Hungarian diplomat elects Csaba as new President of UN Assembly
The treaty will come into effect once ratified by 40 member nations. It aims to enhance global efforts to combat cybercrime, focusing on issues such as child sexual abuse imagery and money laundering…reports Asian Lite News
Member states of the United Nations approved the first international treaty targeting cybercrime, despite strong objections from human rights activists concerned about potential surveillance risks. The United Nations Convention Against Cybercrime was adopted by consensus after three years of negotiations and a final two-week session in New York. The treaty will now be submitted to the General Assembly for formal adoption.
Algerian diplomat Faouzia Boumaiza Mebarki, chairwoman of the drafting committee, announced the adoption with enthusiasm, stating, “I consider the documents… adopted. Thank you very much, bravo to all!” The committee, established in response to Russia’s initial 2017 proposal, overcame resistance from the US and Europe.
The treaty will come into effect once ratified by 40 member nations. It aims to enhance global efforts to combat cybercrime, focusing on issues such as child sexual abuse imagery and money laundering. However, critics, including human rights groups and major tech companies, argue that the treaty’s broad scope could lead to excessive global surveillance and potential misuse for political repression.
The treaty allows member states to request electronic evidence and data from internet service providers in other countries for investigations of crimes punishable by at least four years of imprisonment under national laws.
David Lammy is also on the record saying that he wants to finish the job on the FTA and plans to visit India within the first month of being elected.
The Bangladesh protests majorly by students demanded an end to a quota system for government jobs and had grown into an uprising against Hasina and her ruling Awami League party…reports Asian Lite News
Foreign Secretary, David Lammy expressed concern regarding the Bangladesh situation and stated that everyone needs to work together to end this violence. Further, he also urged for a full and independent investigation, led by the United Nations, into the recent events in Bangladesh.
“The people of Bangladesh deserve a full and independent UN-led investigation into the events of the past few weeks,” said Lammy. Additionally, David Lammy has described the situation as unprecedented, highlighting the severity of the crisis.
“The last two weeks in Bangladesh have seen unprecedented levels of violence and tragic loss of life. A transitional period has been announced by the Chief of the Army Staff,” said UK Foreign Secretary, David Lammy. “All sides now need to work together to end the violence, restore calm, de-escalate the situation and prevent any further loss of life,” he added.
He also expressed the UK’s desire to see Bangladesh transition towards a peaceful and democratic future and emphasised the strong bonds between the two nations, fostered through shared Commonwealth values and significant people-to-people links.
“The UK wants to see action taken to ensure Bangladesh a peaceful and democratic future. The UK and Bangladesh have deep people-to-people links and shared Commonwealth values,” he added.
The Bangladesh protests majorly by students demanded an end to a quota system for government jobs and had grown into an uprising against Hasina and her ruling Awami League party. At least 95 people, including at least 14 police officers, died and hundreds of people were injured in clashes in Dhaka on Sunday, local media outlet Prothom Alo reported.
Earlier in the day Shiekh Hasina tendered her resignation and left the country and came to India. Shortly after the 76-year-old leader, accompanied by her sister left the country in a military helicopter Bangladesh’s military chief General. Waker-uz-Zaman urged protestors to shun violence. The army chief announced that an interim government would soon be formed.
Meanwhile, protests and celebrations were reported from other parts of Dhaka with some protestors cheering the news of the resignation of Sheikh Hasina.
India has been the biggest votary of strengthening multilateralism over the years. But, in a changed world, if the most populous country and the fifth largest economy, with a track record of multilateralism, democracy and a civilizational ethos of humanity, cannot be given its due in global governance, then there is need for reform, writes T S Tirumurti
T S Tirumurti
Multilateralism is in crisis. With every turn of events, multilateral systems and international organisations are being debilitated almost always at the cost of the Global South. The United Nations stands paralysed. Even as, on the one hand, international laws and agreements are adopted to strengthen the rules-based international order, on the other hand, these are being violated with impunity without accountability.
But the problem is much deeper. Majority of developing countries have become bystanders in the unravelling of the world order. Their only insurance i.e. universal participation in decision-making, is vanishing. Instead, they are being presented with two differing, even opposing, world views which they have been asked to subscribe to.
