UKRAINE, 110 damaged religious sites inspected and documented by UNESCO

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24 May 2023

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Brazil: Caçapava Geopark

Caçapava UNESCO Global Geopark in Brazil.

For the Guarani, an indigenous people in Brazil, this geopark is “the place where the jungle ends”, located in Rio Grande do Sul State in southernmost Brazil. Its geological heritage, which consists of mining sulfide metals and marble, has been vital for the region’s economic development. Besides its geodiversity, the geopark is home to endangered cacti, bromeliads, endemic flowers, and bee species.

Brazil: Quarta Colônia Geopark

This geopark is located in the south of Brazil between the Pampa and Atlantic Forest biomes. Its name is a reference to the period when Italians colonised the central part of the state of Rio Grande do Sul. There are colonial villas, traces of indigenous and settlements of the quilombolas (formerly enslaved people of African descent). The geopark is also rich in fossils of animal and plant life, dating back 230 million years.

Greece: Lavreotiki Geopark

Famous for the abundance and variety of its mineralogical specimens, many of which were first discovered in the area, this geopark is known around the world for the silver that is extracted from mixed sulfide deposits. The region has been inhabited since antiquity due to its underground geological wealth and is currently home to over 25,000 inhabitants. Lavreotiki also houses the Byzantine Holy Monastery of St Paul the Apostle.

Indonesia: Ijen Geopark

This gem is located in the Banyuwangi and Bondowoso Regencies in East Java Province. Its location between the strait and the sea has made it a crossroads for human migration and commerce. Ijen is one of the most active volcanoes in the Ijen caldera system. Thanks to a rare phenomenon, high concentrations of sulfur rise from the active crater before igniting as they encounter the oxygen-rich atmosphere; as the gas burns, it forms an electric blue flame which is unique, and only visible at night.

Indonesia: Maros Pangkep Geopark

Maros Pangkep UNESCO Global Geopark in Indonesia.

This geopark is located along the southern arm of the island of Sulawesi in the Maros and Pangkep Regencies. The local population is primarily composed of the indigenous peoples of Bugis and Makassarese. This archipelago lies in the Coral Triangle and serves as a centre for the conservation of coral reef ecosystems. The area is more than 100 million years old.

Indonesia: Merangin Jambi Geopark

This geopark is home to the unique fossils of “Jambi flora”, which are the only exposed fossilized plants of their kind in the world today. These are located in the central part of Sumatra Island in Indonesia. The name ‘Jambi flora’ refers to fossilized plants found as part of a rock formation dating from the Early Permian era (296 million years old). The fossils include mosses, primitive conifers and seed ferns, which reproduce via seed dispersal instead of through spores.

Indonesia: Raja Ampat Geopark

This geopark’s territory includes four main islands and is special for having the oldest exposed rock in the country, which is almost one-tenth as old as Earth itself. Scuba-divers flock to the area, drawn by the beauty of the underwater caves and the extraordinary marine mega-biodiversity. Here, they can observe rock art produced by prehistoric humans who lived in the area several thousand years ago.

Iran: Aras Geopark

Aras Geopark / Ehsan Zamanian

Aras UNESCO Global Geopark in Iran.

The Aras River marks the northern limit of this geopark located in northwestern Iran at the southern end of the Lesser Caucasus Mountain range. This mountain range acts as a natural barrier. It has created a range of climates, as well as rich geodiversity and biodiversity; it also links different cultures on the northern and southern sides of the mountain chain.

Iran: Tabas Geopark

Many thinkers have referred to the 22,771 km² of desert in northwest South Khorasan Province where this geopark is located as “the geological paradise of Iran”. This is because one can follow the evolution of the planet from the earliest part of the Earth’s history 4.6 billion years ago (the Precambrian) to the Early Cretaceous about 145 million years ago without the slightest interruption. The geopark is home to the Naybandan Wildlife Refuge, the largest in Iran, which covers an area of 1.5 million hectares and is the most important habitat of the Asian cheetah.

