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New York, September 21 – US President Joe Biden pledged to work with the United Nations to build a future and uphold human rights for all in his first speech to UN General Assembly that captured the attention of world diplomats who met in person for the first time since the pandemic locked down the world almost two years ago.

The 193-nation assembly opened a week-long general debate on the world situation subdued by climate change’s devastations, wildfires, flooding and the Covid-19 virus that has killed more than 4.5 million people worldwide. More than 100 heads of state and government have registered to speak, but about 60 of them will deliver their speeches in pre-recorded videos.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said in his speech opening the debate that the world is on “the edge of abyss — and moving in the wrong direction. I’m here to sound the alarm. The world must wake up.”

He said the lack of unity among the international community and mistrust between world powers have contributed to the current worsening situation.

“Geopolitical divisions are undermining international cooperation and limiting the capacity of the UN Security Council to take the necessary decisions.,” he said.

“At the same time, it will be impossible to address dramatic economic and development challenges while the world’s two largest economies are at odds with each other,” Guterres said referring to the US-China competition in world affairs.

“Yet I fear our world is creeping towards two different sets of economic, trade, financial, and technology rules, two divergent approaches in the development of artificial intelligence — and ultimately two different military and geo-political strategies.

“This is a recipe for trouble. It would be far less predictable than the Cold War.”

Biden said in his 34-minute speech that the world is at “an inflection point in history” but he said the US is not seeking a new Cold War.

“The future belongs to those who give their people the ability to breathe free, not those who seek to suffocate their people with an iron hand authoritarianism,” he said. “The authoritarians of the world, they seek to proclaim the end of the age of democracy, but they’re wrong.”

Biden said his administration intend to “compete vigorously and lead with our values and our strength to stand up for our allies and our friends.”

“We’re not seeking — say it again, we are not seeking — a new Cold War or a world divided into rigid blocs,” he said.

Biden said his administration is addressing all challenging issues, from climate change, the pandemic and global vaccines, which are on the agenda of the UN General Assembly. World diplomats are to attend other meetings on the sidelines of the assembly session with summits on climate and the global food systems.

“This year has also brought widespread death and devastation from the borderless climate crisis,” Biden said. “Extreme weather events that we’ve seen in every part of the world — and you all know it and feel it — represent what the secretary general has rightly called Code Red for humanity.”

On the pandemic, he said, “We need a collective act of science and political will. We need to act now to get shots in arms as fast as possible, and expand access to oxygen, tests, treatments, to save lives around the world.”

Before ending his speech, Biden urged the international community to work together for a better world. “Let’s make our future, now. We can do it. It’s in our power and capability.”

Speakers on the first day of the General Assembly included the president of Brazil, Jair Bolsonaro, whose country by tradition is the first speaker at every annual assembly session since the UN was established in 1945. Other countries include Maldives, Colombia, Qatar, Portugal, Lithuania, Uzbekistan, Iran, South Korea, Switzerland and China.

The assembly’s president, Abdulla Shahid of the Maldives, opened debate by challenging delegates to rise to the occasion. “There are moments in time that are turning points,” he said. “This is one such moment.”

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New York, September 19 – International institutions lack “teeth” to fulfill their missions and even those that have them like the UN Security Council have “no appetite to bite,” UN Secretary-General António Guterres said in a wide-ranging interview on current world crises.

He pointed out that the World Health Organization, which is leading the fight against the Covid-19 pandemic, has no power to investigate the origins of the virus and deal with giant pharmaceutical companies to obtain global vaccines for all countries

“So, we need a strengthened multilateralism, it’s clear that only cooperating we can solve the problems,” Guterres told UN News before the UN General Assembly is to begin the 76^th session’s general debate on September 21.  “But the institutions we have, have no teeth. And sometimes, even when they have teeth, like in the case of the Security Council, they have not much appetite to bite.” 

“We need a multilateral group of institutions network working together, because everything now is interlinked, and with more authority in order to be able to mobilize the whole international community to solve the problems that we face. “

The 15-nation UN Security Council is the highest political body in the UN system with authority to take action on peace and security matters. The five permanent members with veto power – the United States, Russia, France, the United Kingdom and China – are often divided on solving global crises.

