“Women and girls continue to be killed on the basis of their sex and gender, rendered more vulnerable to femicide when being women and girls intersect with other grounds or identities,” said Reem Alsalem, UN Special Rapporteur on the issue – whose brief includes examining the causes and consequences of attacks.

She stated that “they continue to be unable to organize freely, believe and speak and suffer the consequences.”  

Ms. Alsalem’s remarks followed the presentation of her report to the Third Committee of the UN General Assembly in New York.  

“In some countries, we have witnessed concerning regressions in their ability to access education, to move freely and to access sexual and reproductive health.  

“These regressions are happening while the world navigates multiple crises of war, climate change, poverty and pandemics that clearly have a gendered impact and affect women and girls unequally,” Ms. Alsalem added.  

Violence against women

We are at the halfway point in the race to meet the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, and “we have painfully realized that we are nowhere near achieving Sustainable Development Goal 5 (on gender equality and empowerment)” the expert said.

According to the World Health Organization,  Around 736 million, are subjected to physical or sexual violence by an intimate partner or sexual violence from a non-partner – a number that has remained largely unchanged over the past decade.

Intimate partner violence is the most common form suffered by women, with around 641 million affected globally.

The organization said younger women remain particularly at risk of such violence, with one in four women aged 15 to 24 suffering violence at the hands of an intimate partner by the time they reached their mid-twenties.

Gender-based discrimination

“Gender equality cannot be achieved without ensuring that women and girls can enjoy their fundamental human rights and can participate in society equally and without discrimination,” Ms. Alsalem noted.  

She said today, 50 countries continue to have nationality laws that contain gender-discriminatory provisions and in 24 of those countries, women are denied the right to confer nationality on their children on an equal basis with men.

Statelessness

The independent expert went on to say that sex and gender-based discrimination in nationality laws is one of the major causes of statelessness.  

“Make no mistake: Statelessness and gender discriminatory nationality laws are tantamount to violence against women, as they constitute severe forms of discrimination against women and girls as defined by the Declaration on the Elimination of Violence against Women.”

“They result in a vicious circle of human rights failures and violations, directly and indirectly exacerbating psychological, sexual, and physical violence,” Ms. Alsalem concluded.  

She called on States to “uphold the objective, spirit and meaning of fundamental human rights obligations”.

Special Rapporteurs and other UN experts are not UN staff and are independent from any government or organisation. They serve in their individual capacity and receive no salary for their work.

The International Commission of Human Rights Experts on Ethiopia said it was vital independent investigators continue to review the country’s dire human rights situation.”

“We are gravely concerned about the situation in Ethiopia and the potential for future atrocities,” said Mohamed Chande Othman, Chairperson of the Commission.

Risk factors remain

“Our report shows that the overwhelming majority of risk factors for future atrocity crimes are present in Ethiopia, including ongoing serious violations, widespread violence and instability, and deeply entrenched impunity.”

The warning follows another Commission report, presented to the UN Human Rights Council last month, which concluded that war crimes and crimes against humanity have been committed in Ethiopia since 3 November 2020.

That was the date that hostilities began between Government forces and forces of the Tigrayan People’s Liberation Front, which spread to much of northern Ethiopia. A ceasefire was agreed in November 2022.

According to the commission, “the latest detailed findings are based on an assessment of the risk factors for atrocity crimes, which are the most serious crimes against humankind,” highlighting that “these crimes – including genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity – are identified in the UN Framework of Analysis for Atrocity Crimes.”

The Commission’s report found that all eight of the common risk factors are now present in Ethiopia.

“There is a very real and imminent risk that the situation will deteriorate further, and it is incumbent upon the international community to ensure that investigations persist so human rights violations can be addressed, and the worst tragedies averted,” said Steven Ratner, one of the independent experts.

Atrocities against civilians

Despite the signing of the Cessation of Hostilities Agreement, the Commission has determined that serious violations are continuing in the Tigray region.

It has confirmed the ongoing presence of Eritrean forces in Ethiopia, and continuing atrocities against civilians, in particular rape and other forms of sexual violence.

The Commission has also expressed alarm about the deteriorating situation in the Amhara region, including emerging reports of extrajudicial killings and mass arrests. Most, if not all, of the structural drivers of violence and conflict remain unaddressed.

Human rights violations

“One of the Human Rights Council’s most important roles is to help prevent human rights violations and respond to human rights emergencies,” said commission member Radhika Coomaraswamy. “The situation in Ethiopia clearly merits such attention and it is vital that this continues.” 

Abdoulaye Bathily, who is also UN Special Representative, said that plans floated by different institutions and leaders for reconstruction, run the risk of deepening the existing rift between the internationally recognized Government and rival administration in the east.

He added that rebuilding could be impeded without an agreed plan going forward, and that failure to unify was “at odds with the outpouring of solidarity, support and national unity shown by Libyan people from all corners of the country in response to the crisis.”

“UNSMIL calls on all relevant Libyan national and local authorities and Libya’s international partners to facilitate agreement on a unified and coordinated Libyan national mechanism to direct the recovery and reconstruction efforts and to ensure transparency and accountability”, the UNSMIL chief said.

Oil rich Libya has been in turmoil since the overthrow of former dictator Muammar Gaddafi in 2011, which gave rise to rival power centres across the country and crises on multiple fronts, which have sucked in other regional powers to the simmering conflicts. 

