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Tag: UN

  • UNGA79: Nigeria demands UN Security Council seat

    UNGA79: Nigeria demands UN Security Council seat

    Alhaji Mohammed Badaru, Nigeria’s Minister of Defence, says Nigeria has earned the right to become a member of the UN Security Council after contributing to 41 peacekeeping missions, deploying over 200,000 troops.

    Badaru said this, in his address at the Summit of the Future interactive dialogue 2, titled: “Enhancing Multilateralism for International Peace and Security,” on Sunday in NewYork, US.

    The summit is part of the events at the 79th United Nations General Assembly.

    Badaru, who also spoke with State House correspondents at the Nigerian House, New York, said Nigeria had a longstanding commitment to international peace and security.

    “Since our first deployment in the Congo in 1960, Nigeria has contributed to 41 peacekeeping missions globally,” he stated, highlighting the deployment of over 200,000 Nigerian troops in UN operations.

    Badaru called for reform of the UN Security Council to ensure Africa was represented with permanent seats, arguing that this would enhance global stability.

    “Nigeria has remained unequivocal in its commitment to international peace building and security, since the first engagement of its troops in the Congo in 1960.

    “To date, Nigeria has contributed to 41 peacekeeping operations worldwide, with over two hundred thousand Nigerian troops serving in UN peacekeeping missions,” he said.

    According to the minister, under the regional and sub-regional cooperation, Nigeria has been involved in peacekeeping operations in field missions in several countries.

    He said the countries included Cote dIvoire, Guinea-Bissau, The Gambia, Liberia, Mali, Sudan and Sierra Leone, among others.

    He said Nigeria had contributed a lot in terms of finance, logistics, troops and civilian experts, making it one of the most significant African troops and police contributors to the United Nations missions.

    “It is on this basis that Nigeria continues to call for the reform of the United Nations Security Council to give just representation to Africa on a permanent basis for inclusivity and deepening of global peace and security,” he said.

    The Defence Minister stressed the importance of building professional African armies to combat terrorism and called for operationalisation  of the African Standby Force.

    He also highlighted the need for comprehensive strategies to tackle transnational crime and illegal arms trafficking, particularly in the Sahel region.

    “We recognise the need for Africa to build strong and professional armies, in order to, among other things, defeat terrorism.

    “Nigeria, calls for the operationalisation of the African Standby Force (ASF), and provision of requisite support and resources to ensure the upgrade, take off and effectiveness of a centre of excellence in Africa on issues of counter terrorism,” said Badaru.

    He called for strengthening regional and sub-regional cooperation to build the capacities of Member States and promoting cooperation and understanding.

    He urged the global body to take decisive steps to defuse tensions, and seek peaceful settlement of disputes to resolve conflicts, especially in the Middle-East and Ukraine.

    The minister reiterated Nigeria’s commitment to combating transnational organised crime.

    He emphasised the urgent need for comprehensive strategies that include prevention, early detection, protection, and law enforcement to address the rising alliances between bandits and terrorists.

    “We must scale up our efforts,” he stated, highlighting the alarming trend of kidnappings for ransom and acts of piracy.

    Badaru called on the international community to intensify efforts to control the proliferation of small arms and light weapons in conflict zones, particularly in the Sahel region.

    He warned that unrestricted access to illicit arms by non-state actors exacerbates insecurity and instability.

    “We seize this opportunity to urge the international community to renew efforts to stem the tide of small arms and light weapons in conflict, especially within the Sahel region,” he said.

    Badaru reaffirmed Nigeria’s dedication to supporting UN efforts in combating terrorism and promoting global peace.

  • Maiduguri Flood: UN raises alarm over possible outbreak of  cholera, Malnutrition in IDP Camps

    Maiduguri Flood: UN raises alarm over possible outbreak of  cholera, Malnutrition in IDP Camps

    The United Nations has raised the alarm over the possibility of an outbreak of Cholera disease at emergency Internally Displaced Person camps in Maduguri, Borno State as a result of reported flooding in the state.

    A report released by the UN’s Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), said the immediate needs are food, protection, shelter and clean water, adding that some water sources are contaminated, and could lead to outbreaks of diseases such as Cholera.

    It wrote, “The immediate needs are food, shelter and clean water, with some water sources contaminated. Protection remains a major concern, especially among unaccompanied and separated children, older persons and people living with disabilities.

    “Intermediate needs include non-food items and interventions to prevent the outbreak of diseases such as cholera in congested sites. The floods have also affected nutrition stabilization centres treating severely malnourished children in MMC and Jere LGAs.

