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Lack of effective refrigeration directly results in the loss of 526 million tonnes of food production – 12 per cent of global total.

Developing countries could save 144 million tonnes of food annually if they reached the same level of food cold chain infrastructure as developed countries. The report ‘Sustainable Food Cold Chains: Opportunities, Challenges and the Way Forward’, published jointly with the FAO and UNEP, is available at http://bit.ly/3A3dP8z.  It emphasizes the need for robust, sustainable cold chains to maintain the quality, nutritional value and safety of food, and to reduce losses, offering case studies and solutions to the challenge.

Amid Food and Climate Crises, Investing in Sustainable Food Cold Chains Crucial – More than 3 billion people can’t afford a healthy diet

Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt, November 12 – As food insecurity and global warming rise, governments, international development partners and industry should invest in sustainable food cold chains to decrease hunger, provide livelihoods to communities, and adapt to climate change, the UN said today.

Launched today at the 27th Climate Change Conference (COP 27), the Sustainable Food Cold Chains report, from the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), finds that food cold chains are critical to meeting the challenge of feeding an additional two billion people by 2050 and harnessing rural communities’ resilience, while avoiding increased greenhouse gas emissions.

The report was developed in the framework of the UNEP-led Cool Coalition in partnership with FAO, the Ozone Secretariat, UNEP OzonAction Programme, and the Climate and Clean Air Coalition.

“At a time when the international community must act to address the climate and food crises, sustainable food cold chains can make a massive difference,” said Inger Andersen, Executive Director of UNEP. “They allow us to reduce food loss, improve food security, slow greenhouse gas emissions, create jobs, reduce poverty and build resilience – all in one fell swoop.”

Food insecurity on the rise

The number of people affected by hunger in the world rose to 828 million in 2021, a year-on-year rise of 46 million.

Almost 3.1 billion people could not afford a healthy diet in 2020, up 112 million from 2019, as the economic impacts of the Covid pandemic drove up inflation. This year, meanwhile, the conflict in Ukraine has raised the prices of basic grains threatening food security.

All of this comes while an estimated 14 per cent of all food produced for human consumption is lost before it reaches the consumer. The lack of an effective cold chain to maintain the quality, nutritional value and safety of food is one of the major contributors (12% of total loss).

According to the report, developing countries could save 144 million tonnes of food annually if they reached the same level of food cold chain infrastructure as developed countries.

As post-harvest food loss reduces the income of 470 million small-scale farmers by 15%, mainly in developing countries investing in sustainable food cold chains would help lift these farm families out of poverty.

Climate impact

The food cold chain has serious implications for climate change and the environment. Emissions from food loss and waste due to lack of refrigeration totalled an estimated 1 gigatonne of carbon dioxide (CO2) equivalent in 2017 – about 2 per cent of total global greenhouse gas emission

In particular, it contributes to emissions of methane, a potent but short-lived climate pollutant. Taking action now would contribute to reducing atmospheric concentrations of methane this   decade.  

Overall, the food cold chain is responsible for around 4 per cent of total global greenhouse gas emissions – when emissions from cold chain technologies and food loss caused by lack of refrigeration are included.

Lost food also damages the natural world by driving unnecessary conversion of land for agricultural purposes and use of resources such as water, fossil fuels and energy.

Reducing food loss and waste could make a positive impact on climate change, but only if new cooling-related infrastructure is designed to use gases with low global warming potential, be energy efficient and run on renewable energy.

The adoption of the Kigali Amendment to the Montreal Protocol and the Rome Declaration on “the contribution of the Montreal Protocol to sustainable cold chain development for food waste reduction” provide a unique opportunity to accelerate the deployment of sustainable food cold chains.

Progress being made

Projects around the world show that sustainable food cold chains are already making a difference. In India, a food cold chain pilot project reduced losses of kiwi fruit by 76 per cent while reducing emissions through the expansion of use of refrigerated transport.

