Here is a fast take on what the international community has been up to this past week, as seen from the United Nations perch.
Russia named on UN blacklist of violators of children
The U.N. secretary-general has named Russia in his annual report that lists perpetrators of grave violations against children for Moscow's actions in Ukraine, including the killing and maiming of children. In the report, seen by VOA ahead of its expected publication on Tuesday, the U.N. verified the killing of 136 children and the maiming of 518 in Ukraine, attributed to Russian forces and groups affiliated with them from January to December 2022. Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022, but denies that it is targeting civilians.
Humanitarians assisting Kakhovka dam victims in Ukraine
Since the destruction of the Kakhovka dam in Ukraine in early June, dozens of people have died and thousands have been forced to flee their homes. The U.N. is trying to get humanitarian aid into the affected areas. Click on the above headline to watch a report from VOA’s Iryna Shynkarenko and Andriy Dubchack on the operations.
UN rights chief paints bleak picture of Sudan conflict
U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk said Wednesday that Sudan is a “powder keg” that could reverberate across an entire region. Speaking at an informal meeting of the Geneva-based human rights council, Turk said the human rights and humanitarian crisis is unfolding at an alarming rate, on a devastating scale and with a complexity not seen before in Sudan. The country was plunged into chaos on April 15, when fighting erupted between forces loyal to two rival generals.
Special rapporteur urges new approach to resolving Myanmar crisis
The U.N. special rapporteur on the human rights situation in Myanmar said Wednesday that the international community needs to take a different approach to resolve the crisis in that country. Tom Andrews told reporters in Indonesia that the deepening crisis has become “invisible” to much of the world, which is what the military junta wants. He urged regional bloc ASEAN to consider other options to break the stalemate.
Critical year for South Sudan’s transition
The top U.N. official in South Sudan on Tuesday urged leaders in that country to accelerate implementation of the 2018 Revitalized Peace Agreement, including holding elections late next year. Nicholas Haysom, head of the U.N. Mission in South Sudan, told the U.N. Security Council that drafting a new constitution and preparations for elections scheduled for December 2024 are running months behind schedule.
No sign Taliban will ease restrictions on Afghan women
The United Nations' top official in Afghanistan said Wednesday that there have been no assurances from the Taliban that they will lift their "punishing restrictions" on the country's female population, placing a "question mark" over U.N. activities in the country. On April 5, the Taliban verbally informed the United Nations that an existing ban on women working for humanitarian organizations had been extended to include the United Nations. About 400 Afghan women work for the U.N. in the country and they continue to do so, remotely from their homes.
In brief
— Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called this week on the parties to the Black Sea Grain Initiative to speed up inspections, which have resulted in a slowdown in the movement of ships coming in and out of Ukrainian seaports and a drop in the supply of foodstuffs to international markets. Food exports through the maritime humanitarian corridor have dropped significantly from a high of 4.2 million tons in October 2022 to 1.3 million tons in May, the lowest volume since the initiative began last August. In addition to slowing the registration of new vessels and the inspection of cargo ships, Russia has objected to the use of the Yuzhny/Pivdennyi port in Ukraine, until Kyiv allows Moscow to use an ammonia pipeline that runs from Russia through Ukraine to the Black Sea. The next renewal of the grain deal is scheduled for July 18, and Moscow has again warned that it might not agree to its extension.
— The secretary-general’s special adviser on the prevention of genocide, Alice Nderitu, welcomed the verdict this week by a court in Germany against a former Islamic State member who was found guilty of aiding and abetting genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes for the enslavement and abuse of a young Yazidi woman in the Sinjar region of Iraq in 2014. The 37-year-old female former IS member received a sentence of nine years, three months in prison. It is the third conviction of an IS member for genocide perpetrated against the Yazidi community in Iraq and Syria since August 2014.
— The U.N. Children’s Fund said in a report this week that families in Lebanon are barely able to meet their most basic needs despite cutting down drastically on expenses. UNICEF estimates that a growing number of families are having to resort to sending their children — some as young as 6 years old — to work, as the country is stuck in a spiraling economic crisis. UNICEF urged the Lebanese government to make education reforms so all children have access to quality education that will help alleviate the impact of the crisis.
Quote of note
“When deciding on your career, resist the siren calls of companies that are destroying our planet; that are stealing our privacy; and trading in lies and hatred. They will pay a lot but it’s not the right thing to do.”
— Secretary-General Guterres in remarks Thursday to students at Paris’ Sciences Po university.
International Day of Yoga
Wednesday was the International Day of Yoga, and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi stopped by the U.N. to join a record-breaking yoga session on the compound’s North Lawn ahead of his state visit to Washington. Guinness World Records sent an adjudicator to the event organized by the Indian mission to the United Nations. He determined that the hundreds of guests and diplomats participating in the yoga lesson on the lawn represented 135 nationalities, breaking the existing record of 114 at a similar event in Qatar in 2022. Hollywood actor Richard Gere was also in the crowd, stretching and posing.
