Category Archives: GENERAL

UN rights chief calls for end to daily killings in Ukraine after deadly weekend attacks

Posted on by
Reply

The majority of those killed and injured were in major cities such as Kyiv, Kharkiv, and Mykolaiv, or in populated areas in other regions.

Meanwhile, large numbers of long-range drones launched into Russia by Ukrainian armed forces injured at least 11 civilians over the weekend, according to Russian authorities.

Silence the guns

High Commissioner Volker Türk underscored the urgency for an end to hostilities.

“It is time to put an end to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, to commit to – and implement – a comprehensive ceasefire that stops the daily killing and destruction, and to start genuine peace negotiations, built on respect for international law,” he said.

He highlighted that – even amid ongoing hostilities – people deprived of their liberty must be protected. Summary executions, torture and all forms of inhumane and degrading treatment of prisoners are always prohibited, in any circumstances, and must stop immediately.

In addition, civilian detainees should be released as soon as the lawful reason for their detention ceases to exist and their protection against refoulement must be ensured, he said.

Relief, but also loss

High Commissioner Türk welcomed the recent exchange of prisoners of war and civilian detainees.

Nearly 900 prisoners of war and 120 civilians from each side were exchanged. Most of the civilians appeared to have been detainees, but details on individuals included in the exchange are not yet available, according to his office, OHCHR.

“Many families can now breathe a sigh of relief because their loved ones have finally returned home,” Mr. Türk said.

“But at the same time, other families have lost relatives and their homes, as their communities across Ukraine came under attack.”

Impact on children

In a separate statement, the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) expressed deep concern for the impact of the latest attacks on Ukraine’s children.

Munir Mammadzade, UNICEF Representative in Ukraine, said that in the past three days, at least three children were reportedly killed in Zhytomyr, and at least 13 children were injured in several regions across the country.

“Ukraine’s children have suffered for far too long. How many more futures must be stolen? The senseless violence and loss of young lives must stop,” Mr. Mammadzade said.

According to UNICEF, more than 220 children were killed or injured between January and April 2025 – a 40 per cent increase compared to the same period last year.

“Attacks on civilian areas must end, and children must always be protected,” Mr. Mammadzade emphasised. “Above all, children need an end to this war.”

Source link

UN warns of ‘catastrophic’ human rights crisis in Myanmar as violence and economic collapse deepen

Posted on by
Reply

Published ahead of the Human Rights Council’s upcoming session, the report highlighted the worsening situation since the military coup in 2021, which derailed Myanmar’s democratic transition and ignited widespread armed resistance.

In the years since, military forces have targeted civilian populations with airstrikes, artillery bombardments and other forms of violence, while anti-military armed groups have gained ground, particularly in Rakhine state.

“The country has endured an increasingly catastrophic human rights crisis marked by unabated violence and atrocities that have affected every single aspect of life,” said UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk.

Grim toll

The report documents a grim toll: military operations killed more civilians in 2024 than in any previous year since the coup.

In Rakhine, the Arakan Army seized control of most of the state, displacing tens of thousands, while Rohingya civilians were caught between warring factions, facing killings, torture, arbitrary arrests and widespread destruction of villages.

Some Rohingya armed groups have also been drawn into the conflict, according to reports.

Economic crisis deepening

The escalating violence has had a cascading effect on Myanmar’s economy, worsening already dire humanitarian conditions.

Myanmar’s economy has lost an estimated $93.9 billion since the coup, with the gross domestic product (GDP) not expected to recover to pre-pandemic levels before 2028.

Inflation has surged, the kyat has lost 40 per cent of its value, and over half the population now lives below the poverty line, facing food insecurity and soaring prices.

The March earthquakes further exacerbated the crisis, leaving thousands more displaced, homeless and without basic services.

Military control of revenue

Meanwhile, the military continues to control key revenue sources, including the central bank and state-owned enterprises, particularly in the extractive sector.

While targeted international sanctions slowed some revenue streams, the junta has maintained its financial lifelines through forced currency conversion, import restrictions, and a crackdown on informal money transfers.

Myanmar has also become the world’s largest producer of opium and synthetic drugs, with transnational criminal networks thriving under military rule.

Multifaceted approach needed

The report urged a multifaceted response to the crisis, including urgent humanitarian support, cross-border aid for displaced populations and increased political engagement with Myanmar’s democratic forces and emerging governance structures.

It also emphasised the need for accountability through international justice mechanisms, including a referral of the situation to the International Criminal Court (ICC).

The report also identified key “constituents for change” in the country’s future – women, youth, ethnic minorities, civil society and pro-democracy actors – and highlighted the work of communities who have established local institutions and forms of governance, often with increased participation from women.

Buildings lie in ruins in Mandalay region, central Myanmar, following the devastating 7.7 magnitude earthquake that struck in March.

Hopes for a peaceful future

The report underscored the importance of planning for the day-after, ensuring human rights are central to a future Myanmar – from rebuilding systems to restoring fundamental freedoms.

“There are strong, resourceful and principled individuals and groups rallying and creating the conditions for an inclusive and democratic future,” High Commissioner Türk said. “They are a shining example of hope for a peaceful future.”

The report will be formally presented to the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva on 1 July.

Gaza: UN agencies calls for aid ‘surge’ as Israeli distribution plan begins

Posted on by
Reply

After nearly three months of complete blockade by Israel, a “vastly insufficient” amount of aid was finally allowed into the war-ravaged enclave in the last week, insisted Jens Laerke, spokesperson for the UN aid coordination office, OCHA.

“We have not stopped operating,” he said, referring to staff still inside Gaza, who are tasked with liaising with the Israeli authorities to retrieve supplies allowed into Gaza from Israel, via the Kerem Shalom crossing.

Mr. Laerke insisted that the UN is not participating in the Israeli aid plan known as the Gaza Humanitarian Fund: “It is a distraction from what is actually needed, which is a reopening of all the crossings into Gaza, a secure environment within Gaza and faster facilitation of permissions and final approvals of all the emergency supplies that we have just outside the border; [aid] needs to get in.”

The veteran humanitarian stressed the ongoing dangers and obstacles that have prevented aid teams from picking up and dispatching lifesaving supplies via the UN’s existing delivery network in Gaza.

“We are not always able to collect what is being dropped off on the other side because of the insecure routes that are being assigned to us by the Israeli authorities to use,” he told journalists in Geneva.

‘Cherry-picking’ warning

All types of aid must be allowed through and not “cherry-picked”, Mr. Laerke stressed: “The bottom line again is that we are talking about a vastly insufficient amount of aid that eventually enters Gaza at the moment. That’s why we need [the] opening of more crossings, we need all types of aid – not that aid that is cherry-picked by the Israeli side that we are allowed to get in.”