Almost all current problems, whether in the UN, WTO, IMF or the World Bank, can be traced back to the inability of the multilateral system to accommodate the new and emerging powers in the post-World War 2 architecture. Multilateralism is caught between those who fight to preserve the status-quo of 1945 and those who demand reform to reflect current realities which is more multipolar.
India has been the biggest votary of strengthening multilateralism over the years. But, in a changed world, if the most populous country and the fifth largest economy, with a track record of multilateralism, democracy and a civilizational ethos of humanity, cannot be given its due in global governance, then there is need for reform. In fact, it was at the 10th annual summit of the BRICS in 2018 in Johannesburg, South Africa, that Prime Minister Modi proposed for the first time his vision of “reformed multilateralism” to give major emerging powers a voice in global governance.
India’s track record in the recent past and its two-year stint in the UN Security Council (2021-2022) have numerous examples, if at all examples are required, of how we bridged or overcame differences to build a more inclusive multilateral world. Accosted with global challenges like covid, climate change, digital and AI divide, terrorism etc, and sprouting of conflicts which threaten international peace and security, India has become indispensable in finding solutions.
Lest we forget, when the world was reeling under covid, and countries were hoarding vaccines for themselves, it was India which came forward to produce and distribute vaccines. For our Vaccine Maitri, we prioritized small and vulnerable countries and saved numerous lives.
In December 2021, in UN Security Council (UNSC), we successfully thwarted a move to wrest climate change from the inclusive UN Framework Convention on Climate Change-led process (UNFCCC), where all countries are present, and bring it under the ambit of UNSC – effectively putting climate action at the mercy of five permanent members (P-5), who are the major historical polluters. India underscored that the draft resolution “seeks to hand over that responsibility to a body which neither works through consensus nor is reflective of the interests of the developing countries.” The draft was defeated through a vote since India voted against, while Russia exercised the veto. If it had succeeded, climate change architecture would have, by now, kept out the voice of the Global South, especially the most vulnerable and the Small Island Developing States. India yet again came on the side of inclusivity and multilateralism. It was in the same vein that India was instrumental in setting up the International Solar Alliance which now has 100 member countries.
G20 is now an influential plurilateral group consisting of major economies taking decisions on global economic and developmental issues which impact all other countries as well. However, a glaring lacuna was that it was not fully representative of the smaller and medium sized states of the Global South. To bridge this gap, when India took over G20 Presidency (2022-23), Prime Minister Modi convened the Voice of Global South Summit where 125 developing countries participated. TheSummit’s outcome was channelized into G20 discussions during India’s Presidency making sure that G20 took informed and inclusive decisions affecting the vast majority. In addition, India lobbied and inducted African Union into G20 – a huge step for a continent which has not been adequately represented either in G20 or UNSC or in other international bodies.
Needless to add, India has been at the forefront of efforts to reform the UN Security Council. Dealing with conflicts is the business of UNSC but inability to deal with them has become its hallmark. When the UN was established, there were 51 member states. Now we have 193. But we still have only five permanent members, who are polarized and have paralysed decision-making in the Council. The days when a small group of countries decided what the world should do are over. The logical fall-out of an unreformed Security Council is the emergence of other power centres to challenge it leading to fragmentation of the world order. Unless there is legitimate, representative and permanent representation of the Global South, especially that of the largest country India and a continent of 54 countries Africa, we cannot have meaningful decisions in the Council.
Our support to the developing world was reinforced during India’s stint in UNSC, where we stood for their territorial integrity, increased humanitarian assistance, correcting historical injustice, reform, development partnership, fighting terror and for peaceful resolution of disputes.
However, it was India’s independent and proactive stand during the Ukraine war which acted as a catalyst in helping other developing countries voice their dissatisfaction on a military solution being pursued and call for diplomacy and dialogue even in the midst of intense fighting and high emotions, when all levers were being weaponized. In effect, this was India saying that we do not have to choose sides between warring blocs however big or important they may be. This was India saying that we stand for another world view which seeks the path of dialogue over war, seeks an inclusive world over polarization and fragmentation, seeks independence of policy-making over coercion of small and medium states in their decision-making, seeks territorial integrity over occupation and seeks reformed multilateralism over status-quo or unilateralism.
