Israel/Palestine War: UN Mourns 101 Staff killed In Gaza

Flags at United Nations (UN) offices around the world are flying at half-mast in memory of the 101 UN staff members killed so far in the Gaza war. Staff held a minute’s silence to mourn and honour colleagues from UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) who were killed in the war. The UN relief body said in a statement on Monday that “the UNRWA death toll, already the highest in UNhistory, has continued to increase.” It added that the dead were among the 13,000 UNRWA staff working in Gaza, many of them killed with their families. They were teachers, school principals, health workers, including a gynaecologist, engineers, support staff and a psychologist, the agency said. Tom White, the Director of UNRWA in the Gaza Strip said “UNRWA staff in Gaza appreciates the UN lowering the flags around the world. “In Gaza however, we have to keep the UN flag flying high as a sign that we are still standing and serving the people of Gaza,’’ White said from Rafah. Meanwhile, UN agencies in the Middle East, Africa, Asia, Europe and elsewhere posted photos on social media of flags at half-mast in front of and on their office buildings. 

FG Working On Safe Resettlement Of IDPs, Others, Matawalle Assures UN

The Minister of State for Defence, His Excellency, Dr. Bello Muhammed Matawalle MON, has assured the Representative of the United Nations that the Federal Government is working out modalities to resettle returnees and the Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in Nigeria to a safe and better living condition. The Minister gave this assurance when the Representative of United Nations Mines Action Services paid him a courtesy visit on Tuesday, 24th October 2023 in Ship House Abuja.  Matawalle said that Federal Government would partner with UNMAS in working out a workable solution in reintegrating IDPs and farmers into society for better life. “We need to redesign action plan for the IDP returnees and farmers to go back to their farms,” he said.  According to him there was the need for Federal Government to provide essential technical support for the establishment of a national mine action centre in the North East and extend it to North West where incidence of insurgency has increased. “Such centre will afford the IDPs the opportunity to return to their Communities and have access to quality education.” The representative of the United Nations Mines Action Services to Nigeria, Edwin Faigmane, said that the UNMAS is to collaborate with the Nigerian Army to secure success for Mines Action Services Operations in Nigeria.  Furthermore, he stated that there was need to conduct Technical Surveys to identify hazardous areas that need to be safe before any other activities could take place. Edwin commended the Minister for the audience and requested that they count on Government’s support in identifying areas of collaboration.

Increased Investment In Women Will Improve Nigeria’s GDP -UN

UN Women Regional Director for East Africa, West, and Central Africa, Maxime Houinato, has said that in order to bridge the multi-sectoral gender gaps in Nigeria and improve the standard of living for women and girls, there is need for the federal government to commit specific percent of national budgets and development funds to interventions that address gender disparity in Nigeria. Maxime Houinato is in Nigeria for an executive visit. In a press briefing on Friday at the UN House in Abuja, Houinato said that increased allocation of specific budget lines to address gender disparity in Nigeria would empower more women.    “Women are at the heart of human capital for economic development in any nation – health, education, agriculture, and business. Gender disparity and the suffering of women are having a detrimental impact on the building of that human capital which is at the centre of productivity and development,” Houinato said.   The UN Women regional director met with various stakeholders in Lagos and Abuja including the Minister of Budget and National Planning, Sen. Abubakar Atiku Bagudu. In Lagos, a $25million GBV fund was launched as part of a contribution from Nigeria’s private sector. The fund will serve to fund gender responsive interventions that will curb violence against women and girls and enhance women’s empowerment. He said, “I was rushed to Lagos by my team the moment I landed in Abuja to look at a couple of initiatives. One of them is the establishment by the private sector with the technical support of the UN Women of a $25 million GBV Fund. This is the first time in Africa that the private sector is coming together to take up such issues as GBV and to put hard currency on the table.   “When I met the minister of Budget, he really appreciated that contribution and that the government might consider a tax break for private companies that decide to put money on the table to address gender equality issues that have always been the contribution of the government to the private sector initiative. “I was also thrilled to meet with the Nigeria Exchange group that has decided to start working with UN Women to launch in 2025 the first gender bond in Nigeria with contribution from various investors into gathering resources to address the lack of opportunity that women suffer from. “Those initiatives are interesting because so far, the government has been putting resources for critical elements of gender inequality. Now we believe more and more the private sector is getting interested, the reason being that gender based violence, gender inequality that was placed in the social sector has now moved to the economic sector where we recognize that inequality is crippling the economy.” In her remarks, UN Women Representative to Nigeria and ECOWAS, Beatrice Eyong, stated that the financial implication of GBV is enormous and reiterated that if the prevalence of violence against women and girls reduces, family income and earnings will improve and so will the economy of the society at large.

