Human rights through the eyes of Andy Vermaut

Both positive and “worrying” developments have recently unfolded in Bosnia and Herzegovina, a top UN official told the Security Council on Tuesday at an emergency meeting requested by Russia. https://news.un.org/feed/view/en/story/2024/04/1149211?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=blogger

The world’s leading humanitarian action forum on Tuesday said that crushing levels of violence and displacement are fuelling unprecedented civilian suffering in the eastern part of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). https://news.un.org/feed/view/en/story/2024/04/1149201?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=blogger

With the situation in Gaza “worsening by the day”, UN Secretary-General António Guterres on Tuesday appealed for Israeli and Hamas leaders currently taking part in intense negotiations to reach a ceasefire.  https://news.un.org/feed/view/en/story/2024/04/1149176?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=blogger

Top UN officials called on Monday for swift action to combat the El Niño extreme weather events that are currently devastating southern Africa and other regions with flooding and drought. https://news.un.org/feed/view/en/story/2024/04/1149156?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=blogger

The head of UN peacekeeping and demining reiterated calls on Monday for a ceasefire in Gaza as a first step to returning the war-ravaged enclave to some normality, while mine clearance experts warned that the Strip is now at its “most dangerous period”. https://news.un.org/feed/view/en/story/2024/04/1149126?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=blogger

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres reiterated the UN’s continued commitment to Kenya in the wake of deadly floods caused by weeks of heavy rains that continue to affect the region. https://news.un.org/feed/view/en/story/2024/04/1149121?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=blogger

The UN agency for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA, reached one of its now-abandoned schools in Khan Younis at the weekend, where thousands of people appeared to have left at a moment’s notice, fearing further intense Israeli bombardment. https://news.un.org/feed/view/en/story/2024/04/1149116?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=blogger

The UN’s top humanitarian official in South Sudan has urged the government to lift newly imposed taxes and charges that are causing aid deliveries to be suspended, affecting tens of thousands of people. https://news.un.org/feed/view/en/story/2024/04/1149111?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=blogger

An increase in civilian casualties caused by intensifying attacks from the Russian armed forces against Ukraine’s electric power infrastructure and railway system calls for concern, the UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine (HRMMU) said on Monday.  https://news.un.org/feed/view/en/story/2024/04/1149106?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=blogger

UN Security Council members on Saturday called on the warring parties in Sudan to immediately halt the military build-up and take steps to de-escalate the situation in El Fasher, the provincial capital of North Darfur. https://news.un.org/feed/view/en/story/2024/04/1149101?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=blogger

Following the installation of a transitional council in Haiti, seven countries officially notified the UN Secretary-General on Friday of their intention to contribute personnel to the Security Council-backed support mission for the crisis-wracked Caribbean nation.  https://news.un.org/feed/view/en/story/2024/04/1149086?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=blogger

Escalating violence in Sudan’s North Darfur state has left dozens dead and people trapped in El Fasher city which is home to around 800,000 people, many displaced due to fighting.  https://news.un.org/feed/view/en/story/2024/04/1149076?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=blogger

As deadly attacks in Ukraine continue, the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) warned on Friday that the number of children killed so far this year has increased by nearly 40 per cent compared to 2023.  https://news.un.org/feed/view/en/story/2024/04/1149071?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=blogger

The UN human rights office (OHCHR) on Friday raised alarm over the situation in northern Burkina Faso where several hundred civilians, including children, were reportedly killed amidst fighting between security forces and armed groups. https://news.un.org/feed/view/en/story/2024/04/1149061?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=blogger

Antibiotics saw “extensive overuse” globally among hospitalized COVID-19 patients during the pandemic without improving clinical outcomes, while also potentially increasing the already serious and growing threat of antimicrobial resistance from "superbugs", the UN World Health Organization (WHO) said on Friday. https://news.un.org/feed/view/en/story/2024/04/1149046?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=blogger

The General Assembly designated 22 April as International Mother Earth Day through a resolution adopted in 2009, but the roots of the Day go back to the 1970s. https://news.un.org/feed/view/en/story/2024/04/1149026?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=blogger

The war in Gaza continues to cast a dark shadow over the wider Middle East region, in particular Syria where a series of strikes and attacks are exacerbating an already dire humanitarian situation, the UN Special Envoy for the country said on Thursday. https://news.un.org/feed/view/en/story/2024/04/1149016?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=blogger