In Nigeria, a project to install 54 operational ColdHubs prevented the spoilage of 42,024 tonnes of food and increased the household income of 5,240 small-scale farmers, retailers and wholesalers by 50 per cent.

But these projects, among many other illustrative case studies in the new report, are still the exception rather than the norm.

Recommendations for decision makers

To expand sustainable food cold chains globally, the report makes a series of recommendations for governments and stakeholders, including:

Take a holistic systems approach to food cold chain provision, recognizing that the provision of cooling technologies alone is not enough.

Quantify and benchmark the energy use and greenhouse gas emissions in existing food cold chains and identify opportunities for reductions.

Collaborate and undertake food cold chain needs assessments and develop costed and sequenced National Cooling Action Plans, backed with specific actions and financing.

Implement and enforce ambitious minimum efficiency standards, and monitoring and enforcement to prevent illegal imports of inefficient food cold chain equipment and refrigerants.

Run large-scale system demonstrations to show positive impacts of sustainable cold chains, and how interventions can create sustainable and resilient solutions for scaling.

Institute multidisciplinary centres for food cold chain development at the national or regional level.

About the Cool Coalition

The Cool Coalition is a global multi-stakeholder network government, cities, international organizations, businesses, finance, academia, and civil society groups committed to a rapid global transition to efficient and climate-friendly cooling. The Coalition is one of the official outcomes and “Transformation Initiatives” put forward by the Executive Office of the Secretary-General for the UN Climate Action Summit. The Coalition’s Secretariat is hosted by the United Nations Environment Programme.

About the Climate and Clean Air Coalition

The Climate and Clean Air Coalition is a voluntary partnership of governments, intergovernmental organizations, businesses, scientific institutions and civil society organizations committed to improving air quality and protecting the climate through actions to reduce short-lived climate pollutants, including methane, black carbon, tropospheric ozone, and hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs). The Coalition’s Secretariat is hosted by the United Nations Environment Programme.

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Media contacts:

Sophie Loran (at COP 27), +33-601-377-917 sophie.loran@un.org

Terry Collins +1-416-878-8712, tc@tca.tc

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New York, November 11 – The world population is reaching 8 billion by mid-November with over half living in Asia as of this year. India and China are the world’s most populous countries with 1.4 billion people each, but India’s population growth will surpass China in 2023.

Eastern and South-Eastern Asia have 2.3 billion people (29 per cent of the global population), and Central and Southern Asia have 2.1 billion (26 per cent), the U.N. Population Funds – (UNFPA) – said in its World Population Prospects 2022 issued this year. It said the population growth was expected after a period of the slowest population growth since 1950 and a deep drop in fertility rates to below 1 per cent in 2020.

For more information: (UNFPA) #8BillionStrong campaign.The agency said more than half of the projected increase in global population up to 2050 will be concentrated in just eight countries: the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Egypt, Ethiopia, India, Nigeria, Pakistan, the Philippines and the United Republic of Tanzania.

Populations of Australia and New Zealand, Northern Africa and Western Asia, and Oceania (excluding Australia and New Zealand) are expected to experience slower growth through the end of the century. The populations of Eastern and South-Eastern Asia, Central and Southern Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean, and Europe and Northern America are projected to reach their peak size and to begin to decline before 2100.

The 46 least developed countries (LDCs) are among the world’s fastest growing. Many are projected to double in population between 2022 and 2050.

The U.N. has issued a call for collective action to protect the people and planet to mark the occasion of 8 billion people on the planet: “The growth of the world’s population has become increasingly concentrated among the world’s poorest countries, exacerbating already entrenched inequalities. Between now and 2050, almost all of the global increase in numbers of children and youth and of adults under age 65 will occur in low-income and lower-middle-income countries.

The Sustainable Development Goals provide the blueprint for tackling inequalities by meeting the socio-economic needs and human rights of a growing population while protecting the environment. This would require investments in healthcare (with a strong focus on sexual and reproductive health), education, gender equality and economic development.

