“For three months now, the people of Sudan have endured unspeakable suffering amid violence that is tearing their country apart,” Martin Griffiths, UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, said in a statement.
“As the conflict enters its fourth month, the battle lines are hardening, making it ever more difficult to reach the millions of people who need urgent humanitarian assistance,” he added.
More than 3 million people have been displaced due to the conflict both within Sudan and across its borders; the fighting, which broke out in mid-April has reportedly claimed the lives of more than 1,100 people and injured over 12,000, according to the UN Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).
Health workers and facilities have also been attacked, severely limiting access for those in need, and with the onset of the rainy season, there is an increased risk of outbreaks of water- and vector-borne diseases, compounded by challenges in waste management and shortages of supplies.
Children are among the worst affected, with an estimated 13.6 million – roughly half the number remaining in Sudan – in urgent need of assistance.
‘World’s most difficult place’
Describing Sudan as “one of the world’s most difficult places for humanitarian workers to operate,” Mr. Griffiths emphasized the collaborative efforts of local organizations and international aid groups in delivering life-saving supplies.
However, that work cannot be carried out when relief workers themselves, are at risk.
“But we cannot work under the barrel of a gun. We cannot replenish stores of food, water and medicine if brazen looting of these stocks continues. We cannot deliver if our staff are prevented from reaching people in need.”
He underlined that ultimately, the suffering of Sudanese people will end only when the fighting stops, and called on the parties to the conflict to abide by the Declaration of Commitments they signed in Jeddah to protect civilians and respect international humanitarian law.
Each day ‘the misery deepens’
Each day the fighting continues, the misery deepens for Sudanese civilians
“Each day the fighting continues, the misery deepens for Sudanese civilians […] We must all redouble our efforts to ensure that the conflict in Sudan does not spiral into a brutal and interminable civil war with grave consequences for the region,” the UN official stressed.
“The people of Sudan cannot afford to wait,” he concluded.
According to the UN weather agency, June witnessed the warmest global average temperature on record, and heatwaves have persisted into early July. Torrential rains and floods have resulted in dozens of fatalities and affected millions in the United States, Japan, China and India.
‘New normal’
“The extreme weather – an increasingly frequent occurrence in our warming climate – is having a major impact on human health, ecosystems, economies, agriculture, energy and water supplies,” saidWMO Secretary-General Petteri Taalas.
“We have to step up efforts to help society adapt to what is unfortunately becoming the new normal,” he added.
Deadly natural hazard
Heatwaves, amongst the deadliest natural hazards, kill thousands of people each year.
Elevated temperatures raise the risk of forest fires, as seen recently in Canada, which lost over nine million hectares of forests in 2023 till date, far surpassing the 10-year average of about 800,000 hectares. The resulting pollution and haze spread across much of the northeastern United States, impacting the health of millions.
Above-normal temperatures, with the mercury rising more than five degrees Celsius (41 degrees Fahrenheit) above the long-term average, are forecast in the Mediterranean region over the next two weeks, as well as in many places in North Africa, the Middle East and Türkiye.
A widespread heatwave is intensifying in the southern United States, with high temperatures likely in numerous places, according to the US National Weather Service, which says a few locations could even register all-time temperature records.
Raining like never before
Heavy rains and flooding have caused severe damage and loss of life in several parts of the world in recent days.
WMO said the Japanese Meteorological Agency (JMA) has issued heavy rain emergency warnings for the Fukuoka and Oita prefectures, on Kyushu, the country’s third largest island, together with a new daily rainfall record two days ago.
“It’s raining like never before,” JMA said.
Meanwhile, the northeastern US, including New York state and New England has seen deadly torrential rains. New York issued a flash flood emergency and more than four million people were under floods alerts on 11 July.
Elsewhere, floods in northwest China killed a reported 15 people, and northern India, roads and bridges collapsed and houses were swept away as rivers overflowed during heavy monsoonal rainfall and flooding, claiming dozens of lives.
Extreme weather events, such as floods, heat and drought, affect millions of people and cost billions annually.
Low-income countries at higher risk
The UN agency also highlighted that while developed countries have increased level of preparedness, such as warnings, and management of floods, low-income countries remain vulnerable.
“As the planet warms, the expectation is that we will see more and more intense, more frequent, more severe rainfall events, leading also to more severe flooding,” said Stefan Uhlenbrook, WMO Director of hydrology, water and cryosphere.
“Developed countries like Japan are extremely alert, and they’re also very well prepared when it comes to flood management measures. But many low-income countries have no warnings in place, hardly any flood defense structures and no integrated flood management. WMO is committed to improving the situation,” he said.
“Every new wave of warfare brings with it a rising tide of human tragedy, including new waves of war’s oldest, most silenced and least condemned crime,” she said.
The Council meeting to examine implementation of its resolutions on conflict-related sexual violence was convened by the United Kingdom, which holds the rotating presidency this month.
Meetings survivors in DRC
Ms. Patten presented data from her latest report, published last month, which documented 2,455 UN-verified cases of wartime rape committed during 2022. Women and girls accounted for 94 per cent, with six per cent against men and boys.
The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) was again the country with the highest number of cases, 701. The UN expert visited the country in June and was horrified by the testimonies of women and girls, many of whom had been very recently raped.
“So many of them stressed the daily risk of sexual violence while carrying out livelihood activities around the camps, such as searching for food, collecting wood or water. Just imagine facing the reality each day that you are likely to be raped, yet having no choice,” she said.
Visit to Ukraine
Ms. Patten also conducted her first field visit to Ukraine last year. She was struck by both the occurrence of sexual violence in conflict zones and the vulnerability of women and children forced to flee to countries such as Poland and Moldova.
“I witnessed first-hand the extraordinary toll on women, children and the elderly, including their vulnerability to unscrupulous individuals and criminal networks for whom the rapid and unprecedented mass displacement of people is not a tragedy but an opportunity for trafficking and sexual exploitation,” she said.
Impunity going unpunished
Ms. Patten’s annual report also detailed horrors committed in other countries, such as Haiti, Ethiopia and Iraq. Serious allegations of conflict-related sexual violence in Sudan have also surfaced since fighting erupted in April.
The report also clearly demonstrates the emboldening effects of impunity, she said. Nearly 50 parties, mostly non-State actors, are listed for systematically committing sexual violence. More than 70 per cent have appeared on the list for five years or more.
“The reality is that until we effectively raise the cost and consequences for committing, commanding or condoning sexual violence, we will never stem the tide of such violations,” she said.
Resolve and resources
Ms. Patten called for greater political resolve and resources. She said there is more knowledge today about what motivates sexual violence, who the perpetrators are, and the response required by survivors.
It is essential that prevention efforts are grounded in this enhanced knowledge, she said, which is at the heart of a strategy launched by her office last September.
She advised that the international community must ensure implementation of Security Council resolutions while adapting actions to today’s conflicts and emerging global challenges, such as cyber threats and climate-related insecurity.
“The time is now to double down on the institutional and accountability frameworks put in place by successive resolutions,” she said. “We must act urgently, and with sustained resolve, to save succeeding generations from this scourge.”
That’s the message from UNAIDS, the UN agency dedicated to ending the epidemic, which said on Thursday that truly eradicating it boils down to a “political and financial choice”.
The agency’s Executive Director, Winnie Byanyima, said that today’s leaders have the opportunity to save millions of lives and be “remembered by future generations” as those who put a stop to the world’s deadliest pandemic.
‘Show what leadership can do’
“They could save millions of lives and protect the health of everyone. They could show what leadership can do”, she said.
According to a new UNAIDS report, Botswana, Eswatini, Rwanda, Tanzania, and Zimbabwe have already achieved what is known as the “95-95-95” targets: 95 per cent of the people who are living with HIV know their status, 95 per cent of those who know that they are living with HIV are on lifesaving antiretroviral treatment, and 95 per cent of people in treatment are virally suppressed.