Unexpected blistering temperatures across Gaza have added to the daily misery faced by the enclave’s people and sparked new fears of disease outbreaks amid a lack of sufficient clean water and waste disposal, UN humanitarians said on Thursday. https://news.un.org/feed/view/en/story/2024/04/1149011?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=blogger

Plastic pollution blocks rivers, chokes oceans and makes its way into the food chain as microplastics. It’s a global environmental crisis, and Small Island Developing States are especially vulnerable, having to cope with detritus washing up on their beaches, as well as the waste they generate themselves.  https://news.un.org/feed/view/en/story/2024/04/1148966?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=blogger

On 25 April 1974, military officers overthrew the nearly 50-year dictatorship in Portugal in a largely peaceful coup known as the Carnation Revolution. https://news.un.org/feed/view/en/story/2024/04/1148981?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=blogger

A new mechanism for getting lifesaving aid into Gaza will start in the coming days, UN Senior Humanitarian and Reconstruction Coordinator Sigrid Kaag announced in a briefing to the Security Council on Wednesday. https://news.un.org/feed/view/en/story/2024/04/1148956?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=blogger

The International Organization for Migration (IOM) is offering medical care, food, shelter and psychosocial support to 33 migrants who survived a shipwreck off the coast of Djibouti on Monday, as local authorities continue search and rescue operations.  https://news.un.org/feed/view/en/story/2024/04/1148941?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=blogger

Two UN agencies alongside the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and the global vaccine alliance Gavi launched on Wednesday a campaign to scale up programmes to save lives, marking the start of World Immunisation Week, celebrated annually during the last week of April. https://news.un.org/feed/view/en/story/2024/04/1148946?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=blogger

The UN agency that assists Palestine refugees, UNRWA, launched a $1.2 billion appeal on Wednesday to address the unprecedented humanitarian crisis in the besieged Gaza Strip and to respond to needs in the West Bank as violence there increases.  https://news.un.org/feed/view/en/story/2024/04/1148931?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=blogger

Dangerous levels of acute hunger affected a staggering 281.6 million people last year - the fifth year in a row that food insecurity has worsened - heightening growing fears of famine and “widespread death” from Gaza to Sudan and beyond, UN agencies warned on Wednesday. https://news.un.org/feed/view/en/story/2024/04/1148926?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=blogger

The UN verified 3,688 cases of rape and other sexual violence committed in war in 2023, a “dramatic increase” of 50 per cent over the previous year, the Security Council heard on Tuesday.  https://news.un.org/feed/view/en/story/2024/04/1148891?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=blogger

Asia remained the world’s most disaster-affected region in 2023 due to weather, climate and water-related hazards. Storms and floods have hit the hardest, a new report published by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) on Tuesday reveals. https://news.un.org/feed/view/en/story/2024/04/1148886?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=blogger

Disturbing reports continue to emerge about mass graves in Gaza in which Palestinian victims were reportedly stripped naked with their hands tied, prompting renewed concerns about possible war crimes amid ongoing Israeli airstrikes, the UN human rights office, OHCHR, said on Tuesday. https://news.un.org/feed/view/en/story/2024/04/1148876?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=blogger

Becoming a successful international fashion photographer is hard for anyone, but it’s particularly difficult if you grow up in Dominica, a small Caribbean country regularly hit by hurricanes. This hasn’t deterred Josiah Johnson, an aspiring photographer who is taking advantage of digital technology training to find new opportunities well beyond the borders of his home. https://news.un.org/feed/view/en/story/2024/04/1148841?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=blogger

As gang violence increases in Haiti, the international community must continue to stand in solidarity with the population, the UN Special Representative for the country told the Security Council on Monday. https://news.un.org/feed/view/en/story/2024/04/1148861?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=blogger

Meaningful action to prevent the use of explosive weapons in populated areas could reduce the number of child casualties in conflicts by nearly half, the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) said on Monday.  https://news.un.org/feed/view/en/story/2024/04/1148816?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=blogger

UN chief António Guterres issued an appeal on Monday to “actively support” the UN agency for Palestinians, UNWRA, adding that he accepted the final findings of an independent probe into the organization, launched in response to unproven allegations that UNRWA staff had participated in the 7 October attacks against Israel. https://news.un.org/feed/view/en/story/2024/04/1148801?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=blogger

Climate change shocks caused record levels of disruption and misery for millions in Europe in 2023 with widespread flooding and severe heatwaves – a new normal which countries must adapt to as a priority, the UN weather agency said on Monday.  https://news.un.org/feed/view/en/story/2024/04/11487960?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=blogger

