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Tag: UN

  • UN flags at half-mast for 101 staff killed in Gaza

    UN flags at half-mast for 101 staff killed in Gaza

    Flags at United Nations (UN) offices around the world are flying at half-mast in memory of the 101 UN staff members killed so far in the Gaza war.

    Staff held a minute’s silence to mourn and honour colleagues from UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) who were killed in the war.

    The UN relief body said in a statement on Monday that “the UNRWA death toll, already the highest in UN history, has continued to increase.”

    It added that the dead were among the 13,000 UNRWA staff working in Gaza, many of them killed with their families.

    They were teachers, school principals, health workers, including a gynaecologist, engineers, support staff and a psychologist, the agency said.

    Tom White, the Director of UNRWA in the Gaza Strip said “UNRWA staff in Gaza appreciates the UN lowering the flags around the world.

    “In Gaza however, we have to keep the UN flag flying high as a sign that we are still standing and serving the people of Gaza,’’ While said from Rafah.

    Meanwhile, UN agencies in the Middle East, Africa, Asia, Europe and elsewhere posted photos on social media of flags at half-mast in front of and on their office buildings.

  • UN staff building in Gaza Strip attacked

    UN staff building in Gaza Strip attacked

    The United Nations on Monday said that Israel has attacked a building housing UN staff in the southern part of the Gaza Strip.

    The attack near the Rafah border crossing was another indication that no place in Gaza is safe.

    Not the north, not the centre, and not the south, said Philippe Lazzarini, commissioner general of the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA).

    The UNRWA said it had sent the coordinates of the building’s location to all parties to the conflict twice, most recently on Friday.

    The information could not initially be independently verified.

    According to the UNRWA, four UN employees were being housed in the guest house and had left the building shortly before the attack, otherwise they would have all been killed in the attack, it said.

    Displaced people were not being accommodated in the building, it added.

    According to UN figures, more than 1.5 million people have been displaced as a result of the fighting in the Gaza Strip.

    The UNWRA said more than 60 UN facilities had been directly or indirectly damaged in recent weeks.

    Most of these are schools, which are now being used as emergency shelters.

    More than 600,000 people are said to have sought refuge in UNRWA buildings in the southern Gaza Strip.

  • German vice-chancellor criticises UN resolution on Gaza

    German vice-chancellor criticises UN resolution on Gaza

    German Vice-Chancellor Robert Habeck has criticised the resolution passed by the UN General Assembly on the escalation of violence between Israel and Palestinians.

    Israel’s partners such as Germany and the U.S. repeatedly appealed to the Israeli government to avoid civilian casualties, and that was the right thing to do, the Green politician told the German tv programme Markus Lanz.

    However, Habeck said, it was completely nonsensical to call on Hamas to avoid civilian casualties “because Hamas’ goal is to produce civilian victims.”

    He said it was bad to make a distinction when it came to casualties. But it was a distinction on the political level that Hamas had been about “slaughtering people,” Habeck said.

    “Therefore, it is not a good resolution because it is not political. It doesn’t penetrate and call the political problem by its name,” he added.

    The UN resolution, adopted by a two-thirds majority last Friday, condemns all violence against Israeli and Palestinian civilians, calls for the immediate and unconditional release of all “illegally detained” civilians and demands unhindered humanitarian access to Gaza.

    It also calls for an “immediate permanent and sustainable humanitarian ceasefire” leading to a “cessation of hostilities.”

    It does not include an unequivocal condemnation of Hamas’ acts of terror as the trigger for the war.

    Germany abstained from voting on the resolution, receiving criticism from Israel’s ambassador to Germany and by Germany’s Central Council of Jews.

    Habeck said that the German government was unanimous in its stance on the UN resolution.

    The abstention does not mean that Germany wants to wash its hands of the situation, but on the contrary wants to help find a solution.

    “Of course, as a humanitarian stance, it’s totally great to say I’m in favour of all people getting along and love each other,” Habeck said.

    He said transfering that attitude to the Ukraine war would be like calling on Ukraine’s supporters to make peace with those “who started this war.”

    Such an attitude towards Ukraine would be unacceptable, he said.

    However, Habeck agreed that one must also see how the other side thinks in order to somehow move forward in the current conflict.

    German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock also defended Germany’s voting behaviour on ZDF on Wednesday.

