Tag: United Nations

  • On this day: International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People

    On this day: International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People

    November 29 is the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People, observed by the United Nations every year.

    On this day, back in 1947, the UN General Assembly adopted a resolution known as the Partition Resolution (Resolution 181), calling for the establishment of an Arab state and a Jewish state with Jerusalem as a separate body under a special international regime.

    This, however, never became a reality and only Israel was created as a free entity.

    Israel took over East Jerusalem and the West Bank in 1967 even though the Old City under the occupation is religiously significant for Muslims, Christians alongside Jews. While Israel has declared the annexation of East Jerusalem in 1980, the international community deems it an occupied territory to-date whereas Palestinians want East Jerusalem as the capital of the state they are fighting for.

    In 1977, on November 29, the UN General Assembly adopted an official observance of the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People.

  • UN goodwill ambassador scorecard: How many spoke up for Palestine?

    UN goodwill ambassador scorecard: How many spoke up for Palestine?

    Since October 7 when Netanyahu declared war on Gaza and commenced bombardment that many experts are calling a genocide, social media users have expressed outrage against celebrities remaining silent about the atrocities, especially those who work with UNICEF. The UN body provides protection and aid for children from marginalised communities in countries like Syria and Vietnam.

    But as the genocide of Gaza goes on, several people have noticed how prominent big names have remained silent.

    Social media feels it’s absolutely necessary to point out that any person with a massive platform and influence has a responsibility to condemn a genocide or at least ask for a ceasefire. If you’re the goodwill ambassador of an organisation that is advocating for the rights of children, then the onus lies on you to speak out when it matters.

    We have a list of big names who are working with UNICEF, and what was their stance on the death toll in Gaza.

    Selena Gomez

    Selena, the most followed person on Instagram, sparked outrage when she posted a vague statement on her social media accounts, writing that she was against the murder of little children, and was taking a break because of the violence. She also added that “an Instagram post doesn’t change anything,” leading many to criticise the actress for being a hypocrite for using her 430 million followers to promote products, but not to stop a genocide.

    Later, Selena announced she was deleting her account because of the backlash, causing further outrage. She then signed the petition calling for a ceasefire, and donated to charities in both Israel and Palestine. Social media was still not happy because the CEO of Rare Beauty, Selena’s beauty brand, has publicly expressed his Zionist ties.

    Orlando Bloom and Katy Perry

    Orlando released a neutral statement on October 14 on his Instagram account expressing his grief on the innocent lives lost both in Israel and Palestine, calling for an end to the war. Then the celebrity couple signed the open letter calling President Biden to bring all hostages home and ending the Hamas.

    David Beckham

    The former football star and UNICEF ambassador released a statement on his Instagram stories expressing his grief on lives lost on both sides and called for the violence to stop.

    Priyanka Chopra

    Priyanka was among the several South Asian celebrities who signed the petition calling for a ceasefire in Gaza, and had also not attended the Diwali party held by Kamala Harris at the White House.

    Alyssa Milano

    The actress released a statement criticising the calls for ‘no ceasefire’ at the Israeli march held in Washington, and called for a radical peace movement that helps the innocent children of Palestine.

    Amitabh Bachchan

    The Bollywood giant was previously seen taking a selfie with the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at a 2018 event. He has not released a statement about the death toll of children and women killed in Gaza.

    Leo Messi

    The Argentinian football player is a UNICEF ambassador and has made no public statement about the children killed in Gaza.

    Millie Bobby Brown

    ‘Stranger Things’ star Millie Bobby Brown has not commented anything about the lives lost in Gaza,

    Serena Williams

    Famous tennis star Serena Williams has said nothing on the innocents killed in Gaza.

    Liam Neeson

    The actor has not said anything on the mass atrocities committed in Gaza.

    Jackie Chan

    The prominent Asian actor has said nothing about the civilian lives lost in Gaza.

  • New York police arrest hundreds at Jewish protest urging Gaza ceasefire

    New York police arrest hundreds at Jewish protest urging Gaza ceasefire

    Hundreds of people were arrested Friday when police broke up a large demonstration of mostly Jewish New Yorkers who had taken over the main hall of Grand Central station in protest of Israel’s bombardment of Gaza, police and organizers said.

    The New York Police Department said at least 200 people had been arrested, while protest organizers put the number at more than 300.

    Photos from the scene showed long lines of young people standing in handcuffs and wearing black sweatshirts with the words “Not In Our Name” and “Cease Fire Now” printed in white.

    The massive sit-in was called by the group Jewish Voice for Peace-New York City, which said thousands of its members had attended the protest, blocking the main concourse of the city’s central rail station.