(Ambassador (Retd.) T.S. Tirumurti is a former Indian Ambassador and presently Professor at IIT Madras)
UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed addresses a hybrid press briefing at the UN headquarters in New York, Sept. 28, 2020. (Xinhua/Wang Ying/IANS)
The first step, she stressed, is to establish peace, underscoring that political and financial resources should be redirected from conflicts to development efforts…reports Asian Lite News
UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed has urged global leaders to redirect resources from warfare to peace and sustainable development initiatives.
Speaking on behalf of Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, Mohammed on Monday called for immediate and decisive action to salvage the faltering Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), Xinhua news agency reported.
“Conflicts in Gaza, Sudan, Ukraine, and beyond are causing a devastating loss of life and diverting political attention and scarce resources from the urgent work of ending poverty and averting climate catastrophe,” she said at the ministerial meeting of the High-Level Political Forum (HLPF) on Sustainable Development.
She emphasized the need to slash military budgets and instead channel funds towards peace and development.
Highlighting the critical state of the SDGs, Mohammed noted that only 17 per cent of the targets are on track as the 2030 deadline approaches. “Future generations deserve more than 17 per cent of a sustainable future,” she emphasized, outlining a four-pronged strategy for urgent acceleration in a bid to meet the 2030 deadline for the goals.
The first step, she stressed, is to establish peace, underscoring that political and financial resources should be redirected from conflicts to development efforts.
She also emphasised the importance of advancing green and digital transition, urging nations to enhance their climate action plans by 2025, aligning them with the 1.5-degree Celsius limit in line with the Paris Agreement and investing in expanding digital connectivity.
Addressing the financial challenges impeding SDG progress, Mohammed pointed out the growing financing gap and destabilizing financial conditions in many developing countries.
She acknowledged the ongoing reform of multilateral development banks and the recycling of special drawing rights but called for more robust measures. “We must go further and faster to deliver an SDG Stimulus,” she urged, calling for increased lending capacity, expanded access to contingency financing, and comprehensive debt solutions.
Mohammed reiterated the SDGs’ promise to “leave no one behind.”
She emphasized the need to prioritize vulnerable populations, uphold the rights of persons with disabilities and combat gender inequality.
“Achieving this agenda means placing vulnerable people and groups at the forefront of national development plans, policies and budgets,” she said.
During its three-day ministerial segment, the HLPF will hold a general debate on the theme From the SDG Summit to the Summit of the Future.
Ministers and high-level representatives of participating states, as well as intergovernmental organisations, major groups and other stakeholders, will take action to realise the Political Declaration of the 2023 SDG Summit and accelerate the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the SDGs.
They will also contribute to the preparations for the Summit of the Future, to be held this September.
Held under the auspices of the UN Economic and Social Council, the forum will conclude on July 18 with the adoption of a ministerial declaration.
A minute of silence in memory of the staff of UNRWA
and all others who lost their lives in the ongoing conflict
Without UNRWA support and funding, Palestine Refugees will lose a vital lifeline and their hope for a better future, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said.
Without the necessary support and financing from the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), Palestine Refugees will lose a critical lifeline and the last ray of hope for a better future, warned Secretary-General of the United Nations Antonio Guterres in his remarks at UNRWA Pledging Conference today.
”Women and men of UNRWA have bravely continued their work in whatever way they can. They are the backbone of humanitarian operations in Gaza. Let me be clear: there is no alternative to UNRWA,” he emphasised.
”This year is different. Yes, we face a profound funding gap. But Palestinians are seeing widening gaps across the board. Gaps in respect for international humanitarian law. Gaps in recognition of universal human rights and dignity for all. And, for Palestinians in Gaza, not just a gap – but death, destruction and a total breakdown in law and order.”
Philippe Lazzarini, Commissioner-General of UNRWA
Yet Palestinians – including, of course, Palestine Refugees – are enduring the deadliest period since the agency’s creation. As we are all painfully aware, the horror has not spared UNRWA colleagues. 195 UNRWA staff members have been killed, the highest staff death toll in UN history,” he noted.
”My appeal to everyone is this: Protect UNRWA, protect UNRWA staff, and protect UNRWA’s mandate — including through funding.”
”I urge you to act – and act now. Act to instil hope in a place where it is in short supply. Act to uphold the mandate of this General Assembly to sustain UNRWA. Act in solidarity with Palestine Refugees and all the Palestinian people,” he concluded.
