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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Article by Vladimir Putin “Russia and Africa: Joining Efforts for Peace, Progress and a Successful Future“

NOTE from Sudan Watch Editor (in England, UK): Here is a manual copy of a tweet posted by Cameron Hudson @_hudsonc today:

Russia cranking up its propaganda in advance of its Russia-Africa summit this week. While it singles out "malign Western influence" and the West's "blackmail machine," RT also clearly warns that "Russia will be there for those countries that stood with in in its hour of need."

This Tweet is unavailable. Learn more.

This Tweet from @ has been withheld in Portugal, Finland, Sweden, Ireland, Slovenia, Czech Republic, Poland, Slovakia, Hungary, Italy, Malta, Germany, Greece, Romania, Netherlands, Bulgaria, Austria, Luxembourg, Latvia, United Kingdom, Denmark, Lithuania, Croatia, Estonia, Cyprus, France, Spain, Belgium in response to a legal demand. https://Learn more.

6:34 PM · Jul 24, 2023 

___________________

View original: https://twitter.com/_hudsonc/status/1683531059709788165

Russia cranking up its propaganda in advance of its Russia-Africa summit this week. While it singles out "malign Western influence" and the West's "blackmail machine," RT also clearly warns that "Russia will be there for those countries that stood with in in its hour of need." https://t.co/pwdEU7vb7n

— Cameron Hudson (@_hudsonc) July 24, 2023

SW Ed Post script: I can only view the full tweet via its embed code posted here. When I click on my link to the tweet it leads to the tweet's intro followed by: This Tweet is unavailable. Learn more. When I click on the RT link within the embed code copy it leads directly to a Twitter page simply saying: This Tweet is unavailable. Learn more - followed by these five tweets:

Jebren جبرين @jebren_

#Thanks_Russia 

#Africa_Russia

Jamel AK-0002829 @ras_jamel 

this is what we need .

Earlyn L Walker @earlyn_l

This is how the people of the world should be, working together for the benefit of everyone and not just a few. For instance, railways in Africa will benefit landlocked countries. Being non-aligned means not giving into outside pressure such as the ICC.

Michael Vaynerchuk @MichaelVaynerc1

It's a Roman empire thinking that drives the EU and nothing else 

Cheap labor and Cheap resources such in their colonial history.... greed and unforfeeling narcissism is very powerful tools.... 

NotBenjamin @BenjaminTitnit

[thumbs up emoji]

Also, the paragraph with country list appears intermittently. It is not showing at the time of this posting. This is Day 1 of Twitter launching its new brand name: X. Note, one time when I clicked on the tweet to read the RT report, it led me directly to the website and article copied here below.

___________________

[From the website of]

President of Russia [http://en.kremlin.ru - here is a full copy, URL search bar displays Not Secure:]

Article by Vladimir Putin “Russia and Africa: Joining Efforts for Peace, Progress and a Successful Future“

July 24, 2023 00:00

On July 27–28, St Petersburg will host the second Russia-Africa Summit and Russia-Africa Economic and Humanitarian Forum. On the eve of these large-scale representative events which will bring together heads of state and government, entrepreneurs, academia and public figures, I would like to share my vision of the development of Russia-Africa relations with the readers of the leading media on the African continent, outlining priority cooperation areas for the coming decades of the 21^st century.

The partnership relations between our country and Africa have strong, deep roots and have always been distinguished by stability, trust and goodwill. We have consistently supported African peoples in their struggle for liberation from colonial oppression. We have provided assistance in developing statehood, strengthening their sovereignty and defence capability. Much has been done to create sustainable foundations for national economies. By the mid-1980s, with the participation of our specialists, over 330 large infrastructure and industrial facilities have been built in Africa, such as power plants, irrigation systems, industrial and agricultural enterprises, which are successfully operating to this day, and continue to make a significant contribution to the continent’s economic development. Tens of thousands of African doctors, technical specialists, engineers, officers and teachers have received education in Russia.

I would like to specifically mention the traditionally close cooperation on the world stage, the firm and consistent advocacy rendered by the USSR and then Russia to African countries at international fora. We have always strictly adhered to the “African solutions to African problems” principle, standing in solidarity with Africans in their struggle for self-determination, justice and their legitimate rights. We have never tried to impose on partners our own ideas about the internal structure, forms and methods of management, development goals and ways to achieve them. Unchanged remains our respect for the sovereignty of African states, their traditions and values, their desire to independently determine their own destiny and freely build relationships with partners.