    Pictures showed the terminal packed with protesters who held up banners reading “Palestinians should be free” and “Mourn the dead, fight like hell for the living.”

    Organizers called the peaceful sit-in “the largest civil disobedience New York City has seen in 20 years.”

    Rabbis launched the event by lighting Shabbat candles and reciting the Jewish prayer for the dead, known as the kaddish.

    “While Shabbat is typically a day of rest, we cannot afford to rest while genocide is unfolding in our names,” said Rabbi May Ye, in a statement released by organizers.

    “The lives of Palestinians and Israelis are intertwined, and safety can only come from justice, equality, and freedom for all,” the rabbi said.

    Israel launched its bombardment of Gaza after Hamas gunmen stormed across the border on 7 October, killing 1,400 people, mostly civilians, and kidnapping over 220 others, according to Israeli officials.

    The Hamas-run health ministry said Friday that Israeli strikes on Gaza had now killed 7,326 people, more than 3,000 of them children.

  • Palestinian Health Ministry provides credible casualty figures: UN

    Palestinian Health Ministry provides credible casualty figures: UN

    While US President Joe Biden has questioned the reliability of the death toll coming from Gaza, the United Nations has verified that the figures provided by the Palestinian Ministry of Health have a history of being credible.

    “In the past, the five, six cycles of conflict in the Gaza Strip, these figures were considered as credible and no one ever really challenged these figures,” the UN agency for Palestine refugees (UNRWA) chief, Philippe Lazzarini, said while speaking to the media on Friday.

    On Thursday, the Health Ministry released a 212-page document with names and identity numbers of those killed in Israeli air raid since October 7, having collected the data from morgues and hospitals.

    The list consists of 6,747 people killed in the Israeli attacks, including 2,665 children whereas 529 bodies are yet to be identified.

    Anadolu Agency has said that 8,400 people have been killed including at least 7,028 Palestinians and 1,400 Israelis.

  • Biden has ‘no confidence’ in Gaza death toll: What do we know about day 20

    Biden has ‘no confidence’ in Gaza death toll

    In his latest statement, US President Joe Biden has said that he has “no confidence in the number that Palestinians are using” to report on the death toll in the Gaza Strip, which, according to the Palestinian health ministry, is over 6,500.

    “I have no notion that the Palestinians are telling the truth about how many people are killed. I’m sure innocents have been killed, and it’s the price of waging a war,” Biden said.

    Previously, US intelligence officials also doubted the reported killings of 471 people in Gaza’s Al-Ahli Arab Hospital bombing on October 17. While the official number was provided by the Gazan authorities, the US believed the number fell between 100 and 300.

    According to the latest update by Al jazeera, the health ministry in the besieged enclave has claimed that killings in Gaza have crossed 7,000 as a result of Israeli air strikes including 2,913 children, 1,709 women and 397 elderly, the health ministry in the besieged enclave reported.

    West Bank

    Israel continues to raid Palestinians in the occupied West Bank, arresting more than 1,450 since October 7 and killing more than 100.

    Netanyahu talks about ground attacks on Gaza

    Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has stated that Israel is getting ready for a ground operation in Gaza, however, he has not said when it is to start.

    “We are in a war for our sovereignty, for our existence, and we have set ourselves two fundamental objectives: to eradicate Hamas’s military and governmental capabilities and to do everything possible to bring the hostages … back home,” Netanyahu said on Wednesday.

    Another failed UN Security Council resolution on Gaza

    A US-led resolution calling for “humanitarian pauses” ended up in vain as Russia and China vetoed whereas the United Arab Emirates voted against it.

    Albania, France, Ecuador, Gabon, Ghana, Japan, Malta, Switzerland, United Kingdom, United States voted in favour while Brazil and Mozambique abstained.

    China’s UN Ambassador Zhang Jun told the council after the vote that, “The draft does not reflect the world’s strongest calls for a ceasefire, an end to the fighting, and it does not help resolve the issue,

    “At this moment, ceasefire is not just a diplomatic term. It means the life and death of many civilians.”

    Previously, a Russia-led resolution urging for “humanitarian ceasefire” also failed to get enough votes in favour as only Russia, China, UAE, and Gabon voted in favour while UK and the US opposed it.

    Countries that abstained included Albania, Brazil, Ecuador, France, Ghana, Japan, Malta, Mozambique, Switzerland

    12 aid trucks sent but no fuel

    The Palestine Red Crescent Society reported to have received 12 trucks with food, medicine and medical supplies.

    Only 74 trucks have been allowed to enter the Gaza Strip since October 7 while fuel is yet to be supplied.