    “Beyond MMC and Jere LGAs in Borno State, the Dalwa community in Damboa LGA is also affected, with Bama and Gwoza LGAs similarly reporting flooding. Before the recent flash floods, almost 123,000 people in Borno State were affected by floods and windstorms since August. The floods have destroyed critical infrastructure and heightened the risk of disease outbreaks especially in overcrowded IDP camps.

    “Some of the flood-affected areas in Borno, Adamawa and Yobe (BAY) states are facing a food and nutrition crisis affecting 4.8 million people and putting the lives of 230,000 children at risk through severe acute malnutrition.”

    In Maiduguri, the most affected areas are Gwange, Bama Road, Maiduguri Zoo, Post office, State Secretariat, Lagos Street, Shehu’s Palace, the Maiduguri Main Market, Customs / Gamboru areas, Budum, Specialist Hospital and Post Office general area.

    State Lowcost area is currently on high alert. Shikari general area is also flooded, with people relocating along Muna Road.

    The UN also said two of its guesthouses are inaccessible due to flooding.

    In Adamawa and Yobe states, over 12,500 and 46,600 people, respectively, are affected by flooding.

    “In Adamawa, there are fears of more severe flood impact with early reports from Cameroon indicating that there may be a release of excess water from the Lagdo Dam which has also sustained damage due to heavy rains.

    “So far, no official notification has been received from the Cameroonian authorities. These flash floods are occurring against a backdrop of nationwide floods in Nigeria, which have so far claimed more than 200 lives and affected more than 800,000 people across 29 states, according to data from the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA).”

    Borno State has the highest number of affected and displaced people, as of 9 September.

    Other states most affected by the floods across the country include Bauchi, Bayelsa, Enugu,

    Jigawa, Kano, Niger, Sokoto, and Zamfara.

    Across Nigeria, floods have damaged tens of thousands of hectares of farmland ahead of the harvest season, amid record spikes in food and fuel inflation.

    “The damage to crops risks elevating food insecurity in the ongoing

    lean season, and in the coming months. This may lead to a further deterioration in the already alarming food insecurity in the country.

    “More than 32 million people in Nigeria are facing severe food insecurity, according to the

    March 2024 Cadre Harmonisé food security and nutrition assessment.”

     

  • UN diplomacy: Half peace, better than no peace – By Owei Lakemfa

    UN diplomacy: Half peace, better than no peace – By Owei Lakemfa

    THE visit of Russian President Vladimir Putin to North Korea and the United States yelling against it have diverted world attention this week. It has drawn attention from the immediate needs and steps to save Palestinian lives, especially those of babies and children.

    How does Putin visiting his North Korean ally, Kim Jong Un, constitute a threat to world peace? US Defence Spokesperson, Pat Ryder, wailed that the visit has implications for peace in the Korean Peninsula and the war in Ukraine without substantiating such claims.

    White House spokesperson, Karine Jean-Pierre, lamented that North Korea supplies weapons to Russia in the war in Ukraine, implying that the visit may lead to more supplies. So what? Don’t the US and its allies supply weapons to Ukraine?

    There are tons of analysis that the visit may strengthen the trilateral relations amongst Russia, North Korea and China. So? Does the US not strengthen its own trilateral relations with South Korea and Japan?

    Closely followed are the reports of Hezbollah threatening retaliation against Israeli bombings of Lebanese villages. The tit-for-tat attacks by both sides have been on for years. Maybe the only two pieces of news are the Hezbollah leader, Hassan Nasrallah, revealing: “We now have new weapons. But I won’t say what they are…When the decision is made, they will be seen on the front lines.”

    The other news was Nasrallah declaring that if war were to break out, Hezbollah would also attack countries like Cyprus which are allegedly aiding the Israeli military.

    The attention of the world should focus on the United Nations, UN, which has taken two potentially live-saving actions on the needless deaths in the Middle East. The first is the release of the Report of its Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and in Israel.

    It concluded that the Hamas attacks against Israel from October 7-8, 2023 had elements of war crimes. These included deliberate attacks on civilians, wilful killing and employment of inhuman or cruel treatment against the victims.

    The UN body pointedly confirmed the allegations of on-going Israeli genocide in the Palestine. These had been brought before the International Court of Justice by South Africa on December 29, 2023. Also, the International Criminal Court, ICC, Chief Prosecutor seeks arrest warrants for Hamas and Israeli leaders, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, for war crimes.

    Due to direct Israeli military actions, the UN has lost 190 of its staff, 108 journalists are dead, 493 doctors, nurses and other health workers have been murdered and over 13, 800 children sent to untimely graves.

    It was therefore not surprising that the UN Report conclusively found that Israel is responsible for war crimes and crimes against humanity. It reported that Israel violated international humanitarian and human rights laws, and weaponised the provision of life-sustaining necessities for political gains. These, it reported, include denial of food, water, fuel and electricity to the Palestinian populace as a means of collective punishment.