Steady progress
Progress has been strongest in the countries and regions that have spent most on tackling HIV/AIDS such as in eastern and southern Africa, where new HIV infections have been reduced by 57 per cent since 2010.
Following support and investment to end AIDS among children, 82 per cent of pregnant and breastfeeding women living with HIV globally were able to access antiretroviral treatment last year – up from 46 per cent in 2010.
New infections among children have fallen by 58 per cent during the same period, the lowest number since the 1980s, UNAIDS reported.
Progress has also been bolstered by ensuring legal and policy frameworks do not undermine human rights, but rather enable and protect them. Countries have continued to rollback harmful laws. In the past two years, Antigua and Barbuda, the Cook Islands, Barbados, Saint Kitts and Nevis, and Singapore, have all decriminalized same-sex relations.
The number of people on antiretroviral treatment worldwide rose nearly fourfold, from 7.7 million in 2010 to 29.8 million in 2022.
A life a minute
But there is still a long way to go to meet the aspiration of ending AIDS by 2030. AIDS claimed a life every minute last year, said the UN agency, and some 9.2 million people still miss out on treatment, including 660,000 children living with HIV.
Women and girls continue to suffer disproportionately, especially in sub-Saharan Africa. Around 4,000 young women and girls became infected with HIV each week in 2022.
Getting sufficient funding to meet the challenge is also proving hard, with an overall decline last year from both domestic and international sources. Funding amounted to $20.8 billion, far short of the $29.3 billion needed by 2025.
Cautious optimism
“We are hopeful but it is not the relaxed optimism that might come if all was heading as it should be”, said Ms. Byanyima. “It is, instead, a hope rooted in seeing the opportunity for success, an opportunity that is dependent on action”.
“The facts and figures shared in this report do not show that as a world we are already on the path, they show that we can be. The way is clear.”
“Halfway to the 2030 deadline the Sustainable Development Goals are dangerously off track,” he warned. “Gender equality is almost 300 years away. Progress on maternal health and access to family planning has been glacial.”
World Population Day is commemorated annually on 11 July and this year’s focus is on unleashing the power of gender equality and giving greater voice to women and girls.
Invest in women
Although they comprise half of all people on the planet, women and girls are often ignored in discussions on demographics, with their rights violated in population policies, according to the UN.
As a result, women and girls can be limited in their ability to make decisions about their own health and sexual and reproductive lives, which in turn heightens their vulnerability to violence, harmful practices, and preventable maternal death.
The Secretary-General said gender-based discrimination harms everyone, while investing in women uplifts all people, communities, and countries.
“Advancing gender equality, improving maternal health, and empowering women to make their own reproductive choices are both essential in themselves, and central to achieving all the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs),” he added.
Mr. Guterres called for standing with women and girls fighting for their rights and for intensifying efforts “to make the Sustainable Development Goals a reality for all 8 billion of us”.
Harness the power
What women and girls want matters, according to the UN’s sexual and reproductive health agency, UNFPA.
World Population Day is a reminder that a more prosperous, peaceful, and sustainable future can be achieved “if we harness the power of every human being on the planet”, said Dr. Natalia Kanem, the UNFPA Executive Director.
Her message for the Day highlighted that over 40 per cent of women around the world cannot exercise their right to make decisions as fundamental as whether or not to have children.
Gender equality benefits all
“Empowering women and girls, including through education and access to modern contraception, helps to support them in their aspirations and to chart the path of their own lives,” she said.
Dr. Kanem stressed that advancing gender equality is a crosscutting solution to many social problems.
She said for ageing societies worried about labour productivity, achieving gender equality in the workplace represents the most effective way to improve output and economic growth.
“Meanwhile, in countries experiencing rapid population growth, women’s empowerment through education and family planning can bring enormous benefits by way of human capital and inclusive economic growth,” she added.
Dr. Kanem said the solution is clear, as “accelerating the advancement of gender equality – through access to sexual and reproductive health and rights, improved education, appropriate labour policies, and equitable norms in the workplace and home – will result in healthier families, stronger economies, and resilient societies.”
Mr. Guterres offered his condolences to the families of the victims and expressed hopes for a speedy recovery to the dozens who were injured, UN Deputy Spokesperson Farhan Haq said in a statement issued that day.
The Sudanese army and rival military group, the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), have been battling since mid-April. Hundreds of people have been killed and nearly three million have been displaced, including to neighbouring countries.
Mr. Haq said the Secretary-General was appalled by reports of large-scale violence and casualties across Darfur.
Civil war fears
“He is also concerned about reports of renewed fighting in North Kordofan, South Kordofan and Blue Nile States. There is an utter disregard for humanitarian and human rights law that is dangerous and disturbing,” he added.
The UN chief remains deeply concerned that the ongoing war between the sides has pushed Sudan to the brink of a full-scale civil war, potentially destabilising the entire region.
Mr. Guterres reiterated his call for the Sudanese Armed Forces and the RSF to cease fighting and commit to a durable cessation of hostilities.
“He also urges these parties to abide by their obligations under international humanitarian and human rights law to protect civilians and to enable humanitarian action,” the statement said.
Meanwhile, the UN continues to push for the cohesion of international efforts under the auspices of the African Union, and welcomes the strong engagement of the East African bloc IGAD.
The two-day military operation was the fiercest in over 20 years, according to the UN agency that supports Palestine refugees, UNRWA.
At least 12 people were killed, including four children, and another 140 were injured. Around 900 houses were damaged, with many now uninhabitable.
“We went to Jenin Camp with our partners to show solidarity with residents and reassure them that they are not alone,” said Leni Stenseth, the UNRWA Deputy Commissioner-General.
Trauma, exhaustion and fear
The delegation also included Adam Bouloukos, Director of the agency’s West Bank Field Office and Lynn Hastings, the UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator, who were accompanied by several senior representatives from the international and donor community.
“The destruction I saw was shocking. Some houses were completely burned down, cars had been crushed against walls, roads were damaged. The UNRWA health centre was destroyed,” Ms. Stenseth said.
“But more than the physical damage, I saw the trauma in the eyes of camp residents who had witnessed the violence. I heard them speak about their exhaustion and fear.”
Classrooms practically empty
Around 24,000 people live in the Jenin Refugee Camp, which is located in the northern West Bank. The UNRWA health centre there was so badly damaged that it can no longer be used, and its four schools also sustained minor damage.
While some students were back in the classroom on Sunday, attendance was very low, with some parents reporting that their children were too scared to leave their homes.
Mr. Bouloukos said the delegation visited a classroom where students shared that just 10 days ago, they had buried a classmate who was killed in an earlier incursion. He said it is very hard for children to walk to school as the main roads are still unusable.
“When trying to find alternative ways to school, some younger children lost their way. We truly feared for their safety due to the risks of unexploded ordinance. A priority now is to provide mental and psychosocial support to help children cope with their fear and anxiety,” he added.
Clean-up underway
The Jenin Refugee Camp has witnessed severe violence over the last two years, UNRWA said, with 2023 being particularly intense.
“The camp is now partially without access to electricity and water,” Mr. Bouloukos said. “Nearly eight kilometers of water piping and three kilometers of sewage lines were destroyed due to the use of heavy machinery that ripped up large sections of the roads.”
Large-scale cleaning operations are underway, and UNRWA commended local and municipal authorities for their efforts in this regard.
At least 3,500 people were forced to flee their homes due to the military operation. UNRWA said priority is on helping to restore some sense of normality for residents by resuming its services in the camp, in areas such as education, health, sanitation and providing cash assistance to families.
The UN agency urged donors and partners to immediately make funds available for its humanitarian response in the camp.
Ms. Stenseth also underscored the greater need for peace across the occupied Palestinian territories “through a much needed just political solution that will also address the plight of Palestine Refugees.”