Japan: Hakusan Tedorigawa Geopark

Watagataki waterfall in the Tedori Gorge, Japan.

Located in central Japan, where it follows the Tedori River from Mount Hakusan down to the sea, the Hakusan Tedorigawa Geopark records approximately 300 million years of history. It contains rocks that were formed by the collision of continents. It also has strata containing fossils of dinosaurs which accumulated in rivers and lakes on land at a time when Japan was attached to the Eurasian continent.

Malaysia: Kinabalu Geopark

Mount Kinabalu dominates this geopark in the State of Sabah at the northern end of the island of Borneo. The highest mountain lying between the Himalayas and New Guinea, Mount Kinabalu has been attracting explorers for over a century. Covering an area of 4,750 km², the geopark is home to many endemic plants and animals, including 90 orchid species that exist only on Mount Kinabalu, and the crimson-headed partridge bird not found anywhere else on Earth.

New Zealand: Waitaki Whitestone Geopark

New Zealand’s first UNESCO Global Geopark lies on the east coast of the South Island. The landscapes, rivers and tides of this geopark have enormous cultural significance for the local indigenous people, the Ngāi Tahu whānui. The geopark offers exceptional insights into the history of the Earth’s eighth continent, Zealandia, or Te Riu-a-Māui in Maori. The geopark provides evidence of the formation of Zealandia, which broke away from the ancient supercontinent of Gondwana around 80 million years ago.

Norway: Sunnhordland Geopark

The landscapes in this geopark range from glacier-covered alpine mountains to archipelagos with thousands of islands situated on the strand-flat along the coast. The geological landscape displays textbook examples of glacial erosion that occurred during 40 ice ages. The Hardangerfjord Fault separates a billion years of geological evolution.

Philippines: Bohol Island Geopark

The Philippines’ first UNESCO Global Geopark, Bohol Island, sits in the Visayas island group. The island’s geological identity has been pieced together over 150 million years, as periods of tectonic turbulence have raised the island from the ocean depths. The geopark abounds in karstic geosites such as caves, sinkholes and cone karst, including the famous cone-shaped Chocolate Hills in the centre of the geopark.

Republic of Korea: Jeonbuk West Coast Geopark

This geopark tells 2.5 billion years of well-exposed geological history in the western part of the country. The vast tidal flats dotted with volcanoes and islands allow us to travel through time to piece together elements of the Earth’s history. Jeonbuk West Coast UNESCO Global Geopark has already been recognized by UNESCO as a natural and cultural World Heritage property and as a biosphere reserve.

Spain: Cabo Ortegal Geopark

Cabo Ortegal, Spain.

Take a journey into the interior of our planet by discovering rocks that emerged from the depths of the Earth almost 400 million years ago in what is now Cabo Ortegal UNESCO Global Geopark. This geopark provides some of the most complete evidence in Europe of the collision that caused Pangea, a process known as the Variscan Orogeny. Most of the rocks in this geopark were brought to the surface by the collision of two continents, Laurussia and Gondwana, which would eventually join the supercontinent Pangaea about 350 million years ago.

Thailand: Khorat Geopark

Khorat UNESCO Global Geopark, Thailand.

This geopark is mostly located in the LamTakhong river basin on the southwestern margin of the Khorat Plateau in Nakhon Ratchasima Province in northeast Thailand. The unique geological feature of the region is the diversity and abundance of fossils ranging in age from 16 million to 10,000 years. A large range of dinosaurs and other animal fossils like ancient elephants have been found in Mueang District.

United Kingdom: Mourne Gullion, Strangford

Mourne Gullion Strangford UNESCO Global Geopark, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland..

This geopark tells the tale of how two oceans evolved over 400 million years of geological history. It charts the closure of the Iapetus Ocean and the birth of the North Atlantic Ocean, which generated large amounts of molten rock (or magma) both within the Earth’s crust and on the surface. The geopark is located in the southeast of Northern Ireland, adjacent to the border with the Republic of Ireland.

