Wearing the hijab in public is mandatory in Iran. Top news of the day | Monday: Gaza, nuclear weapons, Ukraine, Iran UN
The main news of the day in the UN and in the world: new data on the famine in Gaza, a meeting of the UN Security Council on the non-proliferation of nuclear weapons, attacks on the civilian infrastructure of Ukraine, repression in Iran.
Famine in Gaza
A situation of mass famine may await Gaza in the near future. This is stated in the new report of the Integrated Classification of Food Security Phases (IFC). The latest figures indicate that Gaza’s entire population – some 2.3 million people – is suffering from “severe” food shortages. This includes 1.11 million people facing “catastrophic” food insecurity. According to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, the report shows that the crisis can be stopped, and this requires an immediate humanitarian ceasefire.
Nuclear disarmament
The United States and Russia must return to the negotiating table to fully implement the New START Treaty and reach a new agreement. The UN chief stated this on Monday at a Security Council meeting dedicated to the non-proliferation of nuclear weapons and nuclear disarmament. He called for a reduction in arsenals and declared that threats to use weapons of mass destruction are unacceptable. He also stressed that the international community needs a “first use” agreement: states with nuclear weapons must agree that none of them will use them first.
Shelling of Ukraine
In Ukraine, humanitarian organizations continue to provide support to victims of the recent shelling of Odessa and Nikolaev. Over the past three days, attacks have killed and injured dozens of civilians. Residential buildings and gas and electricity supply facilities were also damaged. The Kharkiv and Sumy regions, located in the east and northeast of Ukraine, have also been attacked in recent days. In the village of Velikaya Pisarevka, Sumy region, dozens of houses, a hospital and a kindergarten were destroyed.
Rights violations in Iran
The crackdown in Iran continues, and the country’s government is held accountable for “egregious human rights violations” committed in the context of protests that began on September 16, 2022 in connection with the death of a young woman detained by the “morality police”. This was stated at the Human Rights Council by Sarah Hossein, Chairperson of the Independent International Fact-Finding Mission to the Islamic Republic of Iran. She said violations included extrajudicial killings, disproportionate use of force, arbitrary arrests, torture and ill-treatment, sexual violence and gender-based persecution.