    Israeli soldiers were also found to have carried out sexual and gender-based violence as weapons to dehumanise the Palestinians.

    The second major action taken by the UN was by its Security Council which voted 14-0 for ceasefire in Gaza. Tragically, the resolution is not designed to take immediate effect, an action that might save more lives. Rather, it is in three phases.  The first are negotiations, freedom for Israeli captives and release of Palestinian prisoners. This is to take place within six weeks. It states that within those weeks: “An immediate, full and complete ceasefire would come into force.” Also, Palestinian civilians would be allowed to return to their homes across Gaza.

    Apart from humanitarian aid for Palestinian civilians, it is also envisaged that Israel would withdraw its forces from the “populated areas” of Gaza. The issue here is which areas of Gaza, a territory laid desolate, qualifies as “populated”?

    It is envisaged that the ceasefire would continue if the negotiations exceed the six-week period.

    The second phase calls for a permanent end to hostilities, the release of any remaining captives and the complete withdrawal of Israel from Gaza.

    The third phase envisages Gaza’s reconstruction and the return of the remains of any deceased captives that might still be in Gaza.

    The resolution rejects any loss of territorial land space, “including any actions that reduce the territory” of Palestine.

    China said the draft was “ambiguous” but voted for the resolution in the face of mounting deaths in Gaza. Japan which had voted for the resolution, added: “The catastrophic humanitarian situation is indescribable.”

    To Algerian Ambassador Amar Bendjama: “This text is not perfect, but it offers a glimmer of hope to the Palestinians as the alternative is continued killing and suffering.”

    Russia, which has a veto, abstained. Its ambassador to the UN, Vasily Nebenzya, said it did so because the exact terms Israel was supposed to have agreed to, were not explicitly stated. He added that: “The Council should not agree to any agreement that has vague parameters…what specifically has Israel agreed to?”

    President Joe Biden who had guaranteed Israel’s acceptance of the peace deal said the resolution was “not just a ceasefire that would inevitably be fragile and temporary” but also one that would provide a “durable end to the war”.

    US Ambassador to the UN, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, claimed that if Hamas agrees to the resolution, fighting could stop immediately. She said Hamas should realise that the international community is “united behind a deal that will save lives and help Palestinian civilians in Gaza start to rebuild and heal. United behind a deal that will reunite hostages with their families after eight months in captivity.”

    Hamas immediately accepted the resolution. Its official, Sami Abu Zuhri, added: “The US administration is facing a real test to carry out its commitments in compelling the occupation to immediately end the war in an implementation of the UN Security Council resolution.”

    Although the resolution claimed Israel had accepted it hours after it was passed, Israel carried out deadly attacks across the Gaza. Its Representative to the UN, Reut Shapir Ben-Naftaly, said there would be no end to the war unless Hamas capability to fight is destroyed. Israel’s objectives, she added, are clear: “To bring all our hostages back home and to dismantle Hamas’ capabilities…and ensure that Gaza does not pose a threat to Israel in the future.” Ben-Naftaly added: “As we have echoed several times in this very chamber, once these goals are met, the war will end.”

    The UN’s resolution sidesteps its 1967 Resolution 242 of November 22, 1967, which provides a permanent solution for the Israeli-Palestine crises. Its body language is that half peace is better than no peace. But even this resolution may not be implemented.

  • UN General Assembly presses Security Council to consider Palestine’s full membership

    UN General Assembly presses Security Council to consider Palestine’s full membership

    The UN General Assembly, in a meeting convened on Friday in New York, has urged the Security Council to give “ favourable consideration”  to Palestine’s request

    The emergency special session on the Gaza crisis overwhelmingly passed a resolution that upgrades Palestine’s rights at the world body as an Observer State without offering full membership.

    Aid operations have come to a standstill since the start of the military’s ground operation in Rafah this week, with an estimated 100,000 Palestinians displaced once again in a highly fluid situation, according to humanitarians.

    The President of the General Assembly, Dennis Francis, said from this podium of the Assembly Hall that the Israel-Palestine crisis was the original crisis before the world body when it was founded in 1946.

    Peace has remained elusive, and today has become an untenable situation that is deteriorating “at an alarming speed”, he told delegates.

    This is “bringing countless innocent victims into its deadly fold and pushing the region further to the brink of full-scale catastrophe”.

    He urged the international community to not look away from the dire situation that has unfolded since the October 7 terror attacks and the ensuing Israeli devastation of Gaza.

    “Today, let us remember the legacy from which we hail. We stand proudly upon the shoulders of those who, many decades ago, recognised their ultimate responsibility to forge a peace that will banish the scourge and terror of war,” he urged.