Guterres said there is a lack of trust among the big powers in the council. “With this divide among the big powers, with this lack of trust, what we see is an environment of impunity, people think they can do whatever they want. “

The UN chief has issued an 80-page document called Our Common Agenda addressed to the General Assembly, which is a wake-up call on government leaders to take action against serious challenges threatening the world. He said the document helps to “detect the global commons and the global public goods that need improved governance and to work with member states to find mechanisms in order for that governments to be more effective for us to be able to prevent future pandemics, for us to be able to defeat climate change, for us to be able to address the dramatic inequalities in today’s world.”

Afghanistan

Guterres said the situation in Afghanistan is “unpredictable. We all want Afghanistan to have inclusive government.  What happened in Afghanistan, might embolden now, terrorist groups or other rebel movements to become more aggressive.”

“We all want Afghanistan to respect human rights especially of women and girls. We all want Afghanistan never to be again a centre for terrorists, to have a safe haven; we all want Afghanistan to fight drug trafficking, but it is difficult to forecast what’s going to happen. It’s still unclear what’s going to happen.” 

He said Afghanistan is facing an economic collapse and said the international community must find ways to inject some cash in the country’s economy. He said a collapse will have “devastating consequences in relation to the life of Afghans, and also provoking a massive exodus that, of course, will be a factor of instability in the whole region.”

World Health Organization lacks power to investigate Covid-19 origins

Guterres said the Covid-19 virus has defeated the world and it is still spreading in every country almost two years after with dramatic impacts on the lives of people, the economy and widening the gaps between rich and poor countries, between those vaccinated and those who cannot afford it.

“The world was not able to come together and to define a global vaccination plan, and bring the countries that can produce vaccines together, with the World Health Organization, with the international financial institutions, to then deal with the pharmaceutical industry and double the production, and make sure that there is an equitable distribution at the production. This cannot be done by a country alone; it needs to be done by all,” he said.

“The problem is that the multilateral institution we have now – which is essentially WHO – WHO has not even the power to obtain information about the situation. It does not have the power to investigate the origins of a disease.”

Climate change

“If you talk about climate, it is the same,” he said. “We are on the verge of the abyss. The truth is that our objective is very clearly fixed by the scientific community, that temperature should not go above 1.5 degrees until the end of the century.” 

“We are risking not to be able to do it, because countries are not cooperating among themselves. There is a lot of mistrust between developed countries, developing countries. There is a north-south divide that is making it difficult for all to assume commitments, to reduce emissions, in order to have a drastic reduction the next decade or two and reach carbon neutrality in 2050.”

“Power today in the world is still essentially concentrated on men and with the male dominated culture,” Guterres said.

Guterres said gender equality remains a priority for the United Nations but he pointed what he called a “central question, which is a question of power.”

“Power today in the world is still essentially concentrated on men and with the male dominated culture. 

And power is usually not given, power is taken,” he said.  “So, we need women to fully fight for their rights and we need men that understand that only with full gender equality, the world will improve and the problems we solved.”

“We need those men, to engage effectively in the fight for gender equality. And on this question of power in the UN, as you know, we have now parity, equal number of women and men in 180 high ranking offices of the UN and in the leaders of our teams around the world, because we feel that if in the organs where the power exists, there is parity, this will inevitably have consequences, down the line.

So, we must have the same in governments, we must have the same in parliaments, we must have the same in all bodies. “

“We need to have women and men in full equality where decisions are taken, where power exists, to make sure that we change this unbalanced power relationship, that is the result of centuries of male domination and patriarchy. “

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Geneva/New York, September 13 – The United Nations has received pledges of over $1.2 billion in humanitarian assistance for 11 million Afghans for the four remaining months of this year. The promised funds doubled the amount that the UN had sought to deliver urgent basic needs to Afghans suffering hardship, famine and displacement and it was achieved during a one-day conference held in Geneva with the participation of 100 government representatives and 30 regional and international organizations.