78th UNGA: FG seeks UN’s Support To Tackle Humanitarian Crises

The Federal Government has urged the United Nations to support its efforts to achieve durable solutions to humanitarian crises. Dr Betta Edu, Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, made the call during a high-level meeting with Mr Martin Griffiths, the coordinator under UN Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief. This is contained in a statement by Edu’s aide of media, Mr Rasheed Zubair, in Abuja. The meeting held on the sidelines of the ongoing 78th United Nations General Assembly (UNGA78) in New York. She also briefed the meeting on President Bola Tinubu’s action plan to eradicate poverty. The minister sought the support of UN for the presidential Humanitarian and Poverty Alleviation Trust Fund. Other issues discussed during the high-level meeting centred on systematic and long-term response to Nigeria’s poverty under the SDGs target. Edu also joined First Lady Oluremi Tinubu, at a side event to re-awaken Nigerians in Diaspora on the need to support the federal government’s renewed hope agenda. She urged Nigerians in Diaspora to get involved, help to rebuild Nigeria’s economy and Nigerians out of poverty.

Humanitarian operations continue in Niger despite coup, says UN

The United Nations and partners continue their humanitarian assistance in Niger regardless of Wednesday’s coup that ousted President Mohamed Bazoum, UN officials in Niger said at the weekend. “The United Nations in Niger would like to confirm that humanitarian assistance and (the) development and peace program continue in the country,” said Nicole Kouassi, acting UN Resident Coordinator and Humanitarian Coordinator in Niger. UN humanitarian assistance flights, however, are suspended due to the closure of the Nigerien air space, she told reporters at the UN Headquarters in New York via a video link from Niamey, the Nigerien capital. Humanitarian and development partners remain committed to supporting the vulnerable population who are affected by a combination of climate, economic and security shocks, she said. Right before the coup, 4.3 million Nigeriens needed humanitarian assistance. Some 3.3 million people were in acute food insecurity, the majority of whom were women and children, she said. Kouassi, who is also the representative of the UN Development Programme in Niger, called for more funds as the UN humanitarian response plan for Niger, which requires 583 million U.S. dollars, is only 32 per cent funded. She said the situation in the country remains calm and the UN staff face no security threats, with all UN staff members accounted for and no accidents related to UN staff, vehicles or other resources. According to Kouassi, the UN team in Niger is not in contact with the military as it does not have a political mandate. Even if contact with the Nigerien military is required, no engagement is expected until after a summit of the Economic Community of West African States on Sunday and on the condition that the country team receives instructions from the UN Office for West Africa and the Sahel. Jean-Noel Gentile, the representative of the World Food Programme (WFP) in Niger, also confirmed that the programme’s humanitarian operations continued with cash and food assistance to Nigeriens. The closure of the Nigerien borders has temporarily affected logistical support to operations in neighboring Chad for Sudanese refugees, and the WFP is working on alternative routes to Chad, he told the same press briefing.   

Developing nations need help to close $4trn energy gap, says UN

The UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) has warned that a green future would remain out of reach if the world doesn’t help developing countries close a four-trillion-dollar gap in investment towards an energy transition. According to a new UNCTAD report, developing countries actually face a staggering four trillion dollar gap in sustainable development investments. The UNCTAD Secretary-General, Rebeca Grynspan, said that a significant increase in material support for renewable energy in developing countries was crucial for the world to reach its climate goals by 2030. While investment in renewables has nearly tripled since the adoption of the Paris Agreement almost eight years ago, poorer nations have been largely left out. Grynspan said more than 30 developing countries had not registered a single international investment in utility-size renewable energy generation since the landmark climate change treaty was adopted in 2015. According to UNCTAD, the amount of foreign direct investment in clean energy attracted by developing countries in 2022 stands at 544 billion dollars — well below needs. Some good news from the report is that energy companies among the top 100 multinationals have been increasingly turning toward renewables and divesting fossil fuel assets at about 15 billion dollars per year. However, the report shows an overall slower pace of investment in renewable energy in 2022, “as international project finance deals declined”. In developing countries, the largest gaps in Sustainable Development Goal (SDGs)-related investments were in energy, water and transport infrastructure, UNCTAD said. Foreign direct investment (FDI) is also on the decline, according to UNCTAD, as global flows fell by 22 per cent in 2022, to 1.3 trillion dollars, while in Least Developed Countries, the vast majority of which are in Africa, FDI inflows dropped by as much as 16 per cent. UNCTAD’s report says that the slowdown was driven by “overlapping crises”: the war in Ukraine, high food and energy prices and debt pressures. With these factors still in play during 2023, the agency said that it expects “downward pressure on global FDI” to continue this year. The report calls for series of policies and financing mechanisms to be put in place to help developing countries attract necessary investments. UNCTAD stressed the importance of debt relief for developing economies, to provide them with the fiscal space needed for clean energy spending and to help lower country risk ratings, a prerequisite for attracting private investment. The agency also recommended reducing the cost of capital for clean energy investment through partnerships between international investors, the public sector, and multilateral financial institutions – a measure that can reduce the spread of borrowing costs for energy investment projects in developing countries by up to 40 percent. Grynspan insisted that investment played a “huge part” in achieving the SDGs. She said they were simply “too big to fail”, calling them “the only game in town” which requires collective action and global solidarity. 

