Ongoing peace talks provide a glimpse of hope that a political resolution to the conflict is on the horizon. 

However, on International Day of Peace, celebrated annually on 21 September, humanitarian needs remain staggering and the funding to respond insufficient, as recently highlighted by almost 100 aid agencies.

Six months on from the last UN pledging conference for Yemen, only a fraction of what is required to meet the needs of millions has been pledged.

Durable solutions needed

Despite a significant decrease in fighting since last year’s UN-brokered truce, over 4.3 million people remain displaced across the country. Most do not feel safe enough to return home anytime soon and plan to remain in the areas they have settled in for the foreseeable future.

Many are dispersed across hundreds of displacement camps in underdeveloped areas, mainly along the frontlines. Others have sheltered in urban areas or among host communities where social services are more readily available, yet poverty is rife.

In the long term, concrete, durable solutions for displaced communities who have settled in new areas, likely for the long haul, is crucial, according to the UN International Organization for Migration’s (IOM).

It adds that significant investments must be made to allow them to continue this lifesaving work and to promote a more sustainable future and long-term recovery through revitalizing agriculture, education, water systems, and other infrastructure.

water systems, and other infrastructure.

Trafficking crisis

Migrants remain some of those most vulnerable to the effects of the crisis. The maritime route migrants take from the Horn of Africa to Yemen is the second busiest in the world.

According to the IOM displacement tracking matrix, an estimated 90,000 migrants – mostly Ethiopian – have arrived on Yemen’s shores in 2023 so far, in the hopes of reaching Saudi Arabia.

Tens of thousands have become stranded. They have traveled too far and gone too deep in debt to turn around, but know the journey ahead is too deadly or costly to continue, according to IOM, whose staff hears daily accounts from migrants of exploitation at the hands of traffickers and grave abuse on their journeys.

A young migrant looks out to see after arriving in Yemen from Djibouti.

Slavery, torture, extortion

The migrants are often promised good jobs and decent living conditions and do not anticipate the challenges they will face. Instead, thousands of migrants are sold into sexual slavery, tortured on video while their families are extorted, or forced to work for months without pay on farms, according to IOM.

The situation has become a trafficking crisis of extraordinary proportions, the UN agency warned. Many also struggle to access essential public services, like health care, shelter, sanitation facilities, and food while also experiencing stigma and discrimination.

Humanitarians mobilized along the eastern corridor migration route are striving to ensure assistance is available to people on the move and that those who wish to return home can do so safely and voluntarily. But, the demand for these services continues to outweigh the resources available to respond to all migrants in need.

More meaningful efforts from world leaders to restore the rights of and end violence toward people on the move in Yemen – regardless of background or migration status – must also be made, the UN agency said.

IOM is providing services to patients at a health centre on the west coast of Yemen.

Yemenis welcome newcomers

Confronted with these harsh realities, it is Yemeni community members who often go out of their way to help newcomers. Thousands of Yemenis work for humanitarian agencies in dangerous areas. Some have moved far from their homes to lend a hand to communities in need across the country.

Host communities, still reeling from years of war, have stepped up to support and welcome those in dire need.

Yemeni doctors provide relief to people suffering from ailments on their journeys, engineers build extensive water networks in arid lands, community leaders help mitigate conflict over dwindling resources, and teachers spread knowledge to children whose education has been compromised by war.

The realization of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) depends on supporting these unsung heroes to make concrete contributions to development and peace in countries in crisis.

A new report by UNAMA’s Human Rights Service has documented over 1,600 cases of human rights violations including torture, committed by the de facto authorities across the country during the arrest and detention of individuals from 1 January 2022 to 31 July this year.

Commenting on the findings, UN rights chief Volker Türk described as “harrowing” the personal accounts of beatings, electric shocks, water torture and numerous other forms of cruel and degrading treatment, along with threats made against individuals and their families.

“Torture is forbidden in all circumstances,” he insisted.