Leading efforts by 25 UN entities and several partners for the last four years, she has been reflecting on efforts to achieve national sustainable development priorities that tap into Mozambique’s immense resources and potential.
“Mozambique and the Mozambican people are wonderful. The potential for sustainable development is enormous, considering its population, amazing wealth of natural and mineral resources, and geographical location of the country.
However, to be sustainable, development must be resilient to all types of shocks. Since mid-2019, my work and the UN Country Team’s endeavour has been to support Mozambican institutions, civil society, and people to achieve sustainable development while responding and overcoming shocks due to climate change, COVID-19, and conflict.
The start of my assignment coincided with the UN development system reform and the formulation of a new Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework 2022-2026 by the Government of Mozambique and the UN. This resulted in a cooperation that focuses on the collective engagement of the UN in Mozambique with national institutions, civil society, and private sector.
I saw my role as one who listens and catalyzes capacities and resources to achieve priorities and overcome challenges. Four years on, through institutional will and leadership, civil society engagement, and a dynamic UN and international community’s effort, I can say much has been achieved.
UN Resident Coordinator Myrta Kaulard talks with people affected by Cyclone Freddy in Quelimane, Zambezia province, Mozambique. Freddy, the highest energy-producing tropical cyclone ever recorded worldwide, hit the country twice in the beginning of 2023.
Early warning systems saved lives
With UN support, public investments in early warning systems have been establishing a sophisticated forecasting and anticipatory action capacity, strengthening effective evacuation protocols and relocation plans, and expanding resilient building techniques and planning.
In the beginning of 2023, Cyclone Freddy, the longest-lasting and highest energy-producing tropical cyclone ever recorded worldwide, hit the country twice, causing considerably less loss of life than in 2019, when more than 600 people were killed by Cyclones Idai and Kenneth.
My first field visit, a few days after assuming my duties, was with António Guterres, the UN Secretary-General, to meet survivors of Cyclone Idai.
Every year since, an extreme climate event has devastated parts of the country. The Mozambican people’s strength and resilience has left an enormous mark on me.
Hence, one of my top priorities was to leverage my convening and influencing role, scaling up the UN’s whole-system capacities for climate resilience and disaster risk reduction.
Now, climate resilience and disaster risk reduction are one of the four strategic priorities of the Cooperation Framework, as well as of the international community’s coordination platform, with exponentially growing success, despite titanic challenges.
Strategy to tackle COVID-19
Through a similar partnership, Mozambique implemented one of the most successful COVID-19 vaccination campaigns in Africa. Safety net schemes targeted the most affected populations and small businesses helping to absorb the shock of the crisis and mitigate negative coping mechanisms. Programs addressing gender-based violence enhanced their outreach despite movement limitations.
As UN Resident Coordinator and Humanitarian Coordinator, and thanks to guidance and support from the new UN Development Cooperation Office, I was able to contribute to UN entities’ coherent engagement to respond to the pandemic through the UN multisector response plan to COVID-19. The plan was instrumental in shaping the UN support to institutions, civil society, and international community achievements.
Reconstruction efforts
In northern Mozambique, through our combined efforts under the cooperation framework and the humanitarian response plans, the UN and partners have provided immediate support to over a million internally displaced people and host communities.
In parallel, we have been supporting Mozambique’s plan for the reconstruction and integrated development of the north and the reconstruction plan for Cabo Delgado to rebuild and extend basic services throughout, with opportunities for all as the pathway for sustainable peace.
Gender gains and challenges
Gender parity at the Council of Ministers was achieved in 2021, placing Mozambique among the top three countries in Africa to have 50 per cent or more women in ministerial positions.
Women are true leaders and shapers in Mozambique, at all levels, from key state institutions to the community and the household level. My greatest admiration and respect go to them, for their courage, resilience, and wisdom.
Yet, gender-based violence is extremely widespread. As a national priority, extended engagement in women equality is being leveraged to address gender-based violence building on the strong results of the UN-European Union’s Spotlight initiative to eliminate violence against women and girls.
Supporting landmark progress
These are a few out of the many examples of the instrumental role that the coherent UN engagement is playing, through its reform efforts and the enhanced Resident Coordinator system to support landmark progress in Mozambique’s sustainable and inclusive development.
It is a true and concrete demonstration of the Member States’ vision on how to successfully achieve the values of the UN Charter.”
UN Resident Coordinator
The UN Resident Coordinator, sometimes called the RC, is the highest-ranking representative of the UN development system at the country level.
In this occasional series, UN News is inviting RCs to blog on issues important to the UN and the country where they serve.
Learn more about the work of the UN in Mozambique here.
Find out more about the UN Development Coordination Office here.
“People are suffering greatly due to landmines,” Mr. Lobov told UN News, adding that experts have reported that almost one third of the country is contaminated with unexploded ordnance.
“Many adults and children have died,” he said. “We have the highest rate of such losses in the world. No one knows what will happen in a few months because the war is not over.”
New level of complexity
Explosive objects are scattered over an area double the size of Austria, putting 14 million Ukrainians at risk, according to UNDP, which reported that these deadly weapons have killed 226 people, including 17 children.
While more than 366,000 landmines have already been cleared, making Ukraine safe is a difficult and very expensive long-term prospect, Mr. Lobov said.
The World Bank estimates that the full demining package will cost more than $37 billion. Ukraine cannot solve such a problem alone, so international partners are helping, with UNDP becoming the lead coordinator of mine action in the country.
UNDP in Ukraine / A. Ratushniak Debris in just 40 settlements in the Kyiv region, where hostilities were fought, is so voluminous, it could pave a road from Ukraine’s capital to Berlin.
Since the First and Second World Wars, the Ukrainian Government has been managing risks associated with unexploded ordnance, but the current full-scale war is a whole new level of complexity, according to UNDP.
Unrolling new approach
Tackling this challenge requires additional equipment, tools, new skills, and assistance in coordinating efforts, Mr. Lobov said.
For its part, UNDP is rising to the challenge as well as supporting the victims and conducting information campaigns, with funding from the European Union and Croatia, Denmark, France, Japan, and the United Kingdom.
“Amid hostilities, a lot of ammunition does not detonate,” Mr. Lobov said. “If the fighting continues for an hour or two, there may be several thousand rounds of ammunition. If this is not two hours, but a day or a month or if hostilities continue for years, then we can only imagine how much ammunition our land will be contaminated with.”
UNDP in Ukraine/Alexander Ratushnyak
Explosive objects in Ukraine are scattered over an area double the size of Austria.
Rubble trouble
One of the important tasks of mine action is the removal of rubble, Mr. Lobov said. In just 40 settlements in the Kyiv region where there has been fighting, the rubble could pave a road from Ukraine’s capital to Berlin, according to UNDP.
While the actual volume is unknown, Mr. Lobov said, following its removal, all hazardous waste must be processed and disposed of safely.
Typically, 30 to 50 per cent of unexploded ordnance fails to detonate, but the rest remain active, with any physical impact potentially provoking an explosion, Mr. Lobov said.
Keeping people informed
Mine action is not limited to physical clearance alone, Mr. Lobov said, emphasizing that a set of new measures are needed.
“Many people in Ukraine still do not realize the seriousness of this problem,” he said. “One of the most important tasks is to inform the population. It is necessary to teach people how to behave in territories contaminated with mines and explosive objects.”
For instance, while demining activities have been conducted in eastern Ukraine since Russia’s invasion in 2014, information campaigns should now target the residents of western regions, those who were abroad, or refugees, he said.
New mine action culture
Mine action should become the culture of Ukraine “because it will be for decades”, Mr. Lobov said.
“The descendants of our generation will face this problem,” he said. “We need to convey this knowledge to children through the education system and to adults, for example, through enterprises where people work.”
