“I am in charge of cases pertaining to women and children in Nimba county. The most prevalent cases I handle here are rape, persistent non-support (failure to pay alimony) and domestic violence. Rape is the most commonly reported of these cases. It is a very difficult issue to work on, even for those of us with training and experience, because the impact of rape stays with the survivor for life.
If a child is raped, they are provided counselling, medical and other support but they will never fully recover from the trauma and even physical damage. This is why I support the work of Spotlight Initiative to create awareness and share messages on the prevention of rape and the abuse of women and children. It is important that we work very hard to prevent this violence, and for offenders to be punished.
Spotlight Initiative Liberia/Helen Mayelle
‘Women are being heard’
After COVID-19 and Ebola we experienced very high cases of rape because perpetrators had the advantage when children were at home. Women and girls are very vulnerable populations…from time immemorial they have been vulnerable. It’s about now that women are getting onboard and being heard.
We were trained in different areas of handling sexual and gender-based violence and how to work with survivors of rape. Spotlight has a team that can come and monitor us, follow up on cases we have documented and the cases that are forwarded to court. They also collect data on cases.
Through Spotlight, we have seen more women and girls coming up to report cases by themselves. Previously, it would be through other community members who have an understanding of the law and justice processes, but with the awareness created on how to report cases [women and girls] are coming here openly.
Spotlight has also renovated our office building and supplied us with chairs, desks and computers for us to do our work. They gave us a motorcycle for us to follow up on cases from remote communities.
Spotlight provided placards with messages to ‘stop rape’ and others with ‘rape is a crime’. Some placards explain that there are people out there to help victims of rape, and where to report cases of abuse. They also have messages for the offenders saying that ‘if you commit this crime, you will be punished’. People read these placards and change their behaviour. Victims and reporters of cases now know that they are protected by the law if they report. They know that there are people to help them.
In a statement, the UN integrated stabilization mission in CAR, MINUSCA, said the attack at the Obo airfield near the border with the Democratic Republic of the Congo and South Sudan, had taken place on Thursday morning, and that the mission had “immediately opened an investigation into the exact circumstances” surrounding the incident.
Likely war crime
In his statement released via his Spokesperson’s Office in New York, UN chief António Guterres expressed his deepest condolences to the family of the fallen peacekeeper and to the Kingdom and people of Morocco.”
He recalled that such attacks “may constitute war crimes under international law” and called on the Government of CAR “to spare no effort in identifying the perpetrators of this tragedy so that they can be brought to justice swiftly.”
MINUSCA reminded that any attack on a ‘blue helmet’ was liable to prosecution by both national and international authorities.
The Security Council also issued a statement late on Friday, condemning the attack “in the strongest terms”, stressing that anybody found to be involved in the planning, direction or sponsoring of such attacks, could be sanctioned.
Council members expressed their full support for MINUSCA, and “expressed their deep appreciation” to the mission’s troop and peace-contributing nations, while also stressing the importance of the mission continuing to have the necessary capacities to carry out its mandate.
UN solidarity with CAR
Mr. Guterres reaffirmed the solidarity of the United Nations with the people and Government of CAR, where MINUSCA has been in operation since 2014, with its first priority being to provide protection to civilians caught up in years of conflict.
Following decades of instability, in 2012, the mostly Muslim Seleka rebel coalition launched a series of attacks leading to them capturing control of the capital, and the transfer of power to a transitional government, but sectarian conflict was exacerbated by the rise of the predominantly Christian anti-Balaka movement.
With its mandate renewed just a few weeks ago for a further year, MINUSCA has continued to play a key role in recent months, countering still widespread insecurity, Mission chief Valentine Rugwabiza told the Security Council in October.
Early that month, three peacekeepers were killed patrolling near the Cameroon border, and MINUSCA has repeatedly called on the Government to lift a ban on UN night flights, for the safety and personnel and effectiveness of humanitarian aid distribution.
‘Robust’ response
The MINUSCA chief said the mission had been taking a “robust, preventive and proactive posture” responding to security alerts from various civilian communities in the face of continuing threats from armed groups.
She promised that the mission would continue to position forces where needed to help restore order, advance disarmament and rehabilitation efforts, and help cut off rebel supply routes.
The latest UN report for the Security Council pointed to the “indispensable contribution” of MINUSCA’s multidimensional mandate, which the search for lasting political solutions continues in CAR, she said
“Millions are being plunged into extreme hardship and appalling conditions of life by these strikes”, he said.
“Taken as a whole, this raises serious problems under international humanitarian law, which requires a concrete and direct military advantage for each object attacked”.
Racking up casualties
According to the UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine (HRMMU), on Wednesday further missile strikes in the city and region of Kyiv killed at least eight civilians, counting one girl, and injured some 45 others, including seven children.
A two-day old baby boy was killed, and two doctors injured by a rocket strike on a hospital in Vilniansk, in the Zaporizhzhia region.
Since Russia began its ongoing barrage of missile strikes and loitering munition attacks across the country on 10 October, HRMMU has verified at least 77 civilian deaths and 272 injured.
Allegations on both sides
In addition to documenting civilian casualties, the Monitoring Mission has been examining videos and other information surrounding alleged summary executions.
“Since Russia began its armed attack on Ukraine in February, there have been numerous allegations of summary executions by both parties of prisoners of war and others no longer participating in the fighting”, Mr. Türk said.
“Persons hors de combat, including soldiers who have surrendered, are protected under international humanitarian law and their summary execution constitutes a war crime”, he reminded.
‘Forensic investigations’ needed
Among some of the videos that have surfaced over the last two weeks on social media are video clips from the village of Makiivka, which show the apparent surrender of Russian forces or Russian-affiliated armed groups; a man opening fire at Ukrainian soldiers; and subsequently the dead bodies of some 12 Russian soldiers.
“Our Monitoring Mission in Ukraine has conducted a preliminary analysis indicating that these disturbing videos are highly likely to be authentic in what they show. The actual circumstances of the full sequence of events must be investigated to the fullest extent possible, and those found responsible, appropriately held to account”, said the senior UN official.
“The analysis the Mission has done to date underlines the need for independent and detailed forensic investigations to help establish exactly what happened”.
Meanwhile, the Ukrainian authorities have opened a criminal investigation into the events.
“It is essential that all allegations of summary executions are investigated fully in a manner that is – and is seen to be – independent, impartial, thorough, transparent, prompt and effective”, said Mr. Türk.
Cost of war
The UN Human Rights Chief also called on the parties to “issue clear instructions” to refrain from retaliation and reprisals against any prisoners of war and to ensure that these instructions are fully complied with.
“The rules governing armed conflict set out in the Geneva Conventions demand this. Order your troops to treat those who surrender and those they detain humanely”.
He flagged the devastating impacts of missile strikes by Russian forces and allegations of summary executions of prisoners of war as showing “all too plainly the intolerable human cost of this, and any other, armed conflict”.
“They are a stark reminder of why international law exists and why it must be fully complied with to prevent a descent into utter inhumanity and negation of the very idea of our human rights”, the High Commissioner stressed.
After days of intense negotiations that stretched into early Sunday morning in Sharm el-Sheikh, countries at the latest UN Climate Change Conference, COP27, reached agreement on an outcome that established a funding mechanism to compensate vulnerable nations for ‘loss and damage’ from climate-induced disasters.
“This COP has taken . I welcome the decision to establish a fund and to operationalize it in the coming period,” UN said in a video message issued from the conference venue in Egypt, underscoring that the voices of those on frontlines of the climate crisis must be heard.
The UN chief was referring to what ended up becoming the thorniest issue at this COP, shorthand for the annual Conference of Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change ().
Developing countries made strong and repeated appeals for the establishment of a loss and damage fund, to compensate the countries that are the most vulnerable to climate disasters, yet who have contributed little to the climate crisis.
“Clearly this will not be enough, but it is a much-needed political signal to rebuild broken trust,” he underscored, stressing that the UN system will support the effort every step of the way.
“I call upon all of you to view these draft decisions not merely as words on paper but as a collective message to the world that we have heeded the call of our leaders and of current and future generations to set the right pace and direction for the implementation of the Paris agreement and the achievement of its goals.”
Tweet URL
History was made today at #COP27 in Sharm El-Sheikh as parties agreed to the establishment of a long-awaited loss and damage fund for assisting developing countries that are particularly vulnerable to the adverse effects of climate change.
COP27
COP27P
November 19, 2022
Mr. Shoukry added: “The world is watching, I call on us all to rise to the expectations entrusted to us by the global community, and especially by those who are most vulnerable and yet have contributed the least to climate change.”
After missing their Friday night deadline, negotiators were finally able to on the most difficult items of the agenda, including a loss and damage facility – with a commitment to set up a financial support structure for the most vulnerable by the next COP in 2023 – as well as the post-2025 finance goal, and the so-called mitigation work programme, that would reduce emissions faster, catalyze impactful action, and secure assurances from key countries that they will take immediate action to raise ambition and keep us on the path towards 1.5°C.
Yet, while agreement on these issues was seen as a welcome step in the right direction, there appeared to be little forward movement on other key issues, particularly on the phasing out of fossil fuels, and tightened language on the need to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius.
