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Key Role in 60 % of Global Plant & Animal Extinctions. Annual Costs Now >$423 Billion – Have Quadrupled Every Decade Since 1970. Report Provides Evidence, Tools & Options to Help Governments Achieve Ambitious New Global Goal on Invasive Alien Species. (Following is the news release)

Bonn, Germany, September 4 – The severe global threat posed by invasive alien species is underappreciated, underestimated, and often unacknowledged. According to a major new report by  the Intergovernmental Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES), more than 37,000 alien species have been introduced by many human activities to regions and biomes around the world. This conservative estimate is now rising at unprecedented rates. More than 3,500 of these are harmful invasive alien species – seriously threatening nature, nature’s contributions to people and good quality of life. Too often ignored until it is too late, invasive alien species are a significant challenge to people in all regions and in every country.

Approved on September 2, 2023 in Bonn by representatives of the 143 member States of IPBES, the Assessment Report on Invasive Alien Species and their Control finds that alongside dramatic changes to biodiversity and ecosystems, the global economic cost of invasive alien species exceeded $423 billion annually in 2019, with costs having at least quadrupled every decade since 1970.

For more information: IPBES.

In 2019, the IPBES Global Assessment Report found that invasive alien species are one of the five most important direct drivers of biodiversity loss – alongside changes in land- and sea-use, direct exploitation of species, climate change and pollution. On the basis of this finding, Governments tasked IPBES to provide the best available evidence and policy options to deal with the challenges of biological invasions. The resulting report was produced by 86 experts from 49 countries, working for more than four and a half years. It draws on more than 13,000 references, including very significant contributions from Indigenous Peoples and local communities, making it the most comprehensive assessment ever carried out of invasive alien species around the world.

“Invasive alien species are a major threat to biodiversity and can cause irreversible damage to nature, including local and global species extinctions, and also threaten human wellbeing,” said Professor Helen Roy (United Kingdom), co-chair of the Assessment with Prof. Anibal Pauchard (Chile) and Prof. Peter Stoett (Canada).

The authors of the report emphasize that not all alien species become invasive – invasive alien species are the subset of alien species that are known to have become established and spread, which cause negative impacts on nature and often also on people. About 6% of alien plants; 22% of alien invertebrates; 14% of alien vertebrates; and 11% of alien microbes are known to be invasive, posing major risks to nature and to people. People with the greatest direct dependence on nature, such as Indigenous Peoples and local communities, are found to be at even greater risk. More than 2,300 invasive alien species are found on lands under the stewardship of Indigenous Peoples – threatening their quality of life and even cultural identities.   

While many alien species were historically introduced on purpose for their perceived benefits to people, the IPBES report finds that the negative impacts of those that do become invasive are enormous for nature and people. “Invasive alien species have been a major factor in 60% and the only driver in 16% of global animal and plant extinctions that we have recorded, and at least 218 invasive alien species have been responsible for more than 1,200 local extinctions . In fact, 85% of the impacts of biological invasions on native species are negative,” said Prof. Pauchard. Examples of such impacts include the ways that North American beavers (Castor canadensis) and Pacific Oysters (Magallana gigas) change ecosystems by transforming habitats – often with severe consequences for native species. 

Nearly 80% of the documented impacts of invasive alien species on nature’s contributions to people are also negative – especially through damage to food supplies – such as the impact of the European shore crab (Carcinus maenas) on commercial shellfish beds in New England and the damage caused by the Caribbean false mussel (Mytilopsis sallei) to locally important fishery resources in India.

Similarly, 85% of documented impacts negatively affect people’s quality of life – for instance through health impacts, including diseases such as malaria, Zika and West Nile Fever, spread by invasive alien mosquito species like Aedes albopictus and Aedes aegyptii. Invasive alien species also damage livelihoods, for example in Lake Victoria where fisheries have declined due to the depletion of tilapia, as a result of the spread of water hyacinth (Pontederia crassipes), which is the world’s most widespread terrestrial invasive alien species. Lantana (Lantana camara), a flowering shrub, and the black rat (Rattus rattus) are the second and third most widespread globally, with far-reaching impacts on people and nature.

“It would be an extremely costly mistake to regard biological invasions only as someone else’s problem,” said Pauchard. “Although the specific species that inflict damages vary from place to place, these are risks and challenges with global roots but very local impacts, facing people in every country, from all backgrounds and in every community – even Antarctica is being affected.”

The report shows that 34% of the impacts of biological invasions were reported from the Americas, 31% from Europe and Central Asia, 25% from Asia and the Pacific and about 7% from Africa. Most negative impacts are reported on land (about 75%) – especially in forests, woodlands and cultivated areas – with considerably fewer reported in freshwater (14%) and marine (10%) habitats . Invasive alien species are most damaging on islands, with numbers of alien plants now exceeding the number of native plants on more than 25% of all islands.

“The future threat from invasive alien species is a major concern,” said Prof. Roy. “37% of the 37,000 alien species known today have been reported since 1970 – largely caused by rising levels of global trade and human travel. Under ‘business-as-usual’ conditions, we project that total numbers of alien species will continue to increase in this way.”