Unprecedented joint call to shield children on the move from violence

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24 May 2023

Unprecedented joint call to shield children on the move from violence

With more than 42 million children displaced worldwide and increasing exposure to multiple forms of violence, the Office of the Special Representative on Violence against Children co-launched a new brief, Protecting the Rights of Children on the Move in Times of Crisis, which draws on past lessons, and outlines key principles to boost child protection.

In this unprecedented joint call, the Special Representative Dr. Najat Maalla M’jid, was joined by the head of the UN human rights office (OHCHR), refugee agency UNHCR, the UN Children’s Fund UNICEF, the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), and the UN migration agency (IOM) – in close partnership with the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) Special Representative and Coordinator for Combating Trafficking in Human Beings – who stressed that “protection of all children, independently of their status, is more necessary than ever.”

This includes investing in strong rights-based national protection systems that include displaced children, rather than excluding them or creating separate services for them, says the brief, which has proven to be more sustainable and effective in the long-term.

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Concrete actions

As millions of children are displaced, often for many years, by crises such as armed conflicts, political instability, climate change – and it’s associated fallout for health and economic survival – the best interests of the child must be the primary consideration, the brief states.

Full protection requires translating good intentions into concrete and sustained actions, ensuring non-discriminatory access to national services.

This includes civil documentation such as birth registration, social welfare, justice, health, education, and social protection – for all children, without distinction or exclusion based on their migration status.

Penelope Cruz – unity call

Spanish film star and campaigner, Penelope Cruz joined the call, emphasizing that we all have a role to play in protecting children from violence: “Children must be protected everywhere and in all circumstances. Keeping all children safe from harm and promoting their wellbeing with particular attention to those is crisis situations is – and must be – everybody’s business.

“Let’s be united in creating a world free from violence against children”, she declared.

‘No time to spare’: Israel-Palestine ceasefire holds, but hunger, tensions mount

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24 May 2023

‘No time to spare’: Israel-Palestine ceasefire holds, but hunger, tensions mount

“There is no time to spare,” said Tor Wennesland, the UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process.

“We must take action, not only to ensure Palestinian well-being and governance, but as an integral part of ending the occupation and restoring a political horizon toward a viable two-State solution, based on UN resolutions, international law and previous agreements,” he said, briefing the Council on recent grim and dangerous security and humanitarian concerns.

While a ceasefire that ended five days of fighting between Israel and Gaza is holding, conflict mitigation efforts must also be met with steps by both sides – supported by the international community – to reset a trajectory out of the cycle of violence, he said.

In this vein, he called on all parties to stop unilateral and inflammatory actions that undermine prospects for peace, and to address the acute financial and institutional challenges facing the Palestinian Authority.

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Looming food crisis

The Special Coordinator also warned of a looming food crisis.

“I am particularly alarmed by the funding crisis facing UN agencies supporting basic services and social support, including emergency food assistance, to Palestinians,” he said, encouraging Member States to immediately seek ways to increase their support.

Unless new support arrives, the World Food Programme (WFP) will suspend cash assistance to some 200,000 Palestinians next week, and the UN relief agency, UNRWA, will not have the resources to deliver core services in September.

Without new funding, he said “we will face serious humanitarian and, potentially, security challenges”.

The World Food Programme (WFP) provides poor and food insecure families in Gaza with electronic food vouchers which give them access to local products.

Diplomacy saves lives

In recent weeks, the UN, together with regional and international partners, mobilized once again to end hostilities between armed factions in Gaza and Israeli forces, he said, calling such efforts “crucial to saving Palestinian and Israeli lives”.

“Nevertheless, we must also keep issues fundamental to creating the conditions for a lasting peace at the forefront,” he said. “The immediate priority is to support steps to bolster the Palestinian Authority and preserve the provision of critical services to the Palestinian people.”

