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	More than 1 million people internally displaced amid unrelenting violence in Haiti by OHCHR, Globalr2p, MSF, UNICEF, agencies   7 Apr. 2025   A global call to end the violence in Haiti. (OHCHR, agencies)   In the streets of Haiti’s capital, Port-au-Prince, the walls of public buildings abandoned by civil servants, including shuttered hospitals, told the story of a country engulfed by crisis. In just eight months, thousands of people have been killed or wounded, most by gunfire, and over a million have fled their homes.   These findings come from a new UN Human Rights report presented during a dialogue at the 58th session of the Human Rights Council in Geneva.   The report paints a shocking picture of the human rights situation in Haiti, where armed criminal gangs have often outgunned police forces and even taken over parts of Port-au-Prince.   “Human rights violations and abuses have reached a scale and intensity that I have never seen before in Haiti,” said William O’Neill, the High Commissioner’s Designated Expert on Haiti, during the dialogue. “The fear is palpable in people’s eyes and in their voices. The capital is almost entirely controlled and surrounded by gangs, making Port-au-Prince a large open-air prison.”   Violence and firearms   What was once fragmented gang violence has become a coordinated assault on Haitian society. The Viv Ansanm (Living Together) gang coalition has seized key areas of Port-au-Prince, expanded from marginalized areas into downtown core and middle-class neighbourhoods, and attacked institutions.   Between July 2024 and February 2025, UN Human Rights documented 4,239 killings and 1,356 injuries. In one massacre alone, 207 people were executed over five days in Cité Soleil. Armed gangs use increasingly powerful weapons, some trafficked from United States of America ports in containers of frozen food or electronics.   “These weapons, which are increasingly sophisticated, are not manufactured in Haiti, but consistently flow in from elsewhere,” said UN Human Rights Chief Volker Türk during the dialogue.   Firearms are central not only to killings, but also kidnappings, sexual assaults, and extortion. Checkpoints set up by gangs on major roads demand “circulation taxes” from anyone trying to pass through. Victims who resist are often shot.   Curbing the flood of illegal firearms is critical to stem gang violence. This would entail enforcing the UN arms embargo, including tightening port and border controls, and dismantling trafficking networks. Voluntary disarmament and buy-back schemes is also recommended. Private security firms, some of which have been linked to arms diversion, must face scrutiny and regulation, the report states.   Restoring security in Haiti, would also entail urgently equipping and providing adequate resources to the Haitian National Police, while ensuring accountability for officers involved in human rights violations, the report stresses.   It further calls for the full deployment of the Multinational Security Support (MSS) Mission to help reclaim gang-held areas and support national efforts.   Sexual violence and children in conflict   Women and girls are exposed to widespread sexual violence perpetrated by gangs. The report details cases of gang members abducting women from their homes or public transport, raping them in public, and in some cases, killing them afterwards. Others are held in exploitative ‘relationships’ under constant threat of violence.   The sexual violence is mostly underreported, due to fear of retaliation, social stigma, and a lack of trust in public institutions.   The impact of gang violence on children is also staggering. Thousands cannot attend school, many have witnessed the most horrific acts of violence, including killings, and some are trafficked and exploited by gangs, and provided with firearms.   “Millions of them have witnessed violence that no child should ever have to see,” O’Neill said. “Young girls who have survived sexual violence have told us of the horrors they suffered at the hands of gangs. However, like many Haitians, they have not been broken.”   To start overcoming this grave situation a comprehensive support system for victims needs to be created, including immediate and long-term medical care; psychological counselling; legal assistance; and social reintegration programmes, the report states.   In March, with the support of UN Human Rights, the authorities announced the creation of two specialized task forces that will enable a more rigorous and expedited handling of mass killings, including sexual violence.   Internal displacement and humanitarian crisis   Gangs control essential roads, disrupting commerce and humanitarian aid, and armed attacks on facilities such as hospitals and schools have deepen the crisis.   “More than 1 million people have been displaced in Haiti, many multiple times, 40,000 of whom have been forced to move in the past few weeks alone,” said Türk. “One in every two Haitians – 5.5 million people – face acute food insecurity. Two million people face emergency levels of hunger. Nearly 6,000 displaced people are living in famine-like conditions.”   According to UN Human Rights’ report, internally displaced people should be relocated to safe and appropriate facilities, where the enjoyment of essential rights such as food, education and healthcare is ensured, even in gang-controlled areas. Health workers and humanitarian personnel face frequent attacks and need support.   