The main message should become “the norm”, Mr. Lobov said: “Stay away! Don’t touch! Call 101! The State Emergency Service will respond immediately.”
Teaching safety guidelines should have a positive impact, without using shocking photographs, because a person can panic, realizing what danger is right next to him, he said.
To transfer mine action knowledge, he has taught school psychologists how to convey this information to children constructively. Mine action information should simply form the basis of a culture of behavior, such as the need to cross the road only on a green light, he said.
UNDP in Ukraine
Alexander Lobov inspects buildings to determine whether emergency services must be called or whether it is possible to begin to dismantle the rubble.
Tough choices
The priority is the safety of people, but another consequence of widespread landmine contamination threatens, among other things, Ukraine’s economy and access to critical resources.
This results in hard choices over priorities in light of limited resources and the high cost of demining, he said.
When protecting the agricultural sector, for example, he said deminers might notice a power line in a field. Because the country depends on this electricity source, paying attention to the power line becomes the primary task, he explained.
New realities trigger fresh approaches
New realities require new approaches, Mr. Lobov said, highlighting optimized processes for seizing unexploded ordnance.
For the first time, deminers are fencing off infrequently used areas. Search mechanisms are also seeing improvements, including the use of mechanical detectors and systems involving rats, which have more sensitivity than dogs, he said.
For now, Ukraine will have to build its own system and work out a long-term strategy, according to UNDP, which remains on the ground with experts like Mr. Lobov, to help the nation tackle demining even while the war is still being fought.
UNDP in Ukraine / Alexander Ratushnyak
Debris in just 40 settlements in the Kyiv region, where hostilities were fought, is so voluminous it could pave a road from Ukraine’s capital to Berlin.
The war began on 24 February 2022, and the UN’s Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine (HRMMU) has confirmed that more than 9,000 civilians, including over 500 children, have been killed since then, though the real number could be much higher.
“Today we mark another grim milestone in the war that continues to exact a horrific toll on Ukraine’s civilians,” said Noel Calhoun, deputy head of the Mission.
Recent deadly attacks
The HRMMU reported that overall monthly casualties decreased earlier this year when compared to 2022, but the average number rose again in May and June, with the last two weeks among some of the deadliest since fighting began.
Recent attacks include the missile strike on a busy shopping area in the eastern city of Kramatorsk on the evening of 27 June, which killed 13 people.
Among the victims was award-winning writer and human rights defender Viktoriia Amelina, who succumbed to her injuries earlier this week.
Just days after the attack, 10 civilians were killed in another missile strike in Lviv, located in western Ukraine.
Thousands of casualties
The information about civilian deaths is contained in the latest report on civilian casualties in Ukraine, published by the UN Human Rights Office, OHCHR, which covers the period from the start of the war through 30 June 2023.
Overall, 25,170 civilian casualties were recorded, with 9,177 killed and 15,993 injured.
Of this number, and whose sex was known, 61 per cent were men and 39 per cent were women. Boys comprised more than 57 per cent of casualties among children whose sex was known, and girls 42.8 per cent.
OHCHR also received information regarding 22 civilian casualties in Russian-occupied Crimea and the city of Sevastopol. They included five men and one woman who were killed, and 16 people who were injured – two children and 14 adults, whose sex is yet unknown.
Nuclear power plant update
Meanwhile, experts deployed by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) at the Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP) in southern Ukraine have not observed any visible indications of mines or explosives there, Director-General Rafael Mariano Grossi said on Wednesday.
Europe’s largest nuclear plant has been in Russian hands since the early days of the war, and both sides have accused the other of shelling the facility.
The IAEA had previously indicated that it was aware of reports that mines and other explosives have been placed in and around the plant, which is located on the frontline of the conflict.
“Following our requests, our experts have gained some additional access at the site. So far, they have not seen any mines or explosives, but they still need more access, including to the rooftops of reactor units 3 and 4 and parts of the turbine halls,” Mr. Grossi said, expressing hope that access will be granted soon.
The experts have inspected parts of the plant in recent days and weeks, and continued to conduct regular walkdowns across the site.
On Wednesday, they were “also able to check a wider section of the perimeter of the ZNPP’s large cooling pond than previously”, the IAEA said.
He stressed that AI must benefit everyone, including the third of humanity who are still offline, and insisted on the need to urgently find consensus on what the guiding norms for AI deployment should be.
The UN chief was speaking at the “AI for Good” summit organized in Geneva by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), bringing together governments, civil society, UN agencies, AI innovators and investors.
The event is exploring ways in which AI can be used to help the world achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Get the SDGs back on track
At the ITU Secretary-General Doreen Bogdan-Martin called for global cooperation to “ensure AI reaches its full potential, while preventing and mitigating harms”. At the mid-point towards the deadline that humanity has given itself to achieve the SDGs, the world was off-track, the ITU chief said, and using AI to accelerate progress was now “our responsibility”.
In an ideal scenario, Ms. Bogdan-Martin said that we would be able to successfully harness AI to find cures for diseases like cancer and Alzheimer’s, step up clean energy production and support farmers in boosting crop yields.
AI risks on the rise
But a dystopian future was also possible, in which AI destroyed jobs and enabled an uncontrollable spread of disinformation, or in which only wealthy countries reaped the benefits of the technology, the ITU Secretary-General said.
Earlier this year, UN human rights chief Volker Türk had warned about the rapid and unchecked advances in generative AI. He said that “human agency, human dignity and all human rights are at serious risk”, calling for governments and businesses to anchor the technology’s development in rights considerations.
A ‘historic’ moment
The ITU chief stressed that the AI Summit was taking place at a “historic” moment when it was crucial to push for AI governance and ensure its inclusive, safe and responsible deployment.
“The future of AI has yet to be written,” she said.
Innovative robots
More than 50 robots will be present at the Summit as part of a “Robotics for Good” exhibition. Their inventors will demonstrate how the robots can support people’s health, provide educational services, help persons with disabilities, reduce waste and assist emergency response in disasters.
A number of humanoid robots are billed as “speakers” at the event and their capabilities as caregivers and companions for elderly people will be on display.
A press conference is due to take place on Friday where some of the humanoid robots will be taking questions.
Since then, as international funding has stalled amid skepticism about the Taliban’s return, the UN has been acting as the world’s “eyes and ears” in Afghanistan. After shifting mainly to humanitarian work, UN agencies and partners are finding ways to help the long-suffering population meet basic needs and preserve hard-won development gains.
UN News was recently in the Afghan capital Kabul to learn more about what the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) is doing to support national partners in addressing the needs of drug-affected communities and helping to backstop overstretched drug treatment facilities.
While there, we also spoke with Markus Poztel who serves as the Deputy Special Representative for the UN Assistance Mission in the country, known as UNAMA.
In this exclusive interview, Mr. Poztel talks about the Mission’s efforts to combat drug abuse and trafficking in Afghanistan as well as the work to restore and protect basic rights in the country, particularly the rights of women and girls.
He highlighted the UN’s role as a “bridge builder” in a very complex setting where the needs are as great as the challenges.
While acknowledging work with the de facto authorities in many areas, he tells UN News “there is no middle ground” on the issue of women and girls’ education and that broader human rights and the decrees banning women’s participation in society “should be reversed as soon as possible”.
This interview has been edited for clarity and brevity.
UN News / David Mottershead
Deputy UN Special Representative for Afghanistan Markus Potzel speaking to UN News in Kabul, Afghanistan.
Markus Potzel:Afghanistan is still the world’s largest producer [of opium]. We’ve recently seen a ban [enacted by the Taliban] on poppy cultivation, production, and trafficking. Initial field reports suggest that there has been a decline in poppy cultivation, which we commend.
