The Delmas region in the Port-au-Prince district of Haiti is subject to severe instability. Top news of the day | Monday: UNRWA, Haiti, children and conflicts, disasters in Europe UN
The main news of the day in the UN and in the world: the final report on the activities of UNRWA, the Security Council on the situation in Haiti, casualties among children due to explosive weapons, rising death rates due to heat in Europe.
UNRWA Independence Report
The independent review panel of the UN agency for Palestine refugees (UNRWA) released its final report on Monday. It notes that the Israeli authorities have not yet provided evidence of their allegations of links between UNRWA employees and terrorist organizations. The UN secretary-general announced the creation of an independent panel of experts days after Israel leveled allegations against the agency. The final report states that UNRWA has extensive tools to ensure impartiality in its work and regularly provides lists of staff members to Israel, yet “the Israeli government has not informed UNRWA of any concerns regarding any staff members since 2011.”
Violence in Haiti
The Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Haiti, Maria Isabel Salvador, briefed the Security Council that some 2,500 people in the country were victims of violence by armed criminal groups in the first quarter of this year. This is 53 percent more than in the previous reporting period. Fierce clashes between gangs are accompanied by mass killings of civilians, looting and burning of houses, Salvador said. Criminals systematically target government officials, as well as human rights defenders and journalists, exacerbating already serious challenges to restoring the rule of law in Haiti.
Explosive Weapons
Efforts to Prevent the Use of Explosive Weapons in populated areas could cut the number of child casualties in conflict by almost half, the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) said on Monday. Increasingly, weapons designed for open areas are being used in cities and other settlements, UNICEF warned. Between 2018 and 2022, explosive weapons caused nearly half of the more than 47,500 confirmed deaths and injuries among children in more than 24 conflict zones around the world, with the vast majority occurring in populated areas.
Climate in Europe
According to new report on the state of the climate in Europe, 2023 was, depending on the data set used, the warmest or second warmest year on record. Experts say last year saw a record number of days with “extreme” levels of heat stress across Europe, and the continent’s population also faced heat waves, wildfires, droughts and floods. Heat-related mortality rates have risen by about 30 percent over the past 20 years, the World Meteorological Organization said.