Countries with the highest consumption and emissions rates are those where population growth is slow or even negative. Meeting the objectives of the Paris Agreement for limiting the rise in global temperature while achieving the Goals and targets of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development will require a rapid decoupling of economic activity from the current over-reliance on fossil-fuel energy, as well as greater resource effi­ciency. “ 

Following is a press release from the U.N. Department of Global Communications issued on the World Population Day on July 11, 2022.

World population to reach 8 billion on 15 November 2022

Amid falling growth rates, global population projected to peak around 10.4 billion in the 2080s

New York, 11 July – The global population is projected to reach 8 billion on 15 November 2022, and India is projected to surpass China as the world’s most populous country in 2023, according to World Population Prospects 2022, released today on World Population Day.

“This year’s World Population Day falls during a milestone year, when we anticipate the birth of the Earth’s eight billionth inhabitant. This is an occasion to celebrate our diversity, recognize our common humanity, and marvel at advancements in health that have extended lifespans and dramatically reduced maternal and child mortality rates,” said UN Secretary-General António Guterres.  “At the same time, it is a reminder of our shared responsibility to care for our planet and a moment to reflect on where we still fall short of our commitments to one another,” he added.

The global population is growing at its slowest rate since 1950, having fallen under 1 per cent in 2020. The latest projections by the United Nations suggest that the world’s population could grow to around 8.5 billion in 2030 and 9.7 billion in 2050. It is projected to reach a peak of around 10.4 billion people during the 2080s and to remain at that level until 2100.

World Population Prospects 2022 also states that fertility has fallen markedly in recent decades for many countries. Today, two-thirds of the global population lives in a country or area where lifetime fertility is below 2.1 births per woman, roughly the level required for zero growth in the long run for a population with low mortality. The populations of 61 countries or areas are projected to decrease by 1 per cent or more between 2022 and 2050, owing to sustained low levels of fertility and, in some cases, elevated rates of emigration.

More than half of the projected increase in the global population up to 2050 will be concentrated in eight countries: the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Egypt, Ethiopia, India, Nigeria, Pakistan, the Philippines and the United Republic of Tanzania. Countries of sub-Saharan Africa are expected to contribute more than half of the increase anticipated through 2050.

“The relationship between population growth and sustainable development is complex and multidimensional” said Liu Zhenmin, UN Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs. “Rapid population growth makes eradicating poverty, combatting hunger and malnutrition, and increasing the coverage of health and education systems more difficult. Conversely, achieving the Sustainable Development Goals, especially those related to health, education and gender equality, will contribute to reducing fertility levels and slowing global population growth.”

In most countries of sub-Saharan Africa, as well as in parts of Asia and Latin America and the Caribbean, the share of population at working age (between 25 and 64 years) has been increasing thanks to recent reductions in fertility. This shift in the age distribution provides a time-bound opportunity for accelerated economic growth per capita, known as the “demographic dividend”.

 To maximize the potential benefits of a favourable age distribution, countries should invest in the further development of their human capital by ensuring access to health care and quality education at all ages and by promoting opportunities for productive employment and decent work.

The share of global population at ages 65 and above is projected to rise from 10 per cent in 2022 to 16 per cent in 2050. At that point, it is expected that the number of persons aged 65 years or over worldwide will be more than twice the number of children under age 5 and about the same as the number under age 12. Countries with ageing populations should take steps to adapt public programmes to the growing numbers of older persons, including by establishing universal health care and long-term care systems and by improving the sustainability of social security and pension systems.

Global life expectancy at birth reached 72.8 years in 2019, an improvement of almost 9 years since 1990. Further reductions in mortality are projected to result in an average global longevity of around 77.2 years in 2050. Yet in 2021, life expectancy for the least developed countries lagged 7 years behind the global average.

The COVID-19 pandemic has affected all three components of population change. Global life expectancy at birth fell to 71.0 years in 2021. In some countries, successive waves of the pandemic may have produced short-term reductions in numbers of pregnancies and births, while for many other countries, there is little evidence of an impact on fertility levels or trends. The pandemic severely restricted all forms of human mobility, including international migration.

