Category: General

Greece will not join Turkey in the slide containing outrageous and beyond-all-limits remarks and threats, taking place on a daily basis.

We will immediately inform our allies and partners regarding the content of the provocative statements of the last few days, in order to make clear who is undermining our alliance’s cohesion at a particularly dangerous juncture.

At the same time, we will continue to serve as a pillar of stability and security for the wider region, on the basis of the rules of International Law and the International Law of the Sea.

Source: Hellenic Republic – Ministry of Foreign Affairs

KINSHASA, DR CONGO — At least 33 people were killed following a militia attack on a town in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, a respected monitor said Saturday, raising an earlier reported death toll.

Kivu Security Tracker, the monitor, tweeted that at least 33 people, including militia members and civilians, had died following an attack by the notorious CODECO militia on Mongbwalu in Ituri province.

It did not specify how many of the dead were civilians, however.

The death toll raises an earlier reported death toll of 22 people killed during the attack on Mongbwalu town.

Town mayor Jean-Pierre Bikilisende earlier this week told AFP that 22 bodies were discovered following clashes between the militants and Congolese troops.

Fourteen civilians and eight militants were killed, he said, explaining that CODECO members had been staging attacks since Tuesday in a bid to free fellow fighters captured by Congolese security forces.

AFP was unable to independently confirm the death toll from this week’s attack.

The CODECO — the Cooperative for the Development of the Congo — is a political-religious sect that claims to represent the interests of the Lendu ethnic group.

It is considered one of the deadliest of the more than 120 militias operating in the troubled eastern part of the country and has been blamed for a number of ethnic massacres in Ituri.

Last year, Congo’s government put security officials in charge of Ituri and neighboring North Kivu province in a bid to curb violence, but the attacks continue.

Source: Voice of America

UNITED NATIONS — Secretary-General Antonio Guterres announced the appointment Friday of former Senegalese minister and U.N. diplomat Abdoulaye Bathily to be the new U.N. envoy to Libya after the Security Council gave its approval, ending a nine-month search amid increasing chaos in the oil-rich north African nation.

Libya’s transitional government, which opposed Bathily’s nomination, reportedly sent a protest letter to Guterres, which raises questions about how effective the new envoy can be in trying to resolve the country’s political and economic crisis.

The last U.N. special representative, Jan Kubis, resigned Nov. 23, 2021, after 10 months on the job, and a number of candidates proposed by Guterres were rejected by council members, Libya or neighboring countries.

In December, Guterres appointed veteran American diplomat Stephanie Williams, a former U.N. deputy special representative in Libya, as his special adviser — a job that did not require council approval.

She left at the end of July. So, the mission has had no leader as Libyans grapple with a constitutional and political crisis.

Years of chaos

Libya has been in chaos since a NATO-backed uprising toppled and killed longtime dictator Moammar Gadhafi in 2011. The country has for years been split between rival administrations, each backed by rogue militias and foreign governments.

U.N. political chief Rosemary DiCarlo warned Tuesday that failure to resolve Libya’s political crisis and hold delayed elections poses a growing threat in the country, pointing to recent violent clashes that killed at least 42 people and injured 159 others, according to Libyan authorities.

The current stalemate grew out of the failure to hold elections in December and the refusal of Prime Minister Abdul Hamid Dbeibah, who led the transitional government, to step down. In response, the country’s east-based parliament appointed a rival prime minister, Fathy Bashagha, who has for months sought to install his government in Tripoli.

Diplomatic experience

Guterres said Bathily brings 40 years of experience to the job of special representative and head of Libya’s U.N. political mission.

He held various ministerial positions in Senegal, taught history for more than 30 years at the Universite Cheikh Anta Diop in the country, held senior U.N. positions including in Mali and Central Africa, and served as the independent expert for the strategic review of the Libya mission in 2021.

Bathily has doctorates from Universite Cheikh Anta Diop and the University of Birmingham in the United Kingdom and is fluent in English, French, Soninke and Wolof.

Source: Voice of America

GENEVA — The U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization says consumers are not yet feeling the benefits of declining food prices. The FAO says world food commodity prices dipped for the fifth consecutive month in August.