Climate change shocks caused record levels of disruption and misery for millions in Europe in 2023 with widespread flooding and severe heatwaves – a new normal which countries must adapt to as a priority, the UN weather agency said on Monday.  https://news.un.org/feed/view/en/story/2024/04/1148796?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=blogger

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E56PjwbF1Ig&utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=blogger

Kornelia Icha has never gone hungry or got close to starvation. Very few people do in Indonesia with its fertile soil and tropical climate. But, until a recent intervention by the National Food Agency, her diet consisted mostly of rice, corn, onions and the occasional meat dish. https://news.un.org/feed/view/en/story/2024/04/1148771?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=blogger

Vanessa Winston’s home and business in the Caribbean island of Dominica were destroyed by Hurricane Maria in 2017. Starting from scratch, the mother of four fought back and today, with UN support, she has rebuilt her life.  https://news.un.org/feed/view/en/story/2024/04/1148776?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=blogger

The President of the UN General Assembly called for the acknowledgement of mixed efforts to achieve the goals of the Decade of Sustainable Energy, as the UN’s first ever Sustainability Week drew to a close on Friday.  https://news.un.org/feed/view/en/story/2024/04/1148766?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=blogger

The Russian invasion of Ukraine is “a stark reminder” of the challenges to multilateralism and remains the top priority of UN partner the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), the Security Council heard on Friday.  https://news.un.org/feed/view/en/story/2024/04/1148756?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=blogger

The UN’s top human rights official on Friday raised alarm over the escalating violence in Myanmar’s Rakhine state between junta and opposition forces, amid reports of the military regime forcing members of the minority Muslim Rohingya community to join their ranks. https://news.un.org/feed/view/en/story/2024/04/1148746?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=blogger

Renewable energy, if supported by governments, can “truly change the landscape” in terms of achieving equitable access to affordable and clean energy, but only if those governments can move from “commitment to action”; That’s according to the Director-General of the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA). https://news.un.org/feed/view/en/story/2024/04/1148721?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=blogger

The Security Council rejected Palestine’s request for UN membership on Thursday, with the United States casting a veto. https://news.un.org/feed/view/en/story/2024/04/1148731?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=blogger

UN human rights chief Volker Türk this week met survivors of massacres in eastern provinces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) who told him they are desperate for peace. https://news.un.org/feed/view/en/story/2024/04/1148726?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=blogger

UN independent human rights experts on Thursday raised alarm over the “systematic destruction” of the Palestinian education system in the Gaza Strip, as Israel’s military operation continues unabated. https://news.un.org/feed/view/en/story/2024/04/1148716?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=blogger

Recent escalations in the Middle East make it even more important to support efforts towards lasting peace between Israel and a fully independent, viable and sovereign Palestinian state, UN Secretary-General António Guterres told the Security Council on Thursday.  https://news.un.org/feed/view/en/story/2024/04/1148701?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=blogger

The Commissioner-General of the UN relief agency for Palestine refugees (UNRWA) briefed the Security Council in New York on Wednesday as the humanitarian crisis in Gaza worsens, telling ambassadors that life-saving deliveries are being blocked by Israel as part of an "insidious campaign" to push it out of the Occupied Palestinian Territory.  https://news.un.org/feed/view/en/story/2024/04/11486760?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=blogger

Despite important achievements over the past decade to improve the well-being of Indigenous Peoples, safeguard their cultures, and expand their participation at the UN, “deep chasms” endure between commitments made and reality on the ground, the President of the General Assembly said on Wednesday.  https://news.un.org/feed/view/en/story/2024/04/1148691?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=blogger

Despite facing formidable challenges, women-owned and run businesses in Afghanistan continue to demonstrate remarkable resilience, serving as vital pillars of economic stability and hope amidst adversity, a new UN report has found. https://news.un.org/feed/view/en/story/2024/04/1148681?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=blogger

Reducing the transport sector’s impact on the environment while improving access to service, especially in developing countries, topped the agenda of the UN General Assembly on Wednesday.  https://news.un.org/feed/view/en/story/2024/04/1148666?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=blogger

Scaling up assistance in Gaza remains a challenge in the face of continued access denials, delays and other impediments, the head of the UN humanitarian affairs office (OCHA) in the occupied Palestinian territories said on Tuesday.  https://news.un.org/feed/view/en/story/2024/04/1148656?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=blogger