Tag Archives: safety

Ukraine war keeps nuclear safety on a knife-edge, UN watchdog warns

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Russian forces have been carrying out strikes on critical infrastructure amid freezing winter temperatures as their full-scale invasion approaches the four-year mark next month. 

IAEA Director-General Rafael Grossi said the electrical grid was again the target of military activity this past weekend, leading to significant impacts to several regions and nuclear power plant operations. 

Power lines down 

The fighting caused power lines linking Ukraine with neighbouring countries to be disconnected, which in turn knocked out supplies inside Ukraine.  

As a result, a unit at one nuclear power plant disconnected from the grid due to fluctuations and automatically shut down, while other units at other plants were forced to reduce power. 

The Chornobyl site – where the world’s worst nuclear disaster occurred in 1986 – experienced a complete loss of offsite power and relied on its emergency diesel generators for roughly an hour. 

‘Ever-present risks’ 

“This latest grid event in Ukraine is a stark reminder of the ever-present risks to nuclear safety and security arising from deteriorating grid conditions,” said Mr. Grossi. 

He stressed that extensive repairs are needed to improve the reliability of power supply to nuclear power plants and strengthen their resilience. 

“Once again, I call for maximum military restraint, as well as full observance of the Seven Indispensable Pillars to enable these essential repairs to take place.” 

Seven safety principles 

The IAEA developed the seven pillars for nuclear safety in Ukraine in March 2022, just weeks after the war began – the first time ever that armed conflict has occurred amid the facilities of a major nuclear power programme. 

Measures include maintaining the physical integrity of facilities, ensuring offsite power supply from the energy grid, and implementing effective radiation monitoring systems. 

Operating staff must also be able to fulfill their safety and security duties and to make decisions without any undue pressure. 

Vital inspections 

As military activity increases impacting the electricity grid in Ukraine, three IAEA teams are conducting a two-week mission visiting 10 substations critical to nuclear safety and security.  

The objective is to assess the continuing damage to the grid, review repair efforts and identify practical steps to strengthen the resilience of off-site power supplies to nuclear power plants.  

This marks the second IAEA mission in as many months.  A mission this past December confirmed the effects of cumulative impacts on nuclear power plant operations and staff conditions. 

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UN watchdog warns Ukraine war remains world’s biggest threat to nuclear safety

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Addressing the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Board of Governors, Director General Rafael Grossi said the agency remains focused on preventing a nuclear accident as fighting continues to endanger critical infrastructure.

“The conflict in Ukraine is about to enter its fifth year,” Mr. Grossi said. “It continues to pose the world’s biggest threat to nuclear safety.”

IAEA teams remain deployed at all nuclear power plants affected by the conflict and publish regular updates on nuclear safety and security conditions.

The Board of Governors is the IAEA’s main decision-making body, bringing together representatives of 35 countries to oversee nuclear safety, security and safeguards, and to guide the work of the UN nuclear watchdog. Its current membership includes, among others Russia, the United States, United Kingdom, and France.

Off-site power a critical safety lifeline

Mr. Grossi stressed that a central safety requirement is reliable off-site power – the electricity a plant receives from the national grid. Without it, nuclear sites must rely on backup systems to run cooling and other essential safety functions.

“There must be secure off-site power supply from the grid for all nuclear sites,” he said, pointing to the IAEA’s “Seven Pillars” guidance for nuclear safety during armed conflict, where off-site power is pillar number four.

He also cited Principle 3 of the IAEA’s Five Principles for protecting the Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP) that “all efforts should be made to ensure off-site power remains available and secure at all times.”

Mr. Grossi said both sets of guidance have broad international support, including from the parties directly involved, and that he has repeatedly called for adherence to them, including at the UN Security Council.

Progress at Zaporizhzhya amid ongoing risks

He reported recent progress at ZNPP, where Europe’s biggest plant was reconnected on 19 January to its last remaining 330-kilovolt backup power line after repairs were carried out under a temporary ceasefire negotiated with Ukrainian and Russian counterparts.  

The line had been damaged and disconnected since 2 January, reportedly due to military activity.