    “I therefore call upon the membership to purposely assess the situation before us, with nothing else in mind but a commitment to peace as our utmost ambition,” he said.

    He called upon the parties to the conflict, supported by nations with leverage, to urgently come to an agreement on a ceasefire to bring to an end to the suffering of countless people and secure the release of all hostages.

    “We must believe in the essential goodness of others,” he said, and “in the understanding that no problem of human relations is insoluble”, calling on them to help bring lasting peace, save lives and end the violence.

    Saudi Arabian Ambassador Abdulaziz Alwasil, in his statement, recalled General Assembly resolutions adopted over the years that reaffirmed the rights of the Palestinian people, including their right to self-determination.

    “The resolution presented today is fully in line with those resolutions. It seeks to implement the will of the international community and contribute to building true peace in the Middle East based on the two-State solution,” he said.

    “It is high time for the international community to re-establish the truth because the world can no longer ignore the suffering of the Palestinian people that has lasted for decades,” he added.

    Ambassador Alwasil further noted Israel, the occupying power, has perpetrated “all sorts of crimes” against Palestinian people, scorning international law.

    “Israel is convinced that they are above these resolutions and that they enjoy a certain level of immunity…which explains their ongoing hostile and brutal policies,” he said.

    He highlighted the dire situation in Rafah, the last refuge for the Palestinian people which was also densely populated by those displaced from elsewhere and called he for a strong international position to put an end to the Israeli practices in Gaza.

    Concluding his statement, the Ambassador expressed Saudi Arabia’s commitment to supporting the right of Palestinian people to self-determination and to build their own independent State within the 1967 borders with East Jerusalem as its capital, in line with relevant resolutions.

    Explaining the U.S.’s negative vote, Ambassador Robert Wood said that it did not reflect opposition to Palestinian statehood.

    “We have been very clear that we support it and seek to advance it meaningfully. Instead, it is an acknowledgement that statehood will come from a process that involves direct negotiations between the parties,” he said.

    “There is no other path that guarantees Israel’s security and future as a democratic Jewish State. There is no other path that guarantees Palestinians can live in peace and dignity in a State of their own,” he added.

    He further expressed the U.S. commitment to intensifying its engagement with Palestinians and the rest of the Middle East region to advance a political settlement that will create a path to Palestinian statehood and subsequent membership in the UN.

    “This resolution does not resolve the concerns about the Palestinian membership application raised in April in the Security Council…and should the Security Council take up the Palestinian membership application as a result of this resolution, there will be a similar outcome,” he said.

    Israel’s Ambassador Gilad Erdan said that after Hitler’s rise to power, the Nazis had sought to annihilate the Jewish people and all those they deemed sub-human, but the forces of good fought to return peace to the world, and the UN was founded to ensure that such tyranny never raised its head again.

    “Today, you are doing the opposite…welcoming a terror State into its ranks,” he said.

    “You have opened up the United Nations to modern-day Naziism. It makes me sick.”

    The terrorist group Hamas controls Gaza and has taken over areas of the West Bank, he said, holding up a poster showing Hamas’s leader, who he described as “a terrorist diplomat whose stated goal is Jewish genocide”.

    “Today, you have a choice between weakness and fighting terror,” he said, adding that the UN is appeasing “murderous dictators” and destroying the UN Charter. “This day will go down in infamy.”

    Riyad Mansour, Permanent Observer of the observer State of Palestine, recounted the devastating impacts of the ongoing war in Gaza, with over 35,000 Palestinians killed, a further 80,000 injured and over two million displaced.

    “No words can capture what such loss and trauma signify for Palestinians, their families, their communities and for our nation as whole,” he said.

    He added that the Palestinians in Gaza have been pushed to the “very edge” of the Strip “to the very brink of life” with “bombs and bullets haunting them”.

    Mansour highlighted that despite the attacks and destruction, the flag of Palestine “flies high and proud” in Palestine and across the globe, becoming a “symbol raised by all those who believe in freedom and its just rule”.

    “It is true that we will not disappear, but the lives lost cannot be restored,” he stated.

    The Permanent Observer said people have to make a decision: stand by the right of a nation to live in freedom and dignity on its ancestral land, standing with peace and recognising the rights of Palestinians or they can stand on the sidelines of history.

    Mansour said after holding observer status for 50 years, “we wish from all those who invoke the UN Charter to abide by the right of the Palestinian people to self-determination guaranteed by the Charter.”

    “A ‘yes’ vote is a vote for Palestinian existence; it is not against any State, but it is against attempts to deprive us of our State,” he added, stating that it would be an investment in peace and empowering the forces of peace.