In an update, the UN World Food Programme (WFP) said that as of Monday, 294 trucks have reached Kerem Shalom from Port Ashdod. On Tuesday, media reports indicated that protesters attempted to block lorries loaded with aid from leaving the Israeli port.

“While desperately needed aid is finally trickling into Gaza, the pace is far too slow to meet the overwhelming needs,” WFP said. “Gaza families are at a breaking point, amid intensified fighting, waves of evacuation orders and population displacement.”

Crossing the line

The UN agency noted that it has “more than 130,000 metric tonnes of food in the pipeline as well as a functioning delivery network ready to provide assistance. An immediate surge in daily aid trucks and unrestricted access to safely collect and distribute food inside Gaza are critical before it is too late.”

The UN agency for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA, meanwhile, explained that “no supplies whatsoever” prepared by the agency have reached Gaza since the Israeli siege began on 2 March.

This is despite UNRWA having readied more than 3,000 trucks carrying food and medicines in Jordan and Egypt which will perish soon.

“We have clinics, we have pharmacies that the agency runs and there we normally would distribute medicines against chronic diseases…but also basic medicines, things like paracetamol and then childhood diseases and these are the medicines that we’re running out of,” said Juliette Touma, UNRWA Director of Communications.

Evidence call to Israel

The development comes as UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini urged the Israeli Government to provide proof to back up its unsubstantiated allegations that the UN agency’s staff were involved in the Hamas-led terror attacks in Israel that sparked the war in October 2023.

Investigations carried out internally by the UN last year found sufficient evidence that nine active UNRWA staff had been involved.

A separate independent probe commissioned by the UN Secretary-General found that the agency’s rules, mechanisms and procedures were the most “elaborate” within the UN, reflecting the complex and sensitive demands associated with working in the Occupied Palestinian Territories.

“It’s been over 20 months of these claims coming our way, harming the agency’s reputation of course, but more importantly, putting the lives of our staff, especially those working in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, at risk,” said Ms. Touma.

Despite numerous requests by UNRWA to the Israeli Government for evidence to substantiate “numerous accusations”, no evidence has been shared to back up the claims against the agency and its personnel, Ms. Touma continued.

Source link

Top marks for Lebanon schools project helping marginalised kids

Posted on by
Reply

According to UNICEF, there are an estimated 300,000 children with disabilities in Lebanon today, although data is limited. To help them access learning opportunities, the UN agency and Lebanese authorities launched a pilot project in 2018 to create inclusive schools in 30 public institutions across all governorates.

Today, that number has grown to 117 inclusive schools nationwide.

Equal right to learning

All children need access to inclusive schools and inclusive environments, Amal El Jabali, an Education Officer with UNICEF Lebanon, told UN News.

“It is not about society including them – it is about society adapting its ways to ensure they are part of the community and have an equal right to be there.”

Under the programme, children with disabilities can receive therapy and gain access to assistive devices at participating schools, creating a more level playing field.

Follow their dreams

At Al Fadila Inclusive Public School in Tripoli, 10-year-old Lama studies alongside her classmates, supported by teachers, paraprofessionals and special educators. She is determined that her dwarfism will not hold her back.

She dreams of becoming a chef and believes that anything is possible, said Ms. El Jabali, adding that with the right support, children like Lama can be empowered to follow their dreams and reach their full potential.

After all, every child has a right to education, UNICEF insists.

Gazans’ suffering goes on amid intensifying Israeli strikes

Posted on by
Reply

In occupied East Jerusalem, meanwhile, Israeli protesters illegally entered a compound of the UN agency for Palestine refugees, UNRWA.

The development comes after the Israeli military coordination unit COGAT said on Saturday that 388 trucks had entered Gaza since last Monday – the first aid to arrive in well over two months of blockade that have caused hunger levels to spike.

Humanitarians have repeatedly warned that at least 500 to 600 trucks need to cross into Gaza every day to provide people with their daily needs – as they did before war erupted on 7 October 2023 after Hamas-led terror attacks on Israel.

Token assistance

“We are on the back of 11 weeks of nothing entering the Gaza Strip, no food, no medicines for 11 weeks, nothing apart from bombs,” said James Elder, a spokesperson for the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF).

“And so today, a week after life-saving aid was finally allowed into Gaza again, the scale of that aid is painfully inadequate,” he told UN News. “It looks like a token that appears more like cynical optics than any real attempt to tackle the soaring hunger crisis among children and civilians in Gaza.”

Today, Gazans remain at “critical risk of famine”, UN-backed food security experts warned earlier this month. In their latest update, they estimated that one in five people in Gaza – 500,000 – faces starvation.

Another school hit

Reports on Monday indicated meanwhile that Israel’s intensifying military operation in northern Gaza against alleged terrorists and their infrastructure had killed at least 50 people in air strikes.

One attack hit a school in Gaza City sheltering hundreds of people uprooted by more than 19 months of violence. Footage reportedly taken after the incident showed the silhouette of a child stumbling through a classroom set ablaze at Fahmi al-Jarjawi school.

Another air strike hit a home elsewhere in Gaza City killing four people, according to the health authorities.

UN-run shelters are now “overwhelmed with displaced people desperately seeking safety”, the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) said in an update on Monday. It also underscored that the lack of food has added to people’s suffering.

“Many families are sheltering in abandoned, unfinished, or damaged buildings,” the agency explained. “Sanitation conditions are dire; in some cases, hundreds of people are having to share a single toilet. Others, including children and pregnant women, are sleeping in the open.”

Farming smashed

Across Gaza, less than five per cent of the Strip’s cropland remains available for cultivation, according to UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the United Nations Satellite Centre (UNOSAT).

Using high-definition imagery, the agencies’ findings emphasize just how much food production capacity has shrunk in Gaza because of the war, exacerbating  the risk of famine.

As of April 2025, more than 80 per cent of the Gaza Strip’s total cropland area has been damaged (12,537 hectares out of 15,053) and 77.8 percent is not accessible to farmers, leaving just 688 hectares (4.6 percent) available for cultivation.

The situation is particularly critical in Rafah and in the northern governorates, where nearly all cropland is not accessible.

Settler protest

Following the protest at the UNRWA compound in occupied East Jerusalem on Monday, a spokesperson for the UN agency noted that one member of the Israeli Knesset had joined the settlers inside the gates. Monday is a national holiday in Israel, marking the moment following the Six-Day War in 1967 when the country’s troops occupied East Jerusalem and the West Bank.