    Germany had a special role to play in keeping the channels of communication open with other actors in the region, such as Egypt and Jordan, she said.

  • Israel allows entry of emergency aid coordinator in spite row with UN

    Israel allows entry of emergency aid coordinator in spite row with UN

    Israel said that it is allowing UN Emergency Relief Coordinator Martin Griffiths to enter the country more than three weeks after the start of the Gaza war.

    The spokesman for the Foreign Ministry confirmed on Monday.

    His entry had been authorised “at the request of other states to expedite the departure of foreign nationals from the Gaza Strip.’”

    Israel had announced last week that it would deny entry to representatives of the UN as it had done in the past.

    It is according to critical statements of Israel by UN Secretary General António Guterres.

    Guterres had criticised Israeli counter-attacks in the Gaza Strip and spoke of clear violations of international humanitarian law.

    He condemned the Hamas terrorist attack on Oct. 7, but said it had not taken place in a vacuum, referring to the Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories.

    Terrorists carried out massacres of civilians in Israel on Oct. 7 on behalf of the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas, which controls the Gaza Strip.

    More than 1,400 people died in the massacre and in the days that followed.

    Militants also abducted at least 239 people to the densely populated coastal area. Since then, Israel’s military has attacked targets there.

    According to the Hamas-controlled Ministry of Health in Gaza, 8,306 Palestinians had been killed by Monday.

  • Gaza: Fuel supply set to runs out in 3 days, says UN agency

    Gaza: Fuel supply set to runs out in 3 days, says UN agency

    The UN agency that assists Palestine refugees, UNRWA, will run out of fuel in three days, putting humanitarian response in Gaza at risk, Director-General Philippe Lazzarini warned on Sunday.

    “Without fuel, there will be no water, no functioning hospitals and bakeries. Without fuel, aid will not reach those in desperate need. Without fuel, there will be no humanitarian assistance.

    “No fuel will further strangle the children, women and people of Gaza,” he said in a statement.

    UNRWA is the largest humanitarian agency in the Gaza Strip, which is home to more than two million people.

    More than a million have been displaced since the start of the latest hostilities on October 7, with over half a million now sheltering in its facilities.

    Lazzarini warned that “without fuel, we will fail the people of Gaza whose needs are growing by the hour, under our watch,” adding, “this cannot and should not happen.”

    He appealed to all parties and those with influence over them to immediately allow fuel supplies into Gaza and to ensure that it is strictly used to prevent humanitarian operations from collapsing.

    Although he welcomed the entry of the first humanitarian convoy into Gaza on Saturday, Lazzarini said it was “far from enough”, stressing the need for sustained aid.

    UNRWA also published its latest situation report on Sunday, which revealed that 13 more staff members have been killed since the conflict began, bringing the total to 29, while a further 17 have been injured.

    In a post on the social media platform X, formerly Twitter, UNRWA noted that half of those killed were teachers.

    The report also documented that 12 displaced people sheltering at UNRWA schools have been killed, and nearly 180 injured.

  • Israel -Hamas: UN chief calls for ceasefire

    Israel -Hamas: UN chief calls for ceasefire

    Antonio Guterres, the United Nations Secretary-General, pleaded Saturday for a “humanitarian ceasefire” in the war between Israel and Gaza’s Hamas, demanding global “action to end this godawful nightmare”.

    Guterres  while addressing a peace summit in Cairo as the war raged into its third week, said the tiny Palestinian enclave of 2.4 million people was living through “a humanitarian catastrophe” with thousands dead and more than a million people displaced.

    His remarks came just hours after a first contingent of aid trucks rumbled into southern Gaza, which Guterres said needed to be rapidly scaled up, with “much more” help sent through.

    The Palestinians need “a continuous delivery of aid to Gaza at the scale that is needed”, he told the Cairo “Summit for Peace” which was attended by many Arab leaders.

    The current bloodshed began on October 7 when Hamas militants stormed across the Gaza border into Israel, launching an attack that has killed at least 1,400 people, mostly civilians, in the deadliest attack on Israeli soil since the state was founded in 1948.

    Diplomatic efforts have so far focused on getting humanitarian aid into the war-torn enclave where Israel has imposed a total siege, cutting off supplies of water, electricity, fuel and food
  • Gaza establishes 1st shelter camp for displaced amid ongoing conflict

    Gaza establishes 1st shelter camp for displaced amid ongoing conflict

    The first shelter camp for displaced Palestinians has been set up by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees (UNRWA) in the battered enclave on Thursday.

