Category: MIL-OSI

Source: United Nations (video statements)

The United Nations Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator in Haiti, Ulrika Richardson, today (12 Aug) told reporters in New York that the situation is “strikingly horrific” in the country’s capital Port-au-Price with “3,000 people having been killed in gang related incidents since the beginning of the year.”

Briefing correspondents for the last time as the Deputy Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Haiti, Richardson said, “I often feel that I can’t even find words any longer to describe the situation. Is it alarming? Is it acute? Is it urgent? It’s all of that, and even more.”

She said, “we have 1.3 million people displaced currently, as a result of the gang violence, as the gangs have sort of rummaged the city. And half of them are children,” noting that 2 million people are in IPC four, meaning at an emergency level of food insecurity.

Richardson said, “all of that is just figures, in a way. And behind every figure there is, a woman, a mother, a child, a father, a young person.”

She said, “obviously children are particularly affected, particularly we have a malnutrition that is striking. We have children being recruited by the armed gangs. And of course, they fare really poorly, many of them also in terms of education. You can imagine, broken school years. We have generations that have not fulfilled an entire year of schooling.”

Richardson said, “we have a humanitarian response plan. It’s only funded 9 percent. It’s the lowest level of funding for any response plan in the world. And it’s 900 million. We are not talking about the biggest response plan either. So, that is of course a big frustration. But also, we have other; we have a sanctions regime that was introduced in 2022. We have an arms embargo, similarly, introduced in 2022. We have, the Multinational Security Support Mission that has been on the ground for a year but not given the tools or the sights needed to actually perform its role. So that is actually very frustrating. We have tools, but the response from the international community, is just not at par with the gravity on the ground.”

Secretary-General António Guterres appointed Richardson as his new Deputy Special Representative of the United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) and Resident Coordinator in Libya. She succeeds Aeneas Chuma of Zimbabwe.

She has been the Deputy Special Representative for the United Nations Integrated Office in Haiti (BINUH), Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator in Haiti since 2022, and was previously the Development Coordinator in Kosovo, working closely with the United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK) (2018-2022). Her earlier assignments include serving as the United Nations Resident Coordinator and Resident Representative of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) in Cabo Verde (2013-2018), UNDP Resident Representative in Gabon (2012-2013), and Deputy Resident Representative in Türkiye (2007-2012) and in Cuba (2004-2007).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wsns3jY45yc

Source: United Nations (video statements)

Since 2020, large parts of Bentiu in South Sudan have been submerged, leaving 300,000 people stranded on a narrow stretch of land.

To prevent further flooding, peacekeepers from the UN Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) are working tirelessly to raise the dikes and monitor water levels weekly, providing early warnings to communities at risk.

As the climate crisis continues, peacekeepers, local authorities, and communities are joining forces to mitigate the impact and protect lives.

#ClimateChange

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yxhY3KLHro8

Source: United Nations (video statements)

Ramesh Rajasingham, OCHA’s Director of the Coordination Division, told the Council that more than 17 million people, that’s nearly half of the population of Yemen, are estimated to be acutely hungry.

Rajasingham said, “Yemen is now one of the most food insecure countries in the world. As the economy continues to collapse and pressures on the food pipelines mount, many households with access to food can no longer afford it. Livelihoods across the public sector and agriculture and fisheries industries, among others, have been disrupted by ongoing conflict.”

He said, “half of the nation’s children under the age of 5 suffer from acute malnutrition, and nearly half suffer from stunting. This means developmental delays and infections, and a risk of death from common illnesses nine to 12 times higher than average. In a context where healthcare is desperately inadequate, and where support services are unavailable to many, this is a life-or-death gamble for children.”

Rajasingham told the Council that the Yemen Humanitarian Fund will be releasing $20 million to address the negative impacts of continuing food insecurity in Yemen.

Yemeni Ambassador Abdullah Ali Fadhel Al-Saadi said, “Yemen today is at the threshold of a difficult era. After 11 years of war waged by the terrorist Houthi militias against the country, the state and its constitutional bodies, a war that has destroyed the hopes and aspirations of a people that aspire for security, stability and dignity, justice and equality. A people that strives to build a civil state befitting of their glorious history and their status in the region.”

Al-Saadi said, “the Presidential Leadership Council and the Yemeni government are exerting efforts to push forth the peace process and to positively deal with international and regional efforts, and with the United Nations efforts through its Special Envoy to Yemen, to put an end to this conflict. However, the Houthi militias continue to obstruct all of these efforts and undermine any chances for peace.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W-k7n5HZ0ec

Source: United Nations (video statements)

The Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) expressed its "strong condemnation and categorical rejection of Israel’s announcement of its intention to impose full military control over the Gaza Strip.”