We highly value the honestly-gained capital of friendship and cooperation, traditions of trust and mutual support that Russia and African countries share. We are brought together by a common desire to shape a system of relations based on the priority of international law, respect for national interests, indivisibility of security, and recognition of the central coordinating role of the United Nations.

Today, the constructive, trustful, forward-looking partnership between Russia and Africa is especially significant and important. Major centres of economic and political power and influence are emerging in the world, which are asserting themselves more and more insistently, demanding that they be reckoned with. We are sure that a new multipolar world order, the contours of which are already seen, will be more just and democratic. And there is no doubt that Africa, along with Asia, the Middle East and Latin America, will take its worthy place in it and finally free itself from the bitter legacy of colonialism and neo-colonialism, rejecting its modern practices.

Russia welcomes the rising international authority of individual states as well as Africa as a whole, their desire to make their voices strongly heard and to take the continent's problems into their own hands. We have always supported the constructive initiatives of our partners. We stand for granting African countries their rightful place in the structures that determine the world’s fate, including the UN Security Council and the G20, as well as for reforming the global financial and trade institutions in a way that meets their interests.

Regrettably, we see that the situation in the world today is far from stable. The long-standing conflicts that exist in nearly every region are deepening, and new threats and challenges are emerging. And Africa feels the burden of global challenges like no other part of the world. In such a challenging environment, we look forward to working with our African partners to shape a non-discriminatory agenda for cooperation. 

The strategic areas of our interaction are set by the decisions of the first Russia-Africa Summit held in Sochi in late October 2019. The Russia-Africa Partnership Forum was established for their effective implementation. We have set up bilateral intergovernmental commissions for trade, economic, scientific and technological cooperation with many countries of the continent, and the network of Russian embassies and trade missions in Africa will be expanded. Further instruments are being actively developed to better structure economic relations and make them more dynamic.

I would like to note with satisfaction that Russia’s trade turnover with the African countries increased in 2022 and reached almost 18 billion US dollars. However, we are all well aware that the potential of our trade and economic partnership is much higher. Russian companies are interested in working more actively on the continent in the sphere of high technologies and geological exploration, in the fuel and energy complex, including nuclear power, in the chemical industry, mining and transport engineering, agriculture and fishery. The changes taking place in the world require the search for solutions related to the establishment of new transport and logistical chains, the formation of a monetary and financial system, and mechanisms of mutual settlements that are safe and free from unfavourable external impacts.

We understand the importance of uninterrupted food supplies for the socio-economic development and political stability of the African states. On this basis, we have always paid great attention to issues related to the supply of wheat, barley, maize and other crops to African countries. We have done so both on a contractual basis and free of charge as humanitarian aid, including through the United Nations Food Programme. Thus, in 2022, Russia exported 11.5 million tonnes of grain to Africa, and almost 10 million tonnes more were delivered in the first half of 2023 – despite the sanctions imposed on our exports, which severely hamper the supply of Russian food products to developing countries, complicating transport logistics, insurance arrangements and bank payments.

Many have probably heard of the so-called “grain deal,” whose initial purpose was to ensure global food security, reduce the threat of hunger and help the poorest countries of Africa, Asia and Latin America – the reason why Russia undertook the obligation to facilitate its implementation in the first place. This “deal,” however, while it was publicly advertised by the West as a gesture of goodwill that benefited Africa, has in fact been shamelessly used solely for the enrichment of large US and European businesses that exported and resold grain from Ukraine.

Judge for yourselves: in almost a year, a total of 32.8 million tonnes of supplies were exported from Ukraine under the “deal,” with over 70 percent of the exports ending up in high- and upper-middle-income countries, including in the European Union, whereas such countries as Ethiopia, Sudan and Somalia, as well as Yemen and Afghanistan, received less than 3 percent of the supplies, i.e. less than one million tonnes.

In the meantime, none of the “deal” provisions relating to the exemption from sanctions of Russian grain and fertiliser exports to world markets, were fulfilled. Moreover, barriers have been mounted even to our attempts to supply free of charge mineral fertilisers to the poorest countries in need. Of 262,000 tonnes of goods blocked in European ports, only two shipments were delivered – one of 20,000 tonnes to Malawi and one of 34,000 tonnes to Kenya. The rest is still unscrupulously held by the Europeans. And this is a purely humanitarian initiative we are talking about, which should be exempt from any sanctions as such.