“Further actions by Governments aimed at reducing fertility would have little impact on the pace of population growth between now and mid-century, because of the youthful age structure of today’s global population. Nevertheless, the cumulative effect of lower fertility, if maintained over several decades, could be a more substantial deceleration of global population growth in the second half of the century,” added John Wilmoth, Director of the Population Division of the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs.

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New York, November 3 – The United Nations said the Black Sea Grain Initiative is “making a difference” as it has blunted rising food prices after 10 million metric tons of wheat and other foodstuffs have been shipped from Ukraine to dozens of countries in the past three months.

“Despite all the obstacles we have seen, the beacon of hope in the Black Sea is still shining,” U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres told journalists at U.N. headquarters in New York. “The initiative is working. “

“Over the past few days, I believe the world has come to understand and appreciate the importance of the Black Sea Grain Initiative,” he said, adding that the initiative has helped to ease food prices, reduce the risks of hunger, poverty and instability.

The initiative brokered by the U.N. was signed by Turkeye, Russia and Ukraine in July and implemented through a Joint Coordination Committee (JCC) in Istanbul. It allowed shipments through a Black Sea corridor of Ukraine’s foodstuffs, particularly millions of tons of Ukraine’s wheat stuck at Crimea ports under the war.

The initiative, expected to be renewed on November 18, was briefly halted after Russia decided to suspend its cooperation last week. Russia reversed its decision on November 1, however.

Wheat and barley from Russia and Ukraine accounted for about 30 per cent of total world exports and maize and sunflower oil from the two countries maintain a significant shares on the markets for those commodities.

Guterres, who has been involved in non-stop negotiations, said the initiative has now “fully resumed” and he urged all parties to focus on renewing and fully implementing it and to remove all remaining obstacles to export Russia’s food and fertilizers.

“I am fully committed – along with the entire United Nations system – to the achievement of both these essential objectives,” he said.

Grain deal brings down global food prices

Rebeca Grynspan, Secretary-General of the U.N. Conference on Trade and Development told the UN Security Council on October 31 that over 1.6 billion people in 90 countries were in a “state of severe vulnerability to rising poverty, hunger and debt,” caused by a combination of the Covid-19 pandemic, the war in Ukraine and climate change.

But she said food prices came down after the initiative began working in early August this year. Citing the Food and Agriculture Organization, a U.N. agency based in Rome, Grynspan said the FAO Food Index has declined by about 16 per cent and according to World Bank models, the decline may have prevented over 100 million people from falling into poverty.

(By J. Tuyet Nguyen)

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Geneva/New York, October 17 – Lives will be lost unless governments embark on increasing benefits and wages in line with rising inflation, a U.N. poverty expert said.

With rising inflation hitting rich and poor countries around the world buffeted by Covid-19 pandemic, the war in Ukraine and climate destructions, calls to take effective measures resounded with a focus on low-income economies.

“It is not hyperbole to say that unless governments increase benefits and wages in line with inflation lives will be lost,” said Olivier De Schutter, U.N. Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights, said in an address to the Council of Europe in Strasbourg on the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty (October 17).

“Whether in Europe, where inflation has hit 10 percent or sub-Saharan Africa where food prices have surged by 20 per cent, household budgets across the world are being stretched beyond breaking point, meaning even more people in poverty will starve or freeze this winter unless immediate action is taken to increase their income,” De Schutter said.  

“As with the Covid-19 pandemic, it is once again the most vulnerable that are paying the price of world events. The combined crises are expected to throw an additional 75 to 95 million people into extreme poverty this year alone.”

The Special Rapporteur also urged governments to act quickly to insulate homes ahead of winter in the Northern Hemisphere.

“Insulating people’s homes to keep them warm and safe is not rocket science, and failure to act in this area is simply down to a lack of political will. Not only will doing so reduce the energy bills of low-income households, it will also considerably reduce carbon emissions.”

