Showing posts with label UNSG Guterres. Show all posts
Showing posts with label UNSG Guterres. Show all posts

Friday, November 17, 2023

Sudan asks UN to 'immediately terminate' the UN political mission in the country (UNITAMS) -letter

Report from Reuters
Reporting by Michelle Nichols and Rami Ayyub; 
Editing by Scott Malone and Daniel Wallis
Dated Thursday, 16 November 2023 11:58 PM GMT - here is a copy in full:

Sudan asks UN to 'immediately terminate' political mission -letter


UNITED NATIONS, Nov 16 (Reuters) - Sudan asked the United Nations on Thursday to "immediately terminate" the U.N. political mission in the country (UNITAMS), Sudan's acting Foreign Minister Ali Sadeq, told the U.N. Security Council in a letter seen by Reuters.


"(The) government of Sudan requested that the United Nations immediately terminate the UNITAMS mission. At the same time, we would like to assure you that the Government of Sudan is committed to engaging constructively with the Security Council and the Secretariat," Sadeq wrote in a letter addressed to U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and circulated to the U.N. Security Council.


"The purpose of establishing the mission (was) to assist the transitional government of Sudan after the December 2018 revolution," he wrote, adding that the mission's performance in implementing its objectives "was disappointing."


When asked about Sudan’s decision, Guterres spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said the letter had been received and circulated to the Security Council.


A war erupted on April 15 between the Sudanese army and paramilitary Rapid Support Forces after weeks of rising tension between the two sides over a plan to integrate forces as part of a transition from military rule to civilian democracy.


The U.N. special envoy to Sudan announced in September that he was stepping down, more than three months after Sudan declared him unwelcome after disagreements between rival factions erupted into war.


View original: https://www.reuters.com/world/africa/sudan-asks-un-immediately-terminate-political-mission-letter-2023-11-16/


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Monday, October 30, 2023

VIDEO TRANSCRIPT: ICC Prosecutor's statement after visiting Rafah Border between Egypt & Gaza

“International Criminal Court Prosecutor Karim A.A. Khan KC addresses journalists after visiting the Rafah Border Crossing between Egypt and the Gaza Strip on 29 October 2023. From Cairo, the Prosecutor gives a statement on the current situation in Israel and the State of Palestine”. 


Video courtesy of Al Arabiya - english.alarabiya.net.  


Transcript

Follow along using the transcript facility at the video.


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VIDEO: ICC Prosecutor speaks in Cairo on the situation in Israel and Palestine after his visit to Rafah

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ICC prosecutor at Rafah border crossing between Egypt and Gaza says he hopes to visit Gaza, Israel

Report at Al Arabiya - english.alarabiya.net
With AFP (Agence France-Presse)
Published Sunday, 29 October 2023: 08:57 PM GST
Updated Monday, 30 October 2023: 01:52 AM GST - here is a copy in full:

ICC prosecutor at Rafah border crossing says hopes to visit Gaza, Israel

International Criminal Court Prosecutor Karim Khan speaks during an interview with Reuters about the violence in Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories in The Hague, Netherlands October 12, 2023. (File photo: Reuters)


International Criminal Court prosecutor Karim Khan said Sunday preventing access to humanitarian could be a crime, after visiting Egypt’s Rafah crossing with Gaza, the main entry point for international aid.


“Impeding relief supplies as provided by the Geneva conventions may constitute a crime within the court jurisdiction,” Khan told reporters in Cairo.


He said he wanted “to underline clearly to Israel that there must be discernible efforts without further delay to make sure civilians” in the Hamas-run Palestinian territory “receive basic food, medicines”.


“I saw trucks full of goods full of humanitarian assistance stuck where nobody needs them, stuck in Egypt, stuck at Rafah,” Khan said.


“These supplies must get to the civilians of Gaza without delay.”


On Sunday the United Nations warned it feared a breakdown of public order after looting at food aid centres in Gaza run by its agency for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA.


UN chief Antonio Guterres said the situation was “growing more desperate by the hour” as casualties in the war increase and essential supplies of food, water, medicine and shelter dwindle.


People in the Palestinian territory have lived under Israeli blockade for 16 years and under complete siege for the past three weeks after the territory’s Hamas rulers launched deadly attacks into Israel that sparked a war.


Hamas militants stormed across the Gaza border on October 7 in the deadliest attack in Israel’s history, killing 1,400 people, mostly civilians, and kidnapping 239 others, according to Israeli officials.


The Palestinian health ministry in Gaza says the retaliatory Israeli bombardment has killed more than 8,000 people, mainly civilians and half of them children.


Khan said his office had an ongoing investigation into “any crimes committed on the territory of Palestine and any crimes committed, whether it’s by Israel and Palestine or whether it’s acts committed on the territory of Palestine or from Palestine into Israel.”


“This includes current events in Gaza and also current events in the West Bank,” Khan said, adding that he was “very concerned also by the spike of the number of reported incidents of attack by settlers against Palestinian civilians” in the territory Israel has occupied since 1967.