    Credit: Al Jazeera

  • Israel picks fight with United Nations: What do we know about day 19

    Israel picks fight with United Nations: What do we know about day 19

    Israel versus the United Nations

    Israel has refused to issue visas to United Nations officials after UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres obliquely condemned Israeli orders to evacuate Gazans from the north to the south. Above all, he also said Hamas’s attack on Israel on October 7 did not happen “in a vacuum” as the Palestinians have been “subjected to 56 years of suffocating occupation”.

    According to Al Jazeera’s reporter Gabriel Elizondo, Israel was “furious” and its officials called on the UN chief to resign.

    Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen, who was at the debate, “was so upset”, said Elizondo, “that he cancelled a meeting with the secretary-general that was supposed to happen Tuesday afternoon”.

    Additionally, the UN had been raising concerns over the lack of fuel in Gaza and the potential pause in its operations. In response to one of the UN’s posts on Tuesday, the Israeli military suggested the UN should approach Hamas for fuel supplies.

    The Israeli military claimed on X (formerly Twitter) that Hamas has more than 500,000 litres of fuel in tanks inside Gaza.

    “Ask Hamas if you can have some,” the military wrote.

    103 killed in occupied West Bank

    Increasing Israeli raids since October 7 in the occupied West Bank have resulted in 103 deaths.

    Syrian army attacked by Israel

    The Israeli military claims to have targeted Syrian army infrastructure and mortar launches, asserting that it was a response to Syrian aims at Israel.

    “Lebanon was never an aggressor”: Ambassador

    During the UN Security Council meeting, Lebanon’s ambassador, Hadi Hachem, stated that his country “is exerting every effort to disassociate” from this “bloody conflict”.

    He added that Lebanon was never an aggressor.

    “It has always been a victim of aggression by Israel since the [1960s].”

    Referring to Gazans, he said “There is no law or doctrine that justifies the systematic killing of a population that lives in an open-air prison for more than a half a century.”

    Hachem also shed light on the killings of 13 journalists in Gaza (including the killing of Lebanese journalist Issam Abdallah in southern Lebanon) because of Israeli attacks, “proof” of Israel’s “policy to suppress freedoms”.

    Earlier in the debate, the US accused Iran and its proxies of destabilising the region, claims the Iranian ambassador categorically rejected.

    600,000 Palestinians displaced

    The UN is reportedly sheltering nearly 600,000 Palestinians who have been internally displaced in 150 facilities whereas at least 40 UNRWA installations have been affected following Israeli attacks.

    “Our shelters are four times over their capacities. Many people are sleeping on the streets as current facilities are overwhelmed,” the agency said in a post shared on X.

  • Only 20 trucks of aid allowed into Gaza

    Only 20 trucks of aid allowed into Gaza

    The Rafah border between Egypt and Gaza has finally been opened for aid trucks into Gaza on Saturday.

    Al Jazeera reports that Hamas’s media office confirmed that “The relief aid convoy that is supposed to enter today includes 20 trucks that carry medicine, medical supplies, and a limited amount of food supplies [canned goods],”

    The World Health Organization took to X to highlight that its trucks consists of trauma supplies for 1,200 people, portable trauma bags for on-the-spot stabilisation for 235 people, medication for chronic diseases for 1,500 people, essential health supplies for 300,000 people for three months.

    It is, however, important to note that the besieged Gaza Strip has a population of 2.3 million people.

    Humanitarian workers have been saying that 20 trucks are not enough for the catastrophe caused by Israeli attacks on the Gaza strip. So far, more than 4,000 people have been killed while more than 12,000 are injured.

    The UN reported that there is a severe dearth of food and drinking water while sanitation facilities, water wells, reservoirs, and pumping stations have been destroyed due to air raids.

    Hamas’s media office has also stated that this aid “will not change the catastrophic medical conditions in Gaza”.

    Previously, US President Joe Biden visited Israel and announced the agreement to allow 20 trucks in Gaza through Egypt.

  • Robots tell UN conference they can run the world better than humans with help of AI

    Robots tell UN conference they can run the world better than humans with help of AI

    AI-powered humanoid robots stole the spotlight at a United Nations summit in Geneva, boldly claiming they could run the world more efficiently than humans. These robots, like Sophia from Hanson Robotics and Ameca with a lifelike artificial head, gathered at the AI for Good Global Summit, where around 3,000 experts aimed to figure out how AI could tackle big problems like climate change and social care.

    While the robots proudly touted their knack for crunching unbiased data, they also recognised that humans bring the emotional smarts and creativity needed for making smart decisions. The summit made history by hosting a news conference with a panel of AI-enabled humanoid social robots, a first-of-its-kind event.