These steps should be implemented in a way that encourages the parties to engage with each other and require actions by Israeli and Palestinian leaders, alongside increased support and attention from the international community, he said.

Civilians ‘bear the brunt’

Meanwhile, he said a landscape of violence and tensions saw Israel and Palestinian armed factions once again resort to rocket fire into and out of the Gaza Strip enclave.

Following the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) leader Khader Adnan’s death in an Israeli jail following an 86-day hunger strike, armed factions in Gaza fired over 100 rockets towards Israel, causing damage but no injuries. The Israeli Air Force responded with airstrikes against what it said were Hamas and PIJ targets in the Strip, killing one Palestinian and causing damage, he said.

Even though the hostilities ended on 3 May, Israel had conducted 323 airstrikes against what it said were PIJ military targets in Gaza, while Palestinian militants, mainly PIJ’s al-Quds Brigades, launched over 1,200 rockets and more than 250 mortars towards Israel, he added.

The number of deaths mounted on both sides, he said, regretting to note that civilians continued to “bear the brunt of such hostilities”.

West Bank violence

Levels of violence remained high in the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, he said.

Seventeen Palestinians, including two children, were killed and 138 Palestinians, including two women and 23 children, were injured by Israeli security forces during demonstrations, clashes, search-and-arrest operations, attacks, and alleged attacks against Israelis, he said.

During the reporting period, Israeli forces imposed significant movement restrictions around Jericho, Nablus, and Hebron following either Palestinian attacks or stone throwing – affecting tens of thousands of Palestinians and local economic conditions.

Racist slogans

Thousands of right-wing Israeli activists, including senior Government ministers, participated in the highly provocative annual “flag day” march through Jerusalem’s Old City, marking Jerusalem Day, he said, adding that “many chanted racist slogans, including ‘death to Arabs’, with scuffles breaking out between Israeli participants and Palestinians”.

“Such provocations and incitement, which continued in the days after the march, are unacceptable and must be condemned by all,” he said.

Palestinian houses and Israeli settlements in H2 area in Hebron, West Bank.

Expanding illegal settlements

More illegal settlement plans are moving forward, with tenders published for some 310 housing units in Area C and demolitions continuing, he said.

During the reporting period, Israeli authorities demolished, seized, or forced owners to demolish 33 Palestinian-owned structures in Area C and 17 in East Jerusalem, including a donor-funded school east of Bethlehem, displacing 89 Palestinians, including 45 children, he said, calling on Israeli authorities to end the displacement and eviction of Palestinians.

“They are a substantial obstacle to peace and must stop,” he said of the settlements, noting that all such expansion into occupied territory is illegal under international law.

Green light for global greenhouse gas tracking network

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24 May 2023

Green light for global greenhouse gas tracking network

The landmark decision comes as heat-trapping greenhouse gas concentrations are at record levels – “higher than at any time over the last 800,000 years”, WMO warned.

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Data from Earth and space

The new Global Greenhouse Gas Watch will combine observations from Earth and from space with modelling, to fill critical information gaps. It will build on WMO’s experience in coordinating international collaboration on weather prediction.

The agency said that the exchange of data will be “free and unrestricted”, in support of the Paris Agreement on climate change.

According to WMO, between 1990 and 2021, the warming effect on our climate from the main greenhouse gases, carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide, rose by nearly 50 per cent.

“We know from our measurements that greenhouse gas concentrations are at record levels”, said WMO Secretary-General Petteri Taalas. “The increase in carbon dioxide levels from 2020 to 2021 was higher than the average growth rate over the past decade and methane saw the biggest year-on-year jump since measurements started.

Plenty still to learn

“But there are still uncertainties, especially regarding the role in the carbon cycle of the ocean, the land biosphere and the permafrost areas,” said Mr. Taalas.

