'We Hope India Protects Political, Civil Rights': UN On Arvind Kejriwal's Arrest

UNITED NATIONS, Mar 29: A spokesperson for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has said we very much "hope” that in India and any country that is having elections, people's "political and civil rights" are "protected" and everyone can vote in a "free and fair" atmosphere.

Spokesperson for the Secretary-General Stephane Dujarric made these remarks on Thursday while he was responding to a question on the “political unrest” in India ahead of the upcoming national elections in the wake of the arrest of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and the freezing of the opposition Congress Party's bank accounts.

“What we very much hope that in India, as in any country that is having elections, that everyone's rights are protected, including political and civil rights, and everyone is able to vote in an atmosphere that is free and fair,” Dujarric said at the daily press briefing Thursday.

The response from the United Nations comes a day after the US also reacted to a similar question on Kejriwal's arrest and freezing of the Congress party's bank accounts.

UN Security Council For The 1st Time Demands Immediate Gaza Ceasefire

UNITED NATIONS, Mar 25: After more than five months of war, the UN Security Council for the first time Monday demanded an immediate ceasefire after the United States, Israel's ally which vetoed previous drafts, abstained.

Drawing unusual applause in the often staid Security Council, all 14 other members voted in favor of the resolution which "demands an immediate ceasefire" for the ongoing Islamic holy month of Ramadan.

The resolution calls for the truce to lead to a "lasting, sustainable ceasefire" and demands that Hamas and other militants free hostages seized on October 7.

Russia at the last minute objected to the removal of the word "permanent" ceasefire and called a vote, which failed to gain passage.

The successful resolution was drafted in part by Algeria, the Arab bloc's current member on the Security Council, with a diverse array of countries including Slovenia and Switzerland.

The United States has vetoed previous bids for a ceasefire but has shown growing frustration with Israel, including its stated plans to expand its military operation to the packed southern city of Rafah.

A change in tone toward its Middle Eastern ally was seen Friday, when the United States put forward a resolution to recognize "the imperative" of an "immediate and sustained ceasefire."

But that text was blocked by Russia and China, which along with Arab states criticized it for stopping short of explicitly demanding Israel halt its campaign in Gaza.

The United States had repeatedly blocked ceasefire resolutions as it attempts to walk a line between supporting Israel with military aid and voicing frustration with leader Benjamin Netanyahu as the civilian death count in the Gaza Strip mounts.

Unlike Friday's text, the call for a ceasefire in the new resolution is not directly linked to ongoing talks, led by Qatar with support from the United States and Egypt, to halt fighting in return for Hamas releasing hostages.

Israel has criticized the Security Council for previous resolutions that have not specifically condemned Hamas.

The October 7 attack by the Palestinian militant group on Israel resulted in the deaths of about 1,160 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally of Israeli figures.

The militants also seized 250 hostages, of whom Israel believes around 130 remain in Gaza, including 33 presumed dead.

Israel's military campaign in response to eliminate Hamas has killed more than 32,000 people, mostly women and children, according to the health ministry in the Hamas-run territory.

The Security Council has been divided over the Israel-Hamas war since the October 7 attacks, only approving two of eight resolutions, which both mainly dealt with humanitarian aid.

And those resolutions seem to have had little effect on the ground, where UN personnel say Israel continues to block aid convoys as experts warn of looming famine.

UN chief urges Israel to allow aid supplies into Gaza

CAIRO, Mar 24: Antonio Guterres, the head of the UN, stated on Sunday in Cairo that Israel must “remove the remaining obstacles and chokepoints to relief” in order to provide Gaza, which is facing starvation.

During a joint press conference with Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry, Guterres reiterated his plea for a “immediate humanitarian ceasefire” to alleviate “the plight of Palestinian children, women, and men struggling to survive the nightmare in Gaza”.

The bulk of the 2.4 million people living in Gaza have been forced to flee their homes due to the nearly six months of fighting and siege, and the region’s civilian infrastructure has been decimated. On Saturday, he paid a visit to the Rafah border crossing.