Until the reconnection, ZNPP relied on its last remaining 750-kilovolt main line to provide off-site power for safety systems needed to cool its six shutdown reactors and spent fuel pools. IAEA teams are also monitoring the plant’s ability to manage winter conditions, including keeping water in cooling and sprinkler ponds from freezing.

Beyond the plants themselves, Mr. Grossi warned that Ukraine’s electrical substations are also crucial to nuclear safety. “Damage to them undermines nuclear safety and must be avoided,” he said. An IAEA expert mission is now assessing 10 substations vital to nuclear safety amid ongoing strikes on the country’s power infrastructure.

Other nuclear sites also affected

IAEA teams have also reported military activity near other nuclear facilities, including the Chornobyl site, where damage to a critical substation disrupted multiple power lines and forced temporary reliance on emergency diesel generators. The affected lines have since been reconnected.

Mr. Grossi said the IAEA has shown how international institutions can help reduce risks and provide predictability in a volatile war. But, he added, technical measures have limits.

“The best way to ensure nuclear safety and security,” he said, “is to bring this conflict to an end.”

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US withdrawal from WHO ‘risks global safety’, agency says in detailed rebuttal

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The statement, released on Saturday, also includes a rebuttal of the US administration’s reasoning for the measures. In response to government statements that the WHO has “trashed and tarnished” and insulted it, and compromised its independence, the agency notes that “the reverse true,” and that the WHO has always sought to “engage with the United States in good faith, with full respect for its sovereignty.”

The accusation by the US administration that the WHO has “pursued a politicized, bureaucratic agenda driven by nations hostile to American interests” is countered and described as untrue. The agency, the statement reads “has always been and remains impartial and exists to serve all countries, with respect for their sovereignty, and without fear or favour.”

Defence of COVID-19 response 

A significant portion of the statement is dedicated to defending the WHO against US accusations of “failures” during the COVID-19 pandemic: according to the administration, the WHO obstructed the “timely and accurate sharing of critical information” and “concealed those failures”. 

The agency counters this by noting that, throughout the pandemic, it acted quickly, shared all information it had rapidly and transparently with the world, and advised Member States on the basis of the best available evidence. 

WHO recommended the use of masks, vaccines and physical distancing, but at no stage recommended mask mandates, vaccine mandates or lockdowns.

Immediately after receiving the first reports of a cluster of cases of “pneumonia of unknown cause” in Wuhan, China on 31 December 2019, WHO asked China for more information and activated its emergency incident management system.

By the time the first death was reported from China on 11 January 2020, WHO had already alerted the world through formal channels, public statements and social media, convened global experts, and published comprehensive guidance for countries on how to protect their populations and health systems.

When the WHO Director-General declared COVID-19 a public health emergency of international concern under the International Health Regulations on 30 January 2020 – the highest level of alarm under international health law – outside of China there were fewer than 100 reported cases, and no reported deaths.

In the first weeks and months of the pandemic, the Director-General urged all countries repeatedly to take immediate action to protect their populations, warning that “the window of opportunity is closing”, “this is not a drill” and describing COVID-19 as “public enemy number one”.

In response to the multiple reviews of the COVID-19 pandemic, including of WHO’s performance, WHO has taken steps to strengthen its own work, and to support countries to bolster their own pandemic preparedness and response capacities. The systems WHO developed and managed before, during and after the emergency phase of the pandemic, have contributed to keeping all countries safe, including the United States.

Door open for US return

Despite the withdrawal notice, WHO remains committed to global cooperation and expresses hope that the United States will re-engage in the future. The agency highlights recent milestones, including the adoption of the WHO Pandemic Agreement, described as “a landmark instrument of international law” aimed at preventing and responding to future pandemics.

As a founding member of the WHO, the United States of America has contributed significantly to many of the agency’s greatest achievements, including the eradication of smallpox, and progress against many other public health threats including polio, HIV, Ebola, influenza, tuberculosis, malaria, neglected tropical diseases, antimicrobial resistance, food safety and more.