“We therefore need to undertake greenhouse gas monitoring within an integrated Earth System framework in order to be able to account for natural sources and sinks, both as they currently operate and as they will change as a result of a changing climate. This will provide vital information and support for implementation of the Paris Agreement,” he said.

Lars Peter Riishojgaard, WMO Deputy Director for infrastructure, said the UN weather agency’s “decision on the generational challenge of climate change mitigation, is a historic step.

“Internationally coordinated global greenhouse gas monitoring open to all and operating under WMO’s policy of free and unrestricted exchange of data, will provide valuable, timely and authoritative information on greenhouse gas fluxes to the UNFCCC Parties (the UN climate change convention Secretariat), which will help them in their efforts to mitigate climate change”, he added.

Mr. Riishojgaard said there was “very strong support from the science community and private sector”, for the new monitoring project.

Landfills are a major source of methane emissions, and improved management can capture the methane as a clean fuel source as well as reducing health risks. Photo: World Bank/Curt Carnemark

Guterres: ‘We can turn the tide’ towards ending colonialism

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24 May 2023

Guterres: ‘We can turn the tide’ towards ending colonialism

“Our shared goal is to give greater priority to the decolonization agenda and spur accelerated action,” UN Secretary-General António Guterres told the Special Committee on Decolonization, or C-24, regional seminar.

Established by the General Assembly in 1961, the Committee is mandated to examine the application of the Declaration on the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples.

Since the birth of the UN in 1945, more than 80 former colonies, comprising some 750 million people, have gained independence. The ongoing process affects 17 non-self-governing territories, representing nearly 2 million people.

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Focus on SDGs

Highlighting the seminar’s theme, advancing the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in the territories, the Secretary-General said that halfway to the deadline for the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, “we are leaving more than half the world behind”.

“Progress has stalled and, in some cases, even reversed,” he cautioned. “The SDGs are the path to peace and prosperity for all on a healthy planet; no country can afford to see them fail.”

Existential stakes

Yet for many non-self-governing territories that are small islands on the frontlines of the climate emergency, “the stakes are existential”, he warned.

“As a global community, we must ensure the territories have the resources and support you need to advance the SDGs, build resilience, and invest in your future,” he told delegates.

The decolonization process must be guided by the aspirations and needs of the territories on a case-by-case basis, he said, expressing gratitude to the Committee for its unwavering commitment to the complete elimination of colonialism.

Children play on a jetty on Fale Island in the Pacific Ocean archipelago of Tokelau.

Turning the tide

“I count on you to generate new ideas and open new pathways for stronger cooperation between the territories, administering Powers and other stakeholders, in accordance with relevant resolutions,” he said.

“Together, we can turn the tide and kickstart a new drive for SDG achievement in the territories and beyond,” he said.

Learn more about how the UN helps decolonization efforts here.

Map of 17 non-self-governing territories that remain on the UN decolonization list..

African free trade area could spur sustainable growth: UN chief

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24 May 2023

African free trade area could spur sustainable growth: UN chief

Mr. Guterres was speaking on the final day of the annual Africa Dialogue Series in New York, where the focus this year was on accelerating implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) – set to be the largest in the world.

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Harness the potential

He said the pandemic brought high food and energy prices, made worse by the Russian invasion of Ukraine, exacerbating poverty, inequalities, and food insecurity.

Governments have also faced rising interest rates, increasing the potential for debt, while climate change has created deadly floods and drought, contributing to the risk of hunger.

“Guided by the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the African Union’s Agenda 2063, we must ramp up our efforts and harness the full potential of trade and industrialization to advance sustainable, inclusive growth,” the UN chief told participants.

Millions could escape poverty

He said the AfCFTA is set to be an engine of that growth.

“Its full implementation could generate income gains of up to nine per cent by 2035, according to latest estimates. This would lift up to 50 million people out of extreme poverty and reduce income inequalities,” he added.

The Secretary-General stressed that realizing the AfCFTA promise calls for action across four critical areas, starting with boosting access to financial resources and investment.