“But business-as-usual is actually unlikely,” continues Roy. “With so many major drivers of change predicted to worsen, it is expected that the increase of invasive alien species and their negative impacts, are likely to be significantly greater. The accelerating global economy, intensified and expanded land- and sea-use change, as well as demographic changes are likely to lead to increases in invasive alien species worldwide. Even without the introduction of new alien species, already established alien species will continue to expand their ranges and spread to new countries and regions. Climate change will make the situation even worse.”

The report underscores that interactions between invasive alien species and other drivers of change will be likely to amplify their impacts – for example invasive alien plants can interact with climate change, often resulting in more intense and frequent fires, such as some of the devastating wildfires experienced recently around the world, releasing even more carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.

The IPBES experts point to the generally insufficient measures in place to tackle these challenges. While 80% of countries have targets related to managing invasive alien species in their national biodiversity plans, only 17% have national laws or regulations specifically addressing these issues. This also increases the risk of invasive alien species for neighbouring States. The report finds that 45% of all countries do not invest in the management of biological invasions.  

On a more positive note, the report highlights that future biological invasions, invasive alien species, and their impacts, can be prevented through effective management and more integrated approaches. “The good news is that, for almost every context and situation, there are management tools, governance options and targeted actions that really work,” said Prof. Pauchard.

“Prevention is absolutely the best, most cost-effective option – but eradication, containment and control are also effective in specific contexts. Ecosystem restoration can also improve the results of management actions and increase the resistance of ecosystems to future invasive alien species . Indeed, managing invasive alien species can help to mitigate the negative effects of other drivers of change.”

Prevention measures – such as border biosecurity and strictly enforced import controls – are identified by the report as having worked in many instances, such as the successes achieved in Australasia in reducing the spread of the brown marmorated stink bug (Halyomorpha halys).

Preparedness, early detection and rapid response are shown to be effective at reducing rates of alien species establishment, and to be especially critical for marine and connected water systems . The PlantwisePlus programme, assisting smallholder farmers in Africa, Asia and Latin America is spotlighted by the report as a good example of the importance of general surveillance strategies to detect new alien species.

Eradication has been successful and cost-effective for some invasive alien species, especially when their populations are small and slow-spreading, in isolated ecosystems such as islands. Some examples of this are in French Polynesia where the black rat (Rattus rattus) and rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus) have been successfully eradicated. The report indicates that eradication of alien plants is more challenging due to the length of time that seeds may lie dormant in soil. The authors add that successful eradication programmes depend on, amongst other elements, the support and engagement of stakeholders and Indigenous Peoples and local communities.

When eradication is not possible for different reasons, invasive alien species can often be contained and controlled – especially in land-based and closed water systems, as well as in aquaculture – an example being the containment of the invasive alien Asian tunicate (Styela clava) in aqua-cultured blue mussels in Canada. Successful containment can be physical, chemical or biological – although the appropriateness and effectiveness of each option is dependent on local context.

The use of biological control for invasive alien plants and invertebrates, such as introducing a rust fungus (Puccinia spegazzinii) to control bitter vine (Mikania micrantha) in the Asia-Pacific region, has been effective – with success in more than 60% of known cases.

“One of the most important messages from the report is that ambitious progress in tackling invasive alien species is achievable,” said Prof. Stoett. “What is needed is a context-specific integrated approach, across and within countries and the various sectors involved in providing biosecurity, including trade and transportation; human and plant health; economic development and more. This will have far-reaching benefits for nature and people.”

Options explored in the report include considering coherent policies and codes of conduct across sectors and scales; commitment and resourcing; public awareness and engagement, such as citizen science campaigns like those promoting ‘check, clean and dry’; open and interoperable information systems; filling knowledge gaps (the authors identify more than 40 areas where research is needed); as well as inclusive and fair governance.

“The immediate urgency of invasive alien species, with extensive and growing harm to nature and people, makes this report so valuable and timely,” said Dr. Anne Larigauderie, the Executive Secretary of IPBES. “The Governments of the world agreed, in December last year, as part of the new Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, to reduce the introduction and establishment of priority invasive alien species by at least 50% by 2030. This is a vital, but also very ambitious commitment. The IPBES Invasive Alien Species Report provides the evidence, tools and options to help make this commitment more achievable.”

By the Numbers – Key Statistics and Facts from the Report Species

>37,000: alien species established worldwide 200: new alien species recorded every year.

>3,500: invasive alien species recorded globally, including 1,061 plants (6% of all alien plant species), 1,852 invertebrates (22%), 461 vertebrates (14%) and 141 microbes (11%)

37%: proportion of known alien species reported since 1970,

36%: anticipated increase in alien species by 2050 compared to 2005, under a “business-as-usual” scenario (assumes past trends in drivers of change continue)

>35%: proportion of alien freshwater fish in the Mediterranean basin that have arisen from aquaculture.

Impacts

34%: proportion of impacts reported in the Americas (31% Europe and Central Asia; 25% Asia Pacific; 7% Africa 75%: impacts reported in the terrestrial realm (mostly in temperate and boreal forests and woodlands and cultivated areas).

14%: proportion of impacts reported in freshwater ecosystems.

10%: proportion of impacts reported in the marine realm.

60%: proportion of recorded global extinctions to which invasive alien species have contributed.

