Guterres calls for ‘immediate’ ceasefire in Sudan, as death toll mounts

UNITED NATIONS, April 17: Clashes intensified across Sudan on Monday, as top UN officials urged rival military factions to protect civilians and respect the country’s international obligations.

“I strongly condemn the outbreak of fighting that is taking place in Sudan and appeal to the leaders of the Rapid Support Forces (RAF) and the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) to immediately cease hostilities, restore calm, and begin a dialogue to resolve the crisis,” UN Secretary-General António Guterres said on Monday.

Following the deaths of three employees of the UN World Food Programme (WFP) in the restive Darfur region amid widespread fighting, he called for those responsible to be brought to justice without delay.

“The situation has already led to horrendous loss of life, including many civilians,” the UN chief said, ahead of delivering opening remarks at a UN Forum on Financing for Development.

He urged all those with influence over the deteriorating situation to press for peace, and support efforts to end the violence, restore order, and return to the path of transition.

More than 180 people have been killed and 1,800 injured, some UN facilities have been looted and destroyed, and some non-essential staff will have to be evacuated, said Perthes, speaking to reporters early Monday afternoon at UN Headquarters via video from Khartoum.

“Fighting is going on almost uninterrupted,” he said. “I have made efforts to convince the leaders of both sides to hold fire for a humanitarian pause for a few hours to make it possible for the Sudanese to go to safer places or get supplies for Ramadan or go to the hospital.”

In constant contact with leaders of both sides, he said he is currently trying to cement a daily three-hour humanitarian ceasefire. While the parties had agreed on Sunday and again on Monday for such a pause, fighting had resumed before the end of the ceasefire, he said.

The two sides “are not giving us the impression that they want mediation right away,” he said. “Rather, they are calling on the other side to surrender or disband.”

“I do not hear too much noise right now, but it is also prayer time,” he said, calling on both sides to stop fighting immediately to allow access for aid workers and strongly requesting both sides to respect the need to protect UN facilities, embassies, aid workers and medical premises.

“We will have to evacuate some of our non-essential staff and relatives,” he said. “But, we will do our utmost to serve the Sudanese people. We will stay and deliver to the extent that we can.”

“There have been grave transgressions here,” he said. WFP, UNICEF, UNDP, and UNHCR guest houses and offices have “come into the crossfire”, all being looted and destroyed by men with arms in Darfur in the last 48 hours, he said.

“No one can get in or get out” of Sudan, he said. “We cannot deliver when our staff is attacked and their offices are destroyed and looted and residences are on fire.”

UN spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric said on Monday afternoon that “hostilities will only hamper our humanitarian response efforts at a time when needs are at an all-time high in Sudan."

“We currently have no access into or out of the country, with the borders and airport remaining closed,” Dujarric said, stressing that the UN has been forced to temporarily halt much of its operations due to the fighting.

The crossfire at Khartoum airport has damaged a UN plane, potentially seriously impacting the ability to reach remote parts of the Sudan, where needs are highest, he said. Currently, 3.7 million people are displaced in Sudan, he said.

The crisis began with armed clashes on Saturday, between forces from the SAF, loyal to the head of the military government, and those of his deputy. who leads the paramilitary RAF.

Skirmishes led to widespread fighting between RSF and SAF forces across the capital Khartoum and surrounding areas.

Since then, rising numbers of casualties have been reported across Khartoum, South Kordofan, North Darfur, Northern State and other regions, with the heaviest concentration of fighting taking place in Khartoum, the World Health Organization (WHO) said in a statement released on Sunday.

“Movement in the city is restricted due to the insecurity, creating challenges for doctors, nurses, patients and ambulances to reach health facilities, and putting at risk the lives of those who need urgent medical care,” WHO said, calling for protecting health workers and patients and urging parties to respect the neutrality of healthcare.

Media reports said fighter jets had fired multiple rockets on Sunday into Khartoum, home to more than 6 million people, and that the RSF had claimed that it had taken control of Khartoum international airport, Merowe airport, al-Obeid airport and the presidential palace in the capital.

An independent Sudanese military force, the RSF evolved from the Janjaweed militia, formerly active in Sudan’s Darfur region, and has been involved in talks aimed at a transition to a civilian government from the military rule in place since the 2021 military coup.

