UN News Today 10 December 2024 |

Syria crisis: nothing must stop peaceful transition, says UN Special Envoy

Just days since opposition forces including Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) swept into Damascus and forced out President Bashar al-Assad, the top UN negotiator tasked with helping Syrians create a peaceful and democratic future, insisted on Tuesday that nothing can be taken for granted.

“Syria is now at a crossroads with great opportunities for us”, but also grave risks, “and we need really to look at both,” said Geir Pedersen, UN Special Envoy for Syria. He described HTS as the “dominant” force in Damascus today but said “it’s important also to remember that they are not the only armed group” there.

A key potential sticking point to conducting international dialogue with the armed group is its terror listing by the Security Council – although this may be revised, Mr. Pedersen appeared to suggest:

“You have to look at the facts and to see what has happened during the last nine years. It is nine years since that resolution was adopted and the reality is so far is that the HTS and also the other armed groups have been sending good messages to the Syrian people; they have been sending messages of unity, of inclusiveness and frankly speaking, also we are also seeing in Aleppo and in Hama, we have also seen, you know, reassuring things on the ground.”

Amid images of jubilant scenes on the streets of Damascus following the end of the Assad regime, Mr. Pedersen welcomed reports that robberies and the ransacking of public buildings or private homes “seems to have stopped”.

UN refugee agency sounds alarm after surge of arrivals in South Sudan

UNHCR, the UN refugee agency, has issued an alert after a surge of displaced people fleeing war-torn Sudan for South Sudan.

More than 20,000 crossed into South Sudan last week alone, UNHCR said, with the number of daily arrivals tripling, compared to previous weeks.

This includes South Sudanese refugees who have been leaving camps in Sudan’s White Nile State where fighting between Government and opposition militia is continuing.

“The majority of those displaced are women and children,” UNHCR said, as it underscored the impact of the conflict on vulnerable populations.

With more, here’s UNHCR spokesperson Olga Sarrado, in Geneva:

“Of course, some of the people are leaving because of direct impacts by the violence, but others also, especially refugees, are telling us because of increased fears of how the situation can evolve in the next few days, our teams are on the ground. UNHCR and partners. But of course, the situation is extremely worrying in terms of humanitarian assistance.”

The UN agency reported people arriving at the main border crossing at Joda, but also at informal crossing points which are extremely difficult to access.

All of the new arrivals need life-saving humanitarian support, with water and healthcare the most urgent needs, especially given the ongoing cholera outbreak, UNHCR said.

Paper and wood see 12 per cent fall in demand because of digital media

Global trade in wood and paper products has dropped steeply due to the rise of digital media, the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), has reported.

After hitting record production levels in 2021 and 2022, the paper trade continued to trail off last year, FAO said.

Taken together, worldwide wood and paper products trade registered a significant drop of 12 per cent in 2023, with exports decreasing by $64 billion, to $482 billion in total.

According to the FAO’s Global forest products facts and figures 2023 report, production of paper and paperboard contracted by three per cent, as printed media has been increasingly replaced by digital products. Only wood-based panels recording a marginal growth in production, the UN agency said.

Zhimin Wu, Director of FAO’s Forestry Division, said that in addition to growing digitalization, other factors have contributed to the contraction of global paper and wood trade, such as global supply chain disruption, slowing consumer demand and trade restrictions.

Daniel Johnson, UN News

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