16%: proportion of recorded global extinctions in which invasive alien species have been the sole driver.

1,215: local extinctions of native species caused by 218 invasive alien species (32.4% were invertebrates, 50.9% vertebrates, 15.4% plants, 1.2% microbes)

27%: invasive alien species impacts on native species through ecosystem properties changes (24% through interspecific competition; 18% through predation; 12% through herbivory).

90%: global extinctions on islands attributed mainly to invasive alien species.

>$423 billion: estimated annual economic cost of biological invasions, 2019.

92%: proportion of economic costs of biological invasions attributed to invasive alien species damaging nature’s contributions to people and good quality of life (with the remaining 8% of costs related to biological invasion management).

>2,300: invasive alien species documented on lands managed, used and/or owned by Indigenous Peoples.

400%: rise in the economic cost of biological invasions in every decade since 1970

Policy and management

80% (156 out of 196): countries with targets in national biodiversity strategies and action plans for managing biological invasions.

>200%: increase in the last decade in the number of countries with national invasive alien species checklists, including databases (196 countries in 2022)

83%: countries without specific national legislation or regulations on invasive alien species.

88%: success rate of eradication programmes (1,550) conducted on 998 islands

>60%: success rates of biological control programs for invasive alien plants and invertebrates.

Note to Editors: For enquiries and interviews please contact: The IPBES Media Team. media@ipbes.net – www.ipbes.net. +1-416-878-8712

Terry Collins & Assoc. | www.tca.tc | @TerryCollinsTC | LinkedIn.com/in/terrycollins, Toronto, M6R1L8 Canada.

About IPBES: Often described as the “IPCC for biodiversity”, IPBES is an independent intergovernmental body comprising more than 140 member Governments. Established by Governments in 2012, it provides policymakers with objective scientific assessments about the state of knowledge regarding the planet’s biodiversity, ecosystems and the contributions they make to people, as well as the tools and methods to protect and sustainably use these vital natural assets. For more information about IPBES and its assessments visit  www.ipbes.net

Video introduction to IPBES: www.youtube.com/watch?v=oOiGio7YU-M

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New York, September 3 – A treaty banning any nuclear weapon test explosion or any other nuclear explosion has remained inactive since it was adopted by the U.N. General Assembly in 1996 due to failure by eight countries to ratify it. The assembly will discuss the issue during its annual session starting on September 16.

The eight countries are: China, Egypt, Iran, Israel and the United States, which have signed the treaty, and India, North Korea and Pakistan, which have not signed. They eight belong to a group of 44 countries that took part in negotiations of the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty (CTBT). They either possessed nuclear weapons, nuclear reactors or research reactors.

The treaty mandated that all 44 countries with nuclear capabilities must sign and ratify it, in addition to over 100 countries that have ratified, before the treaty can enter into force. The treaty bans all nuclear explosions, whether for military or peaceful purposes.

Efforts aimed at enforcing the CTBT have gained strength over the years and lately to counter Russia’s threats to use nuclear weapons in the war in Ukraine and North Korea’s attempts to build its nuclear arsenal. The treaty received even more support recently when the U.N. marked the International Day against Nuclear Tests with calls for the eight countries to sign, if they haven’t done so, and ratify the CTBT.

The U.N. General Assembly adopted the treaty on September 19,1996 in a resolution and opened it for signatures. The United Nations Treaty Collection said 186 countries signed and 178 ratified. Despite the high number of ratifications, the treaty will enter into force only after all 44 countries have ratified it.

Security Council permanent members – Of the five recognized nuclear powers, France, the United Kingdom and Russia signed and ratified while China and the United States signed but their legislatures have not yet ratified it. The five countries also hold a prominent political position in the U.N. system as permanent members of the U.N. Security Council.

On the International Day Against Nuclear Tests on August 29, U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called for global action to end nuclear testing and for the eight countries that have yet to ratify the treaty to do so.

“This year, we face an alarming rise in global mistrust and division. At a time in which nearly 13,000 nuclear weapons are stockpiled around the world — and countries are working to improve their accuracy, reach and destructive power — this is a recipe for annihilation.” Guterres said.

“A legally binding prohibition on nuclear tests is a fundamental step in our quest for a world free of nuclear weapons. The Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty, though not yet in force, remains a powerful testament to humanity’s will to lift the shadow of nuclear annihilation from our world, once and for all.”

“In the name of all victims of nuclear testing, I call on all countries that have not yet ratified the Treaty to do so immediately, without conditions.”

Csaba Kőrösi, president of the current 77th session of the General Assembly, said on the International Day against Nuclear that there is little reason to celebrate while the CTBT remains in limbo.

“Heightened distrust, geopolitical competition and a growing number of armed conflicts have only increased the dangers in our world. Particularly if we consider the regular threats of resorting to a nuclear strike in the on-going war against Ukraine,” he said. He pointed out that global military spending reached a record US$2.2 trillion in 2022 and there are signs that nuclear stockpiles and capabilities are growing, contravening the nuclear non-proliferation treaty.

“We are closer than any other time in this century to global catastrophe,” he said, adding that it is a “serious loophole” that the CTBT has remained inactive 27 years after its adoption. He called on Annex 2 countries that have not signed and ratified the CTBT to do so.