    The UN’s ITU tech agency, which organised the summit, also highlighted the downsides of rushing into AI without caution. Job losses and social unrest are concerns, the agency warned. The robots had mixed views on whether there should be global rules for AI. Some urged careful discussions about rules, while others were all about embracing the potential without holding back.

    However, these robots, despite their impressive abilities, confessed that they can’t quite grasp human emotions yet. They admitted that human feelings, like joy and pain, are a mystery to them. Although they understand that emotions matter, they made it clear that they can’t really share those feelings.

    This conference shone a light on the exciting possibilities and tough challenges of AI’s growth. It started conversations about using AI in ways that make sense and don’t cause harm to our society. As AI keeps getting smarter, these humanoid robots remind us that we need to be smart about how we use it in our world.

  • South Asian women most vulnerable to human trafficking: UN

    South Asian women most vulnerable to human trafficking: UN

    According to a recent UN report, women continue to make up the majority of trafficking victims in South Asia.

    However, compared to other years, more men were identified as trafficking victims in the area in 2020, according to the UN Office of Drugs and Crime study (UNODC).
    Even while pandemics and catastrophes made populations more vulnerable to trafficking, the “Global Report on Trafficking in Persons 2022” also revealed a drop in the crime.
    In 2020, there were 11% fewer victims worldwide than there were in 2019.

    Over the same time period, the number of convictions for trafficking offences decreased by 27 percent as well, strengthening the downward trend that UNODC has been tracking since 2017.
    South Asia (by 56%), Central America and the Caribbean (by 54%), and South America all had declines (46pc).

    The report also stated that both men and women were trafficked in South Asia for the purposes of forced labour, sexual exploitation, and to a lesser extent, forced marriage.

  • ‘Race against time’: PM Shehbaz calls on the world to help flood ravaged Pakistan

    ‘Race against time’: PM Shehbaz calls on the world to help flood ravaged Pakistan

    The International Conference on Climate Resilient Pakistan — co-hosted by Pakistan and the United Nations — began in Geneva on Monday.

    The international conference began with the words of Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, who said, “We will need considerable support” from the international community,” as he sought solidarity to help Pakistan achieve a “resilient” future.

    The FM said that rehabilitation “continues to this day” as Pakistan battles with wide-scale destruction brought on by the environmental catastrophe.

    United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres Monday appealed to the world to help Pakistan deal with the disaster caused by floods, saying “massive investments” are needed for the country’s rehabilitation which is expected to cost more than $16 billion.

    “Even through the darkest moments, the giving spirit of the Pakistani people has shone brightly,” said Guterres, “I have seen neighbours helping neighbours with food, water and shelter”.

    The UN head stated that his heart broke when he saw first-hand the active devastation of last summer’s floods. “No country deserves to endure what happened to Pakistan, but it was especially bitter to watch that country’s generous spirit being repaid with a climate disaster of monumental scale,” he said.

    Prime Minister (PM) Shehbaz Sharif again called on the world to help flood-ravaged Pakistan in his address at the International Conference on Resilient Pakistan.

    PM Shehbaz said that the world was standing at a “turning point of history” today.

    “One can go on and on but to truly say, we are racing against time. We are thankful for the support extended to us by the Asian Development Bank, UN, International Monetary Fund and several other international organisations.”

    At the moot, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif also launched the ‘Resilient Recovery, Rehabilitation, and Recons­truction Framework’ (4RF).

    The framework outlines a vision for rehabilitation and reconstruction of the flood-affected areas as well as will emphasise the need for global support and long-term partnership to implement it.

    “The first part of the 4rf plan reflects the priorities for recovery and reconstruction, bearing in mind the minimum funding requirement of $16.3 billion, half of which we met from domestic resources and the remaining half with the help of development partners and friends,” PM Shehbaz said.

    He said that the second part of the framework plan incorporates flood-resilient designs and infrastructure projects such as protecting key highways, railway line networks and early warning systems and capacity building for rescue and relief for future disasters.

    The PM while sharing details of the scale of destruction the country has suffered said that “various parts of Sindh and Balochistan still remain under water”.

    The floods, blamed on climate change, dealt a severe blow to Pakistan’s strained economy while displacing some 8 million people and killing at least 1,700.

    PM Shehbaz stressed that he was asking for support for those who have lost their life savings, homes, and livelihoods and are facing the harsh winter under open skies.

    “The one thing we have learned is that nothing can go back to business as usual,” the PM stressed.

    “I am asking for a sustained international support plan to meet this daunting challenge, for a new lifeline for these people. Together we have to rebuild their lives and their dreams,” he concluded.

    French President Emmanuel Macron, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store and President European Commission Ursula von der Leyen shared messages of solidarity at the event via video link.