We also see efforts to do more for drug rehabilitation centres. The de facto authorities could allocate more [budgetary funding] to equip these centres with medicine, food, and clothes. But, I also call on the international community to do more. We do cooperate with countries in the region who actually are willing to support the de facto authorities on drug rehabilitation.
In terms of livelihoods, there must be more support by the international community because it’s in all our interests – in the interests of Afghans, but also of donor countries in the West and regional countries, all of whom are suffering from drug abuse and trafficking.
UNAMA is addressing [this issue] with the political leadership here, and we are trying to find some common ground to fight drug abuse and drug trafficking and provide the means for alternative livelihoods.
UN News:How are you able to balance between the work that you need to do on the ground in Afghanistan and dealing with what is considered by many an illegitimate authority?
Markus Potzel: The basis of our activity here is the mandate that the Security Council has given us, which encourages us to interact with all political interlocutors, including the de facto authorities.
We have to face the realities on the ground. The Taliban control … almost all of the country.And that’s an opportunity for the Taliban to stabilize and pacify the country. It is also a responsibility because they have to provide services to the people. They have to provide good governance and the rule of law. This is where we see deficits. The authorities have an interest in talking to us because they see us as a bridge builder. We can help convey messages from Afghanistan to the outside world, and we do it the other way as well.
We have 11 field offices throughout the country. So, we are here. We are the eyes and ears, the antennae of the international community. We convey messages, and by talking to the de facto authorities, we also try to foster cooperation and help them get out of this isolation.
We think isolation is not an option, at least not a good option, for the future of Afghanistan.
UNICEF / Mark Naftalin
Students enter the UNICEF-supported Fatah Girls School in Herat, Afghanistan, on 15 June 2022.
UN News:The ban on women and girls’ education has been devastating for the country’s development. While we’ve been here, we have even heard this from people working in institutions that are run by the Taliban. How can a middle ground be found on an issue like this one?
Markus Potzel:There is no middle ground on this issue. Afghanistan is the only country in the world which doesn’t allow girls to go to school beyond grade six, or to university. There is no discussion about this; it’s not a bargaining chip. It has to be reversed.
I’m sure that most of the Afghan population, including the Taliban, are against these decrees. They are in favour of girls’ education. I have not met any officials from the de facto authorities who are in favour of the decrees banning girls from going to school or university.
[These decrees] are detrimental to economic progress. Girls should have a say. Women should have a say in this society. [The de facto authorities] should revoke the ban as soon as possible. Otherwise, there will always be a shadow on the relations Afghanistan has with the international community.
UN News:If the vast majority of Afghans disagree with this ban, including their own people, why do the Taliban authorities continue to implement it?
Markus Potzel:The Emir in Kandahar and his inner circle give a mix of religious arguments and cultural narratives [for implementing the decrees]. But, on the religious argument, Islamic countries around the world don’t have this ban. No other country in the world has this ban. The Quran says “Iqra” which means “read”. It encourages all people – men, women, boys and girls – to read, to write, to learn.
And in terms of culture, there is a tradition in this country that girls and boys learn. Under the Republic, not every girl went to school. In remote areas, they didn’t have the chance, but they were given the right, by the constitution and in law, which does not exist anymore.
UN News: Have you received any kind of cooperation from Islamic countries in helping you deliver this message to the Taliban?
Markus Potzel:Yes, of course. There was a delegation of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) that came here and tried to convince the decision makers in this country of the view that education is part of Islam. So far to no avail, but they will come back. These are scholars from Islamic countries, including Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, Qatar, and Indonesia. [During the earlier visit] a woman was part of the scholars’ delegation. Islamic countries probably have better access and are probably more convincing in talking to the Taliban. We hope that in the end, all our efforts will bear fruit.
UN News/Ezzat El-Ferri
A mountain range and winding road between Kabul and Jalalabad.
UN News: Prior to the political change, the Taliban were the biggest threat to the UN’s work. After August 2021, what is the biggest challenge now facing the UN’s work in Afghanistan?
Markus Potzel:In terms of security, it’s definitely Da’esh, the Islamic State of Khorasan Province.
The circumstances for the UN are getting more difficult because Afghan women now are not allowed to work for non-governmental organizations (NGOs), nor are they allowed to work for the UN.This really complicates things because we rely heavily on women in our work. Without women, it’s very hard … to keep the aid organizations running. We need women to reach out to women.
There are tens of thousands of women-led households in this country because a lot of men in families have lost their lives in war. And without women, NGOs and UN organizations are not able to function properly [so] fewer people get access to aid.
UN News:What is your message to the de facto authorities?
Markus Potzel:I think that the de facto authorities in Afghanistan should let girls go to school beyond grade six. They should let girls go to university. They should let women work for international NGOs, for national NGOs, and for UN organizations. And they should let women participate in social life. If this happens, I can imagine that Afghanistan would be integrated into the international community again, and international donors would also rethink and probably reinforce engagement with Afghanistan. Afghanistan needs international help. And we, as the UN, want to help them help themselves.
The trainee police officers are part of a network of law enforcement specialists in Thailand, but also across the region, who are cooperating across borders to stem trafficking operations by international crime syndicates.
They are collaborating under the border liaison office (BLO) network, supported by the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC).
Lt. Colonel Amonrat Wathanakhosit is based at the Thai Police Training Centre Region 5 in northern Thailand.
“I’m currently working with trainees at a police checkpoint on Highway 1 approximately 40 kilometres south of the Thai-Myanmar border in the far north of Thailand. There is a continual circulation of traffic from and towards the border area, including private and commercial vehicles as well as public transport.
This checkpoint is here in order to try and slow the flow of drugs like methamphetamine from Myanmar to the north through Thailand and on to other countries in the region. In a way this is work which is saving our country from the danger of drugs.
This is hands-on work. The students are stopping and searching vehicles by one by one. They are not using any technology, but just their knowledge of trafficking and their commitment to serving and protecting their communities.
UN News/Daniel Dickinson
Police officers carry out security checks at a roadblock in northern Thailand.
Intercepting drugs
They choose drivers randomly to question and then gauge the behaviour of the person to come to a decision as to whether they may be concealing drugs. Little by little these trainees are becoming more confident and thus more effective at their jobs and are able to support colleagues from other law enforcement agencies to intercept the drugs. Recently, we have had a great deal of success seizing methamphetamine pills.
If drivers are suspected of being under the influence of drugs, then they can also be tested here, after they provide a urine sample.
UNODC has supported the training programme, which provides trainees with useful insights into spotting suspect vehicles and other abnormal activity.
The training has been very successful, and I think in the future we could even train officers from neighbouring Myanmar and Laos. I think this type of cross-border collaboration would allow for joint operations to stop the manufacturing and trafficking of drugs.
UN News/Daniel Dickinson
Individuals suspected of taking drugs can be tested at roadside facilities set up by law enforcement agencies.
Excessive production of methamphetamine
One of the biggest challenges we face is having enough officers working at these checkpoints to counter the excessive production of methamphetamine. These officers have other duties and responsibilities and so do not spend their whole interdicting drugs.
Nevertheless, the training work that I am involved with is my inspiration, passion, and strength. It’s not hard work for me. I’m grateful to have the continued support of the Office of Narcotics Control Board and UNODC.
My son is 18 years old and a university student, and I tell him about the bad guys that I come across in my work and the danger of narcotics, how they can destroy people and societies. He understands that my job is trying to stop drugs.”
UN News/Daniel Dickinson
A police officer questions passengers on a bus travelling from the north of Thailand.
Quick facts on border liaison offices (BLOs)
Some 120 BLOs have been established across Southeast Asia.
BLOs are established in pairs – on either side of an international border crossing.
BLOs address myriad cross-border issues, including drug and precursor chemical trafficking, migrant smuggling, human trafficking, wildlife and forestry crime, and, in some locations, the movement of terrorist fighters alongside public health and pandemic-related matters.