Daryl G. Kimball, head of Arms Control Today, a Washington-based organization, said in a press release on the occasion of the International Day Against Nuclear Testing that the CTBT “is under threat due to inattention, diplomatic sclerosis, and worsening relations between nuclear-armed adversaries.”

“Although it has not entered into force, the CTBT is one of the most successful agreements in the long history of nuclear arms control and nonproliferation,” Kimball said. “Most of the nuclear-armed states that have not signed or not ratified the CTBT, including China, India, Israel, and Pakistan, are observing nuclear testing moratoria.”

But the CTBT and the de facto global nuclear testing moratorium cannot be taken for granted. “China, Russia, and the United States continue to engage in weapons-related activities at their former nuclear testing sites,” Kimball said. Meanwhile, “Russian officials acknowledge reports that they are considering the self-defeating option of ‘unratifying’ the CTBT,” he added.

“As diplomats from CTBT signatory states gather on Sept. 22 for the 13th conference on facilitating the CTBT’s entry into force, more energetic strategies must be considered not only to advance the treaty, but to strengthen the de facto norm against testing.”

Read the full text of the commentary Defending the De Facto Nuclear Test Ban. Further information: List of parties to the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty.

(By J. Tuyet Nguyen)

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The United Nations Correspondents Association (UNCA) invites media worldwide to submit entries for its 27th annual UNCA Awards for best print, broadcast (TV & Radio) and online, web-based media coverage of the United Nations, UN agencies and field operations. 

The deadline for submissions is September 30th, 2023.

The awards are open to all journalists anywhere in the world. 

The deadline for submissions is September 30th, 2023.

The awards are open to all journalists anywhere in the world. 

The Awards are:

The Elizabeth Neuffer Memorial Prize

Sponsored by the Alexander Bodini Foundation, for written media (including online media). The prize is for print and online coverage of the UN and UN agencies, named in honor of Elizabeth Neuffer, The Boston Globe bureau chief at the UN, who died while on an assignment in Baghdad in 2003.

The Ricardo Ortega Memorial Prize

Sponsored by the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations, for broadcast (TV & Radio) media. The prize is for broadcast coverage of the UN and UN agencies, named in honor of Ricardo Ortega, formerly the New York correspondent for Antena 3 TV of Spain, who died while on an assignment in Haiti in 2004. 

The Prince Albert II of Monaco and UNCA Global Prize for Climate Change.

The prize is for print (including online media) and broadcast media (TV & Radio) for coverage of climate change, biodiversity, and water.

IMPORTANT INFORMATION FOR APPLICANTS:

• • Work in print, broadcast (TV & Radio) and online coverage must be published between September 2022 and September 2023. 

• • The judges will look for entries with impact, insight, and originality, and will consider the courage and investigative and reporting skills of the journalists. Entries from the developing world media are particularly welcome. 

• • Entries can be submitted in any of the official UN languages (English, French, Arabic, Chinese, Spanish, and Russian), however a written transcript in English or French is necessary to facilitate the judging process.

• • Each candidate can submit to no more than two (2) prize categories, with a maximum of two (2) stories in each. Joint entries are accepted.

• • Electronic files and web links uploaded to the online Entry Form are required.

HOW TO SUBMIT YOUR ENTRY:

Entries are submitted online by completing the UNCA Awards Entry Form.

Please complete your personal information, upload a photo and submit your work electronically by uploading web links and/or files directly to the Entry Form.

** Electronic entries are mandatory **

All entries must be received by September 30th, 2023

For Questions regarding UNCA Awards & entries please contact:

UNCA Office, 1-212-963-7137. Or send an email to uncaawards@unca.com

CLICK ON THE ENTRY FORM BELOW TO GET STARTED

Apply Now

UNCA Awards Committe

Valeria Robecco (UNCA President), Giampaolo Pioli (Awards Chairman), Tuyet Nguyen (Awards Selections Coordinator), Sherwin Bryce-Pease (UNCA Executive Member and Master of Ceremonies), Edith Lederer (UNCA Executive Member), Betul Yuruk (UNCA Executive Member).

New York, August 30 – Heads of states and governments will attend a series of high-level annual meetings of the 78^th U.N. General Assembly session in September. The tasks facing them are enormous: massive floodings, wildfires, record high temperatures, the on-going wars in Ukraine and Sudan, inflation, widespread poverty and the 360 million people in need of humanitarian assistance.

The U.N. General Assembly session September 16 – 26 is under the theme “Rebuilding trust and reigniting global solidarity: Accelerating action on the 2030 Agenda and its Sustainable Development Goals towards peace, prosperity, progress and sustainability for all.” A general debate will allow all leaders and representatives of the 193 U.N. member states to speak.

Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Summit September 18 -19. The summit is convened every four years to review progress on implementing the 17 goals, a major enterprise adopted by the U.N. in 2015 and branded as a “shared blueprint for peace and prosperity for people and the planet, now and into the future.”  The U.N. said the summit is expected to work out a negotiated political declaration that will provide political guidance to speed up actions to meet the 2030 deadline.