He called on governments to involve people in poverty in the design of policies to tackle the soaring cost-of-living, pointing to the Guiding Principles on Extreme Poverty and Human Rights, adopted a decade ago, as a roadmap to follow.

“For far too long misguided poverty-reduction policies have completely failed to reach those in need, meaning poverty simply passes from one generation to the next. As policymakers attempt to shield low-income households from the current crisis, I implore them to call on the real experts – people with lived experience of poverty,” De Schutter said.

“The Guiding Principles are a secret weapon in the fight against poverty. They should be on the desk of every decision-maker as they navigate the worst cost-of-living crisis in a generation.”

U.N. warns of growing hunger crisis on World Food Day

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the U.N. marked World Food Day in Rome (October 16) with the rallying cry to “leave no one behind” in the fight against rising levels of hunger being experienced in Asia and Africa.

“In the face of a looming global food crisis, we need to harness the power of solidarity and collective momentum to build a better future where everyone has regular access to enough nutritious food,” FAO Director-General Qu Dongyu said at an event on the day.

An estimated 828 million people were facing hunger in 2021 in addition to the 970 000 people at risk of famine in Afghanistan, Ethiopia, Somalia, South Sudan and Yemen, FAO said in its latest The State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World report) which pointed out that 3.1 billion people still cannot afford a healthy diet.

Alvaro Lario, President of International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), said at the event: “This year, more than ever, World Food Day should be a call to ramp up action to elp small-scale farmers in rural areas, who supply food to their communities and countries – through crisis after crisis – despite inequality, vulnerability, and poverty.”

“My gravest concern is what’s coming next: a food availability crisis as the fallout from conflict and climate change threatens to sabotage global food production in the months ahead. The world must open its eyes to this unprecedented global food crisis and act now to stop it spinning out of control,” said World Food Programme Executive Director David Beasley.

(By J. Tuyet Nguyen)

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New York, October 8 – The United Nations General Assembly will debate Russia’s annexation of four regions in Ukraine and possibly vote on a resolution to declare that the move has “no validity under international law and do not form the basis for any alteration of the status of these regions of Ukraine.”

The assembly’s 193 member states will meet Monday October 10 to begin the debate after a similar resolution calling the annexation illegal was vetoed by Russia in a U.N. Security Council meeting. In that meeting on September 30, 10 countries supported the resolution: the United States, United Kingdom, France, Albania, Ghana, Ireland, Kenya, Mexico, Norway and United Arab Emirates.

Russia voted against and four countries abstained – China, India, Brazil and Gabon. 

The assembly is a legislative body composed of 193 countries and each has one vote and where the veto does not exist. By contrast the five U.N. Security Council permanent members – US, United Kingdom, Russia, France and China – have veto power over decisions on world peace and security. Decisions taken by the Security Council are binding on U.N. members.

The draft resolution to be debated in the assembly would condemn Russia for holding on September 23-27 “illegal so-called referendums in regions within the internationally recognized borders of Ukraine and the attempted illegal annexation of the Donetsk, Kherson, Luhansk and Zaporizhzhia regions of Ukraine.”

It calls on “all states, international organizations and United Nations specialized agencies not to recognize any alteration” by Russia of the status of the four regions and “to refrain from any action or dealing that might be interpreted as recognizing any such altered status.” 

If adopted by the assembly, the resolution would be the fourth to be enacted by the body in its diplomatic efforts to end the war started by Russia’s military invasion of Ukraine on February 24 this year.

In the previous three votes in the assembly a majority of the 193 member states supported the resolution condemning the war. The vote taken on March 2 just days after fighting erupted a total of 141 countries voted to condemn while Russia, Belarus, Syria, North Korea and Eritrea voted against. A total of 35 countries abstained. 

The adopted resolution on March 2 condemned “in the strongest terms the aggression by the Russian Federation against Ukraine” in violation of the U.N Charter and demanded that Russia withdraw immediately and cease all acts of war.

In the second and third votes, the number of countries supporting ending the war dropped while countries that abstained increased.