Observers have warned that new language including “low emissions” energy alongside renewables as the energy sources of the future is a significant loophole, as the undefined term could be used to justify new fossil fuel development against the clear guidance of the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change () and the International Energy Agency (IEA).
The combat against climate change continues
Mr. Guterres reminded the world of what remain the priorities regarding climate action, including the ambition to reduce global greenhouse gas emissions and keep alive the ’s 1.5 degree Celsius limit, and pull humanity “back from the climate cliff”.
“We need to drastically reduce emissions now – and this is an issue this COP did not address,” he lamented, saying that the world still needs to make a giant leap on climate ambition, and to end its addiction to fossil fuels by investing “massively” in renewables.
The UN chief also emphasized the need to make good on the long-delayed promise of $100 billion a year in climate finance for developing countries, establishing clarity and a credible roadmap to double adaptation funds.
He also reiterated the importance of changing the business models of multilateral development banks and international financial institutions.
“They must accept more risk and systematically leverage private finance for developing countries at reasonable costs,” he said.
Kiara Worth
Our planet is still in the emergency room
The UN chief said that while a fund for loss and damage is essential, it’s not an answer if the climate crisis washes a small island State off the map – or turns an entire African country into a desert.
He renewed his call for just energy transition partnerships to accelerate the phasing out of coal and scaling up renewables and reiterated the call he made on his opening speech at COP27: a .
“A Pact in which all countries make an extra effort to reduce emissions this decade in line with the 1.5-degree goal. And a Pact to mobilize – together with international financial institutions and the private sector – financial and technical support for large emerging economies to accelerate their renewable energy transition,” he explained, underscoring that this is essential to keep the 1.5 degree limit within reach.
Kiara Worth
‘I share your frustration’
The UN chief also sent a message to civil society and activists which had been so vocal since the conference’s opening day: “I share your frustration”.
Mr. Guterres said that climate advocates – led by the moral voice of young people – have kept the agenda moving through the darkest of days and they must be protected.
“The most vital energy source in the world is people power. That is why it is so important to understand the human rights dimension of climate action,” he said, adding that the battle ahead will be tough and that “it will take each and every one of us fighting in the trenches each and every day…we can’t wait for a miracle.”
Echoing this sentiment, Kenyan environmental youth activist Elizabeth Wathuti, said: “COP27 may be over, but the fight for a safe future is not. It is now more urgent than ever that political leaders work to agree a strong global deal to protect and restore nature at the upcoming Global Biodiversity Summit in Montreal. “
Ms. Wathuti added: “The interconnected food, nature and climate crisis are right now affecting us all – but the frontline communities like mine are hardest hit. How many alarm bells need to be sounded before we act?”
Time is running out
In his video message, Mr. Guterres highlighted that COP27 concluded with “much homework” still to be done and little time in which to do it.
“We are already halfway between the [2015] Paris Climate Agreement and the 2030 deadline. We need all hands on deck to drive justice and ambition,” he stated.
The Secretary-General added that this includes ambition to end the “suicidal war” on nature that is fuelling the climate crisis, driving species to extinction and destroying ecosystems.
“Next month’s is the moment to adopt an ambitious global biodiversity framework for the next decade, drawing from the power of nature-based solutions and the critical role of indigenous communities,” he urged.
In his closing remarks, UNFCC Executive Secretary Simon Stiell, said: “At COP27… we’ve determined a way forward on a decade-long conversation on funding for loss and damage.” Among other positive steps, he said that in the text adopted Sunday morning, “we have been given reassurances that there is no room for backsliding. It gives the key political signals that indicate the phase-down of all fossil fuels is happening.”
The negotiations at COP27 had not been easy. “…Not been easy at all. But this historic outcome does move us forward and it benefits the vulnerable people around the world,” he stated.
And with that in mind, he said: “There is no need in putting ourselves through all that we have just gone through if we are going to participate in an exercise of collective amnesia the moment the cameras move on,” and called for all Parties and delegations to hold each other accountable for the decisions that had just been taken.
Mr. Stiell added that he would personally shepherd the drive forward on Nationally Determined Contributions, or , which are at the core of the Paris Agreement and embody efforts by each country to reduce national emissions and adapt to the impacts of climate change.
He went on to say that civil society should take significant credit for bringing the international community to this historic moment in the combat against climate change.
“Without the voices of individuals, whether they are activists, scientists, researchers, youth or indigenous peoples we would not have gotten this far…your voices have a direct impact on the way we find our way forward at the multilateral level.”
Kiara Worth
COP27 convened over 35,000 people, including government representatives, observers and civil society.
The highlights of the meeting included, among others, of the High-Level Expert Group on the Net-Zero Emissions Commitments of Non-State Entities.
The report slammed greenwashing – misleading the public to believe that a company or entity is doing more to protect the environment than it is – and weak net-zero pledges and provided roadmap to bring integrity to net-zero commitments by industry, financial institutions, cities and regions and to support a global, equitable transition to a sustainable future.
Also during the Conference, the UN announced the , which calls for initial new targeted investments of $ 3.1 billion between 2023 and 2027, equivalent to a cost of just 50 cents per person per year.
Meanwhile, former US Vice-President and climate activist Al Gore, with the support of the UN Secretary-General, created by the Climate TRACE Coalition.
The tool combines satellite data and artificial intelligence to show the facility-level emissions of over 70,000 sites around the world, including companies in China, the United States and India. This will allow leaders to identify the location and scope of carbon and methane emissions being released into the atmosphere.
Another highlight of the conference was a of five major sectors – power, road transport, steel, hydrogen, and agriculture – presented by the COP27 Egyptian Presidency.
The Egyptian leadership also announced launched the , to improve the quantity and quality of climate finance contributions to transform agriculture and food systems by 2030.
This was the first COP to have a dedicated day for , which contributes to a third of greenhouse emissions and should be a crucial part of the solution.
Other initiatives announced at COP27 included:
The Sharm El-Sheik
Action on Water Adaptation and Resilience Initiative ()
African (ACMI)
The Campaign
The
The n (FMC) Cement & Concrete Commitment
Want to know more? Check out our , where you can find all our coverage of the COP27 climate summit, including stories and videos, explainers, podcasts and our daily newsletter.
After days of intense negotiations that stretched into early Sunday morning in Sharm el-Sheikh, countries at the latest UN Climate Change Conference, COP27, reached agreement on an outcome that established a funding mechanism to compensate vulnerable nations for ‘loss and damage’ from climate-induced disasters.
“This COP has taken an important step towards justice. I welcome the decision to establish a loss and damage fund and to operationalize it in the coming period,” UN Secretary-General António Guterres said in a video message issued from the conference venue in Egypt, underscoring that the voices of those on frontlines of the climate crisis must be heard.
The UN chief was referring to what ended up becoming the thorniest issue at this COP, shorthand for the annual Conference of Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).
Developing countries made strong and repeated appeals for the establishment of a loss and damage fund, to compensate the countries that are the most vulnerable to climate disasters, yet who have contributed little to the climate crisis.
“Clearly this will not be enough, but it is a much-needed political signal to rebuild broken trust,” he underscored, stressing that the UN system will support the effort every step of the way.
“I call upon all of you to view these draft decisions not merely as words on paper but as a collective message to the world that we have heeded the call of our leaders and of current and future generations to set the right pace and direction for the implementation of the Paris agreement and the achievement of its goals.”
Tweet URL
History was made today at #COP27 in Sharm El-Sheikh as parties agreed to the establishment of a long-awaited loss and damage fund for assisting developing countries that are particularly vulnerable to the adverse effects of climate change. https://t.co/spmWVUjTva
COP27
COP27P
November 19, 2022
Mr. Shoukry added: “The world is watching, I call on us all to rise to the expectations entrusted to us by the global community, and especially by those who are most vulnerable and yet have contributed the least to climate change.”
After missing their Friday night deadline, negotiators were finally able to reach conclusions on the most difficult items of the agenda, including a loss and damage facility – with a commitment to set up a financial support structure for the most vulnerable by the next COP in 2023 – as well as the post-2025 finance goal, and the so-called mitigation work programme, that would reduce emissions faster, catalyze impactful action, and secure assurances from key countries that they will take immediate action to raise ambition and keep us on the path towards 1.5°C.
Yet, while agreement on these issues was seen as a welcome step in the right direction, there appeared to be little forward movement on other key issues, particularly on the phasing out of fossil fuels, and tightened language on the need to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius.
Observers have warned that new language including “low emissions” energy alongside renewables as the energy sources of the future is a significant loophole, as the undefined term could be used to justify new fossil fuel development against the clear guidance of the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and the International Energy Agency (IEA).
The combat against climate change continues
Mr. Guterres reminded the world of what remain the priorities regarding climate action, including the ambition to reduce global greenhouse gas emissions and keep alive the Paris Agreement’s 1.5 degree Celsius limit, and pull humanity “back from the climate cliff”.
“We need to drastically reduce emissions now – and this is an issue this COP did not address,” he lamented, saying that the world still needs to make a giant leap on climate ambition, and to end its addiction to fossil fuels by investing “massively” in renewables.