On behalf of the Group, Deputy Permanent Representative of Türkiye to the UN Fikriye Asli Güven told reporters today (12 Aug), “We consider this announcement a dangerous and unacceptable escalation, a flagrant violation of international law and an attempt to entrench the illegal occupation and impose a fait accompli by force in contravention of international law, international humanitarian law and relevant United Nations resolutions.”

Ambassador Güven added, “The group reaffirms that this declared course of action by Israel constitutes a continuation of its grave violations, including killing and starvation, attempts at forced displacement, and annexation of Palestinian land, the settler terrorism, which are crimes that may amount to crimes against humanity.”

The Group demanded “the immediate and comprehensive cessation of the Israeli aggression against the Gaza Strip, and an end to the ongoing violations committed by the occupying forces against civilians and civilian infrastructure in the Gaza Strip, the West Bank and East Jerusalem.”

Moreover, the Group also demanded that Israel, as the occupying power, “immediately and unconditionally allow the entry of humanitarian assistance at scale into the Gaza Strip, including food, medicine and fuel, and ensure the freedom of operation of relief agencies and international humanitarian organizations in accordance with international humanitarian law and its applicable principles.”

The Turkish diplomat reiterated the Group’s “full support for the efforts undertaken by the Arab Republic of Egypt, the State of Qatar, the United States of America to achieve a ceasefire and reach an agreement for the exchange of prisoners and hostages as a fundamental humanitarian entry point to de-escalation, alleviating suffering and ending the aggression.”

It also called for the immediate commencement of implementation of the Arab Islamic Reconstruction Plan of the Gaza Strip, and for active participation in the upcoming reconstruction conference to be held in Cairo.

Ambassador Güven reiterated the Group’s “rejection and condemnation of all attempts to displace the Palestinian people from their land in Gaza and the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and the affirmation of the need to preserve the legal and historical status quo of the Islamic and Christian holy sites in Jerusalem while recognizing the key role of the Hashemite custodianship in this regard.”

Ambassador Güven affirmed that a just and lasting peace can only be achieved through the implementation of the Two-state solution, adding that, “we hold the Israeli occupation fully responsible for the ongoing genocide and the unprecedented humanitarian catastrophe, taking place in the Gaza Strip, and calls upon the international community, particularly the permanent members of the Security Council, to assume their legal and humanitarian responsibilities and to take urgent action to stop Israel’s illegal aggressive policies aimed at undermining prospects for a just and lasting peace, and eliminating any horizon for the implementation of the Two-state solution and ensuring immediate accountability for all violations committed by Israel against international law and international humanitarian law, including those amounting to genocide.”

Palestinian Ambassador Riyad Mansour said that the High-Level International Conference for the Peaceful Settlement of the Question of Palestine and the Implementation of the Two-State Solution will resume 22 September in New York.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SiwG66-Cm70

Source: United Nations (video statements)

With her background in human rights law, Georgette Gagnon was once said to represent the conscience of war. Currently serving as the Secretary-General’s Deputy Special Representative for Afghanistan, she has been devastated by the sweeping loss of rights for women and girls there.

“You used to see across the country hundreds of girls going to school […] Now, of course, you don’t see that, and it’s heartbreaking. It’s such a huge loss for the entire society.”

Afghanistan faces the second biggest humanitarian crisis in the world today, while drastic cuts to humanitarian assistance will leave millions of vulnerable people without access to critical medical care.

In this episode, Georgette Gagnon shares her hopes and fears for a country close to her heart, and reflects on a career serving in some of the world’s toughest places, from Syria to Sudan and Libya.

[00:00] Introduction
[01:09] Returning to Afghanistan
[02:45] Halted humanitarian funding and its’ impact
[05:19] What keeps Georgette awake at night
[07:26] Girls’ determination to learn
[11:20] Navigating complexities
[13:22]The economic argument for women’s rights
[15:18] What brought Georgette back
[17:02] Working and living under restrictions
[17:48] A harrowing encounter in Syria
[19:46] Cautious hope for Syria
[21:10] The importance of accountability
[22:29] Bearing witness in conflict zones
[23:29] Georgette’s journey to the UN
[26:43] Family support and sacrifice
[30:04] What keeps Georgette going
[30:36] Closing remarks

Listen to more Awake at Night episodes: https://music.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLwoDFQJEq_0b6hu1e8oxsch9W0D7vkNqt

#podcast #unitednations #awakeatnight #Afghanistan #UNAMA

About Awake at Night
Hosted by Melissa Fleming, UN Under-Secretary-General for Global Communications, the podcast ‘Awake at Night’ is an in-depth interview series focusing on remarkable United Nations staff members who dedicate their career to helping people in parts of the world where they have the hardest lives – from war zones and displacement camps to areas hit by disasters and the devastation of climate change.

For more info, please visit: https://www.un.org/en/awake-at-night

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6UQcxNLPAnk