(By J. Tuyet Nguyen)

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New York, October 7 – The U.N. General Assembly has adopted a resolution calling for world assistance and solidarity with the people and government of Pakistan as one-third of the country was deluged, affecting 33 million lives and over 15 million people could be pushed into poverty.

U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, who visited Pakistan for a first-hand view of the destructions, said Pakistan was responsible for less than one per cent of global greenhouse gas emissions but it is now paying a “supersized price for man-made climate change.”

He said while the weather has improved and flood waters have receded mostly in the southern parts, the country is threatened with an explosion of heath diseases like cholera, malaria and dengue fever.

Floods have destroyed 1,500 health facilities, two million homes were damaged or destroyed and more than two million families have lost all possessions. The country also suffered severe losses in crops and livestock.

“Severe hunger is spiking,” Guterres said in an address to the 193-nation assembly. “Malnutrition among children and pregnant lactating women is rising. The number of children out of school is growing. Heartache and hardship – especially for women and girls – is mounting.”

The U.N. and Pakistan government have called for a pledging conference with an initial appeal of $816 million to meet the most urgent needs in the country through May 2023.

Csaba Kőrösi, the president of the assembly, appealed to governments to stand in solidarity with Pakistan with prompt responses to the country’s needs saying that “the price we are paying for delays rises each day.”

“This is a tragedy of epic proportions” that requires “immediate interventions,” to prevent a “permanent emergency,” he said.

The U.N. refugee agency (UNHCR) in Geneva said it needs urgent help for over 650,000 refugees.

U.N. News reported that Matthew Saltmarsh, the agency’s spokesperson, said Pakistan faces “a colossal challenge” to respond to the climate disaster, more support is need “for the country and its people, who have generously hosted Afghan refugees for over four decades.”

Saltmarsh reported on the latest estimates of the unprecedented rainfall and flooding, recorded at least 1,700 deaths; 12,800 injured, including at least 4,000 children; some 7.9 million displacements; and nearly 600,000 living in relief sites.

“Pakistan is on the frontlines of the climate emergency,” said Saltmarsh. “It could take months for flood waters to recede in the hardest-hit areas, as fears rise over threats of waterborne diseases and the safety of millions of affected people, 70 percent of whom are women and children.” 

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New York, September 30 – Russia cast a negative vote and effectively blocked UN Security Council members from adopting a resolution that would have condemned President Vladimir Putin’s annexation of four regions in Ukraine as “illegal.”

Ten of the 15 council members voted in favor of the resolution while four of them abstained. The four abstentions are China, India, Brazil and Gabon. Russia’s veto automatically killed the resolution. The veto power belongs to Russia, the US, UK, France and China which permanent council members.

The 10 members who cast the positive votes are: the United States, United Kingdom, France, Albania, Ghana, Ireland, Kenya, Mexico, Norway and United Arab Emirates.

The council held a meeting to discuss issues of peace and security in Ukraine and to vote on the resolution on the same day Putin formally signed documents in Moscow to seize Ukrainian regions of Luhansk, Donetsk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia and declared that Ukrainians living in the areas are “Russian citizens forever.”

In the council meeting US Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield urged council members to secure and protect the sovereignty of all states to ensure that “no state can take over another state.” She said the US and its supporters will now take the resolution to the 193-member UN General Assembly, where there are no vetoes.

“We want to show that the world is still on the side of sovereignty and protecting territorial integrity,” she said.

British Ambassador Barbara Woodward said in an address to the council that the area Russia is claiming to annex is more than 90,000 square km. “This is the largest forcible annexation since the Second World War.”

“Council members have voted in different ways. But one thing is clear. Not a single other member of this Council recognizes Russia’s attempted illegal annexation of Ukrainian territory. Russia’s veto doesn’t change that fact.”

“The international system is being assaulted in front of our eyes,” she said. “Russia will not succeed in this illegal imperialist war. The only question is how much damage they do, how many lives they waste, before they realize that.”