Considering all these facts, there is no longer any use in continuing the “grain deal” as it has failed to serve its original humanitarian purpose. We argued against further extending the “deal,” which terminated as of July 18.

I want to give assurances that our country is capable of replacing the Ukrainian grain both on a commercial and free-of-charge basis, especially as we expect another record harvest this year.

Notwithstanding the sanctions, Russia will continue its energetic efforts to provide supplies of grain, food products, fertilisers and other goods to Africa. We highly value and will further develop the full spectrum of economic ties with Africa – with individual states as well as regional integration associations and, naturally, with the African Union. We welcome this organisation's strategic course towards further economic integration and the formation of the African Continental Free Trade Area. We are ready to build pragmatic, mutually beneficial relations, including within the framework of the Eurasian Economic Union. We are also willing to step up cooperation with other regional integration organisations on the continent.

In keeping with the existing tradition, we intend to continue providing assistance to African states in building their national human resource capacity. There are currently about 35 thousand students from the continent in Russia, more than 6,000 of them receive Russian government scholarships. Each year we increase the number of scholarships, promote paid higher education options and facilitate inter-university ties, which have gained significant momentum in recent times.

Bringing humanitarian, cultural, sports and mass media cooperation to a whole new level would serve our common interests. I would like to seize this opportunity to invite our young African friends to the World Youth Festival, which will take place in Sochi, Russia, in March 2024. This large-scale international forum will bring together more than 20,000 participants from more than 180 countries for an informal, friendly and open dialogue that is free from ideological and political barriers, racial and religious prejudice and would consolidate the young generation around the ideals of lasting and durable peace, prosperity and creative spirit.

In conclusion, I would like to reiterate that we attach great importance to the upcoming second Russia–Africa Summit. We expect that the Summit would adopt a comprehensive Declaration, a number of joint statements and approve the Russia – Africa Partnership Forum Action Plan to 2026. We are working to prepare an impressive package of intergovernmental and inter‑agency agreements and memoranda with individual states as well as regional associations of the continent.

I am looking forward to welcoming the African leaders in St. Petersburg and stand committed to a fruitful constructive dialogue. I firmly believe that the decisions adopted at the Summit and Forum, coupled with continuous diversified joint work will contribute to further development of Russian‑African strategic partnership for the benefit of our countries and peoples.

Other languages (unofficial translations)

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Topics

Foreign policy

Publication status

Published in sections: News, Transcripts

Publication date: July 24, 2023, 00:00

Text version

View original: http://en.kremlin.ru/events/president/news/71719

[Ends]

Wheat prices soar after Russia threatens ships

"The Black Sea grain deal enabled the UN's World Food Programme (WFP) to ship more than 725,000 tonnes of wheat from Ukraine to countries facing acute hunger, including Ethiopia, Yemen and Afghanistan. So Ukraine provided more than half the WFP's wheat grain last year.

More than half the total grain shipped under the deal was corn, however. Of the nearly 33m tonnes exported, the biggest amount went to China (8m tonnes), then Spain (6m tonnes) and Turkey (3.2m tonnes), UN data shows.

Turkey has been milling grain into flour for the WFP. Corn is used as biofuel and animal feed, besides human consumption". Read more.

Report from BBC News

By Emily McGarvey

BBC News

Published Thursday 20 July 2023

Ukraine war: Wheat prices soar after Russia threatens ships

Media caption,

WATCH: Footage shows the impact of attack on Odesa grain terminals

Wheat prices have risen sharply on global markets after Russia said it would treat ships heading for Ukrainian ports as potential military targets.

Moscow pulled out of a UN deal on Monday that ensured safe passage for grain shipments crossing the Black Sea.

For the past three nights Russia has bombarded Ukraine's grain facilities in Odesa and other cities.

Moscow also warned that from Thursday any ships going there would be seen as siding with "the Kyiv regime".

White House spokesman Adam Hodge suggested Russia was planning to hit civilian ships and blame Ukraine.

Russia had laid more sea mines in the approaches to Ukrainian ports, he said, as part of a co-ordinated Russian effort to justify attacking civilian ships.

The Kremlin did not immediately respond to the allegation.

Meanwhile in a similar warning to Russia's, Ukraine has said ships heading towards Russian or occupied ports on the Black Sea could be viewed as carrying military cargo.

