The International Organization for Migration (IOM) and the Government of Haiti are appealing for $21 million to ensure better protection and shelter conditions for tens of thousands of newly displaced people in the country’s capital, Port-au-Prince.
Haiti: $21 million appeal to help thousands displaced by gang violence
UN General Assembly elects 15 new members to Human Rights Council
After the ballots were cast and counted, Assembly President Dennis Francis announced Albania, Brazil, Bulgaria, Burundi, China, Côte d’Ivoire, Cuba, Dominican Republic, France, Ghana, Indonesia, Japan, Kuwait, Malawi, and the Netherlands were elected to serve for three years, beginning 1 January 2024.
China, Côte d’Ivoire, Cuba, France, and Malawi were re-elected for their second terms.
The Human Rights Council, the UN’s premier rights body, is tasked with the responsibility to uphold and advance fundamental freedoms globally. It was created in 2006 and consists of 47 member States, elected via secret ballot by the majority of General Assembly members.
In order to ensure equitable geographical distribution, its seats are distributed among regional groups of States as follows, from Africa (13); Asia-Pacific (13); Eastern European (6); Latin American and Caribbean (8); and Western European and others (7).
Details
Malawi topped the voting for African nations, with 182 votes, followed by Côte d’Ivoire (181), Ghana (179), Burundi (168), and Nigeria (3). In Asia and the Pacific, Indonesia secured 186 votes, followed by Kuwait (183), Japan (175), and China (154).
In Eastern Europe, Bulgaria received 160 votes, followed by Albania (123), and Russia (83). Russia was seeking re-election to the Human Rights Council after it resigned from the body on 7 April 2022.
Latin America and the Caribbean saw Cuba secure 146 votes, followed by Brazil (144), Dominican Republic (137) and Peru (108). This is the first time Dominican Republic is elected to the Human Rights Council.
In Western Europe and others, the Netherlands received 169 votes, and France 153.
The new members will join Algeria, Argentina, Bangladesh, Belgium, Benin, Cameroon, Chile, Costa Rica, Eritrea, Finland, Gambia, Georgia, Germany, Honduras, India, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malaysia, Maldives, Montenegro, Morocco, Paraguay, Qatar, Romania, Somalia, South Africa, Sudan, United Arab Emirates, United States of America, and Viet Nam on 1 January 2024.
500 still missing following Afghanistan earthquake, say UN aid teams
Nearly 500 people are still missing from the worst-affected area of a 6.3 magnitude earthquake that rocked Herat province in western Afghanistan on Saturday, UN aid coordinators said on Tuesday.
A STEP towards supporting EU competitiveness and resilience in strategic sectors
The “Strategic Technologies for Europe Platform (STEP)” aims to boost digital, net-zero and biotechnologies and enable the EU’s industry to achieve the digital and net-zero transitions.
The Industry, Research and Energy and the Budgets committees adopted their position on Monday on the establishment of a “Strategic Technologies for Europe Platform” designed to boost critical strategic technologies through various means, such as financial support, the ‘Sovereignty Seal‘ and ‘Sovereignty Portal‘.
STEP aims to strengthen various EU programmes and funds and to channel up to EUR 160 billion into new investments, alongside cohesion policy incentives and the Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF). The platform would foster the growth of crucial technological value chains in sectors like digital, net-zero, and biotechnologies, address labour and skill shortages, and support innovation. In their amendments, MEPs advocate for an extra EUR 3 billion on top of the proposed 10 billion, bringing the STEP budget up to 13 billion euro in new funds.
Moreover, MEPs propose a closer alignment of this regulation with the Net-Zero Industry Act and the Critical Raw Materials Act and the establishment of a STEP committee to ensure its effective implementation.
STEP should also act as a “testbed for a fully-fledged Sovereignty Fund in the next MFF period”. MEPs ask the Commission to conduct an interim evaluation by 2025, including a proposal to amend STEP or a new proposal for a fully-fledged European Sovereignty Fund. If the Commission does not propose the latter, it must justify its choice, MEPs agreed.
Urgent adoption needed in line with EU’s long-term budget revision
The proposed STEP is part of the ongoing revision of the long-term EU budget, for which adjustments are needed, as it has been severely depleted following the multiple crises that have occurred since 2021. MEPs insist that the STEP, along with the budgetary revision, should be agreed as soon as possible, as the package should be integrated into next year’s annual budget, to be negotiated in November 2023.
Quotes
“STEP was once foreseen to be the new European Sovereignty Fund – but it is not. With STEP, the Commission is trying to square the circle, but the proposal suffers from three competing goals: producing the necessary technologies to achieve our climate goals, increasing Europe’s sovereignty vis-à-vis other regions of the world and strengthening cohesion among EU member states,” said lead MEP for the Industry, Research and Energy Committee Christian Ehler (EPP, DE). “We have improved the text significantly and created legislative coherence with other dossiers, such as the Net-Zero Industry Act and the Critical Raw Materials Act. We ensured a properly functioning European Innovation Council to continue being the EU´s leading equity investor for strategic investments”, he added.
