May 11, 2024 No comments
Madagascar: Coordination, convergence and change from the grass roots up
INTERNATIONAL, 11 May 2024, SDGs - How can people be best supported during humanitarian crises with limited aid budgets and what can be done to help those same people break out of the cycle of dependency caused by multiple crises and move towards more sustainable development? Those are the questions that UN agencies on the ground in Madagascar are considering as the island nation struggles against climate change, huge humanitarian needs and persistent underdevelopment. UNICEF’s Deputy Representative, Head of Programmes Gilles Chevalier and Natasha van Rijn the Resident Representative for the UN Development Programme discuss how changes in the way they are working are helping to reinforce resilience and sustainable development. Gilles Chevalier: One of the major decisions we have made at UNICEF is to reinforce our staff footprint in the south of Madagascar...
Read more
May 10, 2024 No comments
UN General Assembly presses Security Council to give ‘favourable consideration’ to full Palestinian membership
INTERNATIONAL, 10 May 2024, Peace and Security - The UN General Assembly convened again in New York on Friday for an emergency special session on the Gaza crisis and overwhelmingly passed a resolution which upgrades Palestine’s rights at the world body as an Observer State, without offering full membership. It urged the Security Council to give "favourable consideration" to Palestine’s request. What does the resolution mean? Here’s a quick recap of what this means: by adopting this resolution the General Assembly will upgrade the rights of the State of Palestine within the world body, but not the right to vote or put forward its candidature to such organs as the Security Council or the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC). Granting Palestinian membership requires a recommendation from the Security Council. At...
Read more
May 10, 2024 No comments
Gaza: As exodus from Rafah continues, UN urges reopening of aid lines
INTERNATIONAL, 10 May 2024, Peace and Security - With no let-up in the Israeli military operation in Gaza’s southernmost city of Rafah into Friday, UN humanitarians issued renewed calls for a ceasefire as “the only hope” to avert further bloodshed and restore desperately needed aid deliveries. “As Israeli Forces bombardment intensifies in Rafah, forced displacement continues,” said the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA, in a post on X. “Around 110,000 people have now fled Rafah looking for safety. But, nowhere is safe in the Gaza Strip and living conditions are atrocious. The only hope is an immediate ceasefire.” In addition to the immediate threat of ongoing military action, UN aid agencies have warned with increasing urgency since Israeli tanks rolled into the Rafah border crossing...
Read more
May 10, 2024 No comments
UN expert raises alarm over unfair treatment of pro-Palestinian student protesters in US
INTERNATIONAL, 10 May 2024, Human Rights - A UN independent human rights expert warned on Friday that the recent increase in student protest attacks across campuses in the United States indicates an “erosion of intellectual freedom and democratic principles within educational settings.” “I am deeply troubled by the violent crackdown on peaceful demonstrators, arrests, detentions, police violence, surveillance and disciplinary measures and sanctions against members of the educational community exercising their right to peaceful assembly and freedom of expression,” UN Special Rapporteur on the right to education, Farida Shaheed said, in a statement at the end of an official visit to the US. The UN Human Rights Council-appointed expert said she is particularly concerned by the way protesters are unfairly treated based on their political viewpoint – specifically pro-Palestinian protestors. Core...
Read more
May 10, 2024 No comments
In Nairobi, Guterres reiterates appeal for end to Gaza war
INTERNATIONAL, 10 May 2024, Peace and Security - With the situation in Rafah “on a knife’s edge”, UN Secretary-General António Guterres appealed again on Friday for Israeli and Hamas leaders “to demonstrate political courage and spare no effort” in reaching an agreement to end the war in Gaza and free all hostages. Speaking at a press conference in Nairobi, he warned that “the fate of Palestinians and the entire region hangs in the balance.” More than a million Palestinians are crowded into Rafah Governorate in southern Gaza as Israeli military operations continue throughout the area. Roughly 100,000 people have left and are moving north. “A massive ground attack in Rafah would lead to an epic humanitarian disaster and pull the plug on our efforts to support people...
Read more