The world body has reiterated that the danger of miscalculation leading to a sudden and wider conflagration is real
The United Nations has expressed grave concerns about intensified clashes along the Lebanon-Israel frontier, known as the Blue Line.
The world body on Friday highlighted the mounting tensions following an increase in exchanges of fire between Lebanese and Israeli forces, Xinhua news agency reported.
This recent surge in hostilities, which occurred on Thursday, “heightens the risk of a full-scale war”, according to a note from the office of the spokesperson for the UN secretary-general.
The note underscored the necessity of restraint, noting, “Escalation can and must be avoided. We reiterate that the danger of miscalculation leading to a sudden and wider conflagration is real,” and emphasised that “a political and diplomatic solution is the only viable way forward”.
On the same day, Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert, the UN Special Coordinator for Lebanon, engaged with key Lebanese officials including Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri and Prime Minister Najib Mikati to discuss the urgency of de-escalation along the Blue Line.
The UN note also reiterated calls from the UN Interim Force in Lebanon for an immediate cessation of hostilities and a renewed commitment to Security Council resolution 1701, which was adopted in August 2006 to seek a full cessation of hostilities shortly after a month of deadly warfare between Israel and Hezbollah ended with a fragile truce.
The theme for this year’s celebration is ‘Yoga for Women Empowerment’ and it will be featured on the North Lawn of the UN headquarters, reports Arul Louis
Citizens from around the globe will gather on Friday to show the uniting power of yoga across boundaries and divisions as the world organisation celebrates the 10th International Day of Yoga.
The theme for this year’s celebration is ‘Yoga for Women Empowerment’ and it will be featured on the North Lawn of the UN headquarters where diplomats, UN officials and employees, and aficionados of the ancient art will perform asanas in synchronicity.
Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed is expected to participate in the event and a video message from General Assembly President Dennis Francis is anticipated.
The global celebrations with millions participating every year were set in motion by the General Assembly in December 2014 when it declared June 21 as the International Day of Yoga in a resolution proposed by India, cosponsored by 175 countries and adopted unanimously.
The date was chosen because the Summer Solstice falls on that day in the northern hemisphere most years, although it is a day early this year and next.
The yoga celebration is here at 6 p.m. New York Time (3:30 a.m. IST Saturday) will be webcast by the UN.
With a blazing temperature of 35 degrees Centigrade, it will be held on a day that is forecast to be the hottest so far this year.
India’s UN Mission is cosponsoring it with the UN Secretariat.
Last year, Prime Minister Narendra Modi led the yoga celebration at the UN and it made it to the Guinness Book of World Records for the most nationalities — 135 — participating in yoga practice at one place.
On the day of the Solstice, Thursday, the annual ‘Mind over Madness’ event will be held at Times Square with day-long yoga sessions creating an island of calm and serenity amid the cacophony and the bustle of the place known as ‘the Crossroads of the World’.
India’s Consulate General is one of the sponsors of the event that runs from 7.30 a.m. to 8.30 p.m. and features seven yoga classes run by instructors of several ethnicities and national origin showing yoga’s universality.
Modi presented the idea of an International Day of Yoga in September 2014 at his first address to the General Assembly, declaring, “Yoga is an invaluable gift from our ancient tradition”.
Asoke Kumar Mukerji, who was then the permanent representative, rounded up the 175 cosponsors cutting across international divisions and had it adopted within three months — likely a record for the quickest passage of a resolution at the General Assembly.
Indian embassy organises yoga session
Meanwhile, the Indian Embassy in the US organised a Yoga session in Washington, DC ahead of the 10th edition of the International Day of Yoga.
A large number of people participated in the yoga session on Thursday organised at The Wharf in Washington, DC.
Sripriya Ranganathan, Deputy Ambassador at the Indian embassy in the US, said that India has brought yoga to the centre stage.
“The role that India has played in bringing this centre stage, taking it to the UN and making this a day in which we come together to recognize the power of yoga and to recognize how yoga can add value to our lives and how yoga is very contemporary,” she said.
Since 2015, the International Day of Yoga has been celebrated across the world annually on June 21, following its adoption by the United Nations in 2014.
Ranganathan further said that it goes back 5000-6000 years, however, it remains so current.
“It’s an ancient tradition. It’s a wellness tradition that goes back 5000, 6000 years, but it remains so current,” she said.
The Deputy Ambassador further stressed that the value of yoga has now far more appreciation, adding that it has become a part of every family, community and institution.