     

    Established at the UNRWA industrial training station in the heart of Gaza, the shelter camp has become a temporary home for numerous families who have been forced to seek refuge as a result of the Israeli strikes.

     

    Families found themselves lying on the ground amidst mounting piles of garbage.

    According to UNRWA reports, over one million people, almost half the total population of Gaza, have been displaced amid evacuation warnings from the Israeli army.

    The Ministry of Public Works and Housing said at least 4,821 residential buildings, encompassing 12,845 housing units, have been completely demolished in the Israeli strikes.

     

    Meanwhile, the number of Palestinian fatalities has exceeded 3,785, with over 13,000 individuals sustaining injuries since Oct. 7, said the health ministry in Gaza.

    The latest round of violence between Israel and Hamas, which rules Gaza, began on Oct. 7 when Hamas launched a rare surprise attack on southern Israel close to the border with Gaza.

     

    Israel retaliated with airstrikes and a blockade that cut off water, electricity, fuel, and other supplies to Gaza.

     

  • War: Don urges UN to act fast, broker cease-fire between Isreal, Hamas

    War: Don urges UN to act fast, broker cease-fire between Isreal, Hamas

    Dr Chinedu Ejezie, a Senior Lecturer at the Department of Political Science, University of Nigeria, Nsukka, has urged the United Nations (UN) to act fast to broker a cease-fire in the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas before the situation gets out of hand.

    Ejezie said this in Nsukka on Wednesday in an interview with the news Agency of Nigeria (NAN) while reacting to the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas as a result of Hamas attack on Israel on October 7.

    He said if UN did not act fast to broker a cease-fire, the situation might get out of hand and global peace would be threatened as countries in the world will start supporting Israel or Hamas.

    “I urge the UN, as matter of urgency, to intervene and call for a cease-fire on both sides, so that there will be room for negotiations to avert more casualties.

    “It’s unfortunate many civilian causalities, including children, have been killed because of heavy airstrikes and bombardments on Gaza Strip by Israel.

    “Israel should consider many civilian casualties and stop further airstrikes and bombardments on Gaza Strip,” he said.

    The don, however, condemned the action of Hamas on October 7 that triggered the war, in which Hamas launched a deadly attack on Israel, killed and injured many as well as abducted many others.

    “This action of Hamas should be condemned by everybody in the world and UN should do everything within its powers to avoid a recurrence.

    “It’s this unprovoked attack on Israel by Hamas that is responsible for the ongoing war.

    “Hamas should, without further delay, release all those abducted on that fateful day unconditionally,” he said.

    Ejezie also urged the UN to proscribe Hamas militant group in Palestine, as a way of finding a long lasting peace between Israel and Palestine.

    “To resolve the age-long difference between Israel and Palestine, the UN should first proscribe the militant group called Hamas.

    “No negotiations to achieve peace between Israel and Palestine will achieve the desired results if Hamas is not proscribed,” he said.

    The Political Scientist urged countries in the world to join hands in finding amicable resolutions of the misunderstanding between Israel and Palestine.

    “Aligning and supporting Israel or Palestine in the ongoing hostility will not solve the problem, rather it will escalate it,” Ejezie warned.

  • Israeli-Hamas conflict: UN Security Council to consider resolution on ceasefire

    Israeli-Hamas conflict: UN Security Council to consider resolution on ceasefire

    The UN Security Council is expected to consider a draft resolution led by Brazil, calling for a humanitarian ceasefire in the Israeli-Hamas conflict in the Gaza Strip.

    The council had on Monday in its first intervention in the Gaza crisis voted down a resolution led by Russia, calling for a humanitarian ceasefire.

    In spite of the setback, diplomatic efforts are in full swing as ambassadors prepare to consider another text on the unprecedented crisis.

    The 15-member body that oversees peace and security issues, is expected to decide on a second draft resolution, led by Brazil.

    While it does not officially represent the position of the council until adopted, the proposal aims to mitigate existing humanitarian suffering, establish corridors for safe aid delivery, and protect UN and other humanitarian workers struggling to provide life-saving aid to the people of Gaza.