Khan also said hostage taking was a breach of the Geneva Conventions.


“I call for the immediate release of all hostages taken from Israel and for their safe return to their families,” Khan said.


The British lawyer said “Israel has clear obligations in relation to its war with Hamas, not just moral obligations but legal obligations” to comply with the laws of conflict.


“These principles equally apply to Hamas in relation to firing indiscriminate rockets into Israel,” he said.


View original: https://english.alarabiya.net/News/middle-east/2023/10/29/ICC-prosecutor-at-Rafah-border-crossing-says-hopes-to-visit-Gaza-Israel


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VIDEO: ICC Prosecutor speaks outside compound by Rafah border crossing between Egypt and Gaza Strip

THE International Criminal Court (ICC) Prosecutor Karim Khan KC was at the Rafah crossing point between Egypt and the Gaza Strip this weekend. Watch his remarks on the current situation in Israel and the State of Palestine in this clip filmed outside the compound of the Rafah crossing.

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Sunday, September 17, 2023

The United Nations must keep its promises to end extreme poverty and ensure no person goes hungry

  • World leaders meet tomorrow (18 Sep) at the United Nations in a bid to salvage ambitious promises to lift the planet's poorest.
  • But the development summit, on the eve of the annual UN General Assembly that opens Tuesday, threatens to be eclipsed by growing geopolitical tensions -- which will be symbolized by the presence at the meeting in New York of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
  • In 2015, UN member states adopted the Sustainable Development Goals, 17 targets to transform the world by 2030 including by completely ending extreme poverty and making sure not a single of the planet's eight billion people goes hungry.
  • UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said the summit will seek a "global rescue plan" on the targets, as he acknowledged that only about 15 percent were on track to be met and that metrics on some were heading in reverse.
[NOTE from Sudan Watch Ed: Ukraine and Russia must stop their senseless war immediately. Ukraine must not be given any funds needed by the UN to keep its promises to transform the world, eradicate hunger and extreme poverty. Leaders must be held accountable if those promises are broken.]

Read full story.

FROM AFP NEWS 
Published by The Barron's Daily
Written by Amélie BOTTOLLIER-DEPOIS
Dated Sunday 17 September 2023 - here is a full copy:

UN Meet Looks To Salvage Promises On Helping World's Poorest

Image: Women who fled the war in Sudan await the distribution of international aid rations at the Ourang refugee camp, near Adre town in eastern Chad on August 15, 2023 (Photo credit: Mohaned BELAL)


World leaders meet Monday at the United Nations in a bid to salvage ambitious promises to lift the planet's poorest, at a time when vulnerable nations are facing a volley of crises.


But the development summit, on the eve of the annual UN General Assembly that opens Tuesday, threatens to be eclipsed by growing geopolitical tensions -- which will be symbolized by the presence at the meeting in New York of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.


In 2015, UN member states adopted the Sustainable Development Goals, 17 targets to transform the world by 2030 including by completely ending extreme poverty and making sure not a single of the planet's eight billion people goes hungry.


UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said the summit will seek a "global rescue plan" on the targets, as he acknowledged that only about 15 percent were on track to be met and that metrics on some were heading in reverse.


The goals are "about the hopes, dreams, rights and expectations of people and the health of our natural environment," Guterres said.


"They're about righting historic wrongs, healing global divisions and putting our world on a path to lasting peace," he said.


Efforts to devote money and attention to the goals have been repeatedly set back, including by the Covid-19 pandemic, the war in Ukraine and other tumult, worsening climate catastrophes and sharp increases in the cost of living.

Image: A light display created using drones is performed before the city skyline and United Nations headquarters as part of a campaign to raise awareness about the Amazon rainforest and the global climate crisis ahead of the 78th United Nations General Assembly (Photo credit: Ed JONES)


The United Nations summit "is a vital space to make change," said Abby Maxman, the president of anti-poverty activist charity Oxfam America.


"Leaders must be held accountable, heed the calls of those on the front lines and use this time to listen, make meaningful commitments and follow up with real action," she said.


She said that one powerful step would be for wealthy nations to back reforms of international economic institutions to address the crushing debts impacting parts of the developing world.


A Group of 20 summit in New Delhi this month took initial steps to address representation in the International Monetary Fund and World Bank.


"But overall, will this SDG summit reignite a sense of 'hope, optimism and enthusiasm,' as it's been billed?" asked Noam Unger, a development expert at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington.


"Rising authoritarianism, democratic backsliding, but also geostrategic competition and economic distress, those are likely to overshadow other fundamental issues related to climate change and global development," he said.


Developing countries' leaders will be present in force on Monday. The United States, which has pumped $43 billion in military aid into Ukraine to help defend against Russian invasion, has hoped to show it is also interested in development.