Wheat prices on the European stock exchange soared by 8.2% on Wednesday from the previous day, to €253.75 (£220; $284) per tonne, while corn prices were up 5.4%.

US wheat futures jumped 8.5% - their highest daily rise since just after Russia's February 2022 invasion of Ukraine.

Prices in shops will not immediately increase when market prices go up. But if the interruption in supplies leads to a prolonged period of higher prices, the impact will make itself felt around the world in the coming months.

The sharp increase in grain cost after Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine last year lead to rising prices - not just for food items based on grains, but also for meat and poultry, as animals are often fed with grain.

Countries which depend most heavily on Ukraine's supplies are likely to be most affected. Before the war Lebanon received nearly three-quarters of its grain from Ukraine, while Pakistan, Libya and Ethiopia are also very heavily dependent.

Earlier, President Vladimir Putin said he would return to the international grain agreement immediately if his demands were met. They include lifting sanctions on sales of Russian grain and fertiliser and reconnecting Russia's agricultural bank to a global payment system.

Russian air strikes on the Black Sea coastal cities meanwhile continued for a third night, leaving more than 20 people wounded in Odesa and Mykolaiv.

Mykolaiv regional governor Vitaliy Kim said 19 people had been hurt in the regional capital, including children. 

Apartment blocks were targeted and in one building the second and top floor were partially destroyed.

Several people were also wounded in Odesa, when a four-storey building was badly damaged.

IMAGE SOURCE,

DSNS UKRAINE

Image caption,

Odesa was targeted for the third night running

Russian-occupied Crimea was also hit overnight, according to its Russian-appointee leader Sergei Aksyonov.

A teenage girl was killed when a drone hit four administrative buildings in the north-west of the peninsula.

Crimea has been hit on three consecutive days. A suspected Ukrainian drone attack from the sea damaged a bridge from the occupied peninsula to southern Russia on Monday. Part of a key motorway was also shut on Tuesday because of explosions at a nearby munitions depot.

• What was the Ukraine grain deal?

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky has accused Russia of deliberately targeting grain export infrastructure and putting vulnerable countries at risk.

Agriculture Minister Mykola Solskyi said strikes had destroyed 60,000 tonnes of grain and damaged considerable parts of the grain export infrastructure.

The Black Sea grain deal enabled the UN's World Food Programme (WFP) to ship more than 725,000 tonnes of wheat from Ukraine to countries facing acute hunger, including Ethiopia, Yemen and Afghanistan. So Ukraine provided more than half the WFP's wheat grain last year.

More than half the total grain shipped under the deal was corn, however. Of the nearly 33m tonnes exported, the biggest amount went to China (8m tonnes), then Spain (6m tonnes) and Turkey (3.2m tonnes), UN data shows.

Turkey has been milling grain into flour for the WFP. Corn is used as biofuel and animal feed, besides human consumption.

The defence ministry in Moscow said that from Thursday all vessels sailing on the Black Sea to Ukrainian ports would be regarded as "potential carriers of military cargo" and that the ships' "flag states... will be considered to be involved in the Ukrainian conflict on the side of the Kyiv regime".

IMAGE SOURCE,

EPA

Image caption,

A grain ship that left a Ukrainian port earlier this week

On Wednesday Mr Putin accused the West of using the grain deal as "political blackmail". Moscow has accused Ukraine of using the Black Sea grain corridor for "combat purposes".

Ukraine's options for exporting grain by rail are also very limited: rail capacity is smaller than shipping volumes and several EU countries in Eastern Europe are blocking Ukrainian grain, in order to protect their own farmers.

Some Ukrainian grain may now be shipped via the Danube, using Romanian territorial waters, though again the volumes are likely to be relatively small.

Marex Capital analyst Charlie Sernatinger said Russia's threatened escalation could "cut all of the waterborne grain shipments off from the Black Sea, both Russian, and Ukrainian", which would cause a similar situation to that at the start of the war.

Ukrainian MP Oleksiy Goncharenko called on the UK, US, France and Turkey to protect the grain ships with military convoys and provide Odesa with air defences.

"Clearly Putin has an aim to disrupt food security and cause a peak in world food prices, which in the developed countries will lead to inflation, but in developing countries that will lead to social destabilisation, starvation and new waves of migrants."

Russia-Ukraine war

View original: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-66253143

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