This Week @UN: UN security guards’ sick-out; big questions for Israel’s government; US-UAE ties leave Sudan cold.
Plus: Sudan bloodbath; Cameroonian protests; Hurricane Melissa; US nukes testing; Gaza looting drops; US strikes in Caribbean region; Western Sahara vote.
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• Our #1 story: US Wants UN Salaries Cut, but D.C. Is Singing to the Wrong Choir, by Damilola Banjo
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PassBlue this week:
• UN Security Officers Stage a Sick-Out to Protest Planned Benefit Cuts, scoop by Damilola Banjo
• 12 Long-Overdue Questions for the Israeli Government, op-ed by Mona Ali Khalil
• How US-UAE Ties Weaken Washington’s Voice on Sudan, report by Damilola Banjo
Top UN News:
Monday, Oct. 27
• Spokesperson’s briefing: Secretary-General António Guterres called reports of the Sudanese paramilitary Rapid Support Forces’ (RSF) capture of the city of El Fasher in North Darfur a “terrible escalation” in the country’s 18-month-long war between the RSF and Sudan’s army. He said it was “high time” for the world to urge “all countries interfering in the war and providing weapons to the warring parties” to stop “[undermining] prospects for a ceasefire and a political solution” to the conflict. (See our story on the massacre.)
Tuesday, Oct. 28
• Spokesperson’s briefing: Guterres said he is “deeply concerned” by the violence and reported “excessive use of force” in Cameroon after 92-year-old Paul Biya was elected to a sixth presidential term on Oct. 12. Guterrres urged “all political stakeholders and their supporters” to “exercise restraint” and refrain from violence and inflammatory rhetoric.
Wednesday, Oct. 29
• Spokesperson’s briefing: As Dennis Zulu, the UN resident coordinator in Jamaica, covering Bahamas, Bermuda, Cayman Islands and Turks and Caicos islands, briefed media on the situation with Hurricane Melissa devastating the Caribbean, Guterres said in a statement that he “stands in solidarity with the Governments and people impacted by Hurricane Melissa.”
Updates as of Oct. 31, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said that “supplies are moving, coordination hubs are active, and emergency teams are supporting Government responses in Jamaica, Cuba and Haiti.” In eastern Cuba, the UN says assessments indicate severe damage across Santiago, Holguín, Granma and Guantánamo, including to homes, roads and health facilities. Hundreds of communities remain isolated, and access continues to be hampered by damaged road, rail and air transport infrastructure. In Jamaica, where the government is leading a national response, UN Spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric said the organization is supporting coordination efforts and assessment teams led by the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency. In Haiti, UN agencies and partners are supporting temporary shelters and providing food, nonfood items and cash. For updates daily, go to Relief Web.
Thursday, Oct. 30
• Spokesperson’s briefing: Reacting to US President Trump’s Oct. 29 order for the Pentagon to start testing its nuclear weapons “because of other countries’ testing programs,” UN deputy spokesperson Farhan Haq said Guterres has warned for some time that the “current nuclear risks are already alarmingly high, and all actions that could lead to miscalculation or escalation with catastrophic consequences must be avoided.”
• Arms Control Association’s Executive Director Daryl Kimball’s response: “Trump appears to be misinformed and out of touch. The U.S. has no technical, military, or political reason to resume nuclear explosive testing for the first time since 1992, when a bipartisan majority of the U.S. Congress mandated a nuclear test moratorium. It would take, at least, 36 months to resume contained nuclear testing underground at the former Nevada Nuclear Test Site outside Las Vegas.”
Friday, Oct. 31
• Spokesperson’s briefing: After Israel dropped more deadly airstrikes across Gaza this week, including one on Oct. 30 near the “Yellow Line,” which the Israeli military has marked as part of the ceasefire agreement, Haq stressed that “all parties must refrain from any activities that put civilians, including aid workers, at risk,” under Israel’s “obligation to take constant care to spare them throughout all its military operations.” Regarding aid, more than 24,000 metric tons have been collected since the ceasefire began, with only five percent — a “significant reduction”– of the supplies having been intercepted, looted or taken from Oct. 10-28. Gaza’s health system, however, still faces “significant challenges” after 1,700 health workers were killed in the war.
• The High Commissioner of Human Rights Volker Turk said the US airstrikes in the Caribbean and the Pacific on boats “violate international human rights law.”
• The UN Security Council approved Resolution 2797 renewing the mandate of the UN peacekeeping mission in Western Sahara, Minurso, for one year. The US-led text, which expressed support for the Moroccan autonomy plan, was approved by 11 members, abstained by China, Pakistan and Russia and had a no vote from Algeria. US remarks. Algeria’s partial remarks.
• The UN Security Council unanimously approved the mandate renewal (Resolution 2796) of the political mission in Libya.
• Resolution 2798 renewed for another year the UN Verification Mission of Colombia‘s peace agreement: 13 yes; 2 abstentions (US and Russia).
US remarks, noting, “President Petro’s policy priorities when it comes to peace and security — both in Colombia, in the region, and around the world — are misplaced and irresponsible and have contributed to greater instability and violence in Colombia.”
Russia’s remarks
ICYMI:
• Timor-Leste: Joins ASEAN
• Women & Girls: “How Funding Cuts Are Threatening Efforts to End Violence Against Women and Girls, new report
• Gaza: Thousands of Unexploded Bombs Dropped by Israel Have Turned Gaza Into a Minefield
• South Sudan: The country seeks overhaul of the UN peacekeeping mission, UNMISS
• No Women, No Peace: Essay on WPS in Ukraine/IPS Journal
• Women: The International Center for Research on Women reorganizes
• US-UN: The Biggest Single Contributor to the UN Budget Is Also the Biggest Single Defaulter
Arthur Bassas is a researcher and writer who graduated from St. Andrews in Scotland, majoring in international relations and terrorism. He lives in Brooklyn, N.Y., and speaks English and French.