    The meeting  is expected to re-reconvene on Monday in New York.

  • U.S. again to veto UN General Assembly membership for Palestine

    U.S. again to veto UN General Assembly membership for Palestine

    The United States will again block attempts to grant Palestinians increased rights in the United Nations General Assembly.

    The United States said that in spite of the expectations of a large majority favour in a vote to be taken in New York on Friday.

    Nate Evans, spokesman for the U.S. Mission to the UN, indicated that the U.S. would again use its veto as it last did on April 18. Palestine currently holds only “observer” status at the world body.

    “Should the General Assembly adopt this resolution and refer the Palestinian membership application back to the Security Council, we expect a similar outcome to what occurred in April,” he said.

    A majority of the UN’s 193 member states are expected to vote in favour of a resolution granting Palestine significantly extended rights to participate in the sessions of the UN General Assembly.

    The draft resolution does not grant Palestine regular voting rights.

    Adoption of the resolution would also likely increase pressure to grant Palestine full membership.

    The UN General Assembly had recognised Palestine as an observer state in 2012 in spite resistance from the United States.

    Palestine and the Vatican are the only two non-member states with observer status in the body.

    The resolution, which was introduced by the United Arab Emirates but drafted by the Palestinians, has been the source of disagreements at UN headquarters in New York for weeks.

    The text states that the General Assembly has determined that the “State of Palestin. Should be admitted to membership of the United Nations.

    “It also recommends that the UN Security Council, which holds decisive power over UN membership, “reconsider the matter favourably.”

    Dpa has obtained the text of the draft resolution, although the provisions and language of the resolution could still change as negotiations continue.

    The move by the 193-member UN General Assembly in New York, which comes against the backdrop of the ongoing war in the Gaza Strip, is also a reflection of international opinion on the Middle East conflict.

    UN diplomats believe that the resolution will easily achieve the necessary two-thirds majority of all votes cast in the General Assembly.

    While, the influential United States, as well as China and Russia, fear a loss of control in the upgrading of regions whose statehood is disputed.

    All three countries hold veto powers at the Security Council.

  • UN chief condemns Iran’s attack on Israel

    UN chief condemns Iran’s attack on Israel

    UN Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres, has condemned the “large-scale attack” launched in Israel by Iran.

    Guterres, in a statement, urged maximum restraint by all parties and warned that neither the region nor the world could afford another war.

    According to the latest reports, Iran launched hundreds of drones and missiles from its territory toward Israel, with most intercepted on Saturday.

    Several missiles reportedly struck within Israeli territory, one of which damaged an Israeli military facility in the south of the country.

    “I call for an immediate cessation of these hostilities,” he urged.

    The UN chief said that he was deeply alarmed about the very real danger of a devastating region-wide escalation.

    “I urge all parties to exercise maximum restraint to avoid any action that could lead to major military confrontations on multiple fronts in the Middle East.

    “I have repeatedly stressed that neither the region nor the world can afford another war,’ he said.

    Tensions have been ratcheting up in the region since Hamas’ deadly October 7 terror attack and mass hostage taking and Israel’s subsequent full-scale assault on the Gaza Strip, which has left thousands dead and pushed the population to the brink of starvation.

    For his part, the President of the UN General Assembly, Dennis Francis, also expressed deep concern about the unfolding situation in the Middle East, “involving the launch by Iran of drones and missiles against Israel.”

    In a separate statement, Francis noted that Iran had explained its action “in the context of article 51 of the UN Charter, following the recent Israeli attack on the Iranian Embassy in Damascus.”

    “The Iranian response compounds the already tense and delicate peace and security situation in the Middle East,” the Assembly President said.

    He strongly called upon all parties to exercise the utmost restraint to avoid further escalation of tension in the region.

    “This is a moment that calls for wise and prudent judgement, in which the risks and extended risks are very carefully considered.

    “I expect that the Iranian authorities will honour their word that by their action today, the matter can be deemed concluded.”

    Francis stressed that dialogue and diplomacy are the only way to resolve differences.

    Francis warned: “A vicious cycle of attack and counterattack will lead to nowhere, but inevitably, to more death, suffering and misery.”

  • Cancer rates to increase to 77 % by 2050, says UN

    Cancer rates to increase to 77 % by 2050, says UN

    Global cancer cases are expected to rise around 77 per cent by the middle of the century, UN health authorities said on Thursday.

    According to latest figures from the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), a specialised branch of the UN World Health Organisation (WHO), there are predicted to be more than 35 million cancer cases during 2050, up from the estimated 20 million in 2022.

    The increase reflects both population ageing and growth, as well as changes to people’s exposure to risk factors which include tobacco, alcohol and obesity are key factors, along with air population.

