The UN’s overriding mission in Gaza to ‘flood the place with food’ and avert famine, has moved forward this week thanks to Israel’s public pledge to increase the flow of aid, despite signs on Sunday that the feared invasion of Rafah is imminent.
A brief roundup of United Nations-related political and peacebuilding events and developments globally.
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The destruction wrought across the Gaza Strip by Israel in the six months since the massacre of Israeli and other citizens by Hamas on 7 October 2023 makes for grim reading – over 33,000 people killed and, according to the World Bank, over one million Palestinians are without homes, close to 90 per cent of health facilities have been damaged or wrecked and schools have been destroyed or turned into shelters for the newly homeless.
When the Genocide against the Tutsis in Rwanda began in April 1994 Eric Eugene Murangwa was a footballer at one of the country’s top clubs. Although he is a Tutsi, he was protected by a member of the notorious Interahamwe, responsible for killing hundreds of thousands. Ahead of the 30th anniversary of the genocide, marked on 7 April, Mr. Murangwa shared his extraordinary story with UN News.
With the largest hospital in Gaza largely destroyed and out of action, access to healthcare has now become “totally inadequate” following six months of brutal fighting between Israeli forces and Palestinian militants, said the World Health Organization (WHO) on Saturday.
The UN Security Council on Friday strongly condemned the latest rise in attacks by the M23 rebel group in the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s restive east, which has undermined security and exacerbated an already dire humanitarian situation.
The UN’s top human rights body adopted a resolution on Friday condemning the alleged “use of starvation of civilians as a method of warfare in Gaza”, while also calling for an arms embargo on Israel.
Israel must make meaningful changes in the way it is fighting in Gaza to avoid civilian casualties while also undergoing “a true paradigm shift” in lifesaving aid delivery, the UN chief said on Friday.
Aid officials called on the Security Council on Friday to step in to stop the carnage in Gaza as the war enters its sixth month amid a man-made famine, Israel’s constant bombardment, targeted killings of aid workers and Palestinians civilians and “zero accountability” for the perpetrators.
Madam President,
Members of the Security Council,
More than three years have passed since the military overturned the democratically elected Government and detained its leaders, including President Win Myint and State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi. The Secretary-General has consistently called for their immediate release as well as all arbitrarily detained prisoners. He has also called for a unified response as violence continues to intensify throughout Myanmar, driving displacement and deepening the political, humanitarian, and human rights crisis.
The expansion of armed conflict throughout the country has deprived communities of basic needs and access to essential services, and a devastating impact on human rights and fundamental freedoms. Amid reports of indiscriminate aerial bombardments by the Myanmar Armed Forces and artillery shelling by various parties, the civilian toll keeps rising.
The United Nations condemns all forms of violence. As my OCHA colleague will highlight, ensuring the protection of civilians including aid workers, in accordance with international humanitarian law, as well as securing the cessation of hostilities and humanitarian access are paramount.
In Rakhine State, fighting between the military and the Arakan Army has reached an unprecedented level of violence, compounding pre-existing vulnerabilities in Myanmar’s poorest region. The Arakan Army has reportedly gained territorial control over most of central Rakhine and seeks to expand to northern Rakhine where many Rohingya remain.
Broadly, Ethnic Armed Organizations, the National Unity Government, the National Unity Consultative Council, the Committee Representing Pyidaungsu Hluttaw and others are working to overcome past divides beyond ethnic autonomy interests. Today, the National Unity Consultative Council, comprising various Myanmar stakeholders, convened their Second People’s Assembly to further define their common vision for the future of Myanmar. Addressing the root causes of the Rohingya crisis will be essential to establish a sustainable pathway out of the current crisis. The failure to do so and continued impunity will only keep fuelling Myanmar’s vicious cycle of violence. It is important that all parties in Rakhine protect the Rohingya population. Caught in the middle of the conflict, civilians, including the Rohingya, face grave protection concerns and elevated intercommunal tensions. In particular, Rohingya communities continue to experience significant restrictions on their freedom of movement, denial of citizenship, and remain disproportionately vulnerable to abduction or forced recruitment.
There are also growing concerns for displaced Rohingya women and girls, who are facing increased risks of sexual violence, sexual exploitation, and trafficking.
On 18 March, the Secretary-General highlighted his concern about reports of forcible detention and recruitment of youths, including the Rohingya, and the potential impact of forced conscription on human rights and on the social fabric of communities in Myanmar. He also called on all parties to prevent further incitement of communal tensions.