Corruption, impunity and law enforcement failures   Impunity for human rights violations and abuses prevails. Courts remain underfunded and are frequently targeted by gangs. Judges are under threat or have fled the country, and major cases linked to massacres have made little progress.   “The financial and political backers of the gangs must pay a price for their crimes,” O’Neill said. “Freeze bank accounts, seize assets and visas. They must face justice and be held accountable.”   Internal accountability is weak. Only three out of 23 cases of police abuse were referred to the justice system.   While the Haitian National Police have carried out operations to confront gangs in very challenging conditions, the report raises concerns about the lack of measures to prevent and protect from an unnecessary or disproportionate use of lethal force.   “During the reporting period, more than 2,000 people were killed or injured in law enforcement operations against gangs, a 60 per cent increase compared to the previous six-month period,” Türk said. “At least one third of those killed were hit when they were not involved in acts of violence, often struck by stray bullets while in the streets or at home.”   A global call for urgent action   Despite it all, the Haitian people continue to hope and resist. In some areas, the deployment of the UN-backed MSS has allowed schools and clinics to reopen. But needs remain immense. O’Neill called for bold international action.   “The solutions are straightforward and well known. The nations of the world must provide the Multinational Security Support mission led by Kenya what it needs to succeed. If we wait much longer, there could be precious little left of Haiti to save,” he said.   As he closed his remarks, Türk appealed directly to the Council and to the world, including the media, to put the spotlight on this crisis so that the intolerable suffering and destruction may end.   http://www.ohchr.org/en/stories/2025/04/restoring-dignity-global-call-end-violence-haiti http://www.ohchr.org/en/documents/country-reports/ahrc5876-situation-human-rights-haiti-report-united-nations-high http://www.icrc.org/en/article/haiti-renewed-clashes-fuel-humanitarian-crisis-has-no-end-sight http://www.ipcinfo.org/ipcinfo-website/countries-in-focus-archive/issue-122/en/ http://reliefweb.int/report/haiti/statement-caribbean-community-caricom-situation-haiti-13-april-2025 http://www.msf.org/haiti-escalating-violence-increases-displacement   http://www.unicef.org/lac/en/press-releases/hope-haiti-children-amid-chaos-statement-deputy-executive-director-chaiban http://reliefweb.int/report/haiti/almost-9-10-going-all-day-without-eating-hunger-haiti-reaches-record-high-actionaid http://www.ipcinfo.org/ipcinfo-website/countries-in-focus-archive/issue-110/en/   22 Jan. 2025   More than 1 million people internally displaced amid unrelenting violence in Haiti - Global Centre for the Responsibility to Protect   The number of internally displaced people in Haiti has surpassed one million, marking a threefold increase in just one year and the highest recorded level of displacement due to violence in the country, according to data from the International Organization for Migration.   Relentless gang violence, particularly in the metropolitan area of Port-au-Prince, Arcahaie and Artibonite, is driving the crisis. In the capital alone, displacement has nearly doubled, rising by 87 percent while displacement tripled in Artibonite last year. Displacement sites, especially in Port-au-Prince, are severely overcrowded, with limited access to essential services, and increasing protection risks.   Children are bearing a particularly great burden. The UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) reported a nearly 50 percent increase in the number of internally displaced children since September, now representing approximately one in eight children nationwide. These children are facing extreme risks of violence, including sexual abuse and exploitation.   Catherine Russell, Executive Director of UNICEF, said, “Children in Haiti are bearing the brunt of a crisis they did not create. They rely on the Haitian Government and international community to take urgent action to protect their lives and safeguard their futures.”   The Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights reported that gang violence killed more than 5,600 people last year. The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk, stated, “These figures alone cannot capture the absolute horrors being perpetrated in Haiti but they show the unremitting violence to which people are being subjected.”   In December gang violence was particularly deadly, with hundreds killed in numerous attacks over several days, including in Wharf Jérémie and Petite-Riviere. Gangs also targeted medical facilities and healthcare workers in Port-au-Prince, further crippling a healthcare system already on the brink of collapse.   On 24 December armed men killed several journalists and a Haitian National Police officer during a press conference announcing the reopening of the country’s largest public hospital. The incident underscores the dangers faced by journalists in Haiti, many of whom have been killed or forced to flee the country.   The Haitian authorities, with support from international stakeholders, must address the main drivers of the multidimensional crisis, including impunity for violations and abuses, corruption and entrenched economic and social inequalities, among others.   