The trilateral mechanism, comprising the African Union, the Intergovernmental Authority (IGAD) and the UN, urged parties to adhere to a humanitarian pause that would guarantee safety for civilians, the UN spokesman said on Monday.

Meanwhile, 10 UN agencies and more than 80 non-governmental organizations have been running more than 250 programmes in Sudan, he said, adding that UN humanitarian chief Martin Griffiths declared that he was “horrified” by the deaths and looting of aid, adding that “it is crucial for the fighting to stop so we can resume our efforts to help those who need it the most.”

Csaba Kőrösi, President of the General Assembly, echoed that call.

“Any further escalations will have devastating effects on the country and the region,” he said.

The UN refugee agency (UNHCR) said de-escalation of the situation is urgently needed.

“We are deeply concerned about the safety and security of civilians in the areas affected by the fighting, including refugees and internally displaced people,” the agency said, calling for all parties to protect civilians, including refugees and displaced people, and to respect the safety of humanitarian staff so that critical aid can be delivered.

UN chief Guterres said the already precarious humanitarian situation in Sudan is “now catastrophic”.

The UN food agency estimates that one third of Sudan’s population, or some 15 million people, face acute food insecurity. Meanwhile, WFP’s operations in the country are temporarily on hold, as the agency said that threats to its teams make it impossible for them to operate safely and effectively.

“I am appalled and heartbroken by the tragic deaths of three WFP employees on Saturday 15 April in violence in Kabkabiya, North Darfur while carrying out their life-saving duties on the front lines of the global hunger crisis,” said WFP chief Cindy McCain in a statement on Sunday.

“Any loss of life in humanitarian service is unacceptable and I demand immediate steps to guarantee the safety of those who remain,” she urged. “Aid workers are neutral and should never be a target. Threats to our teams make it impossible to operate safely and effectively in the country and carry out WFP’s critical work.”

Condemning the deaths and injuries to civilians and humanitarian workers and the targeting and looting of premises, Mr. Guterres reminded all parties of the need to respect international law, including ensuring the safety and security of all UN and associated personnel, and humanitarian aid workers.

“I am engaging with leaders across the region,” he said, reaffirming that the UN stands with the people of Sudan at this very difficult time, with full support for their efforts to restore the democratic transition and build a peaceful, secure future.

The Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Sudan, Volker Perthes, said in a statement early on Monday that he remains engaged with the Sudanese, regional and international partners to work towards ending the fighting.

He expressed disappointment that a UN-brokered humanitarian ceasefire was only “partially” honoured on Sunday. He urged all parties to respect their international obligations, including to ensure the protection of all civilians.

WHO warned that supplies it distributed to health facilities prior to the recent escalation of conflict “are now exhausted”.

Many of the nine hospitals in Khartoum receiving injured civilians are reporting shortages of blood, transfusion equipment, intravenous fluids, medical supplies and other life-saving commodities, WHO said.

Reports indicate shortages of specialized medical personnel, and water and electricity cuts are affecting operations at health facilities, while hospital generators are running short of fuel, WHO said.

As the situation evolves, WHO will continue to work with partners and health authorities to fill gaps in the provision of healthcare, especially for trauma care, while also ensuring the safety of staff and their families, the agency said.

Russian Foreign Minister To Chair UN Security Council Meeting In New York

MOSCOW, March 30: Moscow said its foreign minister will chair a UN Security Council meeting in April, when Russia will hold the rotating presidency of the international body.

Russia has repeatedly said it was confronted at the UN by the "collective West" that has ostracised Russia since the beginning of the Ukraine offensive.

Ukraine has called for Russia to be removed from Security Council over the military operation launched in February last year.

Russia last chaired the council in February 2022.

"Another key event of the Russian presidency (of the Security Council) will be a high-level open debate on the 'effective multilateralism through the defence of the principles of the UN Charter'," ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova told a press briefing.

"This meeting will be chaired by Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov," she added.

Ms Zakharova also said Lavrov was planning to lead a debate on the situation in the Middle East on April 25.

Ukraine earlier criticised the upcoming change in presidency.

"Russian UN Security Council presidency on April 1 is a bad joke," Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba wrote on Twitter.

"Russia has usurped its seat; it's waging a colonial war; its leader is a war criminal wanted by the ICC for kidnapping children," Kuleba said.

The presidency rotates every month between the 15 member states.

Russia would hold little influence on the decisions but would be in charge of setting the agenda of the international body.