Madam President,
Rakhine’s current circumstances do not allow immediate prospect for the safe, dignified, voluntary and sustainable repatriation of the Rohingya to their places of origin or choice. I reiterate the Secretary-General’s call for redoubling our efforts to enable access to territories for those fleeing persecution and violence, and to protect and assist refugees from Myanmar, including the Rohingya, and support their host communities. Effective regional protection mechanisms and early efforts to counter misinformation, disinformation and hate speech are needed.
The surge in the number of desperate Rohingya refugees reportedly dying or going missing while taking risky boat journeys in the Andaman Sea and the Bay of Bengal is alarming and underscores the need to find more suitable solutions for the Rohingya as soon as possible.
I take this opportunity to appreciate Bangladesh for generously hosting over a million Rohingya refugees, most of whom fled Myanmar almost seven years ago. Collective support from the international community to the Joint Response Plan for the Rohingya Humanitarian Crisis is critical.
It is essential that protection measures are accompanied by efforts to address underlying causes of displacement and instability. These efforts must be informed directly by voices of the Rohingya.
Madam President,
Any solution to the current crisis requires conditions that permit the people of Myanmar to exercise their human rights freely and peacefully. An end to the military’s campaign of violence and political repression is a vital step. In this respect, the Secretary-General has highlighted concern about the military’s intention to move ahead with elections amid intensifying conflict and human rights violations across the country.
Relatedly, the State Administration Council’s announcement on the enforcement of the conscription law has intensified social unrest against the military and violence, including reports of attacks against village administrators, suicides of drafted young men, and a surging number of movements across Myanmar’s borders. The absence of youth in the workforce is further adding to Myanmar’s dire socio-economic outlook.
Madam President,
Myanmar’s crisis continues to spillover as conflicts in key border areas have weakened transnational security and the breakdown in the rule of law has allowed illicit economies to thrive. There is cause for concern beyond the region. Myanmar has become a global epicentre of methamphetamine and opium production, along with a rapid expansion of global cyberscam operations, particularly in border areas. With scarce livelihood opportunities, criminal networks continue to prey on the increasingly vulnerable population. What began as a regional crime threat in Southeast Asia is now a rampant human trafficking and illicit trade crisis with global implications.
Madam President,
There is a clear case for greater international unity and support to the region. As called for by this Council, the United Nations will continue to work in complement to ASEAN and support its efforts to implement the Five-Point Consensus on Myanmar, and actively engage with all relevant stakeholders. The Secretary-General plans to appoint a Special Envoy in the coming days to engage with ASEAN, Member States and all stakeholders to advance toward a Myanmar-led political solution to the crisis.
As the prolonged crisis deepens, the Secretary-General continues to call for a unified international response and encourages Member States, particularly neighbouring countries, to leverage their influence to open up humanitarian channels in line with international principles, end the violence, and seek a comprehensive political solution that leads to an inclusive and peaceful future for Myanmar.
The Security Council’s role and implementing of Resolution 2669 of December 2022, remains crucial.
The United Nations remains committed to staying and delivering in solidarity with the people of Myanmar.
Thank you.
The ongoing escalation of the conflict in Myanmar, more than three years after the military takeover, is severely affecting people across the country, with spillover effects in the region, two senior UN officials told the Security Council on Thursday.
As a siege imposed by heavily armed gangs on Port-au-Prince, Haiti, stretches into a second month, the UN migration agency sounded an alarm on Thursday about the ever-worsening humanitarian situation.
The scale of the bombs dropped on Gaza since 7 October means that it will take millions of dollars, and many years, to decontaminate the Strip from unexploded munitions, the head of the UN Mine Action Service (UNMAS) in Palestine tells UN News, ahead of Mine Action Day.
As hostilities continue in Gaza, the UN agency that assists Palestine refugees, UNRWA, urged donors not to forget about Palestinians affected by the ongoing war in Syria.
UN humanitarians in Gaza have suspended operations at night for at least 48 hours in response to the killing of seven aid workers from the NGO World Central Kitchen on Tuesay.
The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights on Wednesday expressed dismay over the decision by Uganda’s Constitutional Court to uphold the country’s discriminatory Anti-Homosexuality Act, which has already led to hundreds of rights violations.
All warring parties must allow safe, swift and unfettered humanitarian access and protect civilian infrastructure, top UN officials told the Security Council on Wednesday.