“We need a fundamental reform of the global financial system so that Africa is represented at the highest level,” he said.  

Barriers that hold back intra-African trade and production capacities must also be broken down, including through eliminating tariffs, building “made in Africa” supply chains, and harmonizing regulations that would enable investment.

Leverage technology

His third point focused on energy and digital infrastructure, which are vital for African countries to build their manufacturing capacities and harness the full potential of innovation and entrepreneurship.

“We need to power Africa’s industrialization and leverage technology to leapfrog outdated infrastructure and head straight towards the fourth Industrial Revolution,” said Mr. Guterres.

The continent is also blessed with resources that could make it a leader in clean energy, he added, and the sector could generate more than six million jobs by mid-century. Yet Africa has received just two percent of global investment in renewables over the past decade.

Invest in people

His final point underscored investing in “human capital”, with Africa’s vibrant, young and innovative population representing both a dynamic workforce and massive market.

“Creating decent jobs, particularly for women, and promoting education, training and lifelong learning is the best way to ensure Africa’s people fully contribute to the continent’s digital revolution and sustainable growth,” he said.

Annual dialogue

The African Dialogue Series brings together policy and decision-makers, experts, academics, civil society representatives, young people and other stakeholders to examine challenges and opportunities impacting the continent.

It is organized by the UN Office of the Special Adviser on Africa (OSAA) and partners.

Türk appeals to Sudan’s warring generals; calls out ‘dangerous anti-rights tendencies’ worldwide

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24 May 2023

Türk appeals to Sudan’s warring generals; calls out ‘dangerous anti-rights tendencies’ worldwide

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk appealed to the leaders of the Sudanese Armed Forces and of the Rapid Support Forces, locked in conflict since 15 April, to “issue clear instructions” to those under their command that sexual violence will not be tolerated, and to ensure that all perpetrators are held accountable.

Mr. Türk called reports of sexual violence in Khartoum and Darfur “very troubling” and said that while his Office was aware of at least 25 cases, he feared the real number to be much higher.

“General al-Burhan, General Dagalo… you must stop this senseless violence now,” he insisted, stressing that efforts to bring the conflict to an end “must have human rights” at their core.

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Crackdowns on women’s rights

At a press conference in Geneva, in a wide-ranging overview of human rights hotspots and “dangerous” anti-rights tendencies on the rise, Mr. Türk called misogyny a “disease” and slammed the crackdown on women’s rights in Afghanistan.

“I will never understand how anyone can trample so cruelly upon the spirit of girls and women, chipping away at their potential and driving one’s country deeper and deeper into abject poverty and despair,” he said.

He also commented on “intensified” harassment of women in Iran, calling on the country’s authorities to repeal regulations that criminalize non-compliance with mandatory dress codes, and condemning the continued use of the death penalty “in significant numbers”.

Disinformation stoking rights crackdown

The UN rights chief warned that “peddlers of lies and disinformation” were fuelling anti-rights movements, notably against LGBTQI+ people. He sounded the alarm against the “vilification of segments of society”, saying that driving people against one another was invariably detrimental to society as a whole.

Mr. Türk deplored in particular the worsening of laws criminalizing LGBTQI+ people, such as recent legislation in Uganda, which he had previously called “devastating”.

The High Commissioner also called out hate speech against migrants and refugees, as well as anti-migrant laws and policies, citing recent developments in the United Kingdom, the United States, Italy, Greece and Lebanon. He highlighted the need for solidarity and respect for the rights of all people in situations of vulnerability.

Protestors take part in a Black Lives Matter demonstration in central London, UK. (file)

‘Systemic racism’

Recalling that Thursday will mark three years to the day since the murder of George Floyd by a policeman in the United States, Mr. Türk said that he was deeply concerned about regular reports of death and injuries of people of African descent “during or after interactions with law enforcement in a number of countries”, and that this targeted police brutality pointed to “systemic racism”.