“WHO remains steadfastly committed to working with all countries in pursuit of its core mission,” the statement concludes, reaffirming its mandate to advance “the highest attainable standard of health as a fundamental right for all people.”

Safety on and off the pitch: Closing down child trafficking in sport

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“Sports give me a sense of belonging as a girl. When I play, it affirms my right to play sports and exposes me to wider opportunities,” she said.  

This is what sport should represent for young people worldwide. However, a new campaign supported by the International Organization for Migration (IOM) works to counter a darker side of the multi-billion dollar industry – by ending child trafficking through sports.

‘Gateway to exploitation’

“Sport should be a source of joy and achievement, not a gateway to exploitation. Yet traffickers prey on the ambitions of young athletes, using false promises to lure them into abuse and deception,” said Ugochi Daniels, the IOM deputy director general for operations. 

Of the approximately 50 million people worldwide who are subjected to trafficking-related abuses, 38 per cent of them are children. And of these children victims, 11 per cent are trafficked through false promises.  

In the sports industry, this takes many forms, including joining fake sports academies or signing what appear to be professional contracts.

For many young people like Saido, sport can be a pathway out of disadvantaged backgrounds. Saido, for example, dreams of seeing more Somali and refugee women playing in international professional leagues.  

“I want to see a basketball academy full of Somali girls and other girls from different communities here in Kakuma. I want to see Somali girls playing basketball at the WNBA level,” Saido said, referencing the top women’s league in the United States.  

But these dreams and their disadvantaged backgrounds, according to the campaign, can also make them uniquely vulnerable to the false promises of traffickers.  

Do not ignore the risks

Working alongside Mission 89 – an organisation which fights young athlete exploitation – IOM is calling upon stakeholders within the $1.2 trillion sports industry to strengthen protection mechanisms.  

This includes reforming unethical recruitment strategies which can be exploited by traffickers and providing education to the entire industry about the harms and risks of trafficking.  

In addition to these tangible changes, the campaign is also calling on industry leaders to sign commitments which declare zero tolerance of the scourge.  

“While we continue to celebrate the power of sport, we cannot ignore the risks faced by young athletes,” said Lerina Bright, the founder and executive director of Mission 89.  

“This campaign is about ensuring that every child who dreams through sport is safe, supported and never exploited.” 

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UN chief condemns Russian strikes on Ukraine, warns of nuclear safety risk

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In a statement issued by his spokesperson, António Guterres expressed alarm over the dangerous escalation and the rising toll on civilians.

He reiterated that attacks against civilians and critical infrastructure are prohibited under international law and called for an immediate and unconditional ceasefire.

“These strikes disrupted the power supply to the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant, once again underlining the ongoing risks to nuclear safety,” UN Spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric said.

“The Secretary-General reiterates his call for a full, immediate and unconditional ceasefire in Ukraine as a first step towards a just, comprehensive and sustainable peace, in line with the UN Charter, international law and relevant UN resolutions.”

Fragile situation

The airstrikes on Friday severed the nuclear plant’s last external power connection, forcing the ZNPP to rely on emergency diesel generators for more than three hours, according to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

Power was eventually restored, but the incident marked the ninth time the plant has lost all off-site electricity since the full-scale invasion began in 2022.

Rafael Mariano Grossi, Director General of the nuclear watchdog, warned that the situation remains extremely fragile.

“What was once virtually unimaginable – that a major nuclear power plant would repeatedly lose all of its external power connections – has unfortunately become a common occurrence,” he said.

Nuclear safety deterioration

Located in southern Ukraine, the Zaporizhzhia plant is the largest nuclear power facility in Europe. Although its six reactors have been in cold shutdown since 2024, they still require electricity to cool reactor cores and spent fuel pools to prevent overheating and potential radioactive release.

During the blackout, 18 diesel generators were activated to maintain critical cooling functions. The plant has enough diesel on site for at least ten days, with contingency plans in place to secure further supplies if needed, IAEA reported.

The ZNPP has become dramatically more vulnerable since the war began. Prior to the conflict, it had access to ten external power lines; it now relies on just one.