Image: People rally to end fossil fuels ahead of the 78th United Nations General Assembly and Climate Ambition Summit in New York on September 17, 2023 (Photo credit: LEONARDO MUNOZ)


"The world's most vulnerable are looking to us, like the young woman I met in Chad (in September), who fled unthinkable -- unthinkable -- violence in Sudan and had to leave her family and her education behind," said Linda Thomas-Greenfield, the US ambassador to the United Nations.


"This young woman is counting on us. She's counting on the world in her time of need," she said.


But a senior European diplomat warned the gap was growing between the developing and developed worlds.


One goal for the summit is "making sure that that rift doesn't grow further," the diplomat said.


This story was produced by AFP. For more information go to AFP.com© Agence France-Presse


Source: https://www.barrons.com/news/un-meet-looks-to-salvage-promises-on-helping-world-s-poorest-b32a31d4


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Saturday, August 12, 2023

UN chief: Access to clean, safe water is a human right

CLEAN WATER is not a privilege. It is a human right. Yet, 2 billion people still lack access to safe drinking water around the world. Ensuring access to clean & safe water supplies is essential for people to lead safe, productive & healthy lives.‌ -António Guterres (@antonioguterres) 4:01 PM Aug 10, 2023

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Sunday, August 06, 2023

URGENT: South Sudanese humanitarians seek funding to transport people fleeing Sudan fighting: UN

NOTE from Sudan Watch Editor: I have combined this news report with three posts from Emmanuel Jal's Facebook page where he highlights an urgent need to transport South Sudanese returnees home safely. Most are stranded in places around the border where they can't afford to travel any further. Many have family they can stay with. Others will need shelter. 


The news report says the UN urgently needs $26.4m to transport South Sudanese returnees by river, road or air. Emmanuel's posts last May, June, July show people helping some returnees to get home safely by bus or boat. 

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Report at China View - english.news.cn/

Source: Xinhua; Editor: huaxia

Dated Thursday 27 July 2023, 03:53:15 - here is a full copy:


South Sudanese humanitarians seek funding to transport people fleeing Sudan fighting: UN


UNITED NATIONS, July 26 (Xinhua) -- The humanitarian community in South Sudan is seeking urgent funding to transport people fleeing fighting in Sudan, mostly South Sudanese returnees, a UN spokesman said on Wednesday.


"Many of those fleeing are vulnerable with no financial resources to continue their journey inside the country," said Stephane Dujarric, chief spokesman for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.


The spokesman said that humanitarians have been helping people reach their final destinations by river, road or air but are running out of funds. Without new funding, humanitarian agencies will be forced to halt transportation in two weeks' time.


"With no onward transportation available, more people will become stranded in and around the border towns where humanitarian services are already overstretched," Dujarric said.


"We need 26.4 million U.S. dollars to continue providing this service until the end of the year," he added. 


View the original report here: 

http://www.chinaview.cn/africa/20230727/57b208f1f44440c0bd9bb73dc964c074/c.html

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From Emmanuel Jal Facebook page

Posted 26 May 2023 - here is a full copy:

Shared with Public


Thank you @angelicafuentes63 for hiring a bus to take 43 individuals to safety from Kosti in Sudan to Unity state Bentiu in South Sudan. If you want to be part of this cause you can check out our partner @chooselove who is currently hiring too buses with partnership with @guaafrica 


WATCH video of Emmanuel:

Thank you @angelicafuentes63 for hiring a bus to take 43 individuals to safety from Kosti in Sudan to Unity state Bentiu in South Sudan. If you…


View the original post with video here: 

https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=261580383056246

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From Emmanuel Jal Facebook page

Emmanuel Jal is in Sudan

Posted 27 June 2023 - here is a full copy:

Shared with Public


We continue to send buses from Sudan to safety in South Sudan through my charity @guaafrica and our partnership with @chooselove


Thanks to all those who have stood with us and raised funds. 


The roads are very dangerous and we are prioritising the safety of women and children and those with no funds so they can escape the horrors still playing out In Khartoum. It’s upsetting to see how the main stream media has forgotten so quickly about the situation there but we continue to put a spotlight and help those who need it. 


#wewantpeace #sudan #khartoum #southsudan #mylifeisart


View the original post here:

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From Emmanuel Jal Facebook page

Poste14 July 2023 at 10:07 - here is a full copy:

Shared with Public


@maryannthompsonfrenk thank you for playing a part in getting two buses secured to people to safety this week from Sudan to South Sudanese We are grateful to angels that you rallied to make it possible here are there names.

Shout out to 

Felix Meneses

Chase Robertson

Alan Keith

Joshua Raymond Frenk

The Memnosyne Institute

Marcus X Russell

Mary Ann Thompson-Frenk

John Philp Thompson


These photos here are from our previous buses hired by @guaafrica with partnership with @chooselove

This week we will have people travel by boats and buses.

View the original post here:

https://www.facebook.com/EmmanuelJal/posts/pfbid02XJc8dWLFpeVgHvEY2pdzPKevcYAgs4F9irEhXq7Nva9vSoRjHN3guiVc3Rv62ArMl


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