Expansion In Membership Of UN Security Council Absolutely Essential: India

UNITED NATIONS, March 10: India has said the expansion in permanent and non-permanent categories of the UN Security Council is "absolutely essential" to ensure that voices of developing countries and unrepresented regions find their due place at the world body's top organ.

Ambassador Ruchira Kamboj, India's Permanent Representative to the UN, also said the expansion of both categories is the only way to bring the Security Council's decision-making dynamics in line with contemporary geopolitical realities.

The remarks by Ms Kamboj came during her address on Thursday to the Informal Meeting of the Plenary on the Intergovernmental Negotiations (IGN).

"We need a Security Council that better reflects the geographical and developmental diversity of the United Nations today. A Security Council where voices of developing countries and unrepresented regions, including Africa, Latin America and the vast majority of Asia and the Pacific, find their due place at the table," Ms Kamboj said.

She said to achieve this objective, an expansion of the 15-nation Council in both categories of membership is absolutely essential.

"This is the only way to bring the Council's composition and decision-making dynamics in line with contemporary geopolitical realities. If countries are truly interested in making the Security Council more accountable and more credible, we call on them to come out openly and support a clear pathway to achieve this reform in a time-bound manner, through the only established process in the UN, which is by engaging in negotiations based on text and not through speaking at each other or past each other as we have done for the last three decades," she said.

The meeting was convened on two clusters - the size of an enlarged Security Council and working methods of the Council, and the relationship between the Security Council and the General Assembly.

In a significant development in the slow-moving reform process, for the time, the intergovernmental negotiations on Security Council reform were webcast. President of the 77th session of the UN General Assembly Csaba Korosi termed this as a "game-changing approach" and expressed gratitude to IGN Co-Chairs Permanent Representative of Kuwait Ambassador Tareq Albanai and Permanent Representative of Austria Ambassador Axel Marschik.

Terming this development as a "recent evolution within the Inter-Governmental Negotiations", Ms Kamboj voiced appreciation for the co-chairs for recommending a webcast of the first segment of each of the IGN meetings and establishing a specific website to act as a repository of the recordings of the webcasts as well as of the letters, decisions and other documents related to the IGN process, as well as links to the statements of the member states.

"This is a small, welcome step in the right direction. We do hope that this will force multiply positively to the updation of the Elements Paper and the attribution of positions thereof, under each of the five clusters. We very much also hope that webcasting of the proceedings and the establishing of a website will enable delegations to innovate their remarks and avoid repetition," she said.

India and other G4 nations of Brazil, Germany, and Japan have repeatedly said that the IGN is constrained by a lack of openness and transparency.

Ms Kamboj asserted that on the issue of the size of the Council, there already exists a convergence among the members.

"We all agree that the Security Council's size should be expanded in order to make it more legitimate and representative." She said the revised number of total Council seats should be in the "mid to upper 20s, no less than 26 seats", which allows for an adequate balance between representativeness, legitimacy and effectiveness".

"But this number should be an outcome of text-based negotiations on the key issues of categories of membership and regional representation," she said.

The Council currently is composed of five permanent members - China, France, Russia, the UK, and the US, and 10 elected non-permanent members who serve two-year terms. India completed its tenure as a non-permanent member of the Council in December last year.

Ms Kamboj added that the Council would be more transparent, efficient, and effective if its working methods were revised and updated. The methods would need to be adapted to the size and composition of a reformed Council.

"The fundamental problem in the Security Council stems from its lack of representativeness," she said.

Further, Ms Kamboj said there are items on the agenda of the Security Council on which discussion has not taken place for more than seven decades.

"We also underscore the need for a fair distribution of responsibilities between elected and permanent members. Selection of Chairs of subsidiary bodies and distribution of pen-holderships must be open, transparent, based on exhaustive consultations, and with a more integrated perspective. This is one of the best ways to enhance the decision-making process," she said.

Noting that the role of the 193-member General Assembly remains essential, as the most universally representative deliberative organ of the United Nations, she stressed that it is therefore important to maintain regular coordination and interaction between the Security Council and the General Assembly as well as the other main organs of the UN, while respecting the specific competencies and mandates of these organs.

Terming the mandate of the Security Council and the General Assembly as unique and distinct, she said both are the principal organs of the United Nations.