“STEP is a starting point to properly support technologies made in Europe. European technologies must have access to better funding opportunities. Much-needed EU strategic autonomy can only be achieved by addressing the needs of our industries. STEP will channel existing funding into the right projects, boosting synergies between funds and promoting these projects. To this end, there will be a Sovereignty Seal, designed to help project promoters attract investment by certifying their contribution to STEP objectives. For that, having a governance structure – the STEP Committee – is of paramount importance. We must use funds transparently and effectively”, said the rapporteur for the Budgets Committee José Manuel Fernandes (EPP, PT).
Next steps
The legislation was adopted with 43 votes to 6, with 15 abstentions. It will be put to a vote by the full House during the 16-19 October plenary session.
Background
The “Strategic Technologies for Europe Platform” aims to strengthen European competitiveness and resilience in strategic sectors and to reduce their dependence on the EU economy. It foresees support for the development and manufacturing of critical technologies and addresses labour and skills shortages.
Israel-Palestine: UN urges parties to spare civilian lives
In Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories, all parties must stop targeting civilians and Hamas and other armed groups must immediately release their hostages, UN rights chief Volker Türk said on Tuesday.
NASA is building a house and restaurant on the Moon
NASA is ready to create an Airbnb that is out of this world. The US space agency has granted a construction technology company $60 million to build a house on the moon by 2040, which will be not only for astronauts, but also for ordinary civilians.
The plan is to launch a giant 3D printer on the moon and use lunar concrete made of rocks, mineral fragments and dust to layer the structure on the surface.
NASA is also working with universities and private companies to build doors, tiles and furniture for the home on the moon, writes dailymail.co.uk.
The agenda includes creating an establishment on Mars for space fair characters who will one day live on the Red Planet.
Plans are in the very early stages, with only 2022 renderings available to paint a picture of what the home might look like — the idea could change over the next decade.
At this time, NASA is not saying how much it will charge civilians for their stay in the lunar house.
Austin-based ICON, which won the 2022 NASA contract, is using its expertise in 3D printing Earth, building luxury homes layer by layer using its The Vulcan system. The technology involves a mixture of cement, sand and water as a thread.
Filament is actually ink that comes out of the printer as thick strips stacked on top of each other. All components of the home – for example, the walls and roof – are printed separately and then assembled together.
Homes built this way are becoming increasingly popular because they are going up quickly, with developers saying they could solve America’s housing crisis.
Photo: NASA
WFP resumes ‘vital’ food distributions to refugees across Ethiopia
The World Food Programme (WFP) has begun rolling out food distributions to nearly 900,000 refugees in Ethiopia following a full revamp of its refugee operations.
Middle East crisis: Guterres appeals for end to ‘vicious cycle of bloodshed, hatred and polarization’
The UN Secretary-General on Monday said that he recognized the legitimate grievances of the Palestinian people and the legitimate security concerns of Israel, but underlined his rejection of terrorist acts and upheld the need to protect civilians.
UN rights expert urges key reforms in Cambodia
Vitit Muntarbhorn, UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Cambodia, also said that the hereditary succession to power raised serious concerns with respect to human rights, democratic principles and the international rule of law.
Mr. Muntarbhorn and other rights experts had previously described the lead-up to and the outcome of the July polls as “extremely disconcerting”, amid restrictions and harassment targeting political opponents and the media.
In August, Hun Manet became the country’s new Prime Minister, taking over from his father, Hun Sen, who led the country for more than three decades.
Human rights benchmarks
The call by Mr. Muntarbhorn coincided with the presentation of his report to the UN Human Rights Council, in which he assessed progress towards 20 key human rights benchmarks.
“A key challenge for implementing human rights benchmarks lies in the intergenerational power shift in the country, which is intertwined with the political and electoral processes and coupled with the restricted civic-political space,” he said.
Among the 20 benchmarks, 12 were found to be off target, and three with variable levels of implementation. Five benchmarks, such as improving access to education and allocating additional resources to the social sector, were considered on target.
Use of draconian laws
Mr. Muntarbhorn also received reports of continued attacks, unjustified arrests and prosecutions of human rights defenders, journalists, political dissidents and others critical of the authorities.
“The use of draconian laws creates challenges for individuals working on human rights and environmental issues, as they face significant pressure when interacting with authorities,” he said.
Many human rights defenders and environmental activists have remained in detention since the beginning of 2023, with their numbers increasing compared to the previous year.
“Various political dissidents are being held in distant prisons, raising concerns about their freedom and well-being,” Mr. Muntarbhorn said, calling for the immediate release of those detained and for the charges against them to be dropped.
Independent expert
Special Rapporteurs are appointed by the UN Human Rights Council and form part of what is known as its Special Procedures. The experts are mandated to monitor and report on specific thematic issues or country situations.
They serve in their individual capacity, are not UN staff and do not receive a salary.
World News in Brief: Displacement in Gaza and Israel, Afghan earthquake response
The escalating conflict between Israeli forces and Palestinian armed groups has displaced hundreds of thousands of people, the UN reported on Monday.