    Richer countries are expected to have the greatest absolute increase in cancer, with an additional 4.8 million new cases predicted in 2050.

    However, low and middle-income countries should see a higher proportional increase in cancer, while mortality is projected to almost double.

    The estimates from the IARC’s Global Cancer Observatory are based on the best sources of data available from 185 countries and covers 36 different forms of cancer.

    They were published alongside a WHO survey from 115 countries which showed that the majority do not adequately finance priority cancer and palliative care services as part of universal health coverage.

    Ten types of cancer collectively comprised around two-thirds of new cases and deaths globally in 2022, the IARC said.

    Lung cancer was the most commonly occurring form worldwide with 2.5 million new cases.  It accounted for more than 12 per cent of all new cases and 18.9 per cent of deaths, 1.8 million, making it the leading cause of cancer death.

    Female breast cancer ranked second in terms of occurrence, with 2.3 million cases, worldwide or 11.6 per cent, but accounted for 6.9 per cent of deaths.

    Other commonly occurring cancers were colorectal, prostate and stomach cancer.

    Colorectal cancer was the second leading cause of cancer death, followed by liver, breast and stomach cancer.

    Cervical cancer was the eighth most commonly occurring cancer globally, the ninth leading cause of cancer death, and the most common cancer in women in 25 countries, many of which are in sub-Saharan Africa.

    The IARC estimates – issued ahead of World Cancer Day on February 4 – also revealed striking inequalities, particularly in breast cancer.

    One in 12 women in richer countries will be diagnosed with the disease in their lifetime and one in 71 will die of it, the agency said.

    However, although only one in 27 women in poorer countries will receive a positive breast cancer diagnosis, one in 48 will die.

    These women “are at a much higher risk of dying of the disease due to late diagnosis and inadequate access to quality treatment,” Dr. Isabelle Soerjomataram, Deputy Head of the Cancer Surveillance Branch at IARC, said.

    The WHO survey also revealed significant global inequities in cancer services. For example, higher income countries were up to seven times more likely to include lung cancer-related services in their health benefits packages.

    “WHO, including through its cancer initiatives, is working intensively with more than 75 governments to develop, finance and implement policies to promote cancer care for all,” Dr Bente Mikkelsen, Director of its Department of Noncommunicable Diseases, said, underlining the need for greater investment.

  • Israel launches fresh strikes on Gaza as UN nears vote on aid

    Israel launches fresh strikes on Gaza as UN nears vote on aid

    Israeli forces launched fresh attacks throughout the night across the Gaza Strip, residents said on Monday, as the United Nations Security Council looked set to vote on a demand that Israel and Hamas allow aid access to the Palestinian enclave.

    One Israeli strike on the Jabalia refugee camp in northern Gaza on Sunday killed 90 Palestinians, Gaza’s health ministry spokesperson told Reuters.

    Another missile attack on a house belonging to the Shehab family killed 24 people, Hamas Aqsa radio said.

    A medic said dozens of people had been killed or wounded in the Shehab family home and nearby buildings.

    “We believe the number of dead people under the rubble is huge but there is no way to remove the rubble and recover them because of the intensity of Israeli fire,” he said by telephone on Sunday.

    In Deir al-Balah, central Gaza, medics said 12 Palestinians had been killed and dozens wounded, while in Rafah in the south, an Israeli air strike on a house left at least four people dead.

    People rushed to the building to rescue those trapped under the rubble.

    The sound of the explosion was “as powerful as an earthquake”, Mahmoud Jarbou, who lives nearby, told Reuters.

    The Israeli government said it operated against militant targets and that it takes extraordinary measures to avoid hitting civilians.

    An Israeli tank shell hit the maternity building inside the Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis, killing a 13-year-old girl named Dina Abu Mehsen, according to Gaza health ministry spokesman Ashraf Al-Qidra.

    Al-Qidra said that Abu Mehsen had previously lost her father, mother, two of her siblings, and one of her legs during the shelling of a house in the Al-Amal neighborhood in Khan Younis a few weeks ago.

    Pope Francis on Sunday again suggested Israel was using “terrorism” tactics in Gaza, deploring the reported killing by the Israeli military of two Christian women who had taken refuge in a church complex.

    At his weekly blessing, Francis referred to a statement about an incident on Saturday by the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem, the Catholic authority in the Holy Land.

    Around 19,000 Palestinians have been killed, according to Gaza health officials, since Oct. 7 when Hamas militants killed 1,200 people, according to Israeli authorities, and captured 240 hostages in their surprise raid.

    The Israeli military released the names of four more soldiers who had died in combat in Gaza, bringing to 126 the number of soldiers killed in the strip since Israel launched a ground invasion in late October.