Anticipation is high that those leaders would adopt strategies to scale up efforts to complete the goals by the deadline. The goals include calls for the elimination of poverty, hunger, good health and education for all. Observers said the current wars, high demands for humanitarian assistance as well as human rights violations are the hardest problems to solve in years, coming on the heels of the deadly, three-year Covid-19 pandemic.

During review meetings held in July this year, the U.N. said the SDGs are “in peril” because progress and efforts to achieve them have been eroded by climate disasters, the COVID pandemic, the Russian war in Ukraine and rising food prices.

It called on governments to redouble efforts to achieve the goals or else they should expect greater political instability, upended economics leading to irreversible damage and hundreds of millions of people hungry and poor.

The U.N. said if the current trends persist, by 2030, a staggering 575 million people will remain trapped in extreme poverty and an estimated 84 million children and young people will still be out of school.

Climate Ambition Summit September 20. The summit allows the opportunity to urge leaders of governments, business, local authorities, civil society and financial institutions to step up efforts for credible, new climate action and nature-based solutions to counter climate change, the U.N. said.

Preparatory Ministerial Meeting for the Summit of the Future September 21. The U.N. said government ministers will meet to prepare for the Summit of the Future to be held in September 2024, which will be “a once-in-a-generation opportunity to enhance global cooperation to tackle critical challenges, address gaps in global governance, reaffirm existing commitments, including to the SDGs and the United Nations Charter, and make a multilateral system better positioned to positively impact people’s lives.”

High-level Dialogue on Financing for Development September 20. The High-level Dialogue on Financing for Development, taking place on the heels of the SDG Summit, will provide political leadership and guidance on the implementation of the Addis Ababa Action Agenda – a UN framework for mobilizing resources to achieve the SDGs – as well as identify progress and emerging challenges and mobilize further action.

Three high-level meetings will focus on health issues:

Pandemic Prevention, Preparedness and Response September 20 – The U.N. said the President of the General Assembly, in collaboration with the World Health Organization, will convene Heads of State and Government for a one-day meeting to adopt a political declaration aimed at mobilizing political will at the national, regional and international levels for pandemic prevention, preparedness and response.

Universal Health Coverage September 21 – The meeting presents an opportunity for countries and stakeholders to renew efforts and accelerate progress toward achieving health for all. This will serve as the foundation for executing policies and ensuring responsibility for strengthening health systems for the future, building on the 2019 Political Declaration, the U.N. said.

Fight against Tuberculosis September 22 – The high-level meeting on the Fight against Tuberculosis will be under the theme, “Advancing science, finance and innovation, and their benefits, to urgently end the global tuberculosis epidemic, in particular, by ensuring equitable access to prevention, testing, treatment and care.”

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New York, August 17 – Scores of governments signed a statement criticizing North Korea for building weapons of mass destruction with revenues obtained through forced labor and labor exploitation at the expense of its people’s human rights.

 The statement was issued after a U.N. Security Council meeting to discuss human rights issues in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK), the country’s official name. U.S. Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield,who presided the meeting as her country holds the rotating presidency of the 15-nation council in August, delivered the statement, which she said was signed by 52 countries and the delegation of the European Union.

“Today, the Security Council lived up to that expectation.” she said. “The DPRK government’s violations and abuses have been well-documented by credible accounts, including numerous UN experts – and have been condemned through many General Assembly resolutions adopted by consensus over the past years.”

“They include: arbitrary killings, harsh and life-threatening prison conditions, the punishment of family members for offenses allegedly committed by an individual, and near-total state control of expression through censorship and repression. “

“The DPRK government commits acts of cruelty and repression in its own territory – while also perpetrating similar acts in other countries, targeting both citizens of the DPRK and others. These include executions, assassinations, abductions – including from Japan and the Republic of Korea – intimidations and forced repatriation. Alone, these human rights violations and abuses demand the Council’s attention.”

“But they are also inextricably linked with the DPRK’s weapons of mass destruction and ballistic missile advancements in violation of Security Council resolutions. The DPRK government engages in domestic and overseas forced labor and labor exploitation to generate revenue for its unlawful weapons of mass destruction and ballistic missile programs. And the DPRK’s repressive political climate allows the government to divert resources to weapons development – at the expense of the welfare of the people in the DPRK who suffer from severe economic hardship and malnutrition.”

“None of this is acceptable. And there continues to be a lack of accountability. This year marks the 75th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights – the 30^th anniversary of the Vienna Declaration and Program of Action, and the 10^th anniversary of the creation of the UN Commission of Inquiry on Human Rights in the DPRK. And while we have made great strides forward, we still have a long way to go when it comes to the situation in the DPRK. “

Thomas-Greenfield said she delivered the statement on behalf of the United States, Albania, Andorra, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Canada, Costa Rica, Croatia, Cyprus, Czechia, Denmark, Ecuador, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Guatemala, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Moldova, Monaco, Montenegro, Netherlands, North Macedonia, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Republic of Korea, Romania, San Marino, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Ukraine, the United Kingdom, and the European Union.

The U.N. human rights chief, Volker Türk, and Elizabeth Salmon, the U.N. Special Rapporteur on the situation on human rights in the DPRK. briefed the council.