IAEA teams remain based at the site and continue to monitor the situation closely.

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Shelter and safety elude Afghan women returnees from Iran and Pakistan

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Since September 2023, more than 2.43 million undocumented Afghan migrants have returned from Iran and Pakistan.

Women and girls account for about half of the returnees from Pakistan, while their share among those returning from Iran has been steadily rising, reaching around 30 per cent in June.

The escalating pace of returns is straining Afghanistan’s overstretched humanitarian system, with women and girls bearing the brunt of the impact, reported the Gender in Humanitarian Action Working Group, a consortium of humanitarian actors led by UN Women and the UN reproductive health agency (UNFPA).

Vulnerabilities at the border

Women and girls are arriving with little protection or support.

“A tent would be my only protection. I have no appropriate clothes or hijab to wear, no food to eat, no contact number and no relatives to stay with,” one woman told UN Women at the border.

Those traveling without a mahram – a male guardian – face particular risks. Interviews and discussions conducted by Working Group revealed reports of extortion, harassment and threats of violence at border crossings.

“They took 6,000 rupees (about $21) and gave me only 2,000 back. Now, I do not know where to go with this money,” said a woman at Torkham. In Islam Qala, others reported “mistreatment and harassment…causing fear and distress.”

Heightened protection risks

Returnees face rising exposure to gender-based violence, early and forced marriage, trafficking and transactional sex – exacerbated by a lack of basic resources.

A humanitarian worker in Kandahar recounted: “A widow with four daughters was looking to see if she could sell one or two daughters to someone here to have money for survival.”

Humanitarian agencies report a critical shortage of safe spaces and Mental Health and Psychosocial Support Services (MHPSS), especially at border crossings, where many women arrive distressed and disoriented.

Shelter, livelihoods and education

Across provinces, women cite shelter, livelihoods and girls’ education as top needs.

“We need a place to stay, a chance to learn and a way to earn,” said a returnee woman in Nangarhar province.

Only 10 per cent of women-headed households live in permanent shelters, and nearly four in ten fear eviction. In Herat, 71 per cent of women reported rent disputes, and 45 per cent of women-headed households were living in inadequate housing.

“Many families lack sufficient financial resources to afford food and basic necessities,” said a woman in Herat.

Women who previously worked in trades such as tailoring or handicrafts now struggle to restart due to a lack of tools, restrictions on movement, and limited networks or documentation.

Looking ahead

With forced returns expected to continue, humanitarian agencies urge the scale-up of gender-responsive services, including safe spaces, mental health care, livelihood support and education access.

UN Women and its partners are calling for increased funding and sustained international support to meet the urgent and long-term needs of Afghan returnee women and girls.

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SECURITY COUNCIL LIVE: Ambassadors debate safety of civilians with 36,000 lives lost during conflict last year

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We’re live as the Security Council convenes for its annual open debate on the protection of civilians in armed conflict, with briefings from UN relief chief Tom Fletcher and the head of UN Women Sima Bahous. Ambassadors will discuss evolving threats, including use of heavy weapons and the rise of lethal autonomous killing machines such as drones. The UN has documented a spike in deaths, with Gaza, Lebanon, Myanmar, Sudan and Ukraine among the hardest-hit. Mobile app users can follow here.

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‘We can do better’ for pedestrian and cyclist safety worldwide

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These are the exact sort of urban initiatives which the UN Global Road Safety Week – kicking off on Monday – aims to celebrate and promote.

First established in 2007, this year’s week is dedicated to the theme “Make walking and cycling safe.”

“Walking and cycling should be the most ordinary, and therefore, the safest mode of transport,” said Dr. Etienne Krug, who chairs the group known as the UN Road Safety Collaboration and directs the World Health Organization’s efforts to tackle social and economic conditions which impact human health.

Stats tell a story

In September 2020, the UN General Assembly passed a resolution which established the Decade of Action for Road Safety 2021-2030 and set a goal to reduce road traffic deaths by at least 50 percent by the end of the decade.

While progress has been made, WHO says that more action is needed across all policy sectors.