The UNRWA facility – located in the Sheikh Jarrah neighbourhood of occupied East Jerusalem – has been targeted in past arson attacks that set light to the perimeter fence.

At the end of January, UNRWA withdrew its staff from the compound in protest at the entry into force of an Israeli law banning the agency’s operations in occupied East Jerusalem.

The location retains its status as a UN facility that is protected under international law. 

Source link

UN rights mission deplores deadly Russian strikes in Ukraine

Posted on by
Reply

According to the UN mission, the overnight assault from Saturday into Sunday – one of the largest of its kind since Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022 – resulted in civilian casualties and damage to homes and infrastructure across 10 regions of Ukraine, including the capital, Kyiv.

At least three children were among those killed and nine children were reported injured. The mission is currently working to verify the full extent of the casualties and the broader impact of the attack.

“With at least 78 people reported killed or injured across the country, last night’s attack tragically demonstrates the persistent deadly risk to civilians of using powerful weapons in urban areas, including those far away from the frontline,” Danielle Bell, HRMMU Head, said in a news release on Sunday.

“It is yet another addition to the staggering human toll this war continues to inflict on civilians, with more families across the country now grieving their losses.”

No place is safe

Matthias Schmale, the UN Humanitarian Coordinator for Ukraine, also voiced deep concern over the civilian suffering.

“I am horrified that yet again civilians – among them children – were killed in last night’s massive attacks,” he said in a statement posted on the social media platform X.

“Across Ukraine, no place is safe. Homes and civilian infrastructure were hit. Grateful to humanitarian NGOs and state services who are immediately supporting affected people. Civilians must never be a target.”

Use of long-range weapons

Ukrainian authorities reported that the Russian armed forces launched at least 367 missiles and loitering munitions during the night, in a coordinated attack with air, sea and land-based systems.

The strike followed a similar assault the previous night, which had mainly targeted the Kyiv region.

HRMMU noted that the use of long-range weapons in urban areas has been a major driver of civilian casualties in March and April. While the number of casualties in May had been somewhat lower than April before the latest attack, the toll from this weekend’s strikes will add to the monthly figures.

Source link

Thousands flee homes in Mozambique as conflict and disasters fuel worsening crisis

Posted on by
Reply

The latest displacement brings the total number of people uprooted by violence, cyclones and social unrest in Mozambique to nearly 1.3 million, according to the UN refugee agency, UNHCR.

The situation is particularly dire in Cabo Delgado province, where attacks by non-state armed groups continue to drive displacement, destroy infrastructure and disrupt recovery efforts.

“Thousands have lost their homes, many for the second or third time and are seeking safety in already overstretched communities,” Xavier Creach, UNHCR Representative in Mozambique told journalists at a regular news briefing in Geneva on Friday.

A ‘triple crisis’

Mr. Creach warned that the southeast African country is grappling with a “triple crisis” – armed conflict and displacement, recurring extreme weather events, and months of post-electoral unrest.

At the same time, extreme weather events – most recently Cyclone Jude in March – have devastated communities already hosting large numbers of displaced families. Food prices have surged by up to 20 per cent in some areas, compounding the strain on households and deepening the economic fragility in one of the world’s poorest countries.

The risks facing displaced people, particularly women and children, are severe. Protection concerns, including gender-based violence, family separation and limited access to documentation, are rising sharply.

According to UNHCR estimates, nearly 5.2 million people across the country require some form of humanitarian assistance.

Dwindling funds

In the challenging environment, UNHCR’s response is constrained by lack of funding with less than one-third of the $42.7 million funding appeal for the year met so far.

The agency warned that unless urgent support is mobilized, vital programmes will be at risk.

The broader UN humanitarian appeal, addressing other critical sectors such as nutrition and food security, health, water and sanitation, and education also faces severe shortages, having received only about 15 per cent of the required $352 million.

“A perfect storm is gathering. If we turn away now, the country will face a much larger humanitarian emergency,” Mr. Creach said.

“The crisis is unfolding now. We have a choice. We can act to prevent, support and protect – or we can sit on our hands.”

Source link

UNHCR underscores plight of Rohingya refugees amid alarming reports

Posted on by
Reply

According to reports, one boat carrying 267 people from Cox’s Bazar in Bangladesh and Rakhine State in Myanmar, sank on 9 May, with only 66 survivors, UNHCR said. 

The following day, a second boat fleeing with 247 people capsized, leaving just 21 survivors. In a separate incident, reports indicate that on 14 May, a third vessel carrying 188 Rohingya was intercepted while departing from Myanmar.

Since August 2017, mass violence, armed attacks and human rights violations have forced hundreds of thousands of mainly-Muslim Rohingya to flee Myanmar’s Rakhine State to seek refuge in neighbouring Bangladesh, particularly in the Cox Bazar’s region.

Last week, UNHCR voiced alarm over reports that Rohingya refugees had been forced off an Indian navy vessel into the Andaman Sea. News reports said that dozens of refugees were detained in Delhi, blindfolded, flown to the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, then transferred to a naval ship and forced to swim ashore.

UN response

In Friday’s statement, Hai Kyung Jun, Director of UNHCR’s Regional Bureau for Asia and the Pacific, warned that the worsening humanitarian situation exacerbated by funding cuts to UN agencies is pushing more Rohingya to risk dangerous sea journeys.

She stressed the urgent need for stronger protection in first-asylum countries and greater responsibility-sharing to prevent further tragedies.

Deputy UN Spokesperson Farhan Haq highlighted during Friday’s press briefing that, with the annual monsoon season now underway, the perilous sea conditions reflect the desperation of those attempting to flee.

Rohingya refugees arrive in North Aceh, Indonesia, after a dangerous sea voyage from Bangladesh.

He also noted that so far this year, one in five people undertaking such sea journeys in the region has been reported dead or missing, underscoring the scale of risk and despair facing the Rohingya.

According to UNHCR data, as of 30 April, there are 1,272,081 Rohingya refugees officially displaced and stateless from Myanmar. Some 89 per cent are seeking asylum in Bangladesh and 8.8 per cent in Malaysia.

The refugee agency requires $383.1 million to sustain essential support for Rohingya refugees and host communities across Bangladesh, Malaysia, India, Indonesia, and Thailand in 2025. To date, only 30 per cent of that funding target has been met.

Source link

Public health champions honoured for work ‘beyond the call of normal duty’

Posted on by
Reply

But this is not universal. Many people worldwide struggle – unable to walk into clinics or explain their symptoms: “[These patients] do not line up on waiting lists. They wait, unknowingly, for inside understanding and the courage to seek care,” said Dr. Merete Nordentoft of Denmark, describing the patients with whom she has worked most closely.