UN News said Martin Griffiths, the UN Emergency Relief Coordinator confirmed that more than $1.2 billion in humanitarian and development aid in total had been promised, incorporating both the appeal made on September 13 and the regional response.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said the pledges represented “a quantum leap in relation to the financial commitment of the international community towards the Afghan people.”

“We are of course very much concerned in making sure that humanitarian assistance is an entry point for effective engagement with the Taliban in all other aspects of concern of the international community,” he said.

UN News said Guterres confirmed that the UN has received two letters from the Taliban, one dealing with the humanitarian assistance and the second one about security for relief workers.

“One was guaranteeing full humanitarian work of the UN and the respect by the Taliban to that full humanitarian work; and the second, that they are able to provide security and even escorts when there are situations of insecurity that would justify it,” he said. “So not only there is an attitude of acceptance but there is an attitude of support.”

“There is a clear interest of the Taliban also to engage with the international community and I think this is what gives also the international community some leverage.”

The UN said Afghan people have endured decades of conflict and deprivation and their vulnerability has not improved following years of drought, poverty and lack of basic needs and services. It said the country’s economy is grinding to a halt with cash in short supply while deep concern is rising for the rights of women and girls under the new regime.

“Afghans urgently need food, medicine, health services, safe water, sanitation, and protection. UN agencies and non-governmental partners have launched a Flash Appeal seeking US$606 million for the remainder of the year to bring vital relief to 11 million people,” the UN office for the coordination of humanitarian affairs said in a press release announcing the Geneva conference.

It said international and Afghan humanitarian organizations are on the ground and can deliver in the rapidly changing context. They need fast and flexible funding and sustained access into and around Afghanistan.

The flash appeal said fully funding would provide a “lifeline for millions of people in Afghanistan who are facing incredible uncertainty at the same time as the devastating impact of the drought is beginning to take hold, a harsh winter approaches, and the COVID-19 pandemic continues to rage.”

It is expected that 750,000 Afghans would be displaced internally throughout 2021 prompted by conflict, the Taliban takeover of the country, the withdrawal of US and other foreign troops.

In addition, more than 757,000 undocumented migrants have returned from Iran and Pakistan as of beginning of September.

The appeal said Afghanistan is experiencing its second severe drought in four years, which severely threatened food production, livestocks and rural livelihoods. It said 12.2 million people, or 30 per cent of the population, are facing ‘emergency’ or ‘crisis’ levels of food insecurity.

“The 2021 harvest is expected to be below average and the next lean season is expected to be more intense and arrive earlier, leading to further deterioration in the food security situation across the country. Initial estimates indicate that total wheat production will be 25 per cent less than last year. Long-term forecasts indicate that the drought will continue into 2022,” the appeal said.

UN News reported that Martin Griffiths, the UN Emergency Relief Coordinator, said in an interview in Geneva just before the high-level Geneva conference on Afghanistan that he hoped to receive written assurances from the Taliban’s Deputy Prime Minister Mullah Baradar that aid agencies and their partners will be able to operate freely inside Afghanistan.

Griffiths said he had met in Kabul with Afghans displaced by the conflict and turmoil that the flash appeal was designed to help them because most of the displaced wanted to return home and they would need money to pay for transportation and repair their damaged houses.

“Money well spent, you would imagine, if we want to stabilize the region and if we want to enable people to stay in Afghanistan instead of fleeing to neighboring countries and beyond,” Griffiths said. He said also he held talks with Taliban authorities.

“What they said to me was that, ‘We promise that the rights of women and girls will be respected’ – subject, they added, ‘to the religion and culture of Afghanistan.’ Now, this is a work in progress, and we’ve been here before. And so, we need to have a lot more discussion in the days to come, in the weeks to come about what that really means. And that’s very important for the people of Afghanistan, but it’s also important for the international community.”

 Griffiths, a veteran humanitarian who last negotiated with the Taliban in 1998 when they came to power, insisted on the need to have “a lot more discussion in the days to come, in the weeks to come” with them about how to ensure continued international engagement, amid concerns over the loss of women’s rights.