"The 'veto initiative', despite its noble objective, ended up removing the discretion and decision-making ability of the President of the General Assembly. Let us not forget the fact that we already had mechanisms in place, which enabled the membership of the General Assembly to decide on an "emergency basis" to convene discussions or even act on issues that are stalemated in the Security Council," she said.

In April last year, the UN General Assembly decided to automatically meet within 10 days, if the veto is used in the Security Council by one of its five permanent members.

Following the adoption of the resolution on the veto initiative, the use of the veto in the Council by a permanent member now triggers a General Assembly meeting, where all UN members can scrutinise and comment on the veto. The decision came in the wake of Russia using its veto in the Council, the day after it invaded Ukraine in February last year.

UN appeals for $1 billion to help Türkiye quake victims

By Deepak Arora

NEW YORK, Feb 16: The United Nations today launched a three-month flash appeal for US$1 billion for Türkiye so that humanitarian agencies can help more than 5 million people affected by last week’s cataclysmic earthquakes — the largest to hit the country in a century — in support of the Government-led response.

“The people of Türkiye have experienced unspeakable heartache,” said Martin Griffiths, the Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, who visited the country last week.

“I met families who shared their stories of shock and devastation. We must stand with them in their darkest hour and ensure they receive the support they need.”

More than 9 million people in Türkiye have been directly impacted by the once-in-a-generation disaster, with more than 35,000 people having lost their lives as of 15 February, according to the Turkish Government.

The earthquakes struck at the peak of winter, leaving hundreds of thousands of people – including small children and elderly people – without access to shelter, food, water, heaters and medical care in freezing temperatures. Some 47,000 buildings have been destroyed or damaged, and thousands of people have sought refuge in temporary shelters across Türkiye.

Schools, hospitals and other essential services have been damaged or destroyed by the earthquakes. Many families have been separated, with hundreds of children now orphaned or unable to be reunited with their parents.

Furthermore, Türkiye hosts the world’s largest number of refugees. More than 1.74 million refugees live in the 11 provinces impacted by the earthquakes, according to the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR).

The UN is coordinating the operations of thousands of search-and-rescue personnel in Adiyaman, Gaziantep, Hatay, Kahramanmaraş and Malatya Provinces, and humanitarian organizations have begun relief operations in the hardest-hit areas, in support of the Government-led response.

The UN and its partners are delivering hot meals, food, tents, warm winter clothing, blankets, mattresses and kitchen sets to people in need and dispatching medical supplies and personnel to affected areas. Psychosocial support is being provided, and child-friendly spaces and safe spaces for women are being established.

The funding from today’s new appeal will target 5.2 million people. The resources will allow aid organizations to swiftly ramp up their operations to support Government-led response efforts in areas including food security, protection, education, water and shelter.

WHO vows to ‘push for answers' on Covid-19 origin

GENEVA, Feb 15: The World Health Organization will continue pushing until it finds an answer to how the Covid-19 pandemic started, the agency chief said Wednesday following a report suggesting it had abandoned the search.

"We need to continue to push until we get the answer," Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told reporters, referring to the search for the origins of the virus that first began spreading in China in late 2019.

UN Calls For 'Immediate Ceasefire' In Syria To Facilitate Earthquake Aid

GENEVA, Feb 10: The United Nations rights chief called Friday for an immediate ceasefire in Syria to help facilitate bringing aid to all victims of the region's devastating earthquake.

"At this terrible time in Turkey and Syria, we call for urgent delivery of assistance to ALL in need," the UN rights office said in a tweet.

"UN human rights chief Volker Turk calls for immediate ceasefire in Syria, and full respect for human rights and humanitarian law obligations so help can reach everyone," it added.

The call came as rescue workers continued their search for survivors in the rubble of the 7.8 magnitude quake that hit Turkey and Syria on Monday, with the toll now above 23,000.

At least 3,377 people have died in Syria, where more than a decade of civil war and Syrian-Russian aerial bombardment had already destroyed hospitals, collapsed the economy and prompted electricity, fuel and water shortages.

The rebel-held areas of Syria near Turkey's border are in a particularly dire situation since they cannot receive aid from government-held parts of Syria without Damascus's authorisation.

At the same time, Bab al-Hawa -- the sole border crossing used to shuttle life-saving aid from Turkey into conflict-ravaged Syria -- has seen its operations disrupted by the deadly earthquake.

Even before the tremor, the UN had repeatedly stressed the need to open more border crossings to make it easier to get aid through.