“Looking at Gaza, it almost appears that the four horsemen of war, famine, conquest and death are galloping across it,” the UN chief said.

“The whole world recognises that it’s past time to silence the guns and ensure an immediate humanitarian ceasefire,” he continued.

International pressure is mounting on the Israeli government to stop its ground offensive and bombardment of Gaza, which the health ministry of the territory claims has killed at least 32,226 people, the most of them women and children.

According to official Israeli estimates, Hamas’s unprecedented strike on Israel on October 7 caused roughly 1,160 casualties, the majority of them civilians. This attack set off the conflict.

Packed in by the Egyptian border, 1.5 million Palestinians have taken refuge in Rafah, the southernmost city of Gaza, and Israel has pledged to continue its retaliatory military attack there.

In a meeting with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, Guterres referred to Egypt’s El-Arish airport and the Rafah border crossing as “vital arteries for life-saving aid into

“But those arteries are clogged,” he said, with massive lines of trucks piled up on the Egyptian side, only trickling in as the humanitarian situation worsens.

Calls have mounted for Israel to ease its restrictions on aid and open more crossings into Gaza.

“Palestinians in Gaza desperately need what has been promised – a flood of aid. Not trickles. Not drops,” Guterres said.

The Palestinian area, especially the north that has been mainly blocked off from assistance supplies, has been in danger of starvation for some time now, according to repeated UN warnings.

UN Security Council: Russia, China veto US-proposed immediate ceasefire in Gaza

UNITED NATIONS, Mar 22: Russia and China on Friday vetoed a U.S.-sponsored U.N. resolution calling for “an immediate and sustained cease-fire” in the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza to protect civilians and enable humanitarian aid to be delivered to more than 2 million hungry Palestinians.

The vote in the 15-member Security Council was 11 members in favor, three against and one abstention.

Before the vote, Russia’s U.N. Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia said Moscow supports an immediate cease-fire, but he questioned the language in the resolution and accused U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and U.S. Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield of “misleading the international community” for “politicized” reasons.

The resolution declared that a cease-fire is “imperative."

The draft that was put to a vote made no direct link to the release of hostages taken during Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack on Israel, which was in the previous draft. But it unequivocally supported diplomatic efforts “to secure such a cease-fire in connection with the release of all remaining hostages.”

The Security Council had already adopted two resolutions on the worsening humanitarian situation in Gaza, but none calling for a cease-fire.

Russia and China vetoed a U.S.-sponsored resolution in late October calling for pauses in the fighting to deliver aid, protection of civilians, and a halt to arming Hamas. They said it didn’t reflect global calls for a cease-fire.

The U.S., Israel’s closest ally, has vetoed three resolutions demanding a cease-fire, the most recent an Arab-backed measure supported by 13 council members with one abstention on Feb. 20.

A day earlier, the U.S. circulated a rival resolution, which went through major changes during negotiations before Friday's vote. It initially would have supported a temporary cease-fire linked to the release of all hostages, and the previous draft would have supported international efforts for a cease-fire as part of a hostage deal.

The vote took place as Blinken, America’s top diplomat, is on his sixth urgent mission to the Middle East since the Israel-Hamas war, discussing a deal for a cease-fire and hostage release, as well as post-war scenarios.

Nate Evans, the spokesperson for the U.S. Mission to the United Nations, said the resolution was "an opportunity for the Council to speak with one voice to support the diplomacy happening on the ground and pressure Hamas to accept the deal on the table.”

Meanwhile, the 10 elected members of the Security Council have been drafting their own resolution, which demands an immediate humanitarian cease-fire for the Muslim holy month of Ramadan that began March 10 to be “respected by all parties leading to a permanent sustainable cease-fire.”

It also demands “the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages ” and emphasizes the urgent need to protect civilians and deliver humanitarian aid throughout the Gaza Strip.