“This is what the Taliban themselves told me…they have come to power sooner than they thought, they are unprepared for this,” he said.

“Mullah Baradar, who is one of the top leaders of the movement in this new administration, confirmed support for all of those elements,” Griffiths said. “This is essentially a description of the humanitarian space within which agencies operate. He is now turning, at my request, those oral commitments into written assurances. And we hope to have that letter from him with us on Monday (September 13) here in Geneva.”

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New York, August 30 – The UN Security Council said in a strongly worded resolution that it expects the Taliban to respect its commitments that include allowing any Afghans who want to leave their country to do so freely.

The 15-nation council said the Taliban committed in a statement on August 27 that any Afghans can travel “anytime they want to and may exit Afghanistan via any border crossing, both air and ground” and also from a “reopened and secure Kabul airport, with no one preventing them from traveling.”

The resolution said the council “expects that the Taliban will adhere to these and all other commitments, including regarding the safe, secure, and orderly departure from Afghanistan of Afghans and all foreign nationals.”

Two suicide bombing attacks on August 26 against a hotel in Kabul and near the Kabul airport killed more than 300 people and 28 military personnel, including 13 US soldiers. The Islamic State in Khorasan province claimed the attacks.

The resolution, which was initiated by France and the United Kingdom, was adopted to create a safe humanitarian passage for Afghans and foreigners to leave the country unhindered after August 31, the deadline set by the United States to end the evacuation of Afghans and US citizens through the Kabul airport, and US presence in Afghanistan.

China and Russia abstained when the council voted to adopt the document known as Resolution 2593. The United States, France and the United Kingdom and 10 other countries voted in favor of the resolution. The council is the highest political body in the UN systems.

The resolution condemned “in the strongest terms” the bomb attacks and demanded that “Afghan territory not be used to threaten or attack country or to shelter or train terrorists, or to plan or to finance terrorist acts.”

It called for strengthening efforts to provide humanitarian assistance to Afghanistan and for unhindered access for the United Nations and its specialized agencies to carry out their work in the country.

The resolution reaffirmed the importance of upholding human rights, including those of women, children and minorities. It encourages all Afghan parties to seek an inclusive, negotiated political settlement “with the full, equal and meaningful participation of women.”

British Ambassador Barbara Woodward told reporters after the council meeting that the short resolution was in response to the bomb attacks and to highlight the situation in Afghanistan.

“We were all horrified by the bomb attack on Kabul airport, the suicide bomb attack, and send our condolences to the bereaved. This is a Security Council first response to that situation,” she said.

She said the resolution also “captured the key points on counterterrorism, humanitarian access, human rights and safe passage in particular.”

“But what really struck me from the discussions we had today in the Council and the discussions we’ve had in the four meetings leading up to today is the shared importance that we all attach to the stability and security of Afghanistan – that Afghanistan should not become a haven for terrorism and that it should not be in a position to disrupt its neighbors. So I think there’s a lot of shared ground for us to work from, although in this case, Russia and China abstained rather than voted for the resolution.”

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New York, August 27 – The bomb attacks in Kabul have accelerated the already tense and volatile situation in Afghanistan and the country’s humanitarian needs are expected to grow, an official of the World Health Organization said one day after the deadly explosions that targeted Afghan civilians and US soldiers at the Kabul airport.

The UN Security Council issued (August 27) a statement condemning the attacks in the strongest terms. The statement “reaffirmed that terrorism in all its forms and manifestations constitutes one of the most serious threats to international peace and security. Deliberately targeting civilians and personnel assisting in the evacuation of civilians is especially abhorrent and must be condemned.”

UN officials also condemned the bomb attacks at a hotel in Kabul and near the airport thronged with fleeing Afghans and foreigners, which killed more than 100 Afghan civilians and 13 US soldiers. The UN said the attacks strengthened its resolve to continue to help the country after the Taliban’s swift military takeover. The Islamic State in Khorosan Province (ISKP) claimed responsibility for the deadly attacks.