“There is far more of an appreciation of the value of yoga. It’s become really a part of every family, every community, every institution to start thinking about how yoga can bring value to their lives and to help the members of that community and their families in dealing with the challenges that we face in the world today,” she said.
Ranganathan added that now, even young people and students are also very involved in this and look at yoga as a wholesome and holistic tradition.
“I see wherever I go in the US that young people, students, particularly kids in college…are very involved in this. Initially, they come in in terms of seeing this as a physical fitness tradition. But I think they move on very quickly to see what a wholesome and holistic tradition,” she said.
The Israeli military said its air force struck a Hamas compound in Rafah, and that the incident was under review…reports Asian Lite News
Palestinian health workers said Israeli airstrikes killed at least 45 people Sunday and hit tents for displaced people in the southern Gaza city of Rafah, and “numerous” others were trapped in flaming debris. Gaza’s Health Ministry said women and children made up most of the dead and dozens of wounded.
The attacks came two days after the International Court of Justice ordered Israel to end its military offensive in Rafah, where more than half of Gaza’s population had sought shelter before Israel’s incursion earlier this month. Tens of thousands of people remain in the area while many others have fled.
Footage from the scene of the largest airstrike showed heavy destruction. Israel’s army confirmed the strike and said it hit a Hamas installation and killed two senior Hamas militants. It said it was investigating reports that civilians were harmed. Defense Minister Yoav Gallant was in Rafah on Sunday and was briefed on the “deepening of operations” there, his office said.
The United Nations Palestinian refugee agency, UNRWA, said on Monday that reports of attacks on families seeking shelter in Rafah in the southern tip of the Gaza Strip were “horrifying”.
“Information coming out of Rafah about further attacks on families seeking shelter is horrifying,” UNRWA wrote on X.
“There are reports of mass casualties including children and women among those killed. Gaza is hell on earth. Images from last night are yet another testament to that.”
Palestinian health and civil emergency service officials said on Sunday Israeli air strikes killed at least 35 Palestinians and wounded dozens in an area in the southern Gaza Strip city of Rafah designated for the displaced.
The Israeli military said its air force struck a Hamas compound in Rafah, and that the incident was under review.
The society asserted that the location had been designated by Israel as a “humanitarian area.” The neighborhood is not included in areas that Israel’s military ordered evacuated earlier this month.
The airstrike was reported hours after Hamas fired a barrage of rockets from Gaza that set off air raid sirens as far away as Tel Aviv for the first time in months in a show of resilience more than seven months into Israel’s massive air, sea and ground offensive.
There were no reports of casualties in what appeared to be the first long-range rocket attack from Gaza since January. Hamas’ military wing claimed responsibility. Israel’s military said eight projectiles crossed into Israel after being launched from Rafah and “a number” were intercepted, and the launcher was destroyed.
Earlier Sunday, dozens of aid trucks entered Gaza from southern Israel under a new agreement to bypass the Rafah crossing with Egypt after Israeli forces seized the Palestinian side of it earlier this month. Israel’s military said 126 aid trucks entered via the nearby Kerem Shalom crossing.
But it was not immediately clear if humanitarian groups could access the aid — including medical supplies — because of fighting. The crossing has been largely inaccessible because of Israel’s offensive in Rafah. United Nations agencies say it is usually too dangerous to retrieve the aid. The World Health Organization last week said an expanded Israeli incursion in Rafah would have “disastrous” impact.”
“With the humanitarian operation near collapse, the secretary-general emphasizes that the Israeli authorities must facilitate the safe pickup and delivery of humanitarian supplies from Egypt entering Kerem Shalom,” the spokesperson for UN chief Antonio Guterres said in a statement.
Egypt refuses to reopen its side of the Rafah crossing until control of the Gaza side is handed back to Palestinians. It agreed to temporarily divert traffic through Kerem Shalom, Gaza’s main cargo terminal, after a call between US President Joe Biden and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi.Egypt on Monday condemned what it called the “deliberate bombardment by Israeli forces of displaced peoples’ tents” in Rafah, in strikes which Gaza’s civil defence agency said killed at least 45 people.