    Israel’s war on Hamas has razed large parts of Gaza and displaced the majority of its 2.3 million residents, many now living in makeshift shelters without clean water and food and fighting diseases.

    Human Rights Watch said on Monday that Israel was using starvation as a weapon by deliberately blocking the delivery of water, food, fuel, and razing agricultural areas.

    “For over two months, Israel has been depriving Gaza’s population of food and water … reflecting an intent to starve civilians as a method of warfare,” Omar Shakir, Israel and Palestine director at Human Rights Watch said in a statement.

    The Kerem Shalom crossing between Israel and Gaza opened for aid trucks on Sunday for the first time since the outbreak of war, officials said, in a move to double the amount of food and medicine reaching Gazans.

    The United Nations Security Council could vote as early as Monday on a proposal to demand that Israel and Hamas allow aid access to the Gaza Strip – via land, sea, and air routes – and set up UN monitoring of the humanitarian assistance delivered.

    Diplomats said the fate of the draft Security Council resolution hinges on final negotiations between Israel’s ally and council veto power, the United States, and the United Arab Emirates, which has drafted the text.

    “The UAE knows exactly what can pass and what cannot — it is up to them if they want to get this done,” said a U.S. official, speaking on condition of anonymity.

    Hopes for another ceasefire and hostage releases had been raised on Saturday when a source said Israel’s spy chief had spoken on Friday with the prime minister of Qatar, which has previously mediated hostage releases in return for a week-long ceasefire and the freeing of Palestinian prisoners.

    Two security sources from Egypt – another mediator – said on Sunday Israel and Hamas were both open to a renewed ceasefire and hostage release, though disagreements remained on how it would be implemented.

    “We are open to any efforts aimed at ending the Israeli aggression.

    “This is the ground for any discussion,” Hamas official Sami Abu Zuhri said when asked for comment on the Egyptian statement.

    But Israeli authorities said they were determined to fight on to eliminate Hamas, which has run Gaza since 2006 and is sworn to Israel’s destruction.

     

  • U.S., Israel dispute Gaza future as UN describes humanitarian ‘hell’

    U.S., Israel dispute Gaza future as UN describes humanitarian ‘hell’

    Leaders of the United States and Israel expressed disagreement on the future of the Gaza Strip after the end of the war, as UN officials reported on ever more dire conditions in the Palestinian territory.

    “Gaza will be neither Hamastan nor Fatahstan,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Tuesday, according to his office.

    He added that he was hoping for an agreement between Israel and the U.S. for the “day after Hamas.”

    The U.S. has strongly supported Israel’s military campaign.

    But with the war against Hamas now in its third month President Joe Biden has increasingly signalled frustration with the long-time ally.

    Washington wants the Palestinian Authority (PA), which governs parts of the West Bank and is dominated by the Palestinian organisation Fatah, to take back control of the Gaza Strip.

    Israel opposes this. Hamas forcibly expelled the PA from the coastal strip in 2007.

    Biden on Tuesday urged Netanyahu to change political course, suggesting the prime minister abandon his far-right allies.

    “I think he has to change, and with this government, this government in Israel is making it very difficult for him to move,” Biden said at an election campaign event in Washington, according to press travelling with him.

    “This is the most conservative government in Israel’s history,” Biden said, adding that the government “doesn’t want a two-state solution” to the Palestinian conflict.

    Israel is beginning to lose support around the world, warned Biden.

    The war erupted on Oct. 7 when hundreds of Hamas terrorists broke out of Gaza and attacked southern Israeli communities in the worst such atrocity in Israel’s history. Some 1,200 people were killed.

    Israel has since then pounded the Gaza Strip with airstrikes and is in the middle of a ground operation to totally eliminate Hamas.

    The number of Palestinians killed in the Gaza Strip has risen to 18,412 since the beginning of the war, according to the Hamas-controlled Health Ministry.

    Over 50,000 others have been injured, the ministry said on Tuesday.

    Only one per  cent  of those injured in Gaza – or around 400 people – have so far been able to leave the strip for medical treatment, according to the Health Ministry.

    The figures cannot be verified, but the World Health Organisation (WHO) on Tuesday said it considers the death and injury figures given by the Palestinian authorities to be reliable.

    In conflict situations, WHO always relies on the figures provided by the health authorities, Richard Peeperkorn, the WHO representative in the Palestinian Territories occupied by Israel, said on Tuesday.

    After previous conflict situations, Palestinian information on casualties had been checked retrospectively and had proved to be largely accurate, he said.

    Peeperkorn told reporters in Geneva via video link from Gaza that he been in Afghanistan and other humanitarian crisis situations over years, “but I have never seen this in my entire life.”