Lower world food prices generally reflect better availability at the global level. However, FAO says, this time, lower wholesale prices have not led to better food access or lower prices for consumers.

FAO Director of the Markets and Trade Division Boubaker Ben-Belhassen said availability has improved, while access to food commodities has not. This, despite declining prices five months in a row.

“This is due to several factors including the persistent high cost of processing and transportation, logistics, and the exchange rate also of currencies of countries as against the U.S. dollar,” he said. “Also, the cost-of-living crisis has affected access. So, that is why we have not seen this decline in prices at the world level translating into lower prices for consumers or at the retail level.”

Ben-Belhassen cautioned that a drop in world prices does not necessarily result in market stability. He said that is subject to the uncertainties and volatility surrounding developments in the energy market and the price of fertilizer.

He said continued high energy and gas prices reduce profitability and increase production costs for farmers. He added that will pose a serious challenge for farmers in the coming year.

He noted the U.N.-brokered Black Sea grain initiative allowing Ukraine to export its grain and other foodstuffs has improved the availability of food on the world market. Prior to the July agreement, Russia had blockaded Ukraine’s three key ports triggering a global food crisis.

Ben-Belhassen said the better availability of food on the global level has not translated into greater access at the consumer level. He said the increased shipment of goods from Ukraine has not alleviated food scarcity in sub-Saharan Africa and other developing countries. He noted that is because most grain exports go to middle-income countries.

“So, it does not really go to those countries that are most affected or are most in need for better domestic supplies,” he said. “We hope the situation will improve with time. We hope that the shipment also will go to these countries.… We are still concerned about access, about the cost-of-living crisis.”

The FAO official says families in low- and middle-income countries tend to spend 50% to 60% of their monthly income on food. He warned the implication for food security could be very serious if consumer food prices do not drop significantly.

Source: Voice of America

BAMAKO, MALI — Mali’s foreign ministry is denying accusations of human rights violations made by the United Nations.

An 11-page statement posted on the official social media accounts of Mali’s foreign ministry denies all allegations leveled in a U.N. note that implicated Malian state security forces.

The U.N. mission to Mali, MINUSMA, released a quarterly note on human rights Wednesday, accounting for the period between April 1 and June 30 of this year. The note said that most of the human rights violations in Mali during that period were committed by Islamist militant groups but also says it has documented “serious violations of human rights and international humanitarian law” by state security forces.

The note adds that there was a decrease in all recorded human rights violations compared to the first quarter of 2022.

Mali’s foreign ministry statement called the allegations against state security forces biased, and said they were made without “tangible proof” and “under the threat of terrorist groups,” with an objective “to tarnish the image of state security forces.”

Tensions between Mali’s military government and MINUSMA have been rising in recent months. In July, Mali arrested 49 soldiers from Ivory Coast who had arrived as support for a U.N. contingent on their arrival at Bamako’s airport, accusing them of being mercenaries.

Also in July, MINUSMA’s spokesperson was expelled from the country after he made comments on Twitter claiming the U.N. had notified the Malian government of the soldiers’ arrival.

The Malian government denied the U.N. access to Moura, Mali, in April, where it wanted to carry out a human rights investigation into an alleged massacre committed by Malian forces working with Russian mercenaries.

MINUSMA’s quarterly note also claimed to have documented the killing of 50 civilians in Hombori, Mali, by state security forces working with “foreign military personnel.”

The Malian government statement did not address accusations that it is working with foreign military forces. Mali says it only works with official Russian trainers and has received military aircraft and weapons shipments from Russia.

A number of countries have accused Mali of working with mercenaries from Russia’s Wagner Group. After nearly 10 years there, France withdrew from Mali in August because of concerns about the country working with the Kremlin-linked paramilitary organization.

Source: Voice of America

ABUJA, NIGERIA — Police in northwest Nigeria say worshippers have been kidnapped while they were observing jumu’at prayers, despite intensified action against armed gangs ordered by Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari.

Zamfara state police spokesperson Mohammed Shehu said the attack took place Friday afternoon at the Jumu’at Central Mosque in the Gummi local government area as worshippers gathered for prayers.

Eyewitnesses told local media the attackers, disguised as worshippers, hid guns in their clothes until they infiltrated the mosque.

