News in Brief 11 November 2024 |

COP29: UN envoy calls for countries to agree on new climate financing deal

The UN climate summit began on Monday in Azerbaijan amid new record global temperature warnings and a call from the top United Nations envoy, for countries to dig deeper for a new deal so developing nations can better withstand climate shocks.

Addressing some 200 countries at COP29 in Baku, UN climate chief Simon Stiell said that no country was immune from shocks and the world would pay a terrible price if nations did not reduce their emissions rapidly.

“Let’s dispense with the idea that climate finance is charity. An ambitious new climate finance goal is entirely in the self-interest of every single nation, including the largest and the wealthiest.”

Echoing that message, the head of the International Organization for Migration (IOM) urged world leaders to agree on measures to protect vulnerable communities from being forced from their homes by flash flooding, drought and other natural emergencies.

In her appeal, IOM Director-General Amy Pope called for “sustainable solutions” to help people “who want to remain in their home”.

Governments need to ensure that people’s livelihoods are robust enough to recover from increasing climate hazards, the IOM chief said, noting that climate migration is already the “present reality” for millions globally.

From the Horn of Africa to Central America and central Asia, drought and flash flooding have claimed lives and livelihoods and decimated farmland, compelling thousands to move in search of work and resources, the UN agency said.

Lebanon’s food insecurity ‘is set to worsen’ amid ongoing conflict: WFP

To Lebanon, where intensifying Israeli military operations including deadly attacks on civilians, medical personnel and infrastructure now threaten food insecurity further in the war-wracked country.

That’s the message from UN humanitarians who said on Monday that Israeli strikes have left more than 3,100 people dead and over 13,800 injured since October last year.

In conflict areas which include Tyre, Lebanon Mount and Baalbek, eight hospitals are non-functional, nine are semi-functional and six have sustained damage.

Media reports indicated that dozens of people were killed across Lebanon in strikes on Sunday, including 23 in the village of Almat. The country’s health authorities said that at least seven children were among the dead in the village which is located 30 kilometres (19 miles) north of the capital, Beirut.

To date, nearly one in four people in Lebanon has been impacted by the conflict which escalated on 23 September when hundreds of pagers belonging to Hezbollah militants exploded, causing death and injury.

The UN World Food Programme said that more than 600,000 individuals have received food or cash assistance since January, but needs are outpacing resources, with only six per cent of the $116 million requirement provided so far.

South Sudan election delay offers time for democracy to take root

To South Sudan, where this year’s general election – a first for the country – has been postponed until December 2026, amid ongoing inter-ethnic killings, widespread acute hunger and political stalemate.

It’s a frustrating development, says Nicholas Haysom, the top UN official there, who’s appealed to South Sudan’s political leaders to push the electoral process forward for the sake of the country’s people:

“we’re not there to run elections. We’re there to build a democratic, stable society. Elections is one of the ways in which we do that. And the election gives us an opportunity to engage in capacity-building, that allows South Sudanese to develop platforms for building their own democracy.”

Mr. Haysom, who represents the UN Secretary-General in South Sudan, noted that the pre-election work of drafting a new constitution, conducting a census and holding an election within two years would be a huge undertaking for any nation, let alone one that has experienced two civil wars within a decade.

But he expressed his hope that South Sudan’s political leaders would promote “peaceful, free and fair elections” before urging all South Sudanese groups and constituencies to commit to the democratic process.

Daniel Johnson, UN News.

Music composed and produced by Joachim Harris. All rights reserved