May 20, 2024 No comments
Haiti: Multinational mission and the ‘inexorable requirement to restore security conditions’
INTERNATIONAL, 20 May 2024, Peace and Security - The establishment of a Multinational Security Support mission for Haiti is moving closer as the Caribbean nation continues to face a crisis of violence and insecurity caused by entrenched criminal gang activity. Media reports suggest that infrastructure for the mission is being put in place as supplies arrive by air into the capital, Port-au-Prince. Here’s what you need to know about what happens next: Why is an international security mission necessary? Haiti is wracked by violence that has escalated to unprecedented levels. In an address to the UN Security Council on 22 April, the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Haiti, Maria Isabel Salvador said “it is impossible to overstate the increase in gang activity across Port-au-Prince and beyond, the deterioration of the human...
Read moreMay 19, 2024 No comments
Syria: WHO Regional Director calls for greater investment in health sector
INTERNATIONAL, 19 May 2024, Health - Failure to invest in the health of the Syrian people will only deepen instability in the war-ravaged country and pose threats to regional and global security, a senior official with the World Health Organization (WHO) has said. Lives are at risk, and "the cost of inaction is simply too high", Dr. Hanan Balkhy, WHO Regional Director for the Eastern Mediterranean, said in a statement on Saturday after concluding a five-day visit to Syria. She expressed grave concern over the complexities and challenges facing the population and humanitarian operations on the ground. “The number of people in need is staggering, and pockets of critical vulnerabilities persist in many parts of the country," she said. "Compounding this already catastrophic situation, increasing political tensions in the region risk...
Read moreMay 19, 2024 No comments
Antigua and Barbuda Prime Minister hopes for high impact conference charting course for small island States
INTERNATIONAL, 19 May 2024, SDGs - The fourth International Conference on Small Island Developing States (SIDS4) is heading to Antigua and Barbuda later this month with “human survivability and protecting our planet” topping the agenda when it comes to containing climate change, according to the Caribbean nation’s Prime Minister. This year’s conference will focus on “charting the course toward resilient prosperity” by assessing small States’ ability to reach the ambitious 2030 Sustainable Development Goals. In an exclusive interview earlier this month at UN Headquarters, Prime Minister Gaston Browne, told UN News that he hopes the conference will be a game-changer for formulating strategies to mitigate climate change, crushing debt, and other key issues that may be stunting small island development. This interview has been edited for clarity and length. UN...
Read moreMay 18, 2024 No comments
Gaza: Nearly 800,000 now displaced from Rafah
INTERNATIONAL, 18 May 2024, Humanitarian Aid - Roughly 800,000 people have been forced to flee Rafah since Israel launched a military operation in the area on 6 May, the head of UN Palestine refugee agency UNRWA said on Saturday in a renewed appeal for greater protection of civilians in Gaza, safe humanitarian access and, ultimately, a ceasefire. “Once again, nearly half of the population of Rafah or 800,000 people are on the road,” Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini wrote in post on the social media platform X. formerly Twitter. He said that following evacuation orders demanding people to flee to so-called safe zones, people mainly went to the middle areas in Gaza and Khan Younis, including to destroyed buildings. No safe passage or protection “When people move, they are...
Read moreMay 18, 2024 No comments
‘Brand new words’ needed to describe Gaza devastation, UN humanitarian says
INTERNATIONAL, 18 May 2024, Humanitarian Aid - The situation in Gaza is so devastating that no words can adequately describe it, a humanitarian officer working in the besieged enclave has said. “No matter where you look, no matter where you go, there’s destruction, there’s devastation, there’s loss,” said Yasmina Guerda, who recently returned to Gaza for a second deployment with the UN humanitarian affairs office, OCHA. She spoke to UN News from Rafah, previously a refuge for more than a million Palestinians fleeing hostilities in other parts of Gaza. The start of Israeli military operations there has uprooted more than 600,000 people in just over a week. Ms. Guerda frankly discussed the immense suffering and insecurity in Gaza, the critical lack of aid and basic services, and the difficulties...
Read more