The UN chief also emphasized the need to make good on the long-delayed promise of $100 billion a year in climate finance for developing countries, establishing clarity and a credible roadmap to double adaptation funds.
He also reiterated the importance of changing the business models of multilateral development banks and international financial institutions.
“They must accept more risk and systematically leverage private finance for developing countries at reasonable costs,” he said.
Kiara Worth
Our planet is still in the emergency room
The UN chief said that while a fund for loss and damage is essential, it’s not an answer if the climate crisis washes a small island State off the map – or turns an entire African country into a desert.
He renewed his call for just energy transition partnerships to accelerate the phasing out of coal and scaling up renewables and reiterated the call he made on his opening speech at COP27: a climate solidarity pact.
“A Pact in which all countries make an extra effort to reduce emissions this decade in line with the 1.5-degree goal. And a Pact to mobilize – together with international financial institutions and the private sector – financial and technical support for large emerging economies to accelerate their renewable energy transition,” he explained, underscoring that this is essential to keep the 1.5 degree limit within reach.
Kiara Worth
‘I share your frustration’
The UN chief also sent a message to civil society and activists which had been so vocal since the conference’s opening day: “I share your frustration”.
Mr. Guterres said that climate advocates – led by the moral voice of young people – have kept the agenda moving through the darkest of days and they must be protected.
“The most vital energy source in the world is people power. That is why it is so important to understand the human rights dimension of climate action,” he said, adding that the battle ahead will be tough and that “it will take each and every one of us fighting in the trenches each and every day…we can’t wait for a miracle.”
Echoing this sentiment, Kenyan environmental youth activist Elizabeth Wathuti, said: “COP27 may be over, but the fight for a safe future is not. It is now more urgent than ever that political leaders work to agree a strong global deal to protect and restore nature at the upcoming Global Biodiversity Summit in Montreal. “
Ms. Wathuti added: “The interconnected food, nature and climate crisis are right now affecting us all – but the frontline communities like mine are hardest hit. How many alarm bells need to be sounded before we act?”
Time is running out
In his video message, Mr. Guterres highlighted that COP27 concluded with “much homework” still to be done and little time in which to do it.
“We are already halfway between the [2015] Paris Climate Agreement and the 2030 deadline. We need all hands on deck to drive justice and ambition,” he stated.
The Secretary-General added that this includes ambition to end the “suicidal war” on nature that is fuelling the climate crisis, driving species to extinction and destroying ecosystems.
“Next month’s UN Biodiversity Conference is the moment to adopt an ambitious global biodiversity framework for the next decade, drawing from the power of nature-based solutions and the critical role of indigenous communities,” he urged.
In his closing remarks, UNFCC Executive Secretary Simon Stiell, said: “At COP27… we’ve determined a way forward on a decade-long conversation on funding for loss and damage.” Among other positive steps, he said that in the text adopted Sunday morning, “we have been given reassurances that there is no room for backsliding. It gives the key political signals that indicate the phase-down of all fossil fuels is happening.”
The negotiations at COP27 had not been easy. “…Not been easy at all. But this historic outcome does move us forward and it benefits the vulnerable people around the world,” he stated.
And with that in mind, he said: “There is no need in putting ourselves through all that we have just gone through if we are going to participate in an exercise of collective amnesia the moment the cameras move on,” and called for all Parties and delegations to hold each other accountable for the decisions that had just been taken.
Mr. Stiell added that he would personally shepherd the drive forward on Nationally Determined Contributions, or NDCs, which are at the core of the Paris Agreement and embody efforts by each country to reduce national emissions and adapt to the impacts of climate change.
He went on to say that civil society should take significant credit for bringing the international community to this historic moment in the combat against climate change.
“Without the voices of individuals, whether they are activists, scientists, researchers, youth or indigenous peoples we would not have gotten this far…your voices have a direct impact on the way we find our way forward at the multilateral level.”
Kiara Worth
COP27 convened over 35,000 people, including government representatives, observers and civil society.
The highlights of the meeting included, among others, the launch of the first report of the High-Level Expert Group on the Net-Zero Emissions Commitments of Non-State Entities.
The report slammed greenwashing – misleading the public to believe that a company or entity is doing more to protect the environment than it is – and weak net-zero pledges and provided roadmap to bring integrity to net-zero commitments by industry, financial institutions, cities and regions and to support a global, equitable transition to a sustainable future.
Also during the Conference, the UN announced the Executive Action Plan for the Early Warnings for All initiative, which calls for initial new targeted investments of $ 3.1 billion between 2023 and 2027, equivalent to a cost of just 50 cents per person per year.
The tool combines satellite data and artificial intelligence to show the facility-level emissions of over 70,000 sites around the world, including companies in China, the United States and India. This will allow leaders to identify the location and scope of carbon and methane emissions being released into the atmosphere.
Another highlight of the conference was a so-called master plan to accelerate the decarbonization of five major sectors – power, road transport, steel, hydrogen, and agriculture – presented by the COP27 Egyptian Presidency.
This was the first COP to have a dedicated day for Agriculture, which contributes to a third of greenhouse emissions and should be a crucial part of the solution.
A community health worker in the Haitian capital, Port-au-Prince, has been describing how she is going door-to-door to raise awareness about cholera prevention.
A community health worker in the Haitian capital, Port-au-Prince, has been describing how she is going door-to-door to raise awareness about cholera prevention.
The deadly but treatable disease has been spreading across the country and according to the latest Government figures published on 16 November there have been some 8,100 people admitted to hospital and over 170 deaths.
Esterline Dumezil was trained by the Ministry of Public Health and Population and by the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO/WHO).
“I have been working in the commune of Cité Soleil in Port-au-Prince since 2014, so for eight years The situation has deteriorated over time which means life is very difficult for the people who live here. They talk to me about their health concerns, but they also worry about the economic and security situation. They are very fearful about the return of cholera.
My job is to walk and raise awareness in the neighborhood. I provide a lot of public health-related information and now that cholera has resurfaced, I go from door to door visiting families at home. I educate people on the importance of using treated water for drinking, cooking at home, handwashing and other measures they can take to prevent the disease from spreading further.
Local people have many questions, they also want to tell me about their concerns and problems. I provide reassurance by reminding them that cholera is not a fatal disease and is treatable. If the basic rules of hygiene are observed, then one can fight the disease.
When I find a person suffering from diarrhoea, no matter how severe, I refer them to one of two hospitals in the community which have been equipped to receive cholera patients; I know they will be well taken care of.
It is very important for me to count suspected cases as well as note the information that local people share with me. I pass on this information to my superiors at the Ministry of Health, which helps our epidemiologists to better understand how people are affected by cholera, all over the country.
Helping the most vulnerable
We are still on the ground, despite the difficulty of the current situation in the country. Community health workers are not idle, we are trained to help the most vulnerable people. It is a duty, and it’s a source of pride for me to be part of this effort.
Personally, I like to think that each person can contribute to improving life in our communities. That’s why I decided to become a community health worker, because I enjoy helping people and being part of change. It’s also a really important job which can save lives.
Meeting people and helping them is what gives me most happy in this job. I enjoy going to their houses and I feel comfortable in the neighbourhood, despite the insecurity caused by gangs, as people know and trust me.
I have never regretted dedicating my life to this job. I enjoy going to meet people in their homes and that’s when I am happiest.”
The UN’s cholera response for Haiti:
A range of UN agencies including, IOM, UNAIDS, UNFPA, UNICEF and WFP as well as the UN Humanitarian Air Service, UNHAS are also supporting the UN’s cholera response.
The community health workers, who are known by the French acronym as ASCPs, play a central role in the Ministry of Health’s PAHO/WHO-supported Community Health Strategy. With intimate knowledge of and access to the communities they serve, they have been at the forefront of an integrated response to cholera especially in hard-to-access areas such as Cite Soleil. So far 300 have been trained and deployed on the ground to conduct risk communications and community engagement activities.
Living with fear and the daily threat of death is something that all Ukrainians have had to reckon with since Russia’s invasion of 24 February, and local UN staff are no exception.
Viktoriya Hrubas is a Public Information Officer with the UN humanitarian coordination office, , and she’s been giving her firsthand account of what it has been like to serve, and suffer, alongside her fellow Ukrainians.
“Nobody is prepared to go through war”, she admits, despite her wide experience as a humanitarian providing emergency aid to those in need.
In the early days of the invasion, she watched “with horror” as the Russian army advanced towards her childhood home of Zaporizhzhia, especially as her mother had decided not to leave.
In September, she finally got to return to the city on assignment with OCHA, and spoke to defiant local residents, including her mother, determined not to let the war destroy their lives completely.
You can read her .
Living with fear and the daily threat of death is something that all Ukrainians have had to reckon with since Russia’s invasion of 24 February, and local UN staff are no exception.
Viktoriya Hrubas is a Public Information Officer with the UN humanitarian coordination office, OCHA, and she’s been giving her firsthand account of what it has been like to serve, and suffer, alongside her fellow Ukrainians.
“Nobody is prepared to go through war”, she admits, despite her wide experience as a humanitarian providing emergency aid to those in need.