The provision of emergency shelter and essential services should be scaled up, particularly in Port-au-Prince. The international community should ensure that the transitional government and the Multinational Security Support mission have the resources needed to restore the rule of law and provide basic security.   http://www.globalr2p.org/publications/atrocity-alert-no-424/ http://www.globalr2p.org/publications/populations-at-risk-march-2025/   7 Apr. 2025   World must act with urgency to save Palestinians in Gaza   (Statement by heads of OCHA, UNICEF, UNOPS, UNRWA, WFP, WHO and IOM)   "For over a month, no commercial or humanitarian supplies have entered Gaza. More than 2.1 million people are trapped, bombed and starved again, while, at crossing points, food, medicine, fuel and shelter supplies are piling up, and vital equipment is stuck.   Over 1,000 children have reportedly been killed or injured in just the first week after the breakdown of the ceasefire, the highest one-week death toll among children in Gaza in the past year.   Just a few days ago, the 25 bakeries supported by the World Food Programme during the ceasefire had to close due to flour and cooking gas shortages.   The partially functional health system is overwhelmed. Essential medical and trauma supplies are rapidly running out, threatening to reverse hard-won progress in keeping the health system operational.   The latest ceasefire allowed us to achieve in 60 days what bombs, obstruction and lootings prevented us from doing in 470 days of war: life-saving supplies reaching nearly every part of Gaza.   While this offered a short respite, assertions that there is now enough food to feed all Palestinians in Gaza are far from the reality on the ground, and commodities are running extremely low.   We are witnessing acts of war in Gaza that show an utter disregard for human life. New Israeli displacement orders have forced hundreds of thousands of Palestinians to flee yet again, with no safe place to go.   No one is safe. At least 408 humanitarian workers, including over 280 from UNRWA, have been killed since October 2023. With the tightened Israeli blockade on Gaza now in its second month, we appeal to world leaders to act – firmly, urgently and decisively – to ensure the basic principles of international humanitarian law are upheld.   Protect civilians. Facilitate aid. Release hostages. Renew a ceasefire.   http://www.unicef.org/press-releases/world-must-act-urgency-save-palestinians-gaza http://www.unicef.org/press-releases/more-million-children-gaza-strip-deprived-lifesaving-aid-over-one-month http://news.un.org/en/story/2025/04/1161951 http://www.wfp.org/news/hunger-looms-again-gaza-wfp-food-stocks-begin-run-out http://www.unocha.org/news/un-relief-chief-urges-international-action-protect-civilians-gaza http://www.ohchr.org/en/statements-and-speeches/2025/04/turk-warns-un-security-council-increasing-risk-atrocity-crimes-opt http://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c4g2k4zgvppo http://www.unicef.org/press-releases/least-322-children-reportedly-killed-gaza-strip-following-breakdown-ceasefire http://reliefweb.int/report/occupied-palestinian-territory/press-briefing-un-women-collapse-gaza-ceasefire-and-its-devastating-impact-women-and-girls http://www.acaps.org/en/countries/archives/detail/palestine-end-of-ceasefire-and-blockade-in-gaza   2. Apr 2025   DR Congo: Millions facing destitution as violence forces people to flee multiple times   The escalation of violent conflict in recent months has pushed hundreds of thousands of people in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) into desperate conditions, warns the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) Secretary General Jan Egeland on a visit this week.   Displaced families sheltering at temporary sites have once again been forced to flee, as fighting and abuse plunge people into life-threatening situations. The explosion of humanitarian needs requires immediate attention from an international community that has turned its back on people in crisis. Parties to the conflict must end the violence facing civilians.   “I am truly shocked by the conditions I have seen in and around the city of Goma. The lives of hundreds of thousands of people here in eastern DRC are hanging by a thread,” said Egeland. “Right across North and South Kivu, people have been repeatedly compelled to flee camps, where essential facilities were often already inadequate. Now, most find themselves in locations that lack shelter, basic sanitation, or drinking water, with diseases such as cholera rapidly increasing as a result.   “Many displaced people I’ve listened to this week have lost everything after years of violence. It is unacceptable that a small number of humanitarian organisations are faced with a vast mountain of needs. It is high time that assistance here matches the vast scale of human suffering. Long term solutions must be enabled, with children quickly allowed to return to school, banks to re-open, and an immediate end to violence and threats of violence against civilians.”   Since the M23 offensive across the region earlier this year, an estimated 1.2 million people have been displaced across North and South Kivu provinces. 