Each year, 1.2 million people are killed in road traffic incidents, with pedestrians and cyclists accounting for over one-quarter of these deaths. These deaths are not distributed equally around the world. Rather, 90 per cent of road traffic deaths occur in low- and middle-income countries.

Moreover, the UN estimates that at least 90 per cent of the world’s roads do not meet pedestrian safety standards and only 0.2 per cent of roads have dedicated cycle lanes, leaving pedestrians and bikers dangerously exposed. 

A holistic approach

Improving pedestrian and cyclist safety has far-reaching benefits for communities, in terms of health, economic and environmental outcomes.

“Walking and cycling improve health and make cities more sustainable. Every step and every ride [helps] to cut congestion, air pollution and disease,” said Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General.

Take, for example, Fortaleza in Brazil – the five-fold expansion of their cycling network led to a 109 per cent increase in pedestrian activity and made children twice as likely to play outside in the areas that were redesigned.

In Norway, the Fyllingsdalstunnelen tunnel which is decorated with murals and protected by security cameras works to reduce carbon emissions and encourage walking and cycling.

To support the continuation of improvements like these during UN Road Safety Week, WHO has provided policy-makers with a toolkit outlining tangible initiatives which include integrating walking and cycling initiatives into other policy sectors and building more extensive infrastructure for pedestrians and cyclists.

“We need [to] and we can do better,” Dr Krug said.

Fortaleza, Brazil.

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Sudan drone attacks raise fears for civilian safety and aid efforts

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“These attacks appear to be the latest in a series of retaliatory military operations, conducted by the Rapid Support Forces and the Sudanese Armed Forces, targeting airports in each other’s areas of control,” UN Deputy Spokesperson Farhan Haq told reporters in New York on Monday.

The fighting between troops of the military Government and former allies-turned-rivals for power, the RSF, began in April 2023. The war has devastated much of the country, killing thousands and displacing over 8.6 million people, according to UN agencies.

As conflict rages in Khartoum, Darfur, and other areas, Port Sudan on the Red Sea coast has remained a relative safe haven and a key hub for UN and international relief efforts.

Multiple drone strikes

The RSF carried out drone attacks on a military base and other targets on Sunday near the airport – and on Monday, there was a second series of attacks targeting fuel depots in the eastern part of Port Sudan, according to latest news reports.

© UNICEF/Ahmed Mohamdeen Elfatih

Mothers tend to their children suffering from severe acute malnutrition at a hospital in Port Sudan.

The RSF has not so far claimed responsibility for Monday’s strikes which left fuel storage facilities ablaze in what the army characterised as an attack on civilian infrastructure.

The Secretary-General is “concerned with the recent reports of drone attacks on military and civilian infrastructure” in the area, which until now had largely been spared from the devastation of the year-long war.

Call for urgent dialogue

Mr. Haq stressed that the attack on Port Sudan was a “worrying development threatening the protection of civilians and humanitarian operations” in the city, which has become a lifeline for humanitarian aid across the country.

The Secretary-General “renews his call for urgent dialogue between the warring parties towards an immediate cessation of hostilities and an inclusive political process,” Mr. Haq said. “This is essential to prevent further escalation, protect civilians, and put Sudan back on a path towards peace and stability.”

On the humanitarian front, the UN’s aid coordination office OCHA said the drone strikes have not directly affected its operations in Port Sudan.

UN aid operations continuing

“None of our offices, premises or warehouses have been impacted, and we continue to carry out our regular operations,” Mr. Haq confirmed.

However, he added that the situation is being closely monitored, and that UN Humanitarian Air Service flights in and out of the city have been temporarily paused.

Beyond Port Sudan, recent strikes on power stations across Sudan have disrupted electricity and clean water supplies – worsening conditions for displaced families and returnees.

“We call on all parties to this conflict to ensure that civilians and civilian infrastructure are not targeted,” the Deputy Spokesperson said. “Wars have rules, and international humanitarian law must be respected.”

© UNICEF/Ahmed Mohamdeen Elfatih

Children participate in an e-learning session at the Al Seniyaa internally displaced people’s gathering site in Port Sudan.