The BLO network works to enhance relationships between the law enforcement and border communities, community policing efforts, and the role and leadership of women in law enforcement agencies.
The UN chief expressed deep concern at the extreme vulnerability faced by the Haitian people – especially women and girls – because of brutally violent and “predatory” armed gangs, like those encircling the capital, blocking main roads and controlling access to water, food, health care.
“I condemn in the strongest possible terms the widespread sexual violence which the armed gangs have used as a weapon to instil fear,” he said, calling on the entire international community to urgently “put the victims and the civilian population at the centre of our concerns and priorities.”
Deployment of an international force
Speaking to reporters in the Haitian capital, Mr. Guterres said that lasting and fully representative political solutions in Haiti would be impossible without a drastic improvement in the security situation.
“Every day counts. If we do not act now, instability and violence will have a lasting impact on generations of Haitians,” warned the Secretary-General, calling on all partners to increase their support for the national police in the form of financing, training or equipment.
However, such assistance alone might not be enough to restore the authority of the State.
“I continue to urge the Security Council to authorize the immediate deployment of a robust international force to assist the Haitian National Police in its fight against the gangs,” emphasized the UN chief.
Political entente to end the crisis
During his one-day visit to the Haitian capital, the Secretary-General he met with Prime Minister Ariel Henry, the High Transitional Council, members of civil society and the political parties, speaking to all of them on the need for ‘a political entente to end the crisis’.
“I call on all actors to create the conditions necessary for the restoration of democratic institutions,” said Mr. Guterres, inviting all parties involved to “rise above personal interests and make concessions” enabling emergence of a common vision and setting a viable and credible electoral pathway.
He commended the recent inter-Haitian talks, facilitated by the CARICOM Eminent Persons Group, aimed at reaching agreement on the formation of a national unity government and the expansion of the High Transitional Council.
“Only an inclusive national dialogue – with the full participation of women and young people – will help end the insecurity and find lasting political solutions,” Mr. Guterres said, and added that the UN Integrated Office in Haiti (BINUH) and the entire UN system would continue to back these efforts.
‘A matter of moral justice’
While in Port-au-Prince, the Secretary-General met local men and women.
“I felt all the exhaustion of a people who have long been grappling with a cascade of crises and unacceptable living conditions. I listened to their call for help,” said the UN chief, noting that currently, one in two Haitians lives in extreme poverty, suffers from hunger, and does not have regular access to drinking water.
With the Haitian people facing such grave challenges, the Secretary-General lamented that the UN humanitarian response plan, which requires $720 million to assist more than three million people, is only 23 per cent funded.
It is “a matter of solidarity and moral justice” that the international community step up, he stated.
He specially commended the courage and dedication of humanitarian workers who provide assistance despite many obstacles and asked all stakeholders to uphold human rights and international law and to ensure safe and unhindered humanitarian access to people in need in Haiti.
‘No solution without the Haitian people’
Only inclusive and sustainable development will help to break the historical cycle of crises, address the humanitarian and security challenges, and create a stable constitutional and political environment, stated the UN chief.
“No solution can be found without the Haitian people,” he continued, but acknowledged that the scale of the problems demands the full support of the international community.
To garner that and more, the Secretary-General said that he is heading on Sunday to Trinidad and Tobago, where will participate in the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Summit, which brings together the region’s 20 countries, among others.
NEOs are asteroids or comets that come relatively close to the Sun, to about 50 million kilometres from Earth’s orbit. Some of them, ‘potentially hazardous objects’ (PHOs), come even closer – in interstellar terms – with a minimum distance of less than 7.5 million kilometres.
Measuring more than 140 meters across, the PHOs have the potential to cause regional devastation with possible global consequences.
Do look up
Even smaller objects can still cause significant, although localized, damage. The object responsible for the Tunguska event on 30 June 1908 over Siberia, is believed to have been up to 60 metres in diameter.
The largest asteroid impact event in recorded history, it was chosen in 2017 as a fitting anniversary to commemorate International Asteroid Day.
Even smaller NEOs can be hazardous, damaging buildings and injuring people. On 15 February 2013, a large fireball approximately 20 meters across disintegrated in the skies over the Russian city of Chelyabinsk.
According to US Space Administration (NASA), the explosion released the energy equivalent of around 440,000 tons of TNT and generated a shock wave that blew out windows and even damaged buildings. Over 1,600 people were injured in the blast, mostly due to shattered glass.
The majority of such objects originate from the inner part of the Solar System’s main asteroid belt. They form under the gravitational influence of Saturn, Jupiter, and Mars, and because of collisions between larger space bodies.
Warning network
UNOOSA, whose experts have been tracking NEOs for many years, insist that such a global issue merits a robust international response. Addressing the hazard, however much it sounds like a page out of a sci-fi playbook, includes identifying threats, and coming up with some solutions.
While the task of IAWN is to provide Member States with comprehensive communication plans and protocols to help take educated decisions in case of an asteroid impact, the SMPAG acts as an inter-space agency forum that selects technologies needed for NEO deflection and helps reach consensus on planetary defence measures.
In practical terms this means that should there be a credible impact threat, IAWN would issue an alert.
If the object is larger than 50 metres and the probability of impact exceeds one percent within the next 50 years, SMPAG would evaluate mitigation options and come up with an implementation plan.
UNOOSA’s ultimate aim is to protect the Earth and humankind from the devastating impact of asteroids and International Asteroid Day has over years grown into a global educational campaign to help do just that.
If you want to know more about how UNOOSA is working to stop sci-fi Armageddon from becoming a reality, you can find more details on Near-Earth Objects and Planetary Defence, here.
Speaking to the Council’s annual meeting in Geneva on protecting the rights of women and girls, the UN High Commissioner said it was an urgent task, and there needed to be zero-tolerance of gender-based violence.
He highlighted the alarming reality that female human rights defenders, women journalists, and those in public office and political decision-making positions, routinely come under “vicious” attack.
Harrowing statistics
“Such acts are deliberate, directed at those seen as challenging traditional notions of family and gender or harmful traditional social norms”, said Mr. Türk.
“Their purpose is clear”, he added, “to exercise control, to perpetuate subordination and to crush the political activism and aspirations of women and girls.”
To illustrate that, Mr. Türk pointed to a recent study conducted by UN Women in 39 countries. It found that 81.8 per cent of women parliamentarians had experienced psychological violence, while 44.4 per cent reported being threatened with death, rape, beatings, and kidnapping.
Additionally, 25.5 per cent had endured some form of physical violence.
Another study, by UNESCO, estimates that 73 per cent of women journalists have faced online violence, including through the spread of fake news, doctored images, and direct verbal threats and attacks.
Zero tolerance
Confronting the deep-seated structural discrimination requires comprehensive and systemic change. High Commissioner Türk called for the strengthening of national legal frameworks to ensure gender equality and protect women from violence, both online and offline.
“We must adopt codes of conduct with zero tolerance for gender-based violence and establish effective reporting mechanisms for those who experience it,” the High Commissioner said.
Concrete measures, both temporary and permanent, are urgently required. Mr. Türk underscored the need for quotas for women in public and political life. He believes that women should be given more of a chance to get elected to serve on public bodies. For that, awareness-raising campaigns and other forms of assistance to women who want to dedicate their time to politics are needed.
Supporting this point, Reem Alsalem, Special Rapporteur on violence against women and girls, who also addressed the Council on Friday said: “We must stem the tide of violence against women and girls in the private, public and political spheres of life and we must do so now.”
Challenge archaic notions
Increasing participation needs to start with changing habitual behaviour said the UN rights office (OHCHR) chief.
“We must also challenge archaic notions that confine domestic and care work to women and girls only,” he urged, adding that economic incentives, social protection measures and gender equality campaigns can be driving forces to promote greater equality overall.