1.8 million people have been compelled to return to their places of origin, often to locations which bear deep scars from years of conflict between multiple armed groups. Civilians face threats, gender-based violence, and extreme deprivation. Unexploded munitions continue to prevent many communities from fully cultivating their land.   “Fighting and conflict are still continuing, with thousands of families caught in limbo, without the means to rebuild or cultivate food. The situation facing civilians in eastern DRC has for years been a stain on the international community: now it has become even worse,” said Egeland.   NRC teams are providing displaced people with emergency aid, but there is too little funding available. The United States has for long been the largest donor to emergency relief and development aid in the country, but many US-funded projects have been interrupted or paused due to changes at USAID, just as humanitarian needs in DRC exploded.   DRC has for eight consecutive years been ranked as one of the world’s most neglected displacement crises, due to repeated cycles of conflict, lack of funding for aid and media attention, or effective humanitarian and peace diplomacy. Millions of people have been repeatedly driven from first their homes and then, again, from camps, often multiple times. Families have been pushed into impossible choices just to survive, such as going to dangerous areas to find firewood to sell, exchanging sex for food, or sending young children to beg for money.   “The level of global neglect experienced by civilians in eastern DRC should shame world leaders. Now, at a point of deep insecurity and with many families having returned to their areas of origin, there must be concerted action to finally support the population properly. Humanitarian and development assistance must now take priority: the people of DRC must not be faced with simply more of the same,” said Egeland.   http://www.nrc.no/news/2025/april/dr-congo-millions-facing-destitution-as-violence-forces-people-to-flee-multiple-times http://www.unicef.org/press-releases/unicef-executive-director-catherine-russell-briefing-united-nations-security-1 http://www.unicef.org/press-releases/child-reported-raped-every-half-hour-eastern-drc-violence-rages-amid-growing-funding http://www.ipcinfo.org/ipcinfo-website/countries-in-focus-archive/issue-120/en/ http://reliefweb.int/report/democratic-republic-congo/humanitarian-coordinator-statement-member-states-briefing-humanitarian-situation-drc-geneva-25-march-2025 http://reliefweb.int/report/democratic-republic-congo/unicef-drc-l3-emergency-humanitarian-situation-report-no1-escalation-conflict-01-15-march-2025 http://www.wfp.org/news/conflict-and-rising-food-prices-drive-congolese-one-worlds-worst-food-crises-according-new-ipc http://reliefweb.int/report/democratic-republic-congo/humanitarian-community-drc-calls-254-billion-provide-lifesaving-assistance-11-million-people-affected-crises http://www.msf.org/democratic-republic-congo-drc   Apr. 2025   Briefing to the UN Security Council on the humanitarian situation in Ukraine, 8 April 2025, by Mr. Tom Fletcher, UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator:   "Since we briefed the Security Council on Ukraine two weeks ago, Russian Federation air strikes have continued to kill and maim civilians, including children, and destroy civilian infrastructure.   A massive strike in the densely populated city of Kryvyi Rih in the Dnipro region last Friday resulted in multiple civilian casualties – the second fatal attack on the city in a week.   According to the authorities, 18 civilians were killed, including nine children, and 75 others injured when a children’s playground and nearby residential area were hit. The Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) in Ukraine, which verified many of the casualties, reported this was the single deadliest strike harming children since February 2022.   In recent weeks, drone attacks have continued to strike cities and cause civilian casualties. Civilian infrastructure – including healthcare facilities, apartment blocks, schools and children’s playgrounds – have suffered extensive damage. This brutal pattern of civilian death and destruction in populated areas must stop.   Hostilities have also continued in the front-line regions of Kherson, Kharkiv, Donetsk and in the border areas of Sumy, causing extensive damage. More than 90 civilian casualties were recorded in those regions last week, according to authorities.   I saw the impact of these types of attacks first-hand when I visited Ukraine earlier this year. From the families I met in front-line areas near Pokrovsk in the Donetsk region to Kupiansk town in the Kharkiv region, they displayed courage, resilience and determination to rebuild their lives and homes. But also, understandable exhaustion, anger and despair that these attacks continue.   They are right to be angry. Because civilians are paying a devastating price for this horrendous war. OHCHR has now verified the killing of at least 12,910 civilians, including 682 children, and the injury of almost 30,700 across Ukraine from 24 February 2022 to 31 March 2025. The true toll is likely far greater.   Nearly 3.7 million people remain internally displaced, with new waves of displacement in the country’s north-east due to hostilities. Children and their caregivers are being evacuated from several front-line towns. There are almost 7 million refugees from Ukraine recorded globally, mainly in Europe.   Media reports also indicate civilian casualties and damage to civilian infrastructure in the Kursk, Belgorod and Bryansk regions of the Russian Federation.   