Urging Libya’s leaders “to rise above divisions and come together to agree on a unified response to the reconstruction needs”, the UN Special Representative said the disaster caused by Storm Daniel – which has killed thousands and destroyed swathes of the northeast – “also underscores the imperative to expedite negotiations on breaking the political stalemate.”

Myanmar: humanitarian needs, landmine threats surge: OCHA

In Myanmar, conflict and monsoon floods continue to cause new displacement, civilian casualties and destruction of civilian properties, worsening the already dire humanitarian situation there, the UN said on Monday.

According to the UN’s humanitarian affairs coordination office (OCHA), nearly two million people are internally displaced “in precarious conditions” and require lifesaving assistance. More than 63,000 people remain displaced across borders into neighbouring countries since the 2021 military takeover.

OCHA said that the threat to civilians from explosive ordnance is spreading and that for the first time, anti-personnel landmine casualties have now been recorded in every state and region, except the capital Nay Pyi Taw.

At least 1.8 million people have been reached with aid in the first half of the year, but OCHA warned that access and administrative restrictions are causing “prolonged delays or postponements of scheduled relief efforts”, adding to the suffering of affected and displaced communities.

 To date, the humanitarian response plan and the flash appeal launched following May’s deadly Cyclone Mocha, for a combined amount of $887 million, remain “critically underfunded” at only 28 per cent, OCHA said. 

Over 6,000 schools still closed in Burkina Faso: UNICEF

UNICEF on Monday alerted that with the new school year starting, more than 6,000 schools remain closed because of violence and insecurity in parts of the country.

That means that one in four schools in Burkina Faso are closed, impacting some one million children.  

In addition to this, at least 230 schools also currently serve as temporary shelters for more than 52,000 displaced people. 

UNICEF said that more than 3.8 million girls and boys are still managing to attend school, including in regions impacted by conflict.

“Our colleagues are working with the Ministry of Education and have helped over 760,000 children through formal education, accelerated schooling strategies, vocational training and education by radio”, said UN Spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric.

Around 5.5 million men, women and children need humanitarian assistance in Burkina Faso – 3.2 million of them children. 

Speaking to reporters in Geneva on her first official day as head of the International Organization for Migration (IOM), Amy Pope said that migrants were “people first” who should not be seen as a problem.

That distinction was more critical than ever today, the IOM Director-General added, noting that it is almost 10 years since a migrant shipwreck off the Italian coastline on 3 October 2013 claimed more than 368 lives. It was the agency’s biggest fear that such tragedies “have been normalized”, Ms. Pope said.

“These are people first before we label them as migrants or asylum seekers or anything else, and valuing their human life, recognizing their dignity is key to everything we say and do and whichever Member State we work with,” Ms. Pope said. 

“Especially as we are reaching the anniversary of Lampedusa, it’s an important moment to recognize and recall that ultimately this isn’t about a problem, this is about people.”

Recurring vulnerabilities

Migration was not about to end any time soon, Ms. Pope continued, given the huge impact of climate shocks, conflict, persecution and other destabilizing influences on fragile communities around the world, from Latin America to Europe, Asia and Africa. There are some 280 million migrants worldwide.

“We know already that there have been tens of millions of people who are on the move just this year as a result of climate impact. There are hundreds of millions more who live in extremely climate vulnerable communities,” she said.

Because of this dramatic status quo endured by so many individuals, the IOM Director-General insisted that unless wealthier nations helped them to withstand drought and other climate shocks, while also embracing the opportunities offered by migration, it was very likely that the world would see more “desperate people” on the move.

“Whether it’s climate change, whether it’s conflict, whether it’s the inability to find a job or a future at home, or violence within neighbourhoods or communities, more and more people are looking to find a better life somewhere else in the world.”

Asked whether US President Joe Biden’s decision last month to allow some 470,000 unregistered Venezuelans to work legally might encourage migration, the IOM chief responded that if there weren’t jobs, “they wouldn’t come”.

Get real

The UN migration agency’s goal was therefore to call for more “regular, realistic pathways for people”, Ms. Pope said, before highlighting the findings of a World Bank report that underscored how migration was a “powerful force” for poverty reduction.

Today, no less than 30 of the world’s biggest economies struggle to fill posts in healthcare, agriculture, construction, hospitality, “you name it”, the IOM chief said. “Frankly, while there have been tremendous developments in artificial intelligence, it does not move at the pace to remedy those labour shortages. And many, many of those jobs will not be done well by a machine.”

Spanish model

Noting how the Spanish Government had embraced the labour solutions offered by migration, Ms. Pope insisted that economies that had seen a significant influx of migrants over the years had seen “overwhelmingly that people tend to be better off as a result of migration, whether it’s because it’s fuelling innovation, it’s fuelling labour supply, whether it’s fuelling the renovation or revitalization of aging communities. Migration, on the whole, is a benefit.”

As an indication of the IOM chief’s priorities, this coming Sunday she heads to Addis Ababa to meet African Union representatives, followed by a visit to Kenya, Somalia and Djibouti. 

Over 80 per cent of migration takes place in Africa, Ms. Pope told reporters, adding that in addition to governments, she intended to pursue discussions for migration solutions with local communities, civil society and the private sector.

“You have to have the private sector at the table, because the private sector is saying, ‘Look, we have the jobs, we just don’t have people to fill them. Help us get through the red tape’”.