Mr. Türk said improving education was an essential precondition for women’s equality participation in public affairs. He stressed the importance of boosting involvement in traditionally male-dominated fields such as science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). Education systems and curricula should include women as role models and highlight their contributions throughout history to address the lack of visibility and recognition.
“Women make up half of humanity. Gender equality is not a matter of isolated gains for women alone, it is a collective pursuit that benefits entire societies,” said Mr. Türk, calling upon Member States and the Council “to pledge to take concrete and transformative action to tackle gender-based violence against women and girls in public and political life, and to promote their participation and leadership.”
“About five million children under the age of five are estimated to be facing acute malnutrition in 2023 in the Horn region, in the Greater Horn. That is about 10.4 million, that is just a staggering figure,” said Liesbeth Aelbrecht, the World Health Organization’s (WHO) incident manager for the greater Horn of Africa emergency.
Three year high
“What our colleagues are seeing in clinics and in hospitals, since the beginning of this year, are the highest level of severely malnourished children who are now coming to these facilities with medical complications since the crisis began three years ago.”
Echoing that alert, World Food Programme (WFP) Senior Emergency Officer Dominique Ferretti said that almost three years of drought had given way to rains and devastating flash floods: “While we just concluded a rainy season which performed better than predicted, one rainy season is not enough to bring an end to the crisis.”
Women collect water in drought-stricken Marsabit in northern Kenya.
Although long-awaited rains arrived in March across the eight-member Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) region – encompassing Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan and Uganda – and with it the hope of relief, flash-flooding inundated homes and farmland, washed away livestock and closed schools and health facilities.
The result was the highest number of reported disease outbreaks in the greater Horn of Africa so far this century. Their frequency can be linked directly to extreme climate events, according to the UN health agency.
Ms. Aelbrecht noted ongoing outbreaks of cholera and measles, together with “very high numbers” last year and this year, including malaria cases.
“So, with the impact of flooding, we see these diseases worsening. Malaria, I would like to remind you, is one of the biggest killers in the region.”
Climate complications
Climate concerns are key to food security in the coming months, the UN Food and Agriculture Agency (FAO) noted at a press conference in Geneva.
Global forecasts indicate that El Niño weather pattern conditions are already present and will strengthen through the rest of the year, which could bring above-average rains during the October to December rainy season across eastern parts of the region, including much of Kenya, the Somali region of Ethiopia and Somalia.
“El Niño may somewhat reduce the risk of flooding in flood-prone areas such as South Sudan,” said Brenda Lazarus, Food Security and Early Warning Economist at FAO’s Subregional Office for Eastern Africa.
Nevertheless, she indicated that “on the risk’ side, below-average rains and dry spells, along with other drivers of food insecurity would likely negatively impact agricultural production and increase already alarming levels.
Investing is key
FAO emphasized the need to shift from a system focused mainly on emergency response, to anticipating and mitigating crises through investments such as in rainwater harvesting, soil and water conservation, or the use of more drought tolerant crops – and ensuring seeds are locally available.
Involving young people in building silos could also boost community resilience, the UN agency noted.
The 60 million severely food insecure include more than 15 million women of reproductive age, 5.6 million adolescent girls and close to 1.1 million pregnant women.
Close to 360,000 of them are expected to give birth in the next three months, according to the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA).
Women who are forced to look for food just to survive “do so on the expense of their own health,” said Michael Ebele, UNFPA Regional Humanitarian Adviser for East and Southern Africa.
Increased risk of deaths
“So, we are seeing pregnant women not being able to go for antenatal care, not attending to other illnesses they may be having. And then, that comes with risks of complications…then the risks of maternal deaths increase.”
Malnutrition among pregnant and lactating mothers puts their unborn and breast-feeding children at risk of malnutrition and propagates malnutrition through entire life cycles in communities.
Malnourished mothers are also less able to withstand complications in pregnancy which put them at greater risk of losing their child.
“Because of the limited amount of resources, we have seen an increase in the risks of survival sex”, said Ms. Ebele, “increasing the risk of sexual exploitation and abuse, particularly of women and girls”.
Grain initiative threat
Asked by journalists how badly the Horn of Africa would be affected if the UN-brokered Black Sea Initiative to facilitate Ukrainian grain exports to the world’s markets is not renewed next month, WFP’s Mr. Ferretti replied that “the reality is that Ukraine is the breadbasket, it is a major supplier and it would hit us hard if this Black Sea initiative was not renewed”.
“I first started taking drugs when I was 15,” says 49-year-old Prapat Sukkeaw. “I smoked marijuana, but it was laced with heroin. I felt like I was floating, and it meant that I could forget about all the problems that I faced as a teenager. It was a beautiful feeling.”
Prapat Sukkeaw is one of an estimated 57,000 people who currently injects drugs in Thailand. His drugs of choice, marijuana and heroin, reflect a period in Thailand’s recent history when both illegal narcotics were the main stimulants being trafficked out of the storied Golden Triangle, a remote and somewhat inaccessible region which includes northern Thailand as well as Myanmar and Laos.
UN News/Daniel Dickinson
49-year-old Prapat Sukkeaw has used drugs since the age of 15.
Employed by a non-governmental organization (NGO), he has on occasion wanted to give up heroin due to pressure from family and friends. Now, he has recognized that, even if he admits to being addicted, taking drugs “is my preference and my right”. He has now started taking the synthetic drug methamphetamine, as heroin has become progressively more expensive.
His focus has moved from abstaining from drugs to living with the side effects and managing the potential harm of their prolonged use, for example by not sharing needles.
Like all Thai citizens, Mr. Sukkeaw has access to universal health care, but he found that as a person who uses drugs, he was stigmatized and discriminated against by health care workers. He was referred to Ozone, an NGO based in a suburb of the Thai capital, Bangkok.
Ozone’s goal is to reduce the health and social impacts of drug addiction, promoting abstinence, but also supporting clients who want to carry on using and ensuring that they have access to the health services they require.
UN News/Daniel Dickinson
A hepatitis C test is prepared for a client at Ozone.
“Our clients who travel from around Thailand to Ozone welcome our non-judgmental approach,” said Ngammee Verapun, the centre’s director, himself a person who uses multiple drugs on a regular basis. “We are a community which values all people. We are client-centred and offer peer support treating everyone equally, no matter their background.”
Ozone offers a variety of services including needle exchanges and HIV testing as well as PrEP (pre-exposure prophylaxis) which reduces the risk of getting HIV from sex or injecting drugs. It also partners with Dreamlopments, a hepatitis C service provider which offers integrated healthcare free of charge. Hepatitis C is a viral liver infection spread by sharing needles. Its activities are supported by UNODC, although a funding shortfall has meant that the centre has had to close many of its outreach services in other parts of Thailand.
UN News/Daniel Dickinson
Karen Peters, UNODC.
From punitive to progressive drug laws
Historically, Thailand has severely punished people who have broken strict drug laws. However, since a change in the law in 2021, the legal system has shifted towards rehabilitation for people who use drugs.
Speaking ahead of the International Day Against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking, marked annually 26 June, Karen Peters, UNODC’s Bangkok-based regional drugs and health focal point, said: “Now people are allowed alternatives. It is not an ideal choice, but they are given the choice to attend a treatment facility or go to prison.”
The law is progressive in other ways, as harm reduction is specifically highlighted as an objective, which, according to Karen Peters, allows organizations like Ozone “to function within the confines of the legal and justice system”.
It is also helping to shift “the narrative around people who use drugs in Thailand from being socially marginalized”, she said.
Tackling stigmatization
The stigmatization of people who take drugs nevertheless continues, but according to Dr. Phattarapol Jungsomjatepaisal, the director of the National Addiction Treatment and Rehabilitation Committee in the Ministry of Public Health, the new legislation means that more “health service providers are being trained to act in a non-stigmatizing manner”.