In the early days of the invasion, she watched “with horror” as the Russian army advanced towards her childhood home of Zaporizhzhia, especially as her mother had decided not to leave.
In September, she finally got to return to the city on assignment with OCHA, and spoke to defiant local residents, including her mother, determined not to let the war destroy their lives completely.
Climate activists and civil society have been subjected to intimidation, harassment and surveillance during the two-week gathering, held in the resort town of Sharm El-Sheikh, they reported.
End harassment, ensure safety
“We are deeply concerned by reported acts of harassment and intimidation by Egyptian officials, infringing the rights of Egyptian and non-Egyptian human rights and environmental defenders at COP27, including their rights to freedom of peaceful assembly, expression, and effective participation,” their statement said.
They urged Egypt to end all harassment and intimidation, and to ensure the safety and full participation of human rights defenders and civil society.
The four experts are all Special Rapporteurs appointed by the UN Human Rights Council.
They monitor and report on issues such as the situation of rights defenders worldwide, and the right of everyone to a safe, clean and healthy environment.
Interrogation and surveillance
COP27 was due to end on Friday but is almost certainly set to continue into the weekend.
Last month, the experts issued a press release raising concerns ahead of the conference and calling for full and safe participation of civil society and human rights defenders without reprisals.
However, they said they have received multiple reports and evidence of civil society members, including indigenous peoples, being stopped and interrogated by Egyptian security officers.
Local security and support staff were also repeatedly monitoring and photographing civil society actors inside the conference.
Widespread ‘chilling effect’
One human rights defender scheduled to attend COP27 was also denied entry to the country, they reported.
“We are concerned that these actions by Egyptian authorities have a chilling effect, impacting wide segments of civil society participating in COP27 as many groups have expressed concern about the need to self-censor to ensure their safety and security,” the experts said.
Concerns after COP27
The experts received reports of activists being subject to intrusive questioning at the airport when entering Egypt, sparking fears that information collected on the activities of civil society organisations during COP27 could be misused.
They also expressed concern that once the spotlight shifts from Egypt when the conference ends, local human rights defenders could be targeted and risk reprisals for their engagement during the event.
“We call on Egypt to immediately end harassment and intimidation, to ensure the rights to participation, freedom of expression and of peaceful assembly at COP27, and abstain from reprisals against civil society, human rights defenders and indigenous people’s representatives who attended COP27,” they said.
The experts are engaging with the Egyptian Government and the UN climate change secretariat, UNFCCC, on this issue.
Mr. Guterres was speaking at the Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum, memorial site of the infamous S-21 interrogation and detention centre under the bloody regime, which lasted from 1975 to 1979.
‘An essential reminder’
It is estimated that up to 18,000 people from across Cambodia were brought to the facility, located in a former secondary school in the heart of the capital.
Only a few survived.
“Tuol Sleng is an essential reminder. Its bloodstained bricks and tiles are a warning to us all: This is what happens whenhatred runs rampant. This is what happens when human beings are persecuted, and human rights are denied,” said Mr. Guterres.
Forced labour and executions
The Secretary-General was at the Museum to pay tribute to all the victims and survivors of the Khmer Rouge’s brutality throughout Cambodia.
The regime followed a radical ideology rooted in different communist beliefs and politics. Religion, traditions, and deep-rooted family relations were forbidden.
People were forced to leave major cities to work in agricultural communes in the countryside.
Institutions such as schools, pagodas, industries and factories were destroyed, and intellectuals, professionals and monks were killed.
Overall, nearly two million people, roughly a quarter of the population, are thought to have died during these years of forced labour, starvation, torture and execution.
Photographed, interrogated and killed
People brought to Tuol Sleng were photographed and many were tortured, for example to extract false confessions that they were secret agents of the United States government.
Prisoners were detained, interrogated and killed, or taken to another site on the outskirts of the capital called Choeung Ek, one of the many “killing fields” where mass executions were carried out.
Most of the rooms at Tuol Sleng have been kept in the same condition as they were when the Khmer Rouge were ousted by invading Vietnamese troops.
“The suffering that took place within these walls is horrific and shocking. The stories of survival and resilience are moving and inspiring,” the Secretary-General remarked.
Pledge to never forget
Mr. Guterres thanked the Museum for its extraordinary work to raise awareness of the atrocities committed under the Khmer Rouge, as part of efforts to ensure they can never happen again.
He recalled that the Extraordinary Chambers in the Court of Cambodia have held regime leaders accountable for these crimes and provided a voice to victims and survivors.
“Their voices are more important than ever, at a time when hate speech, abuse, discrimination and harassment are on the rise in every corner of the world,” he said.
Uphold inclusion and dignity
The UN chief stressed that preserving the memory of those who suffered and died at Tuol Sleng will help to prevent atrocities from being repeated.
“I promised to tell the story that I heard from one of the survivors to my granddaughters and I’ll tell them to convey that story to their grandchildren. It is essential that the memory of what happened here is never lost,” he said.
“By learning to recognize the first warning signs of genocide and other atrocity crimes, and honouring the values of inclusion and dignity, we can lay the foundations for a future in which such horrors can never happen again.”
The Secretary-General was in Cambodia to address the latest meeting between the UN and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), held last Friday in the capital.
He will next head to Bali to attend the G20 summit, which begins on Tuesday.
The UN chief travelled to the region from Egypt, host of the COP27 UN climate change conference which concludes on Friday.
These systems are critical to maintaining the quality, nutritional value and safety of food, especially as an estimated 14 per cent of all food produced for human consumption is lost before it even reaches consumers.
The increased investment is also required if the world is to meet the challenge of feeding an additional two billion people by mid-century.
Multiple crises, massive difference
The report by the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) and the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) was launched at the COP27 climate change conference underway in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt.
“At a time when the international community must act to address the climate and food crises, sustainable food cold chains can make a massive difference,” said Inger Andersen, the UNEP Executive Director.
“They allow us to reduce food loss, improve food security, slow greenhouse gas emissions, create jobs, reduce poverty and build resilience – all in one fell swoop.”
Hunger on the rise
Food waste is happening as the number of hungry people worldwide rose to 828 million in 2021, or 46 million more than in the previous year.
In 2020, nearly 3.1 billion people could not afford a healthy diet, up 112 million from 2019, as the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic drove up inflation. This year, the war in Ukraine has threatened global food security.
The report argues that developing countries could save a staggering 144 million tonnes of food annually if they reached the same level of food cold chain infrastructure as richer nations.
Better life for all
Sustainable food cold chains can also make an important difference in efforts to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), according to FAO Director-General Dongyu Qu.
“All stakeholders can help implement the findings of this report, to transform agrifood systems to be more efficient, more inclusive, more resilient and more sustainable – for better production, better nutrition, a better environment and a better life for all, leaving no one behind,” he said.
Impacts on climate change
The food cold chain has serious implications for climate change and the environment, the report revealed.
Emissions from food loss and waste due to lack of refrigeration totalled around one gigatonne of carbon dioxide equivalent in 2017, or roughly two percent of total global greenhouse gas emissions.
Food loss also increases the unnecessary conversion of land for agricultural purposes, as well as use of water, fossil fuels and energy.
Reducing food loss and waste could make a positive impact on climate change, the report said, but only if new infrastructure is designed that uses gases with low global warming potential.
Results and recommendations
Sustainable food cold chains are already making a difference in countries such as India, where a pilot project reduced kiwi fruit losses of by 76 per cent while reducing emissions through expansion of the use of refrigerated transport.
The report contains recommendations that include quantifying the energy use and greenhouse gas emissions in existing food cold chains, establishing benchmarks, and identifying opportunities for reductions.
Authorities also can implement and enforce ambitious minimum efficiency standards, as well as monitoring and enforcement, to prevent illegal imports of inefficient food cold chain equipment and refrigerants.
Some 1500 young people got together at the Semans Lapè (Seeds of Peace) project event supported by the UN Peacebuilding Fund.
Rosemonde* (23 years old)
“I live in Cite Soleil which is under the control of gangs. There is only one road out of my neighbourhood, and it is often flooded or full of trash, so it’s difficult to participate in outside activities.
My mother is not at home right now and I am the eldest of six children, so I do what I can to take care of my family. I’m not comfortable where I live.
“I make crafts, like earrings. When I join activities at these big gatherings, I can talk to people, I can live and act normally. I come here to enjoy life.
I wish my neighbourhood was like this, I wish it was peaceful.”
Samentha (22)
“I am an entrepreneur. I produce jam and peanut butter and other products at my home in Saint Martin. I learnt this on a training course. I would like to sell from local shops, but to do that I need more investment. So, for now I’m selling from my house.
Young people in Haiti want to move forward but it’s difficult to get help, especially when there is no functioning social support system
Young people are very stressed, so I think it’s good to bring them together for activities like this, as it can help them to see that they are not so different from people living in different neighbourhoods.
The situation has been deteriorating for several months, but despite that I think I can inspire other young people to progress. I believe in myself a lot. I am a leader for my family.”
Evens (19)
Young people including my three sisters who have finished school, spend most of their time sitting at home with nothing to do. These activities, which include training courses, are important as they help us to move forward. Of course, it is good to spend time with other youth.
