UN News Today 02 October 2024 |

UN rights chief adds voice to calls for Middle East de-escalation

Hours after Iran fired a reported 200 missiles at Israel in response to Israeli military incursions in southern Lebanon raising fears of a wider Middle East escalation, UN human rights chief Volker Türk insisted on Wednesday that “peace must prevail”, while UN Member States meeting in Geneva reiterated calls for a ceasefire in Gaza and beyond.

The development came as UN Secretary-General António Guterres called for an end to the “sickening cycle” of violence during an emergency Security Council meeting in New York.

“It is high time for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, with the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages, the effective delivery of humanitarian aid to Palestinians in Gaza, and irreversible progress to a two-state solution.

It is high time for a cessation of hostilities in Lebanon, real action towards full implementation of Security Council resolutions 1559 and 1701, paving the way for diplomatic efforts for sustainable peace.

It is high time to stop the sickening cycle of escalation after escalation that is leading the people of the Middle East straight over the cliff.”

Just ahead of that meeting, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk called for an immediate de-escalation.

He called on all States to act resolutely to prevent a wider conflict in the Middle East with potentially devastating consequences for civilians.

At least 700,000 displaced in Haiti, half are children, says UN migration agency

To Haiti where a breakdown in law and order and a wider humanitarian emergency have displaced more than 700,000 people – one in two of whom are children – the UN migration office, IOM, said on Wednesday.

New data from the International Organization for Migration indicates a 22 per cent spike in the number of people uprooted from their homes since June.

IOM said that gang violence had forced more than 110,000 people to flee their homes in the last seven months, particularly in Gressier, which lies west of the capital.

Grégoire Goodstein, IOM chief in Haiti, said that the sharp rise in displacement underscored the urgent need for a sustained humanitarian response from the international community.

The UN agency noted that although more than 65,000 people had returned to the Cité Soleil neighbourhood near the capital which is known for deadly clashes between rival gangs, these returnees “are often displaced again, following new attacks”.

As humanitarian needs grow, IOM has continued to provide critical assistance to displaced people and host communities, although access for aid teams remains difficult and dangerous in places.

Global immunization coverage remains below pre-pandemic levels: WHO

Global immunization coverage has remained below pre-pandemic levels and the number of children who’ve not had a single vaccine has increased to 14.5 million.

That’s the worrying finding of an expert group of health advisers meeting at the UN World Health Organization, WHO, which said that more than half of these so-called “zero-dose” children live in 31 countries.

Many of these are fragile, conflict-affected countries, according to the Strategic Advisory Group of Experts on Immunization (or SAGE), which blamed a lack of political will and falling investment in immunization programmes, for the lack of success in reaching vulnerable youngsters.

The expert group also issued new vaccine advice to low and middle-income countries where there’s a high burden of respiratory syncytial virus among children. It’s a common virus that affects the nose, throat and lungs and a leading cause of hospitalization of youngsters and the elderly.

Here’s Dr Hanna Nohynek, Chair of SAGE:

“Clearly there is a major benefit to be expected and therefore we did give the recommendation that all countries should introduce either maternal vaccination or the monoclonal antibody to protect small children.”

Respiratory syncytial virus has surged since COVID-19 and accounts for approximately one in three people hospitalized with lower respiratory infections globally. Nearly all deaths from the virus happen in low and middle-income countries.

Daniel Johnson, UN News.

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