Racist taunts at Real Madrid

Highlighting the recent case of Brazilian footballer Vinícius Júnior as a “stark reminder” of the prevalence of racism in sport, the UN rights chief called on sports organizers to redouble efforts to eradicate racial discrimination and highlighted the need to listen to and involve people of African descent in the search for solutions.

Vinícius Júnior, a Real Madrid player, was the victim of racist abuse by football fans last week. Spanish police arrested several suspects on Tuesday over their involvement in alleged hate crime incidents targeting the footballer.

A stronger rights system

With human rights in dire straits in so many places around the world, Mr. Türk said that he saw an urgent need to strengthen the UN rights office (OHCHR) through additional funding.

United Nations High Commissioner Volker Türk ends his visit to Colombia with a press conference in Bogota.

He said that his ambition was to double the budget to $800 million, which could allow for the strengthening of OHCHR’s field presence. He recalled that while human rights was one of the three pillars of the UN, it only mobilized a very small portion of the Organization’s regular budget.

Stating his belief in the Office’s presence on the ground, the High Commissioner said that he saw “great value” in an OHCHR acting as “the bridge between civil society, human rights defenders, victims, and the institutions of the state”.

‘Back to basics’

Emphasizing the universality of human rights, Mr. Türk called it “a matter for everyone, everywhere”.

“All States can and should do better on human rights,” he insisted.

Mr. Türk also expressed his “fervent” hope that the 75th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, marked this year, will “provide the space and inspiration for all of us to go back to the basics – to find the roots of human rights values in each of our cultures, histories, and faiths, uniting us in pushing back against the instrumentalization and politicization of human rights within and between countries”.

UN and partners seek $7 billion to prevent catastrophe in the Horn of Africa

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24 May 2023

UN and partners seek billion to prevent catastrophe in the Horn of Africa

More than 43 million people across Ethiopia, Kenya and Somalia continue to suffer through one of the worst droughts in recent history, caused by five consecutive seasons of poor rains.

Years of conflict and insecurity have sparked mass displacement, while skyrocketing food prices and most recently, the fighting in Sudan, have compounded the situation.

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Appeal for action

“We must act now to prevent crisis from turning into catastrophe,” Mr. Guterres said. “Let us act together now – with greater urgency and far greater support.”

The pledging event was convened by the UN and Italy, Qatar, the United Kingdom and the United States, in collaboration with the three affected countries.

Mr. Guterres said he saw the devastating impact of the drought first-hand during recent visits to Kenya and Somalia.

Families search for food

“In parts of northern Kenya, parched landscapes and perished livestock have driven families from their homes in search of water, food, and incomes,” he said.

While in the Somali city of Baidoa, he met communities who lost their livelihoods to drought and insecurity, as the battle against Al-Shabaab militants continues.

“I was deeply moved by their struggles. And I was inspired by their resilience, courage, and determination to rebuild their lives. But they cannot do it alone,” he said.

Step up support

The UN chief assured that “action will make all the difference.” Last year, donors delivered life-saving assistance to 20 million people and helped avert a famine. 

He called for increased support for humanitarian plans for the region which are currently less than 20 per cent funded.

This is “unacceptable”, he said, warning that without an immediate financial injection, “emergency operations will grind to a halt, and people will die.”

Build climate resilience

He said the drought in Somalia last year claimed 40,000 lives, and half were children under five, according to the World Health Organization (WHO) and the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF).

Although recent rains have brought some relief, vulnerable communities are still facing another year of immense hardship.  

“People in the Horn of Africa are paying an unconscionable price for a climate crisis they did nothing to cause,” he said. 

“We owe them solidarity. We owe them assistance. And we owe them a measure of hope for the future.  This means immediate action to secure their survival.  And it means sustained action to help communities across the Horn adapt and build resilience to climate change.”

Eleventh Edition of the Mata International Equestrian Festival

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24 May 2023