The attackers shot sporadically into the air and herded dozens of worshippers into a nearby forest.

Zamfara state police responded to the incident, but Shehu said he could not immediately offer VOA any additional details about the attack.

Armed gangs have terrorized northwest and central Nigeria for years. More recently, violence spread to the southeast, where separatist group Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) has been largely blamed for causing unrest. IPOB denies the allegations.

Security analyst Senator Iroegbu said the government’s approach to addressing insecurities has not worked.

“It’s a continued red flag,” he said. “I feel most of the responses have been too reactionary and ad hoc in nature. There has not been [a] holistic definition of what is actually happening in the northwest and how to arrest the situation. And this also hampers the effectiveness of the security operatives because for them to operate effectively, their scope of operation need to be well defined.”

Last month during a top security meeting, President Buhari ordered security chiefs to deal with terrorists without constraints.

Days later, the Nigerian air force said airstrikes in the northwest and central regions killed 55 gang members and freed some hostages.

Source: Voice of America

(Mombasa, Kenya): The Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) through its IGAD Drought Disaster Resilience and Sustainable Initiative (IDDRSI) and in collaboration with the Government of Sweden, organised a Gender and Resilience Knowledge Share Fair with the theme “Gender Transformative Approach to Mitigating Climate Risks in Karamoja and Mandera Clusters.”

The Share Fair focused on how to best mainstream gender adoption towards resilience-building by focusing on the IGAD’s cross-border areas giving specific emphasis on the Karamoja, and Mandera Clusters.

The two-day share fair event brought together participants from Djibouti, Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan and Uganda. These include representatives from regional resilience projects, private sector representatives, cross-border civil society organisations and more especially gender focused CSOs, and technical staff from the IGAD secretariat, IDDRSI focal ministries, Chairpersons of the NEP, local government and community development, gender affairs leading Ministries, academia, research institutions, and other relevant ministries.

A Share fair is a participatory event which provides an opportunity for different actors to come together and share knowledge, experiences, and good practices on a given topic. This can create and strengthen a common knowledge base and understanding and help to identify successful methods and approaches to the issue at hand. This share fair builds on previous share fairs and their successes.

Prior to the current drought across the Horn of Africa, the food security and nutritional situation in the region was already precarious, leaving households extremely vulnerable to food insecurity with little to no coping capacity to manage additional shocks.

Currently, IGAD estimates that 8.1 million people are food insecure in ASLA area of Ethiopia, 3.5 million in Kenya, 7.7 million in Somalia, 8.9 million in South Sudan, 10.6 million in Sudan, and 1.6 million in Uganda, where girls and women and other social groups are more severely impacted by the drought.

The 2022 share fair was organised with the objectives of Sharing the methodology of the gender transformative approach with the participants, sharing success stories and good practices including failures on gender transformative approach focusing on drought response, COVID 19 and conflict, and facilitate and establishing a monitoring mechanism to track the action plans that have been identified from the previous share fair events and identify what has changed.

Source: Intergovernmental Authority on Development

Pakistan floods: WHO EMRO has released US$4 million in emergency funding for Pakistan, while polio teams are supporting disease surveillance for other diseases during the flood emergency. Dr Hamid Jafari, WHO EMRO Director for Polio Eradication, said via his Twitter account: “Heartbreaking sights from Pakistan, as the damage to the lives, livelihoods and health of people requires all of us to come together and provide support. WHO has been activated to provide emergency support to the Government of Pakistan with medical supplies and expertise, and of course our polio workforce is assisting efforts.”

African Ministers of Health Commit to Polio Eradication Efforts:This year’s detection of imported wild poliovirus in Malawi and Mozambique set off a series of coordinated campaigns across East Africa, as countries acted to swiftly protect their populations and prevent further transmission. On 24 August, in a special side session to the 72nd Meeting of the WHO Regional Committee for Africa in Lomé, Togo, Ministers of Health from these responding committed to improving vaccination campaigns, strengthening disease surveillance and continuing to lead in the rollout of the novel oral polio vaccine (nOPV2), hearing from Dr. Matshidiso Moeti (Director, WHO AFRO), Dr. Modjirom Ndoutabe (Polio Programme Coordinator, WHO AFRO) and Chris Elias (Chair, Polio Oversight Board) on what is needed to keep Africa wild polio-free.

nOPV2 rollout: Approximately 450 million doses of nOPV2 have been administered across 22 countries under its WHO Emergency Use Listing (EUL) to date. An additional 16 countries have met the requirements for nOPV2 use in the event of an outbreak. More information on nOPV2.