Madam President,
Yesterday, the Islamic Republic of Iran transmitted identical letters to the Secretary-General and to the Security Council stating that Israel had attacked the location of its diplomatic premises in -Damascus by missile strikes, killing at least five Iranian personnel, including senior military advisors, and injuring others. There have been subsequent media reports today that the death toll has risen to 13, seven Iranian personnel and six Syrian citizens.
I reiterate the Secretary-General’s condemnation of the attack.
Let me be very clear: the inviolability of diplomatic and consular premises and personnel must be respected in all cases in accordance with international law. The sovereignty and territorial integrity of Member States must be respected in accordance with international law. The rules-based international order is essential for international peace and security, which this Council is mandated to maintain.
Madam President,
Special Envoy Geir Pedersen has kept this Council apprised of the unrelenting violence on the ground in Syria, which features six foreign armies operating on its territory, impacting the lives of civilians, and moving a peaceful resolution of the conflict farther out of reach. Among them, increasingly lethal attacks on Iran-linked targets in Syria have been attributed to Israel, especially since the current conflict with Hamas in Gaza began on 7 October. Open sources have reported at least a dozen such attacks since the beginning of this year.
While Israel has rarely claimed responsibility for any of these incidents, its officials have repeatedly acknowledged its military operations in Syria and have suggested that more such operations will occur in the future.
We appeal to the Council today, as we do every month, to continue to actively engage all concerned parties to prevent further escalation and the worsening of tensions that undermine regional peace and security.
Madam President,
Allow me to reiterate the Secretary-General’s call on all concerned to exercise utmost restraint and avoid further escalation. I also underline his consistent calls on all parties to respect all their obligations under international law, including international humanitarian law, as applicable, and to avoid attacks that could harm civilians and damage civilian infrastructure. Any miscalculation could lead to broader conflict in an already volatile region, with devastating consequences for civilians who are already seeing unprecedented suffering in Syria, Lebanon, the Occupied Palestinian Territory, and the broader Middle East.
Thank you, Madam President.
The killing of seven aid workers from the NGO World Central Kitchen in Israeli military airstrikes in central Gaza has been strongly condemned by senior UN humanitarian officials who on Tuesday reiterated repeated concerns that "there is no safe space left in Gaza".<br />
A senior UN official on Tuesday urged the Security Council to work to avert further escalation in the Middle East following the deadly airstrike on the Iranian consulate in Syria’s capital, Damascus.
The killing of seven aid workers from the NGO World Central Kitchen in Israeli military airstrikes in central Gaza has been strongly condemned by senior UN humanitarian officials who on Tuesday reiterated repeated concerns that "there is no safe space left in Gaza".<br />
Restoring public order and ensuring access to aid must be priorities in Haiti, where criminal gangs continue to terrorize the population, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights said on Tuesday in Geneva.
The killing of seven humanitarians by an Israeli strike in Gaza on Tuesday – 196 overall since hostilities began last October – is “an inevitable result” of the way the war is being fought, said the UN chief.
Read here the latest UNSOM Quarterly Newsletter.
The UN peacekeeping force in south Lebanon (UNIFIL) has announced that it is investigating an explosion in the Rmeish area that injured four unarmed peacekeepers on a foot patrol along the Blue Line that divides Israel from Lebanon and the disputed Golan Heights.
The United Nations Special Envoy for Yemen, Hans Grundberg, concluded a visit to Moscow today, where he engaged in discussions with senior Russian officials. During his visit, Grundberg met with Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation Sergey Vershinin and Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs and Special Presidential Representative for the Middle East, Mikhail Bogdanov.
The Special Envoy briefed on recent efforts to support the parties in reaching an...
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Next Week |
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Gaza’s health system is ‘barely surviving’ after more than five months of Israeli bombardment, the head of the UN World Health Organization (WHO) said on Thursday.
Immediate and bold action is required to tackle the “cataclysmic” situation in Haiti, the UN human rights office, OHCHR, said in a report issued on Thursday.
A United States resolution to extend the mandate of an expert panel which monitors sanctions against the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) was vetoed by Russia in the Security Council on Thursday.
Gaza’s health system is ‘barely surviving’ after more than five months of Israeli bombardment, the head of the UN World Health Organization (WHO) said on Thursday.
Insecurity in the volatile eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has worsened since the end of recent elections, UN Special Representative Bintou Keita told the Security Council on Wednesday.