I love playing sports. Even when I was little, I was strong and competitive and that encourages me still today to do my best.
My dream for other young people is for them to see their lives the same way I see my life. This means that they focus more on their work, on what they need to learn. I always encourage them to try hard.
One of my dreams is that, when I finish school, I want to travel, to discover other countries, but now it is not possible.”
Joseph (21)
“Life in Haiti is very difficult now, because of insecurity, political instability and the crisis due to the lack of petrol. According to my grandfather, life was not like this before. It is becoming more difficult year after year.
An activity like this is very important, as it helps youth to socialize and see their true value. The country needs more recreational activities.
The Semans Lapè project provided me with training and now I am an entrepreneur. I am also a student. I was already selling chocolate before the project, but now I have taken my business to a new level and the products are more beautiful and better presented. My business is called Happy Choco. I see myself as an entrepreneur and so school is important to me.
Mirlande (19)
“The situation at home in Cite Lumière is so difficult. There is violence obviously, but also, when it rains the flooding is very bad. Life was never easy, but it has never been this bad. It’s difficult for my friends to visit me.
Many people judge us because we come from this part of the city. Everyone can have a good life. Most of the people who are subjected to violence are innocent.
This activity allows us to have small talk, to get news. It is really important. I love dancing and our neighbourhood put on a show here. I think that it would be better if these activities could take place more often.
My dream is to go to university to become an accountant and continue to dance at a professional level. But it’s hard and we don’t have the means to continue with our schooling. This is the problem we can say that most young people here have. Many of us have talent and intelligence, but we cannot exploit it to our advantage.
Today’s activity can change everyone’s attitude about young people who come from disadvantaged neighborhoods.”
FACT BOX:
The Semans Lapè project is financed by the UN Peacebuilding Fund and implemented by Concern Worldwide, in collaboration with national NGOs Lakou Lapè and Sakala.
This sentiment echoed through dozens of pavilions and conference rooms in Sharm el-Sheikh on Saturday as COP27 turned its attention to the vital issues of adaptation, agriculture and food systems in the context of climate change.
“We need to help rural populations build their resilience to extreme weather events and adapt to a changing climate. If not, we only go from one crisis to the next. Small scale farmers work hard to grow food for us in tough conditions,” Sabrina Dhowre Elba, Goodwill Ambassador for the UN International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), said during a press conference.
As a Somali woman, Ms. Dhowre Elba said this issue was personal: as COP27 got underway her country had experienced four consecutive failed rainy seasons, a climatic event not seen in 40 years.
“I can’t stand idly by while mothers, families and farmers are suffering across the Horn of Africa as it experiences its most severe drought in recent history,” she explained, urging developed countries to mobilize political will and investments.
“Trillions of dollars were made available to tackle the COVID-19 pandemic and its economic consequences. The same is needed for climate change. The same is needed for sustainable agricultural support. It’s crucial to the well-being and the food security of us all,” she added.
Farmers in western Nepal are learning how to cope with higher temperatures and different rainfall patterns.
Funds for adaptation must be delivered
Dina Saleh, the Regional Director of IFAD, explained that failure to help rural populations to adapt could have dangerous consequences, leading to longer poverty, migrations and conflict.
“This is why today we are calling on world leaders from developed nations to honour their pledge to provide the $100 billion a year in climate finance to developing nations and to channel half of that to have that amount to climate adaptation,” she underscored.
Thirteen years ago, at COP15 Copenhagen, developed nations made a significant pledge. They promised to channel $100 billion a year to less wealthy nations by 2020, to help them adapt to climate change and mitigate further rises in temperature. That promise, however, was not kept.
Ms. Saleh cautioned that there is a “narrow window” to help rural poor people to survive and protect their communities, and that crop yields could reduce by as much as 50 per cent by the end of the century.
“The choice is between adapting or starving,” she warned, urging COP27 to be about action, credibility and justice for the invisible and the silent.
Vegetables are prepared for an agricultural training session for farmers in Taita, Kenya.
A new initiative
Precisely to address these issues, the COP27 Egyptian Presidency launched on Friday the new initiative Food and Agriculture for Sustainable Transformation or FAST, to improve the quantity and quality of climate finance contributions to transform agriculture and food systems by 2030.
The cooperation programme will have concrete deliverables for helping countries access climate finance and investment, increase knowledge, and provide policy support and dialogue.
The UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), along with other UN agencies, will be the facilitator of this initiative, which, according to Zitouni Ould-Dada, Deputy Director of the agency’s Climate and Environment Division, puts agriculture at the heart of efforts to tackle climate change.
“The message really is to recognize that agriculture must be an integral part of the solution to the climate crisis,” he told UN News.
The importance of investing in innovation
At the same time, while the agricultural and food sector is profoundly impacted by climate change, it also contributes around a third of global greenhouse emissions, from production to consumption, Mr. Ould-Dada explains, saying that there must be a transformation of the agri-food systems.
“We can’t continue with the current model of producing food and then degrading the soil, declining biodiversity, affecting the environment. No. It must be sustainable,” he notes.
The expert highlights that if the right choices are made, agriculture can be an important part of the solution to fight the climate crisis by sequestering carbon in soil and plants and promoting adaptation and resilience.
“We can’t produce the food to feed and nourish a growing population with the current model, with the threat of climate change. We can’t.”
The first thing the world should be tackling, he says, is addressing food waste, which is responsible for 8 per cent of global gas emissions.
“We have around 828 million people who go hungry every day. And yet, we throw away a third of the food that we produce for human consumption. We need to change our mindset, our production model, so that we don’t lose and waste food,” he underscores.
He adds that in terms of solutions, harnessing the power of innovation is crucial to reduce emissions, helping adapt agriculture to a changing climate, and making it more resistant against adversity, not only caused by climate change, but also by pandemics or war, such as the current situation in Ukraine.
“Innovation in the broader sense like precision farming where you have drip irrigation combined with renewable energy so that you have efficiency. But also, innovation harnessing traditional knowledge of smallholder farmers is also important, because it is happening all the time,” Mr. Ould-Dada emphasized.
Civil society calls for finance, economy transformation
UN representatives were not the only ones underscoring the need for countries to invest in transformation and deliver their climate finance promise.
A massive protest led by a coalition of environmental, women, indigenous, youth and trade union organizations took over the roads and pathways between the pavilions at COP27.
“Right to territories, rights to resources, human rights, indigenous people rights, loss and damage must be in all the negotiation texts…. 1.5 is not negotiable that is what we are here standing for,” said Hindou Oumarou Ibrahim, Chadian environmentalist and SDG advocate.
The activist stated that her people are dying because of floods, droughts, while some indigenous communities in the Pacific are losing their homelands.
“We want to have justice. Justice for our people, for our economies for loss and damage. We are losing our culture, our identity, our life, and these are not payable, but climate finance needs to be delivered,” she shouted amid hundreds of protesters.
‘This COP is lost and damaged’
Meanwhile, renowned Nigerian activist Nnimmo Basse argued that COP27 was “lost and damaged” for allowing major polluters to participate.
“Africa is being assaulted right now. Mining and oil and gas companies sinking their dirty machines across the continent destroying, killing, stealing. This is the kind of colonialism that cannot be tolerated”, he said, shortly before inspiring a “no fossil fuel colonialism” chant among participants.
Mr. Basse said that if countries can spend two trillion dollars a year on warfare, destroying and killing, they can spend it in paying for resilience.
“We are not asking for one at $100 billion. We’re not asking for $200 billion. We’re asking for a debt that is owed and must be paid. Pay the climate debt,” he demanded of world leaders.
US says its ready to support
Later on Saturday, John Kerry, US Special Envoy for Climate Action, told a press conference that his country is “totally supportive” of the push to address loss and damage, the thorniest issue so far in the COP27 negotiations.
“We have engaged with our friends to work through the proposals,” he added, stressing that US President Joe Biden, who NGOs called out on Friday for not mentioning loss and damage in his speech at COP27, is also supportive of the move.
The negotiation group of the 77 and China, which basically includes all of the developing countries, was for the first time able to put the issue on a COP agenda this year.
The idea is to create aloss and damage financial facility that can provide monetary compensation to the nations most affected by climate change, but with less responsibility for greenhouse emissions.
Want to know more? Check out our special events page, where you can find all our coverage of the COP27 climate summit, including stories and videos, explainers, podcasts and our daily newsletter.
Mr. Guterres was speaking to journalists a day after addressing regional leaders attending the 12th Summit between the UN and the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).
Avoid at all costs
“As I told yesterday’s summit meeting, we must avoid at all costs the division of the global economy into two parts, led by the two biggest economies – the United States and China,” he said.
“Such a rift, with two different sets of rules, two dominant currencies, two internets, and two conflicting strategies on artificial intelligence, would undermine the world’s capacity to respond to the dramatic challenges we face.”
He said ASEAN countries are well placed to bridge this divide, stressing that “we must have one global economy and global market with access for all.”
‘Unending nightmare’ in Myanmar
The UN chief also reported on some of the issues discussed at the summit, including the situation in Myanmar which he described as “an unending nightmare for the people of that country, and a threat to peace and security across the region.”