Last week, the Strategic Advisory Group of Experts on immunization (SAGE) Polio Working Group convened at WHO in Geneva, Switzerland, to discuss policy options and will formulate recommendations for endorsement to the upcoming full SAGE meeting, on 3-6 October 2022.

**Summary of new polioviruses this week:

**– Pakistan: one WPV1 case and four positive environmental samples

– Benin: two cVDPV2 cases

– Chad: four cVDPV2 cases

– DR Congo: two cVDPV2 cases

– Ghana: two cVDPV2 positive environmental samples

– Yemen: 18 cVDPV2 cases

Source: Global Polio Eradication Initiative

The crisis in Ukraine will be at the heart of the Security Council’s considerations during September, its President for the month told a United Nations Headquarters press conference today, also noting that its programme of work will account for the commencement of the high-level debate opening the seventy-seventh session of the General Assembly.

Nicolas de Rivière (France), holding the 15-nation Council’s rotating presidency for September, emphasized his delegation’s support for strong, effective multilateralism. “The challenges the Council faces are well-known,” he observed, detailing the balanced programme of work that will encompass the usual meetings on the Middle East — focusing on Syria, Lebanon and Yemen — as well as a number of meetings concerning Sudan, South Sudan and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. On 27 September, the Council will consider the situation in Afghanistan.

On the Council’s working methods, he said that — as the situation in New York is steadily improving — the plexiglass barriers will be removed from the Council Chamber and pointed out that members have resumed use of the Consultations Room as of today.

As well, the Council will hold its annual meeting on peacekeeping operations on 6 September, which will feature a briefing by Jean-Pierre Lacroix, Under Secretary-General for Peace Operations, he said, noting that the meeting will allow the Council to take stock of such operations.

On 22 September, the Council will hold a ministerial-level meeting concerning the crisis in Ukraine, over which the Minister for Foreign Affairs of France will preside, that will focus on impunity and justice, he continued. On 7 September, the Council will hold a meeting focusing on forced displacement in Ukraine.

He also noted that the Council will address two mandate renewals in September, concerning the Investigative Team to Promote Accountability for Crimes Committed by Da’esh/ISIL (UNITAD) and the maritime operation in Libya aimed at prohibiting human trafficking established pursuant to resolution 2240 (2015).

Mr. de Rivière then responded to several questions posed by media correspondents.

Asked if, following the recent mission by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant, the Council will ask the Agency for a report, he stressed that the Agency must be able to fully carry out its mandate in Ukraine. Noting that the Russian Federation asked for a meeting on this issue, he said that the Council will discuss matters in the coming days, and if the meeting occurs, that it will ask the IAEA’s Director-General to both provide a report and discuss how the Agency can contribute to the future nuclear safety of the plant.

He then responded to several questions pertaining to the Council’s plans to discuss the situation faced by the Uyghur ethnic group in the Xinjiang region of China, in regard to the recent report released by the Human Rights Council which concluded that China’s actions could possibly constitute crimes against humanity. Speaking in his capacity as Council President, he said that this issue is not on the Council’s agenda — and has never been — and will probably not be discussed in September. In his national capacity, he expressed concern over this situation and said that France has been committed to this issue both in the Third Committee (Social, Humanitarian & Cultural Issues) and in the General Assembly, and will continue to examine it closely with its partners.

Questioned why the Council is not urgently discussing a United Nations report that accuses a permanent Council member of crimes against humanity, he responded — again speaking as the Council President — that the organ has a specific mandate to maintain regional and international peace and security. Further, crimes against humanity fall under the purview of international courts. “The Council isn’t in charge of everything,” he added, while noting that, in his capacity as France’s representative, he understands and shares this analysis.

Asked if there has been “pushback from the Chinese”, he said that, due to the recent nature of the report’s release, the Council has not yet discussed this issue. Until instructions change, the situation in Xinjiang is not on the Council’s agenda.