The Russian seizure of the Ukrainian regions was strongly condemned by UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres as an escalation of the seven-month war in Ukraine.

“In this moment of peril, I must underscore my duty as Secretary-General to uphold the Charter of the United Nations,” Guterres said in a statement issued the day before Putin signed decrees annexing the Ukrainian territories in a ceremony in the Great Kremlin Palace. The annexation followed referenda conducted by Russia in the four territories, which the UN said were faked and not legal.

“The UN Charter is clear,” Guterres said. “Any annexation of a state’s territory by another state resulting from the threat or use of force is a violation of the Principles of the UN Charter and international law.”

“Any decision to proceed with the annexation would have no legal value and deserves to be condemned,” Guterres said. “The position of the United Nations is unequivocal: we are fully committed to the sovereignty, unity, independence and territorial integrity of Ukraine, within its internationally recognized borders, in accordance with the relevant UN resolutions.”

The UN leader reminded Putin that Russia is one of the five permanent members of the 15-nation UN Security Council, and “it shares a particular responsibility to respect the Charter.” (By J. Tuyet Nguyen)

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New York, September 21 – US President Joe Biden told the annual UN General Assembly session that Russia’s war in Ukraine is an affront to the world and called for reforming the UN Security Council in which Russia has veto power over decisions on global peace and security.

Biden delivered a strong condemnation of Russia, saying the country “is friend of no one” in the world and it has “shamelessly violated the core tenets of the UN Charter with its brutal, needless war” in Ukraine.

Biden’s speech captured the attention of the 193-nation assembly session with his strong condemnation of the war and determination to assist Ukraine. He said Russia’s nuclear threats against Europe is a “reckless disregard” for its own responsibilities as a signatory of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.

UN Security Council

Biden called for enlarging the membership of the UN Security Council, which currently has 15 countries, including Russia, the US, United Kingdom, France and China which are permanent members with veto power. Russia has vetoed resolutions that condemned its military invasion of Ukraine.

Biden said the council should be reformed to include countries from Africa, Latin America and the Middle East. Talks to reform the council have been going on for over two decades, but the issue of weakening the permanent members’ veto power has remained a stumbling block.

UN Charter and ideals in jeopardy, world divided by multiple crises

The assembly session opened its 77^th session on September 21 dominated by the on-going war in Ukraine, conflicts in many countries, climate disasters and a worsening global economy.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres opened the session saying that the world is in “rough seas” with global discontent this coming winter topped by a raging crisis of rising cost of living and other problems.

“The United Nations Charter (or constitution) and the ideals it represents are in jeopardy. We have a duty to act. And yet we are gridlocked in colossal global dysfunction. The international community is not ready or willing to tackle the big dramatic challenges of our age. These crises threaten the very future of humanity and the fate of our planet.”

He said the “geopolitical divides” are undermining the work of the UN Security Council – the highest UN responsible for world peace and security – international law and people’s trust and faith in democratic institutions.

Most of the 193 UN member states are represented by their presidents and prime ministers in the largest in-person attendance since the Covid-19 pandemic break out. The exception is Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who will deliver his address in a pre-recorded video.

The war in Ukraine, which started with Russian troops invaded Ukraine on February 24 this year, remained a top concern. UN officials and some governments have accused Russia of violating the UN Charter, human rights of Ukrainians and committing war crimes.

French President Emmanuel Macron in his speech denounced the invasion, saying

“What we’ve seen since February 24 is a return to the age of imperialism and colonies. France rejects this. France, obstinately, will look for peace.”

Turkeye’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who helped broker the deal to export Ukraine’s wheat and food stuffs through the Black Sea, said, “We need to find together a reasonable, just and viable diplomatic solution that will provide both sides the opportunity of an “honorable exit.”

He called for reforming the Security Council into “a more effective, democratic, transparent and accountable structure” by increasing the number of permanent members. “The world is bigger than five (permanent members). A fairer world is possible,” he said.

(By J. Tuyet Nguyen)

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