He says that the reaction from people who use drugs has been “good” as there is a recognition that ultimately, they should receive better care in hospitals and health centres under Thailand’s universal health coverage system, while continuing to have the option to access services in community-led centres like Ozone.
HIV and hepatitis C
One major concern remains the high prevalence of HIV and hepatitis C amongst people who inject drugs in a country where HIV rates are otherwise decreasing. In Thailand, an estimated eight per cent of drug users have HIV, approximately 3,800 people.
The rate of hepatitis C, at 42 per cent, is “very frightening”, according to Dr. Patchara Benjarattanaporn, the country director of UNAIDS, the UN agency leading the global effort to end AIDS as a public health threat by 2030.
UN News/Daniel Dickinson
Despite ongoing concerns about the health outcomes for people who use drugs, Dr. Benjarattanaporn believes that Thailand could become a model for the region’s countries facing similar challenges.
“The new narcotic law and the community-led aspect of treatment for drug users gives hope that Thailand can control cases, and this is a development that other countries are watching,” he said.
Back at Ozone, one client is receiving counseling about PrEP and HIV prevention, and another is undergoing a hepatitis test. The peer support remains a key element in attracting people to use its services, and it is now hoped that the new legislation will lead to less discrimination and will enable others to access similar services through more government health facilities.
Speaking with UN News one hour after fierce shelling sparked fires across the city, Mr. Rosenfeld said his “Kharkiv is a frontier city” concept is now being sketched out amid the rubble.
“Seeing the whole city from the panoramic windows and the smoke from the fire, you understand that our city is proud of itself, feels smart, educated, knows its worth,” said Mr. Rosenfeld, who was born and raised in Kharkiv.
The master plan is now unfurling, developed on a voluntary basis by the Norman Foster Foundation together with a group of local architects and urban planners as well as with the Advisory Council of International Experts.
Supported by the UN Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) through a pilot project, the newly created UN4Kharkiv task force has united 16 UN agencies and international organizations, with Mr. Rosenfeld volunteering as a local specialist.
Ever-changing dynamics amid war
“It is impossible to understand what is happening here from a distance,” he explained. “It is difficult to understand even from the inside because the situation is dynamic. It changes all the time. We make an appointment for a Zoom meeting, and then there is nightly shelling. When we come to the issue of, say, energy security, the situation has completely changed.”
He said he is “in love” with his city, makes films about it, and can talk about its history and people for hours. Since the beginning of the war, when Kharkiv began to be systematically shelled, many have moved to other parts of Ukraine or gone abroad, but he said he never thought about leaving.
The total damage caused to Ukraine’s housing sector since Russia’s invasion is estimated at more than $50 billion. According to the City Council of Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second largest city, 3,367 apartment buildings and 1,823 single-family houses have been destroyed, along with urban infrastructure.
Ukrainian ‘Wild West’
The frontier city is the “Ukrainian Wild West”, Mr. Rosenfeld said, referring to its mid-17th century beginnings.
“People who came here were ready to take risks in order to take advantage of the opportunities that were opening up,” he said, providing a snapshot of its rich history, from its changing character in the early 19th century once a university was built to its early 20th century role as the capital of Soviet Ukraine.
“I have always believed that we have a lot in common with Berlin,” he said. “Now I do not compare Kharkiv with anything. It’s unique. To understand it, you must come and live here.”
The multicultural, multinational city is a melting pot, with students from Africa to Asia studying and living together, he said, adding that Kharkiv’s frontier characteristics “are in its genetic code”.
Kharkiv dreams: Stop the bombing
The population of Kharkiv was invited to take part in a survey focused on reconstructing the city, but many had fled the daily attacks and those remaining at that time dreamed of one thing: for the bombing to stop, Mr. Rosenfeld said.
Their voices were heard, he said. Noting that bomb shelters built in Soviet Kharkov nearly a century ago were rebuilt to tackle new realities, he said only one of 11 current proposals from architects and engineers contain a security framework.
“Today, a ‘modern’ bomb shelter is an underground factory, underground universities, and event centres, which should be dual-use facilities,” Mr. Rosenfeld said.
Cultural life is back
Since 2022, despite constant shelling over the past month and a half, “a huge number of people” have returned to Kharkiv, and cultural life has resumed in the city, Mr. Rosenfeld said.
“We recently attended an amazing performance based on a play written two months ago on current events,” the architect said, noting that a jazz festival are in the works.
Despite air raid sirens, the shows go on, he said.
Indeed, the concept of the future of Kharkiv was born to the sounds of an air raid siren, Mr. Rosenfeld recalled, adding that despite current conditions, he and many of his colleagues feel “happy” to be working on the project.
‘Do the right thing’
“Maybe for some, it sounds terrible, but at this moment you understand that you are doing a very important and necessary thing,” he said. “You want to be needed.”
After the start of the war, many people in Kharkiv, like doctors and volunteers, who understood that they are needed and useful, he said.
“They don’t do it out of vanity; they just do the right thing,” he said. “Doing what I do gives me a colossal sense of happiness. Our work with the UN is real, making the most of our abilities, talents, knowledge, and skills. Yes, it has to do with such a tragedy, but you’re happy because you’re not vegetating. You’re living.”
The explosion of ethnic violence in Darfur largely by nomadic “Arab” groups in alliance with the RSF who have been battling national army forces for control of the country since mid-April, has led tens of thousands to flee into neighbouring Chad.
‘Horrifying accounts’
In a statement,OHCHR Spokesperson Ravina Shamdasani said interviews with people fleeing the decimated city of El Geneina have revealed “horrifying accounts” of people being killed on foot by the RSF-supported militia.
“All those interviewed also spoke of seeing dead bodies scattered along the road – and the stench of decomposition”, she said. “Several people spoke off seeing dozens of bodies in an area referred to as Shukri, around 10km from the border, where one or more of the Arab militias reportedly has a base.”
She said immediate action to halt the killings was essential.
“The High Commissioner for Human Rights calls on the RSF leadership to immediately, unequivocally condemn and stop the killing of people fleeing El-Geneina, and other violence and hate speech against them on the basis of their ethnicity. Those responsible for the killings and other violence must be held accountable.”
Safe passage
She added that people fleeing El Geneina must be guaranteed safe passage and humanitarian agencies allowed access to the area so they can collect the bodies of the dead.
“Out of 16 people we have so far been able to interview, 14 testified that they witnessed summary executions and the targeting of groups of civilians on the road between El-Geneina and the border – either the shooting at close range of people ordered to lie on the ground or the opening of fire into crowds.”
The civilian exodus from the city intensified following the killing of the state governor on 14 June just hours after he accused the RSF and militias of “genocide” – raising the spectre of the hundreds of thousands killed between 2003-2005 during a Government-orchestrated campaign of violence.
Ms. Shamdasani said the testimonies recounted killings that took place on 15 and 16 June, but also during the past week.
Deadly hate speech
“We understand the killings and other violence are continuing and being accompanied by persistent hate speech against the Masalit community, including calls to kill and expel them from Sudan.”
One 37-year-old told the UN that from his group of 30 people fleeing to the Chad border, only 17 made it across, the Spokesperson recounted.
“Some were killed after coming under fire from vehicles belonging to the RSF and ‘Arab’ militia near the Chad border, while others were summarily executed, he said. Those who survived had their phones and money looted from them by armed men shouting: ‘You are slaves, you are Nuba’”.
A 22-year-old woman gave similar accounts of killings. She told how one badly wounded young man had to be left on the ground: “We had to leave him because we had only one donkey with us”.
“El Geneina has become uninhabitable”, said Ms. Shamdasani with essential infrastructure destroyed and movement of humanitarian aid to the city, blocked.
“We urge the immediate establishment of a humanitarian corridor between Chad and El-Geneina, and safe passage for civilians out of areas affected by the hostilities.”