    While both texts seek a humanitarian pause, there are key differences, including reportedly over the major point of contention in the Russian draft – explicit mention of the extremist group Hamas which controls Gaza.

    Russia’s ambassador told the emergency meeting on Monday that Western powers opposing its resolution had “stomped” on hopes of de-escalation, while the U.S. ambassador said that in failing to condemn Hamas, Russia was “giving cover to a terrorist group that brutalises innocent civilians.”

    In the hope of agreeing on unified action – never more important than during a time of international crisis – ambassadors usually seek to build support through resolutions, laying out a clear path.

    Rival or parallel drafts of resolutions are common, leaving delegations to hammer out the details and soften the edges, often behind closed doors.

    If common positions can’t be reached, the draft goes for a vote, where it either passes, or – as on Monday night – is rejected.

    Meanwhile, UN officials continue to engage with all actors involved in the widening crisis, to de-escalate tensions, establish safe zones, and provide essential aid and medical support to those in urgent need.

    UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres is set to arrive in Egypt on Thursday to meet President Abdel Fattah Al Sisi and others.

    World leaders are also making appeals to de-escalate, with the White House announcing President Joe Biden’s high stakes visit to Israel and Jordan beginning Wednesday, in a show of solidarity with partners in the region.

    UN and other humanitarian agencies have worked round the clock to preposition aid since the latest war between Israel and Hamas broke out following the militant group’s surprise Oct. 7 attack on several locations inside Israel, and Israel’s subsequent declaration of war.

    Thousands have reportedly been killed on both sides and hundreds of thousands have been forced to flee south inside Gaza, where the southern frontier remains closed so far to vital aid.

    UN staff, primarily with the Palestine refugees agency (UNRWA), as well as medical personnel and aid workers, have also lost their lives.

    Concerns loom over the potential for the violence to spill over into neighbouring countries, destabilising the entire region – and beyond.

  • UN General Assembly elects 4 African countries to Human Rights Council

    UN General Assembly elects 4 African countries to Human Rights Council

    The UN General Assembly on Tuesday elected 15 new countries to serve on the Human Rights Council, with Peru and Russia failing to secure a seat.

    Four of the 15 new members are from African countries, viz, Burundi, Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana and Malawi.

    After the ballots were cast and counted, Assembly President Dennis Francis announced Albania, Brazil, Bulgaria, Burundi, China, Côte d’Ivoire, Cuba, Dominican Republic, France, Ghana, Indonesia, Japan, Kuwait, Malawi, and the Netherlands were elected to serve for three years, beginning Jan. 1,  2024.

    China, Côte d’Ivoire, Cuba, France, and Malawi were re-elected for their second terms.

    The Human Rights Council, the UN’s premier rights body, is tasked with the responsibility of upholding and advancing fundamental freedoms globally.

    It was created in 2006 and consists of 47 member States, elected via secret ballot by the majority of General Assembly members.

    In order to ensure equitable geographical distribution, its seats are distributed among regional groups of States as follows, from Africa (13); Asia-Pacific (13); Eastern European (6); Latin American and Caribbean (8); and Western European and others (7).

    Malawi topped the voting for African nations, with 182 votes, followed by Côte d’Ivoire (181), Ghana (179), Burundi (168), and Nigeria (3). In Asia and the Pacific, Indonesia secured 186 votes, followed by Kuwait (183), Japan (175) and China (154).

    In Eastern Europe, Bulgaria received 160 votes, followed by Albania (123), and Russia (83). Russia was seeking re-election to the Human Rights Council after it resigned from the body on  April 7,  2022.

    Latin America and the Caribbean saw Cuba secure 146 votes, followed by Brazil (144), Dominican Republic (137), and Peru (108). This is the first time Dominican Republic is elected to the Human Rights Council.

    In Western Europe and others, the Netherlands received 169 votes, and France 153.

    The new members will join Algeria, Argentina, Bangladesh, Belgium, Benin, Cameroon, Chile, Costa Rica, Eritrea, Finland, Gambia, Georgia, Germany, Honduras, India, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Lithuania and Luxembourg on 1 Jan. 2024.

    Other members are: Malaysia, Maldives, Montenegro, Morocco, Paraguay, Qatar, Romania, Somalia, South Africa, Sudan, United Arab Emirates, United States of America, and Viet Nam.