 Turk said information collected by his office, including through interviews, and from public information issued by the government itself, “indicates increasing repression of the rights to freedoms of expression, privacy and movement; the persistence of widespread forced labor practices; and a worsening situation for economic and social rights, due to the closure of markets and other forms of income generation.”

“Within the country, markets, and other private means of generating income, have been largely shut down, and such activity is increasingly criminalized. This sharply constrains people’s ability to provide for themselves and their families. Given the limits of State-run economic institutions, many people appear to be facing extreme hunger, as well as acute shortages of medication.”

Salmón said North Korea’s leadership continued to demand its citizens to “tighten their belts so that the available resources could be used to fund the nuclear and missiles program. It strengthens gender stereotypes regarding the roles and responsibilities of women within the family and weakens their political participation. It creates the ongoing demand for forced labor across the country and for workers sent abroad.”

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New York, August 17 – While they were bringing life-saving assistance from food supplies to healthcare to civilians caught in the wars in Ukraine, Sudan and other conflicts, a total of 62 aid workers have been killed so far this year, 34 kidnapped and scores were wounded, the U.N. said on the occasion of World Humanitarian Day 2023.

This year also marked the 20^th anniversary the suicide bomb attack on the U.N. headquarters located at the Canal Hotel in Baghdad, Iraq, which killed 22 U.N. staff and injured some 150 local and international aid workers. The World Humanitarian Day is commemorated August 19 each year since that attack in 2003.

The U.N. warned that 2023 is set to become another year of high numbers of aid worker casualties. There were 116 aid workers killed in 2022.

“World Humanitarian Day and the Canal Hotel bombing will always be an occasion of mixed and still raw emotions for me and many others,” said the U.N. chief coordinator on humanitarian affairs, Martin Griffiths.

“Every year, nearly six times more aid workers are killed in the line of duty than were killed on that dark day in Baghdad, and they are overwhelmingly local aid workers. Impunity for these crimes is a scar on our collective conscience. It is time we walk the talk on upholding international humanitarian law and tackle impunity for violations.”

The humanitarian affairs office said despite the dangers and death facing aid workers in war conditions, “humanitarians of all stripes are campaigning this year to highlight their continuing commitment to deliver for the communities they serve, no matter who, no matter where and #NoMatterWhat.”

“In the face of skyrocketing humanitarian needs, the U.N. and its partners aim to help almost 250 million people in crises around the world – 10 times more people than in 2003.”

The U.N. said South Sudan has ranked highest in insecurity for several consecutive years. There have been 40 attacks on aid workers and 22 fatalities have been reported as of August 16, 2023.

Sudan is a close second, with 17 attacks on humanitarians and 19 fatalities reported so far this year. This toll surpasses numbers not seen since the height of the Darfur conflict between 2006 and 2009.

Other aid worker casualties have been recorded in the Central African Republic, Mali, Somalia and Ukraine. Last year, 444 aid workers were attacked. In 2022, 460 humanitarians were attacked, resulting in 141 deaths.

{Note: The numbers of casualties so far in 2023 are according to provisional data from the Aid Worker Security Database research team at Humanitarian Outcomes and are subject to change following a verification process}

Lack of access and funding hampering aid to 18 million people in Myanmar (Following is a press release from theU.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) 

Myanmar, August 17 – Under-Secretary General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator Martin Griffiths called for expanded humanitarian access and increased funding to assist the 18 million people in need of aid across Myanmar.

“Successive crises in Myanmar have left one third of the population in need of humanitarian aid,” Griffiths said at the end of a three-day visit to the country. “They expect more and better from their leaders and from the international community.”

Humanitarian needs in Myanmar have surged in recent years, with the number of displaced persons increasing fivefold in less than three years, from 380,000 at the start of 2021 to 1.9 million at present.

During the visit, Griffiths met with families affected by conflict and natural disasters, including with Rakhine and Rohingya communities and with Myanmar authorities.

Griffiths visited Rakhine state, still reeling from the impact of cyclone Mocha three months ago. The cyclone flattened homes, damaged displacement camps, destroyed farmland, and killed livestock, leaving thousands of people vulnerable.

“Families are struggling to cope after the successive blows of the COVID-19 pandemic, conflict and cyclone Mocha. We stand ready to do more both in Rakhine and nationwide, but we urgently need greater access and more funding to do so.”

In the capital Nay Pyi Taw, Griffiths met with the State Administration Council Chairman, Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, with whom he discussed what humanitarians need to scale-up direct aid to affected populations in areas affected by conflict and natural disasters.

“My meetings were an opportunity to raise the need for expanded access,” Griffiths said. “I also expressed my concerns about the protection risks facing civilians in conflict areas and the bureaucratic constraints we humanitarians are facing in reaching them. It is critical for us to have the humanitarian space we need for safe, sustained aid deliveries around the country,” Griffiths said.

Despite rising needs, the humanitarian operation in Myanmar is facing a huge resource gap with just 22 per cent of required funds received more than half-way through the year.

“Over the past three days, I spoke with brave aid workers about their efforts to help those in need. However, a severe lack of funding means aid agencies are forced to make tough decisions about cutting assistance at a time when they should be scaling up even further. This needs to change,” Griffiths said.