Another correspondent recalled France’s previous push to intervene in Libya based on the responsibility to protect and asked if that issue is no longer important for France. Responding, Mr. de Rivière said that human-rights-related questions are the primary responsibility of the Human Rights Council, the General Assembly and the Third Committee. The responsibility to protect remains a priority for France, and he stressed, in his national capacity, that his country will continue to ensure that this is applied indiscriminately, everywhere. However, he added that, as this issue has not been mentioned in the Council before, it is a “blank slate”.

On a different issue, a correspondent, recalling French President Emmanuel Macron’s recent expression of hope that negotiations will be concluded on the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action in the next few days, inquired about the reason for this optimism and, if a final deal is reached, what the Council will have to do. While noting that he is not “up to speed” on the specific details of ongoing talks, Mr. de Rivière said that there has been a feeling, for a long time, that “positions are aligning”. Further, if all sides agree to fully implement their obligations under the Plan of Action, nothing has to be done in the Council. This would simply mark a return to the implementation of existing law.

Asked if President Macron — who will be in New York during the high-level week — will address the Council and if, during the ministerial meeting, the French Minister for Foreign Affairs will hold a press conference, he said that the President’s involvement is likely, but not formally confirmed. Additionally, while France’s Minister for Foreign Affairs may speak to the press before or after the 22 September meeting, this also has not been confirmed.

On whether the Ministers for Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation and Ukraine will attend the ministerial-level meeting on 22 September — and whether this could lead to a meeting between the two — he said that all ministers of Council-member nations will be invited, as will be Ukraine’s minister. While this is not the aim of the meeting — which is to allow the Council to take stock of the situation on the ground — he said, in his national capacity, that his country always encourages belligerent parties to talk.

Asked if issues surrounding certain opposition within the Libyan Government to the appointment of Abdoulaye Bathily as United Nations Special Envoy for Libya is a problem for finding a solution to the crisis in that country, he responded in the negative. It is “high time”, he said, for the United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) to have leadership and facilitate negotiations. “What is important now is to get to the next phase,” he stressed. On whether consensus exists among Council members regarding Mr. Bathily’s appointment, he replied: “What I can say is that I think it will be accepted”.

Responding to a question on the Council’s “temperature” regarding the Ethiopia file, he said, speaking as Council President, that he will be ready to organize any useful meeting on the subject and that such a meeting will likely occur. Speaking as France’s representative, he supported such a meeting as it is “high time to get things back on a political track”. For years, Ethiopia has contributed to stability in the Horn of Africa, and now the opposite is the case. While the African Union and regional and subregional organizations want to take leadership in this crisis, when such solutions find themselves at a deadlock there is no reason why the Council cannot take the initiative. He added that, while the Council might not be able to do better, “it must try”.

Noting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s planned appearance during high-level week, another correspondent asked if he would address the Council. Mr. de Rivière said that this is up to the Ukrainian President. If he wants to address the Council, as he has done several times before in a virtual capacity, the Council would be disposed to hear what he has to say.

Asked if there will be any effort to adopt a product after the 22 September meeting on Ukraine, he responded in the negative. On whether President Macron plans to meet with President Zelenskyy, he said this question will be asked and emphasized that France supports Ukraine.

Another correspondent noted that the Taliban travel-ban waiver expired in August and asked if the Council will be able to resolve this issue in its discussions. Responding, Mr. de Rivière said that the aim of exemptions to that sanctions regime have been to allow Taliban negotiators to participate in the peace process. Speaking in his national capacity, he said that, over the last few years, the feeling has been that, while these exemptions were granted to facilitate peace negotiations, they have not allowed the same to advance. Afghanistan is a major source of concern for France, and the situation will be discussed on 27 September. The Council must urgently push the regime towards greater cooperation, he added.

Asked if nuclear issues will be discussed in the Council, he said that the 6 September meeting will specifically discuss the issue of civilian nuclear power plants in Ukraine that have been compromised by fighting, not nuclear issues in general.

On a question regarding United States President Joseph R. Biden’s plans for the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action before November mid-term elections in that country, he replied: “Ask Linda”, referring to United States Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield.

Source: United Nations