Dr. Nordentoft was one of six public health champions to receive an award on Friday for “outstanding, innovative work in health development”, at the 78th World Health Assembly.

Each was honoured for their contributions to treating underserved communities and advancing the goal of healthcare for all.

“We celebrate the lifelong commitment and the relentless work accomplished by our very own health professionals across member states from every region of the world with one common goal – health for all,” President Teodoro Herbosa who presided over the awards ceremony.

Reaching vulnerable communities

Dr. Nordentoft received the Sasakawa Health Prize for her work on suicide prevention and with young patients undergoing their first psychotic episode. She was the first to receive this prize for mental health work, and emphasized the importance of early interventions which prioritize community-based care.

“With the right support, early enough, recovery is not only possible – it is likely,” Dr. Nordentoft said of her patients.

Many of the other award recipients have also spent their careers focused on healthcare policies and treatments which foreground integrated, community-based care. 

The principles for which Nelson Mandela fought urge us to pursue a policy of cooperation and partnership in sharing knowledge, science and resources – Dr. Majed Zemni

Professor Huali Wang of China and the Geriatric Healthcare Directorate of Kuwait were both awarded the Sheikh Al-Sabah Prize which honours research and policy done to support and advance healthy ageing.

Professor Wang was recognised in part for her work to integrate professional and family support networks for older adults with dementia. She dedicated her award to these families and everyone living with the complex illness.

The Kuwaiti Directorate was also honoured for the way in which they promoted high-quality, integrated care for older adults which “[preserves] the dignity, the rights and [recognises] the invaluable experiences of older persons.”

Dr. Jožica Maučec Zakotnik from Slovenia, who received the United Arab Emirates Foundation Prize, has also worked tirelessly to increase healthcare access and co-developed a new type of free-of-charge health care promotion centre scheme.

“Growing up in a less developed region in Slovenia, I set myself a task that the most disadvantaged communities would be given greater attention,” she said.

‘Force quit button’

Some of the awardees acknowledged that they were receiving these highly coveted awards during a time when global health is facing unprecedented challenges, specifically financial.

The proposed budget before the 78th World Health Assembly has been reduced by over $1.1 billion due to currently projected funding cuts.

“The global health world has just been hit with a ‘force quit’ button and we have been pushed to stop some of the things we really want to do,” said Dr. Helen Rees of South Africa, recipient of the Dr. LEE Jong-wook Memorial Prize for her work in HIV prevention and community-based health services. 

Dr. Majed Zemni of Tunisia received the Nelson Mandela Award for his patient-centred work in forensic medicine and in promoting the integration of medical ethics into policy. In his remarks, he noted the global civil rights icon’s legacy in also fighting for health policies.

“The principles for which Nelson Mandela fought urge us to pursue a policy of cooperation and partnership in sharing knowledge, science and resources,” Dr. Zemni said. 

Continuing the work 

Dr. Rees also emphasized the importance of seizing this moment to reimage global public health and uphold its sustainability.

“What we need now is action. We need good science and evidence-based policies so we can address the needs of all people, including the most vulnerable,” she said.

Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, World Health Organization (WHO) Director General, also urged all of the recipients to continue their work towards a healthier and fairer world.

“At a time when the world faces many challenges, each of you is an inspiration and a reminder of the progress that can be made to improve health and well-being for all.”

Source link

Escalating violence drives food crisis across eastern DR Congo, warns WFP

Posted on by
Reply

Conflict has plagued the DRC for decades, particularly in the east. Armed clashes escalated sharply this year as M23 rebels wrested control of Goma, the capital of North Kivu, in January, followed by Bukavu in South Kivu a month later.

The security and humanitarian situation further deteriorated with recent outbreaks of anthrax and mpox in April and May, fuelled by overcrowded conditions and poor sanitation.

Deepening food insecurity

WFP’s latest report estimates that 7.9 million people are food insecure in the conflict-affected eastern provinces, with 28 million in need across the country.

Food production in Grand Nord, an important agricultural hub in eastern DRC, has been slashed due to recent conflict and displacement. In addition, the closure of Goma’s airport – critical for aid delivery – continues to disrupt operations.

Despite these challenges, WFP reached 1.1 million people in the east between January and March, providing school meals and take-home rations for 100,000 children, nutrition supplements for 340,000 children and pregnant or breastfeeding women – along with logistics and supply chain assistance.

Regional turbulence

The 140,000 Congolese who have fled to neighbouring countries since January – mainly Burundi, Uganda, Rwanda and Tanzania – have turned a national emergency into a regional crisis.

Refugee camps in these countries, already under strain from refugees from other countries, are struggling to absorb the new arrivals.

WFP warned that the surge in need is outpacing available resources. Budget constraints have forced the agency to make sharp cuts: food rations have been halved in Burundi, while cash support has also been halved in Rwanda.

In Uganda, the number of refugees receiving assistance has dropped from 1.6 million to 630,000. In Tanzania, food rations have been reduced from 82 to 65 per cent.

To sustain its emergency operations, WFP is appealing for $433 million to support its work inside the DRC through October.

Additional funding needs include $16.6 million to provide full food assistance in Burundi through 2025, $12 million to maintain full rations for refugees in Rwanda through 2025, $26 million to sustain operations in Uganda through 2025, and $18 million to provide just 75 per cent of full rations in Tanzania through April 2026.

Displaced families in the Bulengo camp on the outskirts of Goma face a dire and uncertain future as M23 authorities instruct them to dismantle their makeshift shelters.

Source link

Diplomats prepare ground for June conference on two-State solution for Israel and Palestine

Posted on by
Reply

The preparatory session brought together UN Member States to align expectations and finalise arrangements for eight thematic roundtables that will help shape the conference’s outcome.

General Assembly President Philémon Yang urged countries to seize the crucial opportunity to finally make progress.

“The horrors we have witnessed in Gaza for over nineteen months should spur us to urgent action to end the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The devastating cycles of death, destruction, and displacement cannot be allowed to continue,” he said.

“This conflict cannot be resolved through permanent war, nor through endless occupation or annexation. It will only end when Israelis and Palestinians can live side by side in their own sovereign, independent States, in peace, security, and dignity,” he added.

General Assembly President Yang addresses the preparatory meeting.

Concrete outcomes needed

Co-chairs France and Saudi Arabia emphasised the need for the June conference to go beyond reaffirming principles and achieve concrete results on the ground.