For further information, please contact:

Geneva: Jens Laerke +41 79 4729750, laerke@un.org

OCHA press releases are available at www.unocha.org or www.reliefweb.int

Vanessa Huguenin

Media Relations Section

United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) 

Mobile: +41 79 202 68 44  | Email: huguenin@un.org 

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Geneva to host two major back-to-back events on governance of mineral and metal resources. Climate change discussions often overlook the central role played by the excessive extraction and use of natural resources. The topic, however, will be the central focus at the events.

* The World Resources Forum 2023 (Sept 4-6), www.wrf2023.org and

* The UNEP Global Intergovernmental Meeting on Minerals and Metals (Sept 7-8), https://bit.ly/3OP4EAA

Notice to media – For more information, accreditation: Emanuele Di Francesco. +41 71 554 0904. emanuele.difrancesco@wrforum.org. – Additional contact: Terry Collins, +1-416-878-8712 (m), ), tc@tca.tc

Says WRF Managing Director Mathias Schluep: “Minerals and metals are the backbone of major industries, including energy, construction, mobility, and electronics. If international governments and industry leaders do not source and use these resources with long-term sustainability in mind, no transition will be green. This issue looms over the climate debate and deserves far greater attention.”

Research shows, for example, that a typical electric car requires six times the mineral input of a combustion-engine car – mainly copper, graphite, cobalt, and nickel for the battery system. Around 67 tons of copper can be found in a medium-sized offshore turbine. To extract this amount of copper, miners have to move almost 50,000 tons of earth and rock, around 5 times the weight of the Eiffel Tower.

Minerals and metals are essential components for the transition to clean energy and a green economy. Every year, the world mines 150 billion tons of rock to produce 65 billion tons of mineral products. In the process, 72 billion tons of waste rock and 13 billion tons of mine tailings are also produced.

According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), global demand for critical raw materials will quadruple by 2040 – in the case of lithium, demand is expected to increase by a factor of 42.

As international companies make large investments to meet the minerals and metals demand boom, the sustainability performance behind big mining projects has come under increased scrutiny. Many minerals and metals are concentrated in just a few countries, and the search for further deposits is taking companies to more remote regions such as the high Andes and the Arctic, provoking new environmental and social challenges.

Urgent shift required – Unsustainable extraction, use, and disposal of resources are having detrimental impacts on people and the planet, and are driving the triple planetary crisis of climate change, biodiversity loss, and pollution, WRI says.

Currently, the extraction and processing of material resources is responsible for a large proportion of biodiversity loss, global greenhouse gas emissions, and air pollution impacts. The energy transition and growth in the infrastructure stock globally risk making environmental challenges even more acute.

At the 5th UN Environment Assembly last year in Nairobi, delegates adopted a resolution, initiated by Switzerland together with Argentina, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Ghana, and Senegal, on environmental aspects of minerals and metals management.

Member States stressed “the need for enhanced action to support the environmental sustainability management of minerals” along their full lifecycle, from extraction until end-of-life. Since then, Switzerland has been co-chairing the intergovernmental process together with Pakistan.

Between April and July, the United Nations Environment Programme convened intergovernmental regional consultations with African States, Asia-Pacific States, Eastern European States, Latin American and Caribbean States, and Western European and other States.

The global consultation on 7 and 8 September in Geneva will highlight key regional consultation findings and gather additional feedback.

Needed: unprecedented levels of international collaboration – Mineral and metal value chains are global in nature, which means challenges and responsibilities are shared across actors, from those extracting resources to those trading and consuming these resources.

Currently, resource extraction plays a dominant role in the economy of 81 countries. These countries account for 25% of the world’s GDP, half the world’s population, and nearly 70% of those living in poverty. Sustainable sourcing of metals and minerals, therefore, has a high stake not only in the efforts to halt climate change but also to promote sustainable development and reduce poverty.

Due to the complexity of global supply chains, finding sustainable solutions requires an unprecedented level of international cooperation, including public-private partnerships and cross-sectoral collaboration. In the current global geopolitical context, this comes with evident challenges.

Amongst others, multi-level collaboration is needed for the transition to a more resource-efficient and circular economy, which may lead to an increase in the recovery rate of precious minerals and metals, a reduction in global demand for primary resource extraction, and the sustainable use of resources across the whole life cycle.

* * * * *

The World Resources Forum 2023  (www.wrf2023.org) is supported by the Swiss Federal Office for the Environment (FOEN), with the main conference partners being the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), Empa, and the International Resource Panel.

The UNEP Global Intergovernmental Meeting on Minerals and Metals  https://bit.ly/3OP4EAA), hosted by Switzerland, will highlight key findings from the extensive round of regional consultations held earlier this year and aims to identify promising pathways to further strengthen international cooperation.

Terry Collins & Assoc. | www.tca.tc | @TerryCollinsTC | LinkedIn.com/in/terrycollins, Toronto, M6R1L8 Canada

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New York, August 3 – The United States, which holds the rotating presidency of the U.N. Security Council in August, said a total of 91 countries have signed a joint communique condemning the use of food as a weapon of war. The text was issued at a council meeting presided by U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken. Following are the joint communique and the list of signatories published by the U.S. Mission to the United Nations.