Myanmar’s military seized power in February 2021 and since then, the country has been in the grip of a political, human rights and humanitarian crisis.
Mr. Guterres said ASEAN has taken a principled approach to the issue through its Five-Point Consensus.
Unified strategy needed
The plan was adopted in April 2021 and calls for an immediate cessation of violence, constructive dialogue among the parties, appointment of a Special Envoy, provision of humanitarian assistance, and a visit to the country by the Special Envoy.
“I urge all countries, including ASEAN members, to seek a unified strategy towards Myanmar, centred on the needs and aspirations of the country’s people,” he said.
Solutions for turbulent times
The war in Ukraine, the global energy and food crisis, and the climate emergency were also on the agenda at the day-long summit.
“In these turbulent times, regional organizations including ASEAN are essential to building global solutions,” Mr. Guterres told reporters.
The Secretary-General travelled to Cambodia from Egypt, where the COP27 UN climate change conference is underway.
Climate Solidarity Pact
Mr. Guterres is calling for a Climate Solidarity Pact for developed and emerging economies to combine resources and capacities to defeat climate change.
He is also pushing for leaders to reach agreement on a financial mechanism to support countries that suffer loss and damage from climate-related disasters.
The UN chief will next travel to Bali, Indonesia, for the G20 summit of the world’s major economies, which begins on Tuesday.
Stimulus package proposal
“My priority in Bali will be to speak up for countries in the Global South that have been battered by the COVID-19 pandemic and the climate emergency, and now face crises in food, energy and finance – exacerbated by the war in Ukraine and crushing debt,” he said.
Mr. Guterres wants G20 leaders to adopt a stimulus package to provide developing countries with much-needed investments and liquidity.
The UN is also working to alleviate the global food crisis by extending a landmark initiative to get Ukrainian grain back on markets, and by removing obstacles to the Russian food and fertilizers exports.
Responding to questions
The Secretary-General was asked his view of human rights in the ASEAN region, and in host country Cambodia.
Although the situation is different from country to country, he stressed that human rights should be fully respected.
“Indeed, my appeal, and namely my appeal in a country like Cambodia is for the public space to be open and for human rights defenders and climate activists to be protected, and for the cooperation with civil society to be extended,” he said.
The Secretary-General also expressed concern for Myanmar, saying systematic violations of human rights there are “absolutely unacceptable” and causing immense suffering for the population.
Hopes for Indonesian presidency
Asked about UN and ASEAN cooperation to resolve the Myanmar crisis, he said it was important that the Five-Point Consensus moves forward.
Indonesia will chair ASEAN next year, and Mr. Guterres expressed hope that its presidency will see the development of initiatives towards this objective.
“We need to go back to a democracy, to a transition to democracy. We need to release political prisoners. We need to establish an inclusive process, and I’m confident that the Indonesian presidency will be working hard in the next year in that respect.”
Peace in Ukraine
Mr. Guterres also underlined the UN’s clear position on Ukraine, again responding to a journalist’s question.
The Russian invasion was a violation of the UN Charter, he said, and a violation of the country’s territorial integrity.
At the same time, he stressed that it is very important to create the conditions for progressively re-establishing dialogue that will lead to a future where peace will prevail, adding “not any kind of peace – peace based on the values of the UN Charter, and peace based on international law”.
“There are climate catastrophes and destruction, and my country ends up borrowing money from the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank to deal with the repercussions… Our countries cannot develop because of the costs of the climate crisis,” a young African activist said during one of the many protests that took place today at the Tonino Lamborghini International Conference Centre.
“Our futures are being stolen from us! This is an injustice!” he declared.
‘Loss and damage’ refers to costs that are being incurred by countries that have contributed the least to climate change but are bearing the brunt of its impacts, such as sea-level rise and increasingly common extreme weather events.
UN News/Laura Quiñones
Youth activists protest demanding leaders to address their loss and damage responsibility.
Currently, developing countries such as Pakistan, Bangladesh and a good number of African nations, are forced to pay very high costs to recover from climate-induced disasters, and the youth believe that it is time for big polluters to pay their ecological debt.
“This is an issue that has been put aside COP after COP. The fact that we are in an African country this year is very significant. It is a scientific fact that countries with the least economic resources and with barely any responsibility for emissions are the ones that end up suffering the most... It is about reparation and social justice,” Bruno Rodriguez, Argentine youth activist told UN News.
The call from the youth was clear: They want the establishment of a loss and damage finance facility that can provide additional and readily accessible funding to help developing nations adjust to and limit the “irreversible life changing impacts on young people.”
“We don’t want loans; we don’t want more debt. Pay up now for loss and damage,” was the message of an activist from the Philippines.
A boy sits on the debris of his house which was destroyed in Hurricane Iota in Bilwi, Nicaragua.
The scientific community agrees
The yearly 10 New Insights in Climate Science report, which, as its name indicates, delivers a concise synthesis of the most pressing findings on climate change-related research to inform COP negotiations, also highlighted the importance of addressing loss and damage, calling it an “urgent planetary imperative”.
During the report’s release this Thursday, which coincided with ‘Youth and Science Day’ at COP27, scientists underscored that losses and damages are already occurring and will increase significantly based on current trajectories models.
“While many losses and damages can be calculated in monetary terms, there are also non-economic losses and damages that need to be better understood and accounted for,” the report’s authors warned, calling for an “urgent” coordinated global policy response on the matter.
The insights document, compiled by the Climate Research Programme and supported by UN Climate Change (UNFCCC), also highlights that many of these consequences cannot be avoided with mere adaptation measures and that acting swiftly to reduce emissions is a much better option.
“The report says that the potential to adapt to climate change is not limitless, and that will not prevent all losses and damage that we can see now… I applaud parties for getting lost in damage onto the agenda here at COP27,” declared UNFCCC chief Simon Stiell.
However, he said, responding for loss and damage does not let countries off the hook regarding their emissions.
“Adaptation actions cannot substitute for ambitious mitigation action [to reduce emissions]”, he underscored.
🔴 Live from #COP27: Press Conference: 10 Insights into Climate Science | UN Climate Change
For the authors of the report, the reality that tens of thousands of people are dying from climate change impacts right now, needs to be at the heart of negotiations.
They also highlighted that over three billion people will inhabit ‘vulnerability hotspots’ – areas with the highest susceptibility to being adversely affected by climate-driven hazards – by 2050, double what it is today.
Some of the other insights in the report include warnings that climate migration, health risks, and national security issues are increasing because of climate change. You can find them all here.
UN News/Laura Quiñones
Letters of the children and the youth as seen as their dedicated pavilion at COP27.
Youth takeover
On their day, the young adults, teens and children at COP27 took part in different “takeovers” and were seen – and heard – in almost every corner of the conference centre.
They expressed themselves not only by protesting, but also with music, dance, colorful attire and wall drawings with messages to world leaders.
Another chants heard today was “kick polluters out” as three NGOs denounced that on the list of registered participants – which is now up to over 45,000 according to the UNFCCC – there are over 600 fossil fuel lobbyists, an increase of 25 per cent compared to last year.
“The influence of fossil fuel lobbyists is greater than frontline countries and communities. Delegations from African countries and indigenous communities are dwarfed by representatives of corporate interests,” a group of protesters from the organization Kick Big Polluters Out shouted at the main square.
Ambassador Wael Aboulgmagd, Special Representative for the COP27 Egyptian Presidency, said during a press conference that while he could not tell whether these attendees were lobbyists or just members or certain entities, there were indeed many industries contributing to emissions present, such as cement and fertilizer companies. But they were not participating in the negotiations, he clarified.
He said that he expected that during Decarbonization Day, which will be Friday, many of them will demonstrate how they are moving forward on reducing their emissions.
Regarding the overall negotiations, Mr. Aboulgmagd said that there is now a first draft decision text for the mitigation work programme that shows “very good progress”, and that on Saturday morning, delegations would begin providing inputs for the outcome document of COP27.
Thematic Days: Youth I COP27
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The provisional 2022 State of the Global Climate study outlines the increasingly dramatic signs of the climate emergency, which include a doubling of the rate of sea level rise since 1993, to a new record high this year; and indications of unprecedented glacier melting on the European Alps.
The full 2022 report is due to be released in the Spring of 2023, but the provisional study was brought out ahead of COP27, the UN climate conference, raising awareness of the huge scale of the problems that world leaders must tackle, if they are to have any hope of getting the climate crisis under control.
“The greater the warming, the worse the impacts”, said WMO chief Petter Taalas, who launched the report at an event held in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt, the venue for this year’s conference. “We have such high levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere now that the lower 1.5 degree of the Paris Agreement is barely within reach. It’s already too late for many glaciers and the melting will continue for hundreds if not thousands of years, with major implications for water security”.
Critical conditions in all parts of the world
The report is a dizzying catalogue of worrying climate events, taking place against a backdrop of record levels of carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide – the three main greenhouse gases that contribute to global warming – which is currently estimated to be around 1.15 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels.
Throughout the alps, an average thickness loss of between three and over four metres was recorded, whilst in Switzerland, all snow melted during the summer season, the first time this has happened in recorded history; since the beginning of the century, the volume of glacier ice in the country has dropped by more than a third.