“We must urgently move from words to deeds. We must move from ending the war in Gaza to ending the conflict itself,” said Anne-Claire Legendre, Middle East and North Africa advisor to French President Emmanuel Macron.

“Faced with the facts on the ground, the prospects of a Palestinian State must be maintained. Irreversible steps and concrete measures for the implementation thereof are necessary.”

Alongside, she reiterated calls for a lasting ceasefire, an immediate influx of humanitarian aid and the release of hostages.

Historic moment

Manal bint Hassan Radwan, head of the Saudi Arabian negotiating team, called the moment “historic,” stating that the preparatory meeting must “chart a course for action, not reflection.”  

“Civilians continue to pay the price of a war that must end immediately. The escalation in the West Bank is equally alarming. Despair grows deeper by the day,” she said.

“This is precisely why we must speak not only of ending the war, but of ending a conflict that has lasted nearly eight decades,” she continued, adding efforts to end fighting and secure release of hostages and detainees must be “anchored in a credible and irreversible political plan that addresses the root cause of the conflict and offers a real path to peace, dignity and mutual security.”

Outcome document

The General Assembly decided to convene the conference in its resolution ES-10/24. Further details were outlined in resolution 79/81.

As outlined in General Assembly resolution 79/81, the Conference will produce an action-oriented outcome document entitled “Peaceful settlement of the question of Palestine and implementation of the two-State solution”.

The aim is to chart a clear and irreversible pathway toward a comprehensive, just, and lasting peace in accordance with UN resolutions.

About the Conference

The conference will include a plenary session with statements from the President of the General Assembly, the UN Secretary-General, and the co-chairs, followed by interventions from Member States and observers.

According to a concept note from the co-chairs, the conference will also feature eight thematic roundtables, each focused on critical dimensions of the two-State solution. 

The working groups include security arrangements for both Israelis and Palestinians, the economic viability of a Palestinian State, and humanitarian action and reconstruction.

Source link

UN rights chief calls on South Sudan’s warring parties to end renewed fighting

Posted on by
Reply

At least 75 civilians have been killed in hostilities between the national army (SSPDF) and the Sudan People’s Liberation Army-In Opposition (SPLA-IO) – which is both a political party and militia group loyal to First Vice President Riek Machar – and their respective allied armed groups, said UN human rights office, OHCHR, in a press release.

Thousands have been displaced from their homes.

South Sudan was plunged into civil war in 2013 between supporters of the President Salva Kiir and his rival Mr. Machar but a 2018 peace accord led to a fragile power-sharing agreement.

Escalating hostilities “portend a real risk of further exacerbating the already dire human rights and humanitarian situation,” said Volker Türk, head of the UN human rights office (OHCHR), urging all parties to the conflict to “urgently pull back from the brink.”

Intensifying hostilities

The latest armed violence erupted in February when a militia group identified as the White Army reportedly launched a series of attacks in Upper Nile State, OHCHR said.

Hostilities intensified between 3 May and 20 May with reports of indiscriminate aerial bombardments and river and ground offensives by the SSPDF on SPLA-IO positions in the states of Jonglei and Upper Nile.

Civilian displacement further increased on 21 May because of the SPLA-IO and allies’ counter-offensive in Jonglei State.

“I urge all parties to uphold the 2018 peace agreement,” said the UN human rights chief, calling for the warring parties to “ensure protection of civilians and civilian objects,” and facilitating “humanitarian access in line with their obligations under international law.”

Concern of arbitrary detention

Between 5 and 26 March, at least 55 high-ranking government officials affiliated with the SPLM-IP, among them civilians, have been arrested across the country. Notably, South Sudan’s first vice-president, ministers, members of parliament and military officers were among the dozens of politicians who have been detained.

“I am concerned that many of the detentions are arbitrary in nature,” Mr Türk said, as these arrests were conducted without warrant or due process.”

Mr Türk called for the immediate and unconditional release of those arbitrarily detained, as he urged for authorities to grant the UN Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) access to National Security Service detention sites to assess the welfare of those detained there.

Finally, the UN also urged the authorities to take “prompt, effective and meaningful” steps to halt the spread of hate speech in the country.

Source link

Guterres calls on Israel to accept UN’s ‘detailed, principled’ aid plan for Gaza

Posted on by
Reply

Addressing reporters outside the Security Council, António Guterres called once again for a permanent ceasefire to end the fighting between Israeli forces and Hamas militants, the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages and full humanitarian access so aid can flow in following nearly 80 days of Israeli blockade.

‘Cruellest phase’

He said Palestinians in the enclave are now “enduring what may be the cruellest phase of this cruel conflict,” with families being “starved and denied the very basics,” as Israel intensifies its offensive and promotes a new privatised aid distribution network reportedly due to begin on Sunday which would bypass the UN and partner organizations’ aid operation.

Israel has clear obligations under international humanitarian law to treat civilians in Gaza humanely, Mr. Guterres added, and “must not forcibly transport, deport or displace the civilian population of an occupied territory.”

He noted that despite authorising a “trickle of aid” to enter in recent days, supplies from only 115 out of 400 trucks have been cleared for collection and distribution – while nothing has reached the besieged north.

UN ‘working round the clock’

“We are working around the clock to get whatever aid we can to people in need,” the UN chief said, but “needs are massive – and the obstacles are staggering.”

Israel is causing unnecessary delays, imposing quotas on distribution and barring essentials such as fuel, shelter, cooking gas, and water purification supplies – are prohibited.

Furthermore, the lives of UN and other humanitarian staffers are being placed at risk if they continue to be prevented from distributing food parcels and flour to those in desperate need, the UN chief continued.

He said absent rapid, reliable, safe and sustained aid access, more Gazans will die – with profound long-term consequences.

Without making direct reference to the US-backed Israeli plan to create new distribution sites overseen by private contractors in coordination with the military, Mr. Guterres said the UN had been clear: “We will not take part in any scheme that fails to respect international law and the humanitarian principles of humanity, impartiality, independence and neutrality.”

5-point aid plan

Instead, he said the UN and partners had “a detailed, principled, operationally-sound 5-stage plan” – supported by UN Member States.

  1. Ensure the delivery of aid to Gaza
  2. Inspect and scan aid at crossing points
  3. Transport aid from crossing points to humanitarian facilities
  4. Prepare aid for onward distribution
  5. And transport aid to people in need

“We have the personnel, the distribution networks, the systems and community relationships in place to act,” said the UN chief. “The supplies – 160,000 pallets, enough to fill nearly 9,000 trucks – are waiting.

“This is my appeal for life-saving aid for the long-suffering people of Gaza: Let’s do it right.  And let’s do it right away.”

