Economic damage from extreme weather events and natural disasters is estimated at billions of dollars. Top news of the day | Tuesday: Gaza, Ukraine, climate crisis, forced labor UN
The main news of the day in the UN and in the world: the threat of mass famine in northern Gaza; report of the Commission of Inquiry on Events in Ukraine; warmest year on record; growth of illegal profits from the use of forced labor.
Threat of famine in northern Gaza
UN aid workers on Tuesday reiterated their commitment to support the people of Gaza, where more children are on the “brink of death” due to acute malnutrition as a result of five months of fighting and restrictions on access to aid. According to the World Health Organization, mass famine may occur in northern Gaza in the near future. UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk stressed that starvation and malnutrition among residents of the sector are the result of “Israeli restrictions on the import and distribution of humanitarian aid and commercial goods,” as well as massive population displacement and destruction of civilian infrastructure.
Report of the Commission of Inquiry into Events in Ukraine
The Independent International Commission of Inquiry into the events in Ukraine presented its new report to the UN Human Rights Council. The commission found new evidence that the Russian military violated human rights and international humanitarian law, and committed war crimes in areas of Ukraine under Russian control. The new evidence confirms the Commission’s previous findings that torture of civilians by Russian forces in Ukraine and the Russian Federation is “widespread and systematic.” The investigation uncovered additional evidence of illegal transfers of children to areas under Russian control.
Warmest year on record
2023 is by far the warmest year on record, according to a new report from the World Meteorological Organization (WMO). Once again, records were broken for greenhouse gases, surface temperatures, heat content and ocean acidification, sea level rise, shrinking Antarctic sea ice, and glacier retreat. Heat waves, floods, droughts, wildfires and intensifying tropical cyclones have caused chaos and destruction. Economic damage from extreme weather events and natural disasters is estimated at billions of dollars. The WMO also reports that the past decade was the warmest on record.
Forced labor is becoming increasingly lucrative
Illegal profits from forced labor in the private sector have increased by 37 percent since 2014, reaching $236 billion annually. Such data are provided in a new report prepared by the International Labor Organization. This sharp increase – by more than a third over the past ten years – is due to an increase in the number of people involved in forced labor and the income from their exploitation. It is estimated that traffickers and criminals earn nearly $10,000 from each forced labor victim, up from $8,269 a decade ago when adjusted for inflation. Forced labor generates the highest profits in Europe and Central Asia.