According to the report, violations of due process guarantees, including denial of access to lawyers, have become the “norm” in the country. 

Mr. Türk urged the Taliban to halt the abuses and hold perpetrators accountable.

Afghanistan remains bound as a State Party by numerous international human rights treaties. UNAMA is mandated by the UN Security Council to support their implementation.

Armenia-Azerbaijan: UN reiterates calls for humanitarian access

UN Secretary-General António Guterres has said that he remained concerned about the humanitarian situation in the South Caucasus where there’s been a flare-up in fighting.

Through his Spokesperson, Mr. Guterres reiterated his call for full-fledged access for aid workers to people in need.

In a statement referring to the situation between Armenia and Azerbaijan, Mr. Guterres said that he was “extremely concerned” over the use of military force in the region and reports of casualties, including among the civilian population. 

According to the latest media reports, a cessation of hostilities in the region was announced on Wednesday.

Conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan over the region has persisted for more than three decades, but a ceasefire was agreed almost three years ago following six weeks of fighting, by the leaders of Armenia, Azerbaijan and Russia, leading to the deployment of several thousand Russian peacekeepers.

The UN chief urged “in the strongest terms” for de-escalation and “stricter” observance of the 2020 ceasefire and principles of international humanitarian law.

Just last month, UN humanitarians and partners briefed the Security Council on the need for unimpeded passage of aid in the region through the Lachin Corridor. The key route reportedly reopened last week.

Mr. Guterres said that he regretted that the latest “worrying developments” followed the delivery of “much-needed humanitarian assistance” to the local population on 18 September.

The UN rights chief Volker Türk also said on Tuesday that he was worried about “the impact of renewed use of armed force on civilians”. He insisted that it was “absolutely critical” that Azerbaijan and Armenia return to the peace process and work on an agreement “grounded in human rights”. 

UN launches star-studded road safety campaign

Coming soon to a billboard near you: a new global UN road safety campaign launched on Wednesday to help prevent road traffic crashes, which kill 1.35 million people each year.

Crashes are the leading cause of death for people aged five to 29 around the world and developing countries account for a staggering 93 per cent of the victims. 

According to the UN Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE), the most vulnerable road users, such as pedestrians, cyclists and motorcyclists, and the poor are disproportionately affected.

The UN chief’s Special Envoy for Road Safety, Jean Todt, said that road safety was “not high enough” on the political agenda in most countries.

To raise awareness of the issue, the new UN campaign mobilizes celebrities ranging from pop star Kylie Minogue to football icon Ousmane Dembélé who are encouraging road users to adopt safe practices. The billboards will go on display in some 1,000 cities worldwide.

Protests erupted throughout the country on Saturday marking the one-year anniversary of the 22-year-old Iranian woman’s death after she was detained by Iran’s morality police for allegedly not wearing her headscarf properly.

Crackdown on protesters

Iranian authorities briefly detained Ms. Amini’s father on Saturday and beefed-up security nationwide to deter protesters from taking to the streets.

“Iranian authorities must end their crackdown against those who participated in the protests against Jina Mahsa Amini’s death and deliver justice and accountability for grave violations committed during the 2022 protests,” the UN experts said.

Her death sparked nationwide demonstrations and unrest, and authorities responded with a brutal crackdown, reportedly arresting thousands and executing at least seven people in connection with the protests.

Family persecuted

In the lead up to the anniversary of Ms. Amini’s death, the UN experts received reports that authorities had detained the young woman’s father and warned him against marking the first anniversary of his daughter’s death before releasing him.  

The experts said security forces surrounded her family home on 16 September, preventing family members from leaving to attend a graveside memorial event.

“Iran must account for the death of Jina Mahsa Amini in police custody last year and end its crackdown on protests sparked by her demise,” the experts said. “After months of brutally repressing demonstrations over the course of the past year, authorities have imposed restrictions and threatened reprisals against public commemorations”, they said.