Ninety-One Countries Sign U.S.-Led Joint Communiqué Condemning the Use of Food as a Weapon of War

In a demonstration of solidarity and commitment, 91 UN Member States signed a U.S.-led joint communiqué pledging action to end the use of food as a weapon of war.

Roughly 345 million people – in 79 countries – face acute food insecurity, often caused or exacerbated by armed conflict.

Today’s joint communiqué was born out of the United States’ resolve to once again use its UN Security Council presidency to draw attention to conflict-induced food insecurity.

“We can deliver lifesaving aid to those in urgent need,” Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken said during today’s UN Security Council High-Level Open Debate on Famine and Conflict-Induced Global Food Insecurity.

“We can ensure that people around the globe are fed, now and for years to come. If we do that, if we build a healthier, more stable, more peaceful world for all, we will have at least begun to live up to the responsibility entrusted to us, entrusted to this Council, entrusted to this institution.”

U.S. Representative to the United Nations Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield said, “In a world abundant with food, no one should starve to death – ever. This is a humanitarian issue, this is a moral issue, and this is a security issue. And we must address the most insidious driver of famine and food insecurity: conflict.”

Signatories

The following U.S.-led joint communiqué was signed by Albania, Andorra, Argentina, Armenia, Australia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Cabo Verde, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Comoros, Costa Rica, Côte d’Ivoire, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Djibouti, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Estonia, Fiji, Finland, France, Georgia, Germany, Ghana, Greece, Guatemala, Guyana, Honduras, Hungary, Iceland, Iraq, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Jamaica, Japan, Jordan, Kiribati, Kuwait, Latvia, Liberia, Libya, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malawi, Malta, Marshall Islands, Mexico, Monaco, Montenegro, Morocco, Myanmar, Netherlands, New Zealand, Niger, Nigeria, Norway, Oman, Palau, Panama, Peru, Poland, Portugal, Qatar, the Republic of Korea, Republic of Moldova, Romania, Saint Kitts and Nevis, San Marino, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Trinidad and Tobago, Ukraine, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom, Uruguay, and the European Union.

Text

Joint Communiqué Condemning the Use of Food as a Weapon of War

Today, 91 member states of the United Nations commit to addressing conflict-induced food insecurity, including famine, in situations of armed conflict against civilian populations.

The international community has long stood against starvation of civilians as a tactic of warfare. The two 1977 additional protocols to the Geneva Conventions, ratified by 174 and 169 states, respectively, prohibit starvation of civilians as a method of warfare or combat.

We, the undersigned, commit to take action to end the use of food as a weapon of war and the starvation of civilians as a tactic of warfare.

We reaffirm the primary responsibility of States to protect the population throughout their whole territory and the need for all parties to armed conflict to respect the humanitarian principles of humanity, neutrality, impartiality and independence in the provision of humanitarian assistance.

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Rome/New York, July 24 – Globally, more than 3 billion people cannot afford healthy diets, 2 billion are overweight or obese and 462 million are underweight, and the situation is made worse with the cancellation of the Black Sea grain deal after Russia pulled out of the agreement.

Developing countries are struggling to invest in the food systems that can provide healthy lives but they have had no access to financing and debt relief, said U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said in an address to the U.N. Food Systems Summit taking place in Rome.

“Many communities are one shock away from plummeting into food insecurity or even famine,” he said. “And that dire picture has grown bleaker with the Russian Federation’s termination of the Black Sea Initiative that enabled the safe export of more than 32 million metric tons of food on more than 1,000 vessels from Ukrainian ports.”

 The initiative, which the U.N. called the “beacon of hope in a troubled world,” started in July 2022 and was terminated after Russia ended its participation on July 17 this year. It allowed the exports of Ukraine’s wheat and other food commodities and Russia’s fertilizers to dozens of countries. The U.N. said food prices dropped by 23 per cent from their highs in 2022.

The grain deal allowed humanitarian organizations to provide food assistance to countries. The World Food Program (WFP) transported more than 725,000 tons of wheat to people in need in Afghanistan, Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, Sudan, and Yemen. Ukraine supplied more than half of WFP’s wheat grain in 2022, as was the case in 2021.

“We are already seeing the negative effect on global wheat and corn prices which hurts everyone” with the end of the initiative, Guterres said. “But this is especially devastating for vulnerable countries struggling to feed their people.”

“Meanwhile, unsustainable food production, packaging and consumption are feeding the climate crisis, generating one-third of all greenhouse gas emissions, using 70 per cent of the world’s freshwater, and driving biodiversity loss on an epic scale. Many communities are one shock away from plummeting into food insecurity or even famine.”

The U.N. Food Systems Summit +2 Stocktaking Moment, hosted by the Italian government July 24-26, is taking place at the Food and Agriculture Organization premises with the attendance of U.N. agencies, government, business and civil society representatives.

For more information, see the UN Food Systems Summit+2 Stocktaking moment

Guterres said more than 100 countries have submitted voluntary progress reports on food systems transformation after taking “decisive steps to reflect this priority in national and sub- national laws, policies and programming.” He called for “massive investment in sustainable, equitable, healthy and resilient food systems” and urged governments to provide at least US$500 billion a year to the Sustainable Development Goals Stimulus for long-term financing for all countries in need.

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