AFRICA WORLD BRIEFS

Mr. Guterres offered his condolences to the families of the victims and expressed hopes for a speedy recovery to the dozens who were injured, UN Deputy Spokesperson Farhan Haq said in a statement issued that day.

The Sudanese army and rival military group, the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), have been battling since mid-April. Hundreds of people have been killed and nearly three million have been displaced, including to neighbouring countries.

Mr. Haq said the Secretary-General was appalled by reports of large-scale violence and casualties across Darfur.

“He is also concerned about reports of renewed fighting in North Kordofan, South Kordofan and Blue Nile States. There is an utter disregard for humanitarian and human rights law that is dangerous and disturbing,” he added.

The UN chief remains deeply concerned that the ongoing war between the sides has pushed Sudan to the brink of a full-scale civil war, potentially destabilising the entire region.

Mr. Guterres reiterated his call for the Sudanese Armed Forces and the RSF to cease fighting and commit to a durable cessation of hostilities.

“He also urges these parties to abide by their obligations under international humanitarian and human rights law to protect civilians and to enable humanitarian action,” the statement said.

Leading efforts by 25 UN entities and several partners for the last four years, she has been reflecting on efforts to achieve national sustainable development priorities that tap into Mozambique’s immense resources and potential. Myrta Kaulard, United Nations Resident Coordinator and Humanitarian Coordinator for Mozambique from July 2019 to June 2023.

“Mozambique and the Mozambican people are wonderful. The potential for sustainable development is enormous, considering its population, amazing wealth of natural and mineral resources, and geographical location of the country. However, to be sustainable, development must be resilient to all types of shocks. Since mid-2019, my work and the UN Country Team’s endeavour has been to support Mozambican institutions, civil society, and people to achieve sustainable development while responding and overcoming shocks due to climate change, COVID-19, and conflict.

The start of my assignment coincided with the UN development system reform and the formulation of a new Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework 2022-2026 by the Government of Mozambique and the UN. This resulted in a cooperation that focuses on the collective engagement of the UN in Mozambique with national institutions, civil society, and private sector.

I saw my role as one who listens and catalyzes capacities and resources to achieve priorities and overcome challenges.

OHCHR ‘very concerned’ over militarization of public security in Honduras

“The state of emergency, in force in 17 of the 18 departments in Honduras, enables the military police to support the national police in carrying out public security tasks. It also derogates the right of personal liberty, freedom of association, assembly, and movement, and allows security and armed forces to carry out arrests and searches without a warrant,” she said.

Military operations

The Spokesperson said that on 21 June, the authorities announced that the command and control of the entire Honduran prison system was being transferred to the military police.

“This decision came in the wake of a violent incident at the national women’s prison in the town of Tamara, where 46 female inmates were killed when members of one gang attacked a part of the prison housing members of a rival gang,” said Ms. Hurtado.

Rights violations

She also voiced concerns about human rights violations and adequate access to food, water, and the practice of subjecting inmates to sleep deprivation. Ms. Hurtado also reported ill treatment of inmates by the military police.

Demining Ukraine: Bringing lifesaving expertise back home

Explosive objects are scattered over an area double the size of Austria, putting 14 million Ukrainians at risk, according to UNDP, which reported that these deadly weapons have killed 226 people, including 17 children.

While more than 366,000 landmines have already been cleared, making Ukraine safe is a difficult and very expensive long-term prospect, Mr. Lobov said.

The World Bank estimates that the full demining package will cost more than $37 billion. Ukraine cannot solve such a problem alone, so international partners are helping, with UNDP becoming the lead coordinator of mine action in the country.

Debris in just 40 settlements in the Kyiv region, where hostilities were fought, is so voluminous, it could pave a road from Ukraine’s capital to Berlin.

Since the First and Second World Wars, the Ukrainian Government has been managing risks associated with unexploded ordnance, but the current full-scale war is a whole new level of complexity, according to UNDP.

Unrolling new approach

Tackling this challenge requires additional equipment, tools, new skills, and assistance in coordinating efforts, Mr. Lobov said.

For its part, UNDP is rising to the challenge as well as supporting the victims and conducting information campaigns, with funding from the European Union and Croatia, Denmark,

The EU’s partnership with Trinidad and Tobago spans 45+ years. It is a mutually beneficial relationship that has evolved and become more important over time – a partnership of equals that is based not just on development cooperation and trade, but one that is also political and based on common objectives and shared values.

Minister of National Security Fitzgerald Hinds, in June, met with an EU delegation to bolster the collaboration, almost one year after signing a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the European Union to assist the country and by extension the Caribbean in

During his recent visit to Trinidad and Tobago to attend the 45th Caricom heads of government summit, US State Secretary Antony Blinken announced a $US5.5 million contribution to assist small farmers in the Caribbean. He spoke at the Hyatt Regency, Port of Spain, last Wednesday.

Pertaining to the contribution, his remarks were:

“The United States is also committed to partnering with you to address growing food insecurity across the region. This has, of course, intensified dramatically in recent years, a combination of climate change, of COVID, of conflict, including Russia’s aggression against Ukraine.”

“According to a recent UN report, one in two people – one in two people – in the

Caribbean cannot afford a healthy diet. In response, the United States continues to provide emergency food assistance to parts of the region where people are experiencing acute hunger and malnutrition. Just since February of last year, we’ve contributed an additional $13.5 billion to fight hunger around the world. We remain the World Food Programme’s largest donor, providing more than 50 percent of its budget.”

“But at the same time, one of the things I’ve heard very clearly from talking to so many of our partners is a desire to be able to grow sufficient food to provide for your own people. We’re bringing to bear our expertise from across the entire government to help achieve that goal –from the Department of Agriculture to the Environmental Protection Agency to