Activists fight for freedom

According to the Human Rights Council-appointed experts, A 28-year-old man was shot by security forces on 16 September near the city of Saqqez, in Iran’s western Kurdish region near the cemetery where Ms. Amini is buried. His condition remains critical.  

Iranian State media also announced the arrest of more than 260 individuals across the country over the weekend in connection with the protests.

According to the independent experts, Iranian authorities have put new laws and practices in place to repress women and girls.

But they have failed to conduct an independent, impartial, and transparent investigation into the death and have consistently denied any misconduct or wrongdoing.

Ongoing clampdown

“We remain concerned and alarmed by the ongoing policies and practices in Iran which amount to total impunity for grave crimes committed under international law in the year that followed Jina Mahsa Amini’s death,” the experts said.

The experts expressed concern that family members of individuals who were executed in connection with the protests were either summoned to court or detained by authorities for seeking justice. They also noted a “concerning pattern” of mistreatment of human rights defenders, journalists, lawyers in custody.

“The Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran could have learned important lessons from the tragic death of Jina Mahsa Amini. But its response to the demonstrations that have led to the deaths of hundreds of protestors since September 2022 shows that authorities have chosen not to,” the UN experts said.

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. 

That’s the message from UN human rights chief Volker Türk, who called for strong leadership and political will from States to heed the call of people of African descent for accountability and redress.

His comments followed the release of a new UN report which sets out a series of concrete steps for governments to make reparations from former colonists, a reality.

The proposed measures, which must be guided by people of African descent themselves, include public apology, education and awareness raising, restitution and compensation.

Up to 30 million people were violently uprooted from Africa for enslavement over the course of four centuries. After slavery ended, policies such as segregation and apartheid perpetuated racial discrimination.

Mr. Türk stressed that reparatory justice was “not just about addressing the wrongful acts of the past” but also about building societies that are truly inclusive, equal and free from racism. 

Libya: Derna a ‘sad snapshot’ of the state of our world: UN chief

The thousands of people killed, injured or displaced by the floods in Derna, Libya, were “victims many times over” of conflict and climate change, UN Secretary-General António Guterres told world leaders gathered at the UN in New York on Tuesday.

Derna is a “sad snapshot of the state of our world”, Mr. Guterres said at the UN General Assembly, as humanitarians in Libya continue to assess needs in the wake of the disaster.

“The situation on the ground is catastrophic. I have been a humanitarian worker for over 19 years and this is one of the worst disasters that I have witnessed. The level of destruction is unfathomable”, said UN refugee agency (UNHCR) Assistant Chief of Mission, Rana Ksaifi, speaking to reporters, from Benghazi:

He said an estimated 30,000 people have been displaced in Derna alone. Christopher Laker, the UN Development Programme (UNDP) Resident Representative in the country, said that 97 per cent of some neighbourhoods had been “washed away” as dams collapsed. 

He highlighted the urgent need for maintenance of Libya’s water reservoirs and dams and said that UNDP teams would be supporting the authorities with infrastructure assessments.

Sudan: Children dying amid healthcare system collapse

In Sudan, more than 1,200 children under five have died in camps in the space of four months from a combination of measles and malnutrition, UN humanitarians said on Tuesday.

The children were refugees living in nine camps in Sudan’s White Nile state, according to UNCHR and the World Health Organization (WHO).

The refugee agency said that over 3,100 suspected measles cases and more than 500 suspected cholera cases were reported in the same period in the country, along with outbreaks of dengue and malaria.

Here’s UNHCR’s Chief of Public Health, Dr. Allen Maina:

“The situation has brought healthcare in the country to its knees, despite heroic efforts of local clinics and aid agencies to continue to provide much-needed health services.”

WHO said that 3.4 million children in the country were acutely malnourished, while up to 80 per cent of hospitals in conflict-affected states are out of action.

With the lack of access to treatment, the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) warned that “many thousands of newborns” may die in Sudan by the end of the year. 

Meanwhile, the UN’s 2023 Sudan Humanitarian Response Plan launched in May remains only 30 per cent funded.