Source link

Syrians face staggering needs amid insecurity and healthcare crisis

Posted on by
Reply

Wrapping up a visit to the country, Edem Wosornu, who heads operations and advocacy for the UN humanitarian affairs coordination office (OCHA) said that she could “feel the momentum for change” on the ground after years of suffering and hardship under the Assad regime ended with its overthrow last December.

But formidable challenges remain as 16.5 million Syrians require humanitarian assistance and protection, and needs are “staggering”.

Speaking from Gaziantep, a humanitarian hub in Türkiye just across the Syrian border, Ms. Wosornu noted an “encouraging trend of returns” since last December.

Over one million internally displaced people have come back to their areas of origin, she said, and more than half a million refugees have returned from neighbouring countries according to the UN refugee agency (UNHCR).

Devastated homes and opportunities

The OCHA official cited insecurity, damaged homes, inadequate services, lack of livelihood opportunities and the threat of unexploded ordnance as “key barriers” preventing people returning.

“People say, first and foremost they want security,” she stressed.

While the level of hostilities in the country has subsided, Ms. Wosornu said, localized tensions and clashes remain a “major concern”.

Remnants of heavy fighting pose a continued threat to civilians, said Dr Altaf Musani, the UN World Health Organization (WHO)’s Director of Health Emergencies.

He pointed to at least 909 casualties from unexploded ordnance since December 2024, including some 400 deaths – a majority of them women and children.

“We’re starting to see the admission rates and consultation rates in emergency rooms increase… Children and women, going about their daily life, trying to get water, trying to get food, trying to rebuild,” are walking through agricultural land, roads and rivers where unexploded munitions could be hiding, he said.

Camp residents at highest risk

Diseases, such as cholera and acute watery diarrhoea, are spreading, Dr. Musani said, stressing that more than 1,444 suspect cases of cholera and seven associated deaths have been recorded.

“This is particularly in Latakia and Aleppo, particularly around displacement camps,” he said.

“We know that when cholera gets hold in camps, it can serve as a brush fire, increasing both morbidity and mortality.”

The WHO official warned that more than 416,000 children in Syria are at risk from severe malnutrition and that more than half of children under five suffering from severe acute malnutrition are not receiving treatment.

“From a public health standpoint, we need to be able to watch that risk and intervene and save those children,” he said.

Boys play in an informal camp in Syria.

Pregnancy dangers

Dr. Musani also noted that half of the maternity hospitals in northwest Syria have suspended operations since September 2024 owing to financial cuts, which humanitarians are “witnessing globally” but which are “really apparent” in Syria.

Underfunding of the humanitarian operation in Syria is already severe. Earlier this week, OCHA’s Coordination Division head, Ramesh Rajasingham, told the Security Council that out of the $2 billion required for the UN and its partners to reach eight million of the most vulnerable people from January through June 2025, only 10 per cent has been received.

The country’s cash-strapped health facilities face a lack of skilled workers and equipment, said WHO’s Dr. Musani. The war had pushed some 50 to 70 per cent of the health workforce to leave the country in search of other opportunities, and the health infrastructure is in dire need of investment.

The WHO official noted that for the health system – the “heartbeat of the nation” – the sanctions imposed on the country during the Assad regime had resulted in a lack of much-needed upgrades, compromising the purchase of new MRI machines, CT scanners, laboratory equipment and software upgrades.

Over the past two weeks, both the United States and the European Union have moved to lift the sanctions. OCHA’s Ms. Wosornu expressed hope that thanks to this development “we’ll see the impact on goods and services, on the cost of doing operations in the country, on the ability to move goods quicker into the country”.

But “it will take time”, she added. “I believe the people of Syria are hopeful that this will change their everyday lives.”

Aid teams highlight growing anxiety in Gaza after food is looted

Posted on by
Reply

“Fifteen World Food Programme trucks were looted late last night in Southern Gaza, while en route to WFP-supported bakeries,” the UN agency said. “These trucks were transporting critical food supplies for hungry populations waiting anxiously for assistance.”

The development is a blow to continuing efforts to help Gaza’s most vulnerable people after Israel allowed a limited number of aid trucks into Gaza earlier this week, following an 11-week total blockade.

Today, Gazans face “hunger, desperation and anxiety over whether more food aid is coming”, WFP said, noting that the uncertainty “is contributing to rising insecurity”.

“We need support from the Israeli authorities to get far greater volumes of food assistance into Gaza faster, more consistently and transported along safer routes, as was done during the ceasefire,” it insisted.

More to come on this developing story…

World News in Brief: UK cedes sovereignty over Chagos Islands, suffering in Sudan deepens, UN releases new emergency relief funds

Posted on by
Reply

Before granting Mauritius independence in 1968, Britain unlawfully separated the Chagos archipelago to create the British Indian Ocean Territory.

In doing so, it expelled 1,500–2,000 islanders to lease Diego Garcia, the largest island, to the United States for joint military use.

Under the agreement, the UK will lease the island of Diego Garcia for the next 99 years to continue operating its joint military base with the United States.

Value of diplomacy

The agreement signed on Thursday between the UK and Mauritius is “a significant step towards resolving a long-standing dispute in the Indian Ocean region” and “demonstrates the value of diplomacy in addressing historical grievances”, said UN Spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric in Thursday’s briefing.

Welcoming the signature of the agreement, the UN Secretary-General, urged both the UK and Mauritius to “continue engaging in constructive discussion”, in order to ensure that “the rights and aspirations of the Chagossians people are fully respected,” said Mr. Dujarric.

Sudan: Civilian Suffering Deepens Amid Drone Strikes

The civil war in Sudan, which erupted in April 2023 between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), has killed over 18,000 people and displaced 13 million, triggering a regional migration crisis.

Even before the war, humanitarian conditions and human rights protections were fragile, but in the past two years, they have become dire.

Of the 30.4 million Sudanese in need of assistance, the UN World Food Programme (WFP) is currently reaching 2.3 million with emergency food and nutrition support, as ongoing violence and infrastructure destruction compound the crisis.

Urgent ceasefire needed

Recent drone attacks on Port Sudan, once a vital entry point for aid, have further deepened the crisis. UN-designated expert Radhouane Nouicer warned Monday that these strikes on critical infrastructure “are putting lives at risk, worsening the humanitarian crisis, and violating basic human rights.”

On Thursday, Mr. Dujarric reported that attacks in Khartoum state have triggered a total electricity blackout, disrupting access to clean water and healthcare amid rising food prices and cholera outbreaks.