Shortly after its reopening on May 8, militants fired eight rockets from southern Gaza’s Rafah toward the Kerem Shalom crossing area in Israel…reports Asian Lite News
The United Nations (UN) Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) has said that distributing humanitarian aid “is almost impossible” in Gaza, due to the irregular fuel supply and interrupted communications amid the ongoing intense war between Israel and Hamas.
OCHA in a statement posted on social media platform X on Thursday said that key crossings for aid into Gaza have been closed for several days and now the access to the Palestinian enclave is neither safe nor logistically feasible.
On May 5, Israel closed the only commercial crossing of Kerem Shalom with Gaza, in response to a Hamas rocket attack on an Israeli military point nearby that killed four soldiers.
Shortly after its reopening on May 8, militants fired eight rockets from southern Gaza’s Rafah toward the Kerem Shalom crossing area in Israel.
The attack came after the Israeli army announced on May 7 “operational control” of the Gazan side of the Rafah crossing, which in effect closed this crucial entry point for truckloads of aid from Egypt into Gaza.
OCHA and other humanitarian organizations warned of the devastating impact of the crossings’ closure on over 2 million Palestinians in war-stricken Gaza, Xinhua news agency reported.
On Thursday, the Jordan Armed Forces said it conducted three airdrops of humanitarian aid over various locations in southern Gaza.
The move was part of Jordan’s commitment to assisting Gazans to overcome the difficult conditions, said the army without detailing further.
Earlier in the day, local sources and eyewitnesses in Gaza told Xinhua that aircraft were seen flying over and dropping food aid through parachutes in Al-Mawasi, an open area along the enclave’s southwestern coast that is now flocked with residents coming at the Israeli army’s evacuation order.
This is the first eyewitness report of an aid drop operation in Rafah since the Israeli army’s renewed attacks on the southernmost Gazan city last week.
People fleeing from Sudan conflict.(Photo:sudan.iom.int)
The war has killed tens of thousands of people and forced more than 8.5 million to flee their homes in what the United Nations has called the “largest displacement crisis in the world.”…reports Asian Lite News
A major city in Sudan’s western region of Darfur has been rocked by fighting involving “heavy weaponry,” a senior UN official said Saturday.
Violence erupted in populated areas of El-Fasher, putting about 800,000 people at risk, Clementine Nkweta-Salami, the UN’s humanitarian coordinator for Sudan, said in a statement.
Wounded civilians were being rushed to hospital and civilians were trying to flee the fighting, she added.
“I am gravely concerned by the eruption of clashes in (El-Fasher) despite repeated calls to parties to the conflict to refrain from attacking the city,” said Nkweta-Salami.
“I am equally disturbed by reports of the use of heavy weaponry and attacks in highly populated areas in the city center and the outskirts of (El-Fasher), resulting in multiple casualties,” she added.
For more than a year, Sudan has suffered a war between the army, headed by the country’s de facto leader Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan, and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), commanded by his former deputy Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo.
The war has killed tens of thousands of people and forced more than 8.5 million to flee their homes in what the United Nations has called the “largest displacement crisis in the world.”
The RSF has seized four out of five state capitals in Darfur, a region about the size of France and home to around one quarter of Sudan’s 48 million people.
El-Fasher is the last major city in Darfur that is not under paramilitary control and the United States warned last month of a looming offensive on the city.
UN chief Antonio Guterres said Saturday he was “very concerned about the ongoing war in Sudan.”
“We need an urgent ceasefire and a coordinated international effort to deliver a political process that can get the country back on track,” he said in a post on social media site X.
The UN Fact-Finding Mission in Sudan reports that nearly a year of fighting in the country has left thousands of civilians dead and millions more displaced, a UN spokesman said.
“It said that fighting between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) has killed thousands of civilians since it began in April last year,” said Stephane Dujarric, Chief Spokesman for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, on Thursday.
“Over six million people have been displaced internally, while almost two million refugees have fled to neighbouring countries. Nearly 24 million people need aid,” the spokesman added as quoted by Xinhua news agency report.
Dujarric said France, Germany and the European Union will co-host a Humanitarian Conference for Sudan and its Neighbours in Paris on Monday.
He added that Assistant Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, Joyce Msuya, will attend alongside other UN officials and advocate for scaled-up resources to expand aid operations in Sudan and the region.
Msuya will also advocate for improved humanitarian access so that agencies can ensure the timely delivery of life-saving supplies to communities in need.
The spokesman said the Secretary-General will have a video message for the conference.