Crude Oil: US shores up reserves with additional 3 million barrels

The Energy Department of the United States has said it plans to purchase 3 million more barrels of crude oil for its Strategic Petroleum Reserve. According to a statement from the department, previous solicitation for about 3 MMbbl resulted in contracts awarded to five companies at an average price of about $73 per bbl. The move marks the agency’s attempts to begin replenishing the emergency reserve after it released more than 200 MMbbl last year, in part to curb high energy prices. The DOE further said that it would accept bids for the new solicitation of sour crude oil through June 20 and contracts would be awarded by June 30 for deliveries in September. The previous awards are due for delivery in August.

Russia blames Ukraine for drone attacks on Moscow

Russia has blamed Ukraine for drone attacks on Moscow, calling it an “act of terrorism.” “This morning, the Kiev regime carried out an act of terrorism with unmanned aerial vehicles on objects in the city of Moscow,’’ the Russian Defence Ministry said on Tuesday. A total of eight drones were used, all of which had since been destroyed, the ministry said. Three had been diverted from their original flight path and the remaining five had been shot down by Russian air defences, it added. Moscow did not provide any evidence for the accusations against Kiev. There was initially no reaction from Ukraine. Earlier, Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin reported that his city had been attacked by drones in the early hours of the morning. Some residential buildings were slightly damaged and two people were slightly injured, he wrote. 

400 perish in devastating Myanmar cyclone

Officials on Tuesday reported that cyclone Mocha, which hit Myanmar’s Rakhine State, claimed over 400 lives and caused severe damage. Ramanathan Balakrishnan, the UN relief coordinator in Myanmar, said: “It really is a nightmare scenario.” Mocha was the strongest cyclone to hit the region in more than a decade and its impact was especially felt in Rakhine, a state on the western coast which is home to Myanmar’s persecuted Rohingya Muslim minority. According to Balakrishnan, the cyclone struck the poorest parts of the country, which were already affected by the coronavirus pandemic, domestic conflict and economic problems. “Now they are also on the front line of the climate crisis,” he said, referring to the increasingly frequent weather extremes observed in the wake of climate change. Most of those killed were Rohingya, a spokesman for Myanmar’s opposition National Unity Government told dpa. The National Unity government was formed after Myanmar’s 2021 military coup as an alternative to the ruling junta. It warned people about the cyclone in advance and has worked to organise international aid for the victims. The tropical cyclone made landfall in Myanmar and neighbouring Bangladesh on Sunday with wind speeds of more than 250 kilometres per hour in some places. The full extent of the damage, however, is only slowly becoming clear due to widespread cuts to communication lines. The Irrawaddy news website reported hundreds of deaths in Rohingya camps around the city of Sittwe, the capital of Rakhine State. Many were said to have drowned or were hit by falling trees. Since the coup, displaced people have been living in makeshift shelters in the region due to ongoing violence associated with the junta. Many people had barely been able to shelter from the huge gusts of wind and heavy rain. In both countries, hundreds of thousands of people were taken to temporary shelters as a precaution which saved many lives, the charity Oxfam said. According to authorities in Bangladesh, no deaths have yet been reported there. Nevertheless, the damage around the city of Cox’s Bazar in south-eastern Bangladesh is substantial. In Cox’s Bazar, around one million Rohingya refugees from Myanmar live in the world’s largest collection of refugee camps, mostly in dwellings made of bamboo and plastic sheets. Even before the cyclone, the United Nations estimated six million people were in humanitarian need in the regions affected.