The blackout has exacerbated the spread of cholera and other waterborne diseases.

Mr. Dujarric also noted that ongoing insecurity displaced 47,000 people from Khiwai and Nuhud in West Kordofan this month, while another 1,000 were displaced this week from Abu Shouk camp and El Fasher in North Darfur.

At the Arab League Summit in Iraq over the weekend, UN Secretary-General António Guterres called for urgent multilateral action to end “appalling violence, famine and mass displacement,” and met with African Union leaders to encourage a push for a ceasefire.

Emergency relief funds released for DR Congo

The UN Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) has allocated new funds to crisis situations, from Afghanistan to Zambia.

On Wednesday, CERF made $750,000 available to support cholera response in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, said Stéphane Dujarric, Spokesperson for the UN Secretary-General.

The emergency funds will enable the World Health Organization (WHO), the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF), and partners to deliver critical aid, including timely cholera detection and response, medical treatment, risk communication, and community engagement.

In addition, CERF allocated $10 million to help more than 270,0000 people in vulnerable communities across South Sudan, where the threat of renewed civil war looms.

Ahead of the rainy season, CERF’s life-saving aid will notably target communities who have been impacted by overlapping crises, especially conflict and displacement in the states of Jonglei and Upper Nile.

CERF also allocated $9.5 million to support climate action initiatives in eight countries: Afghanistan, the Central African Republic, Chad, Mauritania, Niger, Somalia, Venezuela, and Zambia.

© UNICEF/Jospin Benekire

A UNICEF-supported cholera team add chlorine to water collected from a reservoir in Goma, in the DR Congo.

 

Source link

Civilians ‘trapped and terrorised’: UN sounds alarm over collapse of critical protections

Posted on by
Reply

Speaking at a high-level open debate in the Security Council on protection of civilians in armed conflict on Thursday, UN Emergency Relief Coordinator Tom Fletcher described a grim picture of accelerating harm, disintegrating norms and growing impunity.

“The scaffolding built last century to protect us from inhumanity is crumbling,” he said.

“Those who will die as a result need us to act.”

Chilling numbers

According to UN figures, civilians accounted for most of the deaths in 14 armed conflicts last year, while displacement reached a record 122 million people globally.

Attacks on hospitals, schools, water systems and power grids also surged, leaving millions without essential services.

UN staff members and aid workers were caught in the crossfire, with over 360 aid workers killed – at least 200 in Gaza and at least 54 in Sudan – mostly national staff.

Warfare transforming

Mr. Fletcher warned that new technologies, including artificial intelligence (AI), are transforming warfare in ways that could further erode human oversight and legal accountability, while proliferation of misinformation is costing lives.

“False narratives and disinformation have undermined humanitarian operations and eroded trust in humanitarian actors…while those trying to report on the plight of civilians were also harmed,” he said.

According to UNESCO, the UN focal agency on protection of the press, at least 53 journalists were killed in armed conflict last year.

“We are witnessing, therefore, an unravelling of the protection of civilians and respect for international humanitarian law.”

Women’s bodies are battlegrounds

UN Women Executive Director Sima Bahous expanded on the gendered dimensions of civilian harm, saying over 612 million women and girls are living in conflict zones today.

They are not simply collateral damage but direct targets of bombs, missiles and policies.

“Conflict-related sexual violence is a protection crisis that warrants its own attention,” she said, describing a growing pattern of “reproductive violence” and pointing to blockades on medical supplies, bombed maternity wards and skyrocketing maternal death.

In Gaza, over 28,000 women and girls have been killed since October 2023 – an average of one every hour, she said.

“Tens of thousands have given birth under bombardment and siege, without anaesthetics, without postpartum care or clean water, and while being malnourished, displaced and traumatised.”

Destruction in northern Gaza.

Hold perpetrators accountable

Ms. Bahous urged the Security Council to recognise reproductive violence as a distinct category of harm and bring those responsible to justice.

She also highlighted the mental health impacts of conflict on women and girls – from depression and trauma to domestic violence and suicidal thoughts.

The threats extend into the digital sphere, where women activists and journalists are being pushed out of public life by online abuse, deepfakes and disinformation campaigns.

Enforce compliance with law

Both Mr. Fletcher and Ms. Bahous called for urgent action.

UN Member States must enforce compliance with international humanitarian law, fight impunity, and empower civilians – especially women – as agents of their own protection and bringing change.

Mr. Fletcher emphasised that even lawful military actions can cause disproportionate civilian suffering.

“[We need a] more comprehensive and people-centred approach,” he said, urging strong policy and operational measures to protect civilians and a deeper understanding of patterns of life and harm.

A child who lost his left leg after accidentally stepping on a landmine in his family’s paddy fields in central Myanmar.

Protection and peace inseparable

Recalling Security Council resolution 1325 on women, peace and security, Ms. Bahous called for sustained investment in women’s organizations, which are on the frontlines – protecting civilians – men, women, children and the elderly alike.

“Yet, they are under siege,” she said, noting that continued funding cuts will cost us the very women driving peace and recovery in the world’s most fragile contexts.

She concluded stressing that protection of women and their participation in peace “are inseparable”.

“The most effective shield we can offer women and girls is their own power, their own voices, and their own leadership…there is no pathway to peace that does not begin with the protection of women and girls.”

Source link

Gaza: Strikes on houses and tents responsible for over half of deaths this week

Posted on by
Reply

629 Palestinians were reportedly killed over the past week, according to OHCHR in the Occupied Palestinian Territory.  

At least 358 were killed because of attacks targeting houses and tents for displaced people, with children and women accounting for at least 148 of the victims.

“The high number of strikes on shelters, in the context of the existing destruction of infrastructure in Gaza, raises grave concerns that not all strikes were targeting military objectives,” OHCHR said.

Journalists under fire

Furthermore, nine Palestinian journalists were killed last week, making it one of the deadliest for the profession since the conflict began in October 2023.

Although journalists have a deep sense of duty to their work, “they, too, are displaced, tired and hungry like the rest of the population of Gaza,” OHCHR said.

“However, it appears that in many instances, these journalists may have been deliberately targeted with the intention of limiting the flow of information on what is happening in Gaza and the scale of the impact that this war is having on civilians.”

The office said international journalists must be allowed into Gaza and their safety ensured.

Aid on the move

Meanwhile, lifesaving aid is making its way across the enclave following a nearly 80-day blockade.

UN aid coordination office OCHA confirmed that 90 trucks carrying nutrition supplies, flour, medicines and other critical stocks left the Kerem Shalom border crossing on Wednesday for multiple destinations inside Gaza.