Palestinian militants killed some 1,200 people in the surprise Oct. 7 attack into southern Israel that triggered the war, and abducted another 250 people. Hamas is still believed to be holding some 100 people hostage, as well as the remains of 30 others.

In Gaza, the Health Ministry raised the death toll in the territory Thursday to nearly 32,000 Palestinians. It doesn’t differentiate between civilians and combatants in its count but says women and children make up two-thirds of the dead.

The international community’s authority on determining the severity of hunger crises warned this week that “famine is imminent” in northern Gaza, where 70% of people are experiencing catastrophic hunger. The report from the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification initiative, or IPC, warned that escalation of the war could push half of Gaza’s total population to the brink of starvation.

The U.S. draft expressed “deep concern about the threat of conflict-induced famine and epidemics presently facing the civilian population in Gaza as well as the number of undernourished people, and also that hunger in Gaza has reached catastrophic levels.”

It emphasized “the urgent need to expand the flow of humanitarian assistance to civilians in the entire Gaza Strip” and lift all barriers to getting aid to civilians “at scale.”

Israel faces mounting pressure from even its closest allies to streamline the entry of aid into the Gaza Strip and to open more land crossings, and come to a cease-fire agreement. But Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed to move the military offensive to the southern city of Rafah, where some 1.3 million displaced Palestinians have sought safety. Netanyahu says it's a Hamas stronghold.

The final U.S. draft eliminated language in the initial draft that said Israel’s offensive in Rafah “should not proceed under current circumstances.” Instead, in an introductory paragraph, the council emphasized its concern that a ground offensive into Rafah “would result in further harm to civilians and their further displacement, potentially into neighboring countries, and would have serious implications for regional peace and security.”

For the first time in a U.N. resolution, the U.S. draft would condemn “all acts of terrorism, including the Hamas-led attacks of Oct. 7, 2023, as well as its taking and killing of hostages, murder of civilians, and sexual violence, including rape.”

UN Secy Gen reiterates call for immediate humanitarian ceasefire and unconditional release of hostages held in Gaza

By Deepak Arora

UNITED NATIONS, Mar 1: The Secretary-General is appalled by the tragic human toll of the conflict in Gaza, in which more than 30,000 people have now reportedly been killed and over 70,000 injured. Tragically, an unknown number of people lie under the rubble.

The Secretary-General has also condemned the incident in northern Gaza in which more than a hundred people were reportedly killed or injured while seeking life-saving aid. The desperate civilians in Gaza need urgent help, including those in the besieged northern part of Gaza, where the United Nations has not been able to deliver aid for more than a week.

The Secretary-General reiterated his call for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire and the unconditional release of all the hostages held in Gaza. He once again calls for urgent steps so that critical humanitarian aid can get into and across Gaza for all those who so desperately need it.

In a statement, UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, Martin Griffiths, has warned that life is draining out of Gaza at a terrifying speed.

Griffiths also said that he was appalled by the reported killing and injury of hundreds of people in Gaza during a transfer of aid supplies west of Gaza City on Thursday.

The High Commissioner of Human Rights, Völker Turk, has also delivered a very strong statementon the situation in Gaza.

UNRWA (United Nations Relief and Works Agency) reported that displaced people – including some UNRWA staff – were forced to evacuate from two schools where they were sheltering earlier this week. Some were arrested by Israeli forces, and one woman was reportedly killed.

"Our colleagues in the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) say there is an urgent need for unimpeded access to northern Gaza to deliver food and establish stabilization centres for severe acute malnutrition, as well as outpatient treatment programmes," according to Stéphane Dujarric, Spokesperson for the Secretary-General.

As has been warned repeatedly – and as has been heard from the UN humanitarian colleagues in the Security Council earlier this week – the risk of death by starvation in Gaza was growing, with children and pregnant women most severely impacted, said Stéphane Dujarric.

The continued hostilities and other challenges continue to impede the UN efforts to reach civilians in Gaza with life-saving health and nutrition care.