecutor Karim Khan concluded his first visit to Bangladesh as part of the ongoing investigation.
READ: Rohingya Crisis: KSA to keep supporting Bangladesh, The Gambia
While the ICC is investigating forced deportation, it is not yet investigating the crime of genocide against Rohingya.
The intergovernmental organisation and international tribunal has not yet accepted the National Unity Government of Myanmar's declaration delegating jurisdiction of the court.
The UN Security Council members should immediately put forward a resolution to refer the situation in Myanmar to the ICC, said Fortify Rights.
The UN members should also acknowledge the legitimacy of the National Unity Government of Myanmar and get fully behind its efforts to delegate jurisdiction to the court.
"Secretary Blinken's announcement is historic for the Rohingya and all people of Myanmar and also for wider efforts to prevent and remedy genocide," said Matthew Smith, chief executive officer at Fortify Rights.
"To prevent genocide, governments must at least acknowledge it when it happens, which is precisely what the US government did today."