Among the supplies were more than 500 pallets containing items such as ready-to-use therapeutic food and nutritional supplements which were offloaded at a warehouse in Deir Al-Balah belonging to the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF).

The contents are being unpacked and repackaged into smaller loads for onward transportation to distribution points.

Workers pack freshly baked bread into bags for distribution at Al-Banna Bakery in Deir al-Balah, Gaza.

Famine risk persists

A handful of bakeries in south and central Gaza, supported by the UN World Food Programme (WFP), are also now operational and are back to baking bread, which is being distributed via community kitchens.

“However, after nearly 80 days of a total blockade of humanitarian assistance, families still face a high risk of famine, and far more aid is urgently needed into the Gaza Strip,” said Mr. Dujarric.

Food security experts recently warned that Gaza’s entire population, over two million people, are at risk of famine, with nearly half a million facing starvation.

Humanitarians underlined the critical need for Israel to facilitate the movement of aid convoys, including from southern Gaza into the north, so that all supplies can reach people in need wherever they are. 

“We also need to ensure the use of secure routes from Kerem Shalom onward into Gaza, as we did last night,” the Spokesperson said.

Strikes and shelling continue

Meanwhile, military operations continue across Gaza, with reports of strikes, shelling and fresh ground incursions.

The Al Awda hospital in North Gaza caught fire on Thursday, reportedly after being attacked. The medicine warehouse was heavily damaged, according to initial reports.

“Through coordination with Israeli authorities, OCHA facilitated the access of the Palestinian Civil Defense to the area, where they spent hours working to extinguish the fire,” said Mr. Dujarric.

He added that water wells in some areas of Gaza are shutting down as no fuel has been allowed in since the blockade.

“OCHA reports that Israeli authorities continue to deny our attempts to deliver fuel from areas where coordination is required,” he said. 

Healthcare under attack

The World Health Organization (WHO) warned that Israel’s intensified military operations continue to threaten Gaza’s already weakened health system. 

Four major hospitals have had to suspend medical services in the past week due to their proximity to hostilities or evacuation zones, and attacks. 

Only 19 out of 36 hospitals remain operational. Twelve provide a variety of health services, while the rest are only able to provide basic emergency care. 

WHO has recorded 28 attacks on healthcare in Gaza over the past week, and 697 attacks since October 2023. 

Source link

Kenya: Refugees facing ‘lowest ever’ emergency food rations amid funding crisis

Posted on by
Reply

Over the past five years, the refugee population in Kenya has surged by more than 70 per cent – from approximately 500,000 to 843,000 – driven largely by conflict and drought in neighbouring Sudan and Somalia. Of these, around 720,000 people are sheltering in the Dadaab and Kakuma camps, as well as the Kalobeyei settlement.

In Sudan, the civil war that erupted in April 2023 has killed over 18,000 people, displaced 13 million, and left 30.4 million in need of assistance, according to the UN.

WFP provides emergency food and nutrition support to 2.3 million Sudanese as violence and the collapse of essential infrastructure deepen the crisis. 

In Somalia, severe drought has placed 3.4 million people – including 1.7 million children – at risk of acute malnutrition.

At the weekend, Secretary-General António Guterres recommended that the Security Council ensure financing for the African Union’s Support and Stabilisation Mission there (UNSOM), as the country continues to battle insecurity and attacks from Al-Shabaab militants.

Shrinking rations, rising need 

Previously, a monthly WFP ration for a refugee in the camps included 8.1 kilogrammes of rice, 1.5 kg of lentils, 1.1 litres of oil, and cash for purchasing essentials. That support has now been halved, and cash payments have stopped entirely.

Without emergency funding, food rations could drop to just 28 per cent of their original level. WFP is appealing for $44 million to restore full food and cash assistance through August.

Cuts compound existing crises

Although cuts to foreign aid by many developed nations this year has further constrained operations, WFP began reducing services for Kenya’s refugee population in 2024.

Many of the families arriving are already food insecure, and Global Acute Malnutrition (GAM) rates among children and pregnant or breastfeeding women exceed 13 per cent – three percent above the emergency threshold. Targeted nutrition programmes ended in late 2024 due to lack of resources.

Source link

Guterres strongly condemns killing of Israeli diplomats in US capital

Posted on by
Reply

The diplomats were gunned down on Wednesday night as they left an event at the Capital Jewish Museum in central Washington DC, where the American Jewish Committee was hosting a reception. 

They were identified as Yaron Lischinsky, 30, and Sarah Milgrim, 26, who were about to be engaged, according to officials and family members. A suspect was taken into custody.

Justice and sympathy

“The Secretary-General reiterates his consistent condemnation of attacks against diplomatic officials,” the statement said.

He called for the perpetrator to be brought to justice and extended his sympathies to the families and loved ones of the victims and to the Government of Israel.

The lone suspect, identified as Elias Rodriguez from Chicago, was apprehended shortly after the murders.  

He shouted pro-Palestinian slogans while in custody, according to media reports.

A ‘heinous antisemitic act’

The head of a UN platform that promotes intercultural dialogue and understanding also voiced his strong condemnation.

“This heinous antisemitic act is unacceptable and unjustifiable. My thoughts go to their families, their colleagues, and the State of Israel,” said Miguel Ángel Moratinos, High Representative for the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations (UNAOC).

Virginia Gamba, Acting UN Special Adviser on the Prevention of Genocide, called for an end to antisemitism saying “there is no place in the world where such a horrific antisemitic hate crime as the murders of Mr. Yaron Lischinsky and Miss Sarah Milgrim can be justified.” 

Senior politicians from across the world have also expressed their condemnation.

The killings occurred against the backdrop of the war in Gaza, which began on 7 October 2023 following Hamas-led attacks on Israel which left roughly 1,200 people dead while another 250 were taken hostage.  More than 53,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza, according to the health authorities.

Israeli foreign minister Gideon Sa’ar described the attack as “the direct consequence of the virulent and toxic antisemitic rhetoric against Israel and Jewish communities around the world that has been going on since October 7.”

‘An unbearable loss’

Mr. Lischinsky was a research assistant in the political department at the Israeli Embassy in Washington while Ms. Milgrim organized trips to Israel, according to media reports.

They were killed after attending the American Jewish Committee’s annual Young Diplomats reception which this year focused on response to humanitarian crises throughout the Middle East and North Africa.

The Spokesperson of the Israeli Embassy in Washington, Tal Naim, described their deaths as “an unbearable loss.”

She tweeted a photo of the couple below a message which said that “instead of walking you down the aisle, we are walking with you to your graves.” 

Source link