    The WHO sharply criticised the Israeli military’s treatment of nurses and seriously ill patients in the Gaza Strip.

    A WHO team and partners were held up for hours at a military checkpoint during the evacuation of patients, the organisation reported on Tuesday.

    According to the report, an employee of the Palestinian Red Crescent was forced to his knees in front of WHO employees and threatened with a weapon.

    He was then taken away, interrogated and, according to his own account, humiliated.

    The convoy came under fire and, according to the Red Crescent, one patient died on the journey because his wounds could not be treated.

    The Israeli army declined to comment on the incident.

    “Obstructing ambulances and attacks on humanitarian and health workers are unconscionable,” the WHO said.

    “Health care, including ambulances, are protected under international law,” it added.

    Civilians in Gaza are pleading for safety, the head of the UN Palestinian relief agency UNRWA, Philippe Lazzarini, said on Tuesday.

    People in Gaza want an end to “this hell on earth,” he wrote on X, adding: “People are everywhere, live in the street, need everything.”

    According to the United Nations, half of the population in the Gaza Strip is now starving and more than 80 per cent of the 2.3 million population has been displaced within the coastal area.

    Israel’s military said on Tuesday it has recovered the bodies of two more people abducted from Israel to the Gaza Strip.

    Their bodies were brought back to Israel and identified there, the army said.

    The bodies were those of a 27-year-old woman who was abducted during the Hamas massacre at the Supernova festival and a 36-year-old Israeli army officer, who was also abducted on Oct. 7.

    The families of the two were informed on Tuesday. The army did not initially provide any information on the cause of death in either case.

    According to the Israeli army, 135 people kidnapped from Israel are still being held by Hamas and other extremist groups in Gaza.

    Six Palestinian militants have been killed in an Israeli military operation in the West Bank town of Jenin, Palestinian media reported on Tuesday.

    Four militants were killed in a drone attack, the news agency WAFA reported, while two died of gunshots.

    The Ministry of Health in Ramallah confirmed the deaths.

    Those killed belonged to the al-Aqsa Brigades, the group said.

    The al-Aqsa Brigades are seen as close to the Fatah party, which is the dominant Palestinian political force in the West Bank.

    The Israeli army initially declined to comment on the operation or the deaths

  • UN deputy chief seeks Nigeria’s support on SDG 16

    UN deputy chief seeks Nigeria’s support on SDG 16

    UN Deputy Secretary-General, Nigeria’s Amina Mohammed, has solicited the support of the Nigerian Government on the implementation of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) goal 16.

    SDG 16 addresses the need to promote peace and inclusive institutions.

    Mohammed made the call when the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Amb. Adamu Lamuwa, and his counterpart, Permanent Secretary, Career Management Office (CMO), Head of Service, Dr Marcus Ogunbiyi, paid her a visit at UN headquarters in New York.

    She emphasised on capacity building, saying, “we are asking for support for SDG goal 16 on  institutions because if they are not strengthened,  it will be difficult to achieve the development goals”.

    Mohammed, however, told her guests that Nigeria had been leading the African group to push for an equitable and fair international tax system toward achieving the SDGs.

    Nigeria and the African Group  had on Thursday called for support from the Member States to adopt a resolution om “Promotion of Inclusive and Effective International Tax Cooperation at the United Nations”.

    Nigeria had, during the 77th session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), presented a historic resolution, which laid the foundation for the creation of a new system of international tax cooperation that should be universal in scope and approach.

    With this, member states agreed for the first time to have a convention on tax cooperation and to annually discuss global tax issues and review progress.

    The motion, submitted for consideration by Nigeria on behalf of 54-member African Group of States, was adopted by consensus after some discussions on a failed amendment.

    Mohammed said that the UN had been recognising the role of the Permanent Representative of Nigeria to the UN, Amb. Tijjani Muhammad-Bande, on the tax resolution.

    “We have been doing well on the tax resolution. Everybody is very proud of Nigeria.

    “Bande has gained a lot of respect here at the UN. In fact, the President of the General Assembly acknowledged his sound leadership qualities.

    “Even behind the scenes, he is offering his support and we have learnt a lot from him and l hope Nigeria will continue to tap from his wealth of experience even after his tenure is over,’’ she said.

    In addition, Mohammed advised Nigeria on reviewing its foreign policy in line with President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda and his role in AU and global politics.

    In his response, Amb. Lamuwa  thanked the Deputy Secretary General for receiving him and for the fruitful discussion held with her on advancing Nigeria’s role in global affairs.

    The envoy also reiterated Nigeria’s commitment in achieving the SDGs, especially goal 16.

    In addition, he reaffirmed Nigeria’s role in advancing Africa interest on UN Security Council and Tax Policy.