The increasing ice melt worldwide has led to sea levels rising over the last 30 years, at rapidly increasing rates. The rate of ocean warming has been exceptionally high over the past two decades; marine heatwaves are becoming more frequent, and warming rates are expected to continue in the future.
The study details the effects of both droughts and excessive rains. Kenya, Somalia, and Ethiopia are facing crop failure and food insecurity, because of another season of below-average rains, whilst more than a third of Pakistan was flooded in July and August, as a result of record-breaking rain, displacing almost eight million people.
The southern Africa region was battered by a series of cyclones over two months at the start of the year, hitting Madagascar hardest with torrential rain and devastating floods, and in September, Hurricane Ian caused extensive damage and loss of life in Cuba and southwest Florida.
Large parts of Europe sweltered in repeated episodes of extreme heat: the United Kingdom saw a new national record on 19 July, when the temperature topped more than 40°C for the first time. This was accompanied by a persistent and damaging drought and wildfires.
Early warnings for all
In a statement released on Sunday, the UN Secretary-General, António Guterres, described the WMO report as a “chronicle of climate chaos,” which details the catastrophic speed of climate change, which is devastating lives and livelihoods on every continent.
Faced with the inevitability of continued climate shocks and extreme weather across the world, Mr. Guterres is to launch an action plan at COP27 to achieve Early Warnings for All in the next five years.
The UN chief explained that early warning systems are necessary, to protect people and communities everywhere. “We must answer the planet’s distress signal with action, ambitious, credible climate action,” he argued. “COP27 must be the place – and now must be the time”
Mr. Türk has echoed calls from the UN Secretary-General to extend the truce and to work towards a negotiated settlement to bring the conflict to an end once and for all.
The outbreak of war over seven years ago between a pro-Government, Saudi-led coalition, and Houthi rebels – together with their backers – plunged Yemen into an unparalleled humanitarian crisis.
Reduced casualties
The truce agreement had brought relative calm. There was a sharp reduction in civilian casualties, the flow of fuel deliveries to Hudaydah increased and Sanaa airport reopened after years of closure to commercial flights.
However, the truce expired at the beginning of October without the parties to the conflict reaching an agreement to extend it.
Since then, reports have been received of civilians being in grave danger. In the last week of October, UN rights office, OHCHR, verified three incidents of shelling in Government-controlled territory that claimed the lives of a boy and a man, and wounded four boys, including two who required leg amputations.
Three incidents of sniper shootings attributed to Houthi, or Ansar Allah movement forces, injuring a boy, a woman and two men, have also been verified. On 21 October, Ansar Allah also conducted a drone attack on Al Dhabah oil terminal port in Hadramaut Governorate that exposed civilians to unwarranted, serious risk.
Abide by international law
The UN rights chief said Friday that all parties to the conflict must strictly adhere to the principles of international humanitarian law in the conduct of military operations and do their utmost to limit the impact of fighting on civilians.
He reminded parties to the conflict that they have strict obligations to facilitate humanitarian access to populations in need and facilitate civilian access to humanitarian and life-saving services.
He said that the deliberate targeting of civilians and civilian objects is prohibited by international law and constitutes a war crime, and that any such attacks must immediately cease, while relevant authorities should investigate such incidents and hold those responsible to account.
‘Choose peace for good’
Briefing journalists in Geneva, Spokesperson for OHCHR, Jeremy Laurence, added: “It is clearly evident that the suffering of the Yemeni people will continue until this conflict is brought to an end.
“We therefore reiterate the calls of the UN Secretary-General who has said it is time for Government forces and their allies, together with Ansar Allah forces and their international backers, to choose peace for good.”
While visiting the country from 31 October to 4 November, the members of the International Expert Mechanism gathered information on the existing legislative and regulatory measures for tackling racial discrimination.
“The collection, publication and analysis of data disaggregated by race or ethnic origin in all aspects of life, especially regarding interactions with law enforcement and the criminal justice system, is an essential element for designing and assessing responses to systemic racism”, said Chair, Yvonne Mokgoro.
“Sweden needs to collect and use this data to fight systemic racism”.
Race data needed
Along with the Chair, Tracie Keesee and Juan Méndez held meetings and conducted interviews in Stockholm, Malmö, and Lund, with a focus on both good practices and challenges Sweden faces in upholding its human rights obligations on non-discrimination, in the context of law enforcement and the criminal justice system.
While the Mechanism understands the historical sensitivity surrounding racial classifications in the country, the experts said they were “deeply concerned” by Swedish authorities’ reluctance to collect data disaggregated by race.
“We heard that most of the population in Sweden generally has confidence in the police, yet most of the testimonies we received from members of racialized communities, spoke of fear of an oppressive police presence, racial profiling and arbitrary stops and searches”, said Ms. Keesee.
Restoring police trust
They met representatives from the Ministries of Justice, Employment, and Foreign Affairs as well as the National Council for Crime Prevention (Brå), Offices of the Parliamentary Ombudsman and Equality Ombudsman, and members of the Swedish Police Authority, Prison and Probate Services (Kriminalvarden).
“Sweden should broaden the definition of safety that does not rely exclusively on police response”, she stated.
“The police should focus on strategies to restore their trust among the communities they serve, including through diversifying its staff to reflect Sweden’s true multicultural society”, added the expert.
The Mechanism also met members of the Swedish National Human Rights Institution, civil society representatives, and affected communities, as well as members of the Swedish Police Authority.
Prison visits
Moreover, the Mechanism visited police detention and pre-trial detention centres in Stockholm and Malmö, where Mr. Mendez raised concern over “an excessive recourse to solitary confinement”.
“More generally, we are also concerned that Sweden may be addressing legitimate security challenges, including growing gang criminality, through a response which focuses on over policing, surveillance, and undue deprivation of liberty”, he added.
Mr. Mendez called on Sweden to “fully comply with the Nelson Mandela Rules – formerly the UN Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners – and to privilege alternatives to detention”.
Filing a report
The Mechanism has shared its preliminary findings with the Government and will draft a report to be published in the coming months and presented to the Human Rights Council.
“We will be taking with us good practices that we will highlight in our final report including on the police training, and resources allocated to the investigation of hate crimes”, Ms. Mokgoro said.
Independent experts are appointed by the Geneva-based UN Human Rights Council to examine and report back on a specific human rights theme. The positions are honorary and they are not paid for their work.
Opium cultivation in Afghanistan – latest findings and emerging threats, is the first report on the illicit opium trade since the Taliban’s return to power in August 2021.
The authorities banned all cultivation of opium poppy and all narcotics under strict new laws, in April 2022.
Opium is the essential ingredient for manufacturing the street drug heroin, and the class of medical prescription opioids which millions rely on for pain medication worldwide. Opioids have also been increasingly abused, causing widespread addiction issues in countries such as the United States.
This year’s harvest was largely exempted from the decree, said UNODC, and farmers in Afghanistan must now decide on planting opium poppy for next year amid continued uncertainty about how the Taliban will enforce the ban.
Sowing of the main 2023 opium crop must be done by early November this year.
Opiate limbo
“Afghan farmers are trapped in the illicit opiate economy, while seizure events around Afghanistan suggest that opiate trafficking continues unabated,” said UNODC Executive Director Ghada Waly, launching the new survey.
“The international community must work to address the acute needs of the Afghan people, and to step up responses to stop the criminal groups trafficking heroin and harming people in countries around the world.”
According to UNODC findings, cultivation of opium poppies in Afghanistan increased by 32 per cent over the previous year, to 233,000 hectares – making the 2022 crop the third largest area under cultivation since monitoring began.
Hub in Helmand
Cultivation continued to be concentrated in the southwestern parts of the country, which accounted for 73 per cent of the total area, and registering the largest crop increase.
In Helmand province, one-fifth of all arable land was dedicated to opium poppy cultivation.
Income triples
Opium prices have soared following the announcement of the cultivation ban in April. Income made by Afghan farmers from opium sales more than tripled, from $425 million in 2021 to $1.4 billion in 2022.
The new figure is equivalent to 29 per cent of the entire 2021 value of the agricultural sector. In 2021, the farm-gate value of opiates was only worth some nine per cent of the previous year’s agricultural output.
However, the increase in income did not necessarily translate into purchasing power, the UNDP survey notes, as inflation has soared during the same period, with the price of food increasing by 35 percent on average.
Yields down
Following a drought at the start of this year, opium yields declined from an average of 38.5 kilogrammes per hectare (kg/ha), in 2021, to an estimated 26.7 kg/ha this year, resulting in a harvest of 6,200 tons – 10 per cent smaller than in 2021.
The 2022 harvest can be converted into 350-380 tons of heroin of export quality, said UNDP, at 50-70 per cent purity.
Traffickers plough on
Seizure events collected by UNODC´s Drugs Monitoring Platform suggest that opiate trafficking from Afghanistan has been ongoing without interruption since August 2021. Afghan opiates supply some 80 per cent of all opiate users in the world.