“In the very fluid context of Afghanistan there are many uncertainties and unknowns,” Dr Rick Brennan, Regional Emergency Director, WHO Eastern Mediterranean Region.  “But what remains certain is that the humanitarian needs across the country are enormous and growing.”

Brenner joined other humanitarian organizations in warning that Afghanistan remains a “tough place to be a woman or a child.”

“We have to remember that maternal mortality rates have reduced by around 60 percent and child mortality rates by around 50 percent over the past two decades.” he said. “Moreover, thousands of health care workers have been trained, including female health workers – midwives, nurses, doctors and so on.  We cannot have a rolling back of those health gains.” 

WHO has staff in all 34 Afghan provinces assisting 2,200 local health facilities monitor the health situation and most of them remain open. Brenner said medical supplies are rapidly running out and WHO is not currently able to meet all demands at those facilities.

The fall of Afghanistan has exposed a dire humanitarian situation as nearly half of the country’s 40 million people need daily food rations and other assistance when there is no existing emergency supplies and available relief supplies will run out by October, UN agencies said.

UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said Secretary-General Antonio Guterres is following with great concern the situation in Kabul, especially at the airport, which caused some casualties. He said Guterres “condemns this terrorist attack which killed and injured a number of civilians and extends his deep condolences to the families of those killed. He stands in solidarity and wishes a speedy recovery to those injured.”

“This incident underscores the volatility of the situation on the ground in Afghanistan but also strengthens our resolve as we continue to deliver urgent assistance across the country in support of the Afghan people.”

The World Food Program, the lead UN agency in the global frontline against hunger, said 14 million Afghans are hungry daily and some 2 million malnourished children need also urgent health care.

The World Health Organization and the UN Children’s Fund are rushing medical supplies to treat increased number of Covid-19 cases and children in need of health care. UNICEF has 13 offices in Afghanistan and is supporting about 10 million children and their families affected by the humanitarian crisis.

The International Organization of Migration said more than 550,000 Afghans fled their homes since July to escape Taliban forces, swelling the number of internally displaced Afghans to 5.5 million.

The UN office for humanitarian assistance said 18.4 million Afghans need relief assistance but there is a shortfall of $200 million out of the total budget of $550 million for 2021.

UN News reports quoted WFP as saying that a humanitarian crisis of incredible proportion is unfolding in Afghanistan as conflict, combined with drought and COVID-19, is pushing Afghans into a humanitarian catastrophe. WFP said it urgently needs $200 million in humanitarian aid for Afghanistan and $22 million for refugees in Iran, Pakistan and Tajikistan.

WFP said it needs to assist 9 million people per month by November and meeting this goal requires the prepositioning of food stocks in Afghanistan and at strategic border points before winter.

“The price of wheat has gone up by 25 per cent in the last months and, therefore, with the economic situation and with the turmoil in which the country has been thrown, it is very difficult now to see the future for this population a future which is food secure without malnourished children,” WFP Regional Director John Aylieff said, adding that WFP had planned to reach almost 500,000 people in and around Mazar, the fourth-largest city of Afghanistan, with wheat flour, oil, lentils and salt.

Transfers of food and health supplies became more difficult at the Kabul airport since Taliban forces took over the government in Kabul in mid-August and the tense military situation there.

 “As humanitarian needs in Afghanistan increase, the abilities to respond to those needs are rapidly declining,” WHO and UNICEF said in a statement on August 22. The agencies called for “immediate and unimpeded access to deliver medicines and other lifesaving supplies to millions of people in need of aid, including 300 000 people displaced in the last two months alone.”

“WHO and UNICEF are committed to stay and deliver for the people of Afghanistan,” the statement said.

“However, with no commercial aircraft currently permitted to land in Kabul, we have no way to get supplies into the country and to those in need.  Other humanitarian agencies are similarly constrained.

“WHO and UNICEF call for the immediate establishment of a humanitarian airbridge for the sustained and unimpeded delivery of aid into Afghanistan.  We are also closely following up with all UN and international partners to explore options for expediting aid shipments.” 

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