Rich nations “on track” to double climate adaptation finance
8/11/2024: Climate finance for adaptation provided by wealthy donors jumped from $22 billion in 2021 to around $28 billion in 2022. But the needs of poorer countries are estimated at $215 billion-$387 billion a year, according to the UN Environment Programme's latest Adaptation Gap Report.
Source: Climate Home News
Unrelenting violence in Sudan drives continued refugee exodus
8/11/2024: The continuing bloodshed in Sudan has created the world's worst civilian protection crisis in decades – and the world is not paying any attention. Since the war broke out 19 months ago, over 3 million people have been forced to flee Sudan. In October alone, some 60,000 Sudanese arrived in Chad following an escalation of fighting in Darfur.
Source: UN Refugee Agency
Experts warn of high risk of famine in northern Gaza
8/11/2024: The head of the World Food Programme has warned that immediate and unimpeded flow of humanitarian supplies into northern Gaza is essential to prevent an all-out catastrophe. This situation is the result of large-scale population displacement and the destruction of infrastructure and health facilities.
Source: UN News
Mozambique: A revolution born in the search for electoral justice
7/11/2024: The results of the 9 October elections in Mozambique remain disputed. International and local observers have noted that the polls were beset by multiple and major irregularities. The president of the Constitutional Council has ordered the National Electoral Commission to produce the results sheets of every polling station.
Source: African Arguments
Can Ethiopia bring justice for atrocities in Tigray?
7/11/2024: Ethiopia is about to start investigating crimes reported in a brutal war that engulfed the north of the country from 2020 to 2022. But trust is at an all-time low and survivors feel forgotten. An earlier UN investigation concluded that all sides committed war crimes.
Source: The Guardian
What could Trump 2.0 mean for humanitarian response?
7/11/2024: The return of Donald Trump injects another level of volatility into the world's emergencies. US funding dominates humanitarian aid, and volatile swings in funding from the world’s biggest donor can hamstring an entire sector. Vulnerable areas include UN agencies, reproductive health and climate change.
Source: The New Humanitarian
UNRWA’s ‘Darkest Hour’ will go bleaker under Trump’s Presidency
6/11/2024: The UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) faces devastating effects if the Oct. 28 Israeli legislation banning its operations providing health, education and other social services to Palestinian refugees in Israel and the occupied territories comes into effect. During his first presidential term, Trump ended US voluntary funding of UNRWA, straining the agency’s ability to function.
Source: PassBlue
US cancels $1.1 billion of Somalia’s debt
6/11/2024: Somalia has announced that more than $1.1 billion of outstanding loans will be cancelled by the US, about a quarter of the country’s debt. Having completed its programme under the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries Initiative, Somalia is eligible for $4.5bn in debt relief.
Source: The Guardian
Second Trump term a threat to rights in US and the world
6/11/2024: Human Rights Watch warns that Donald Trump has proposed policies that would weaken democratic institutions that protect fundamental human rights and would lessen checks on presidential authority. Independent institutions and civil society groups must do all they can to hold him and his administration accountable for abuses.
Source: Human Rights Watch
UN climate summit to focus on finance
6/11/2024: The UN Climate Change Conference to be held in Baku, Azerbaijan, is being billed as the “finance COP,” aiming to set a new target for climate-related financial transfers to developing countries. Any agreement at COP29 would replace a target set in 2009, when developed countries pledged to provide US$100 billion annually by 2020.
Source: UN Environment Programme