Operating an excavator, a bulldozer or a wheel loader did not come naturally to Chief Private Ryan Herdhika, an avid motorcyclist and soldier in the Indonesian Army’s 3rd Combat Engineering Battalion. But he has just passed his heavy engineering equipment test and will next month be deployed to the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in the Central African Republic (MINUSCA) as part of the Indonesian peacekeeping force there.
“It will be the first time in my life I will go abroad, and I am proud that my first trip is as a UN peacekeeper, not a tourist,” said Chief Private Herdhika, while getting on a motor grader to practice how to level the ground in a training field in Sentul, at the Indonesian military’s vast peacekeeping centre.
With close to 2,700 soldiers on active duty in seven UN peace missions, Indonesia is the eighth largest contributor to global peacekeeping operations.
UNIC Indonesia/Rizky Ashar
Solid foundations for a fragile peace process
Under the UN’s Triangular Partnership Programme (TPP) – which brings together countries that provide trainers and resources, and troop contributing countries that deploy to peacekeeping missions – military engineers with extensive experience in operating heavy engineering equipment in peacekeeping missions from the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force (JGSDF) trained 20 Indonesian soldiers.
The personnel of the Indonesian Armed Forces who completed the training will use their skills to help build and repair UN mission and host country infrastructure including supply routes and camp grounds, and support national recovery efforts following natural disasters in the Central African Republic. MINUSCA has been present in the country since 2014, with a mandate to protect civilians and support the fragile peace process and the transitional government.
“This is a very hard course, having to learn to use a diverse set of equipment in just nine weeks,” said Lieutenant Colonel Tsuyoshi Toyoda, Commander of the JGSDF Training Team. “The trainees worked hard, passed the test and are ready to deploy.”
While there are commercial instructors available to teach these skills in a civilian setting, the complexities of UN peacekeeping operations require trainers with peacekeeping experience.
“In a normal construction site, operators specialize in a single kind of equipment, but here we need the soldiers to learn and operate six types of machines,” said Colonel Herman Harnas, Director of International Cooperation at the Indonesian Armed Forces Peacekeeping Centre. “In a peacekeeping situation, you also do not have the luxury to have separate staff for maintaining the vehicles – so the soldiers need to learn that as well.”
This is the first time such a training course is taking place in Indonesia, though similar courses have been held in Brazil, Kenya, Morocco, Rwanda, Uganda and Viet Nam, countries that are also important contributors to the UN’s peacekeeping efforts.
Enhancing the preparedness and effectiveness of peacekeeping missions is at the core of the TPP’s raison d’être. But the work of a peacekeeping engineer serving in UN missions requires more than specialized technical knowledge, and the TPP reflects the harsh reality of the peacekeeping environment.
“Our soldiers also learn discipline and the importance of following protocols, which is particularly key in emergency situations, when they need to act quickly,” says Colonel Harnas. “The soldiers are now able to deploy to MINUSCA, one of the UN’s most complex peace operations.”
UNIC Indonesia/Rizky Ashar
A particular set of skills
The UN is committed to continue strengthening engineering, medical and technological capacities of uniformed peacekeepers, says Rick Martin, Director of Special Activities at the UN’s Department of Operational Support in New York.
“As we face new operational challenges within UN peacekeeping operations, high-quality enabling units in engineering and other key capability areas will need to continue to be a priority area if we are to close capability gaps and improve the performance of UN peacekeeping operations,” he adds.
Next year, the UN and Japanese trainers will be back in Sentul to hold a training-of-trainers course, this time teaching future equipment instructors from armies from across the region who contribute to peacekeeping. By then, Chief Private Herdhika will be operating engineering equipment in the Central African Republic. “But after I come back, I hope to be able to pass on my knowledge and experience to my future peacekeepers colleagues as well,” he says.
On Sunday, UN Spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric said, in a statement for the Secretary-General, that Mr. Guterres has decided to delay his departure for the Arab League Summit in Algiers by a day to focus on the issue.
Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in late February 2022, mountains of grains built up in silos, with ships unable to secure safe passage to and from Ukrainian ports, and land routes were unable to compensate.
This contributed to vertiginous rises in the price of staple foods around the world. Combined with increases in the cost of energy, developing countries were pushed to the brink of debt default and increasing numbers of people found themselves on the brink of famine.
The Initiative was due to run out in the second half of November, but there was an option to extend it, if all parties, including Russian and Ukraine, agree.
Millions saved from extreme poverty
The deal was demonstrably successful in bringing down prices, allowing millions of tonnes of grain to be safely transported from Ukrainian ports. By September, Rebecca Grynspan, the head of the UN trade body, UNCTAD, and Amir Abdulla, the UN Coordinator for the Black Sea Grain Initiative, could proudly announced that prices had come down five months in a row, and that the Food Price Index, which measures the monthly change in international prices of a basket of food commodities, had decreased nearly 14 per cent from its March peak.
According to UN estimates, the Initiative has indirectly prevented some 100 million people from falling into extreme poverty.
However, on Saturday Russia announced that it was suspending its involvement in the deal, citing an attack the same day on ships in the Ukrainian port of Sevastopol in the Crimean peninsula, which was annexed by Russia in 2014.
The move reportedly took traders by surprise, and raised fears of another steep rise in food prices. Arif Husain, Chief Economist at the World Food Programme (WFP), reportedly warned that Russia’s decision poses a danger to a large number of countries, and should be resolved as soon as possible.
Mr. Dujarric said that the Secretary-General is continuing to engage in intense contacts aimed at ending the Russian suspension of its participation in the Initiative.
This engagement, he explained, also aims at the renewal and full implementation of the initiative to facilitate exports of food and fertilizer from Ukraine, as well as removing the remaining obstacles to the exports of Russian food and fertilizer.
The protracted fighting has taken countless lives, displaced millions in and outside the country and left much of the country’s infrastructure in tatters. The failure of international efforts to make much progress has been ascribed to the lack of understanding amongst formal mediators of the situation on the ground in local communities.
This is where Syrian women come to the fore. Most women involved in local mediation have some connection to the dispute, and are perceived as trustworthy and credible by the disputing parties. As “insider mediators”, they demonstrate two consistent strengths: the ability to build or leverage relationships, and the possession of detailed knowledge on the conflict and its parties.
An example of this strength came early in the war, in the Zabadani district, northwest of Damascus. As the district began to fall under the control of opposition forces, it was besieged by the government. The authorities demanded that men hand over weapons and surrender, which meant that only women could move safely across the lines of control.
A reversal of roles
Whilst, before the war, Zabadani women were usually expected to focus on responsibilities inside the home, the new restrictions and risks suddenly faced by men made it acceptable—and even necessary—for women to get involved in negotiations with government forces.
Quickly stepping into this newfound role, a group of women in Zabadani gathered and initiated a mediation process with the besieging forces in order to negotiate an end to the siege as well as a potential ceasefire.
“Most of these women became involved because their husbands were implicated with the opposition forces and were wanted by the government,” says Sameh Awad,* a peacebuilding expert familiar with the case. “The women themselves were mostly housewives and did not have any formal role in the community, but they gained their significance because they wanted to protect their husbands”.
Although the ceasefire later collapsed, doe to the changing political context, the women were, for a period of time, able to ensure that civilians were protected and evacuated.
In another example, in the northwestern city of Idlib, informal groups of women were able to save the lives of a group of detainees. After hearing a rumour that they were about to be killed by soldiers, a group of female teachers worked to convince a wider group of women, including the detainees’ mothers, to approach the headquarters of the battalion leader. The encounter ended with the faction leader agreeing to speak with the military council and, a month later, the detainees were released as part of an exchange deal.
Syrian women have also led mediation efforts with government forces to address security issues and service provision in areas formerly under opposition control. “The government insisted that men needed to complete military service, and this made many young men afraid to emerge in the public sphere,” explained MS. Awad. “So, women were involved in going out and exploring to what extent the discussions with the new authorities in the area were possible. During these negotiations, they discussed early recovery in their areas.”
Several years after the start of the conflict, Mobaderoon, a women-led civil society organisation in Damascus, noted an increase in localized violence towards internally displaced persons (IDPs) who had arrived in the capital. To address this violence, the organisation formed local committees made up of community and local government leaders, other influential community members such as teachers and civil society activists, and ordinary residents. They established neutral spaces where people could meet and discuss issues affecting their neighbourhoods, and where they could build their confidence and skills to address these issues.
After some time, the women-led organisation expanded its work to Tartus, a coastal city in western Syria, and partnered with another women-led organisation that enjoys strong community ties and presence in the area.
“Because of the war and the influx of IDPs there were no services, or not enough services,” says Farah Hasan*, a member of Mobaderoon. “Local youth accused the IDPs of being responsible for the war, because they originated from areas under opposition control, and they carried out violent attacks against them in nearby camps.”
This violence was creating substantial instability in the area, so the head of Tartus met with influential community members and local business actors, to convince them that the IDP camp should be integrated as a part of the community, so that IDPs could participate in the local economy.
Attitudes slowly changed, and the targeted neighbourhoods in Tartus witnessed notable differences in the treatment of IDPs: they reported less harassment and violence from host community members, greater acceptance of their children in schools, and more economic opportunities.
Find out more about the ways that women are involved in peace and security issues here.