And we remain unable to reach an estimated 1.5 million civilians requiring assistance in parts of Donetsk, Kherson, Luhansk and Zaporizhzhia regions under occupation by the Russian Federation.   International humanitarian law demands that the parties facilitate the rapid, unimpeded access of humanitarian relief for civilians in need. Wherever they are.   Yesterday marked World Health Day, a moment to reflect on the urgent need to safeguard maternal and reproductive health, especially in crisis settings. A new report released by WHO, UNFPA and UNICEF highlights the state of maternal mortality worldwide, including the devastating toll of conflict on women’s health.   In Ukraine, women and girls are facing a special crisis. Since February 2022, pre-term births have made up nearly 50 per cent of all deliveries, putting both mothers and newborns at high risk.   Intimate partner violence, including other forms of gender-based violence, has surged 36 per cent during this period. Displaced women, especially refugees, are among those facing the most severe mental health challenges, with limited access to protection and care.   Almost 13 million people across Ukraine need humanitarian support. The majority are women, children, older people and people with disabilities.   In the first two months of 2025, 290 humanitarian organizations – mainly national NGOs – reached 1.7 million people with vital aid and services, including emergency support following strikes. Thanks to the generosity of donors, 17 per cent of the US$2.6 billion needed for the 2025 Ukraine Humanitarian Needs and Response Plan that I launched with [UN High Commissioner for Refugees] Filippo Grandi in January in Kyiv has been secured – but far more is needed.   Of course, now, we are having to scale back critical programmes. As part of our wider humanitarian reset in response to funding cuts, we and partners are now focusing limited resources on just four strategic, urgent priorities: supporting front-line communities, emergency response, facilitating evacuations and helping the displaced. Increased financial support is vital to ensure humanitarian operations can continue reaching those most in need. Every contribution makes a difference.   We welcome the announcement of a ceasefire focused on energy infrastructure, as well as negotiations to ensure safe navigation in the Black Sea. Ultimately, the best protection of civilians is that this war ends. Until it does, the negotiating priority – whether as part of a temporary pause or lasting agreement – must start from the protection and needs of civilians.   While talks continue, the fighting rages on, civilians continue to suffer, and the humanitarian crisis deepens by the day.   My two asks today of the Security Council and, indeed, the wider international community go beyond Ukraine alone. Firstly, I must reiterate that under the international humanitarian law that this Council is here to defend, parties to conflicts must protect civilians and civilian infrastructure.   Indiscriminate attacks on them are strictly prohibited: There must be limits to how war is waged. At its best, this Council, and the Member States here, have upheld that idea – even wars have rules. Is that not why we are here?   And yet, on my visits from Ukraine to Gaza to Sudan to Lebanon to Myanmar – from where I returned yesterday – I am seeing the opposite: that not only are we not standing robustly for international law, but in some cases we are supporting its debasement. That's the common thread that links these conflicts. And if your principles apply only to your opponents, they are not humanitarian principles.   The world is getting more dangerous for civilians, on our watch. Please, you can do more to ensure that this era of increasingly belligerent, transactional, self-defeating nationalism is not also remembered as one of callous impunity and brutal indifference, in which the rights of civilians are discarded again and again with a shrug.   If we do not make our stand on this point, consistently and unequivocally, then what do we stand for anymore? And how can we expect anyone to listen to us, or hope that others will make better choices in the future?   My second ask, Mr. President, is the funding to save lives in an increasingly dangerous environment, and this era of savage cuts. If you cannot stop the attacks on civilians – in Ukraine and elsewhere – please, at least give us the security and resources to save as many survivors as we can.   http://www.unocha.org/publications/report/ukraine/mr-tom-fletcher-under-secretary-general-humanitarian-affairs-and-emergency-relief-coordinator-briefing-security-council-humanitarian-situation-ukraine-8-april-2025 http://www.unocha.org/news/security-council-un-deputy-relief-chief-warns-growing-civilian-suffering-ukraine   http://www.diakonia.se/ihl/news/the-ihl-centre-expresses-concern-on-the-use-of-cluser-munitions-and-other-explosive-weapons-in-populated-areas-sumy-and-kryvyi-attacks/ http://reliefweb.int/report/ukraine/friday-was-one-deadliest-days-civilians-year-enuk http://www.unhcr.org/news/press-releases/news-comment-unhcr-s-grandi-urges-world-remember-ukraine-s-displaced-and-war http://www.unhcr.org/news/stories/people-still-being-forced-flee-war-ukraine-continues http://www.unhcr.org/news/briefing-notes/unhcr-after-three-years-war-ukrainians-need-peace-and-aid http://www.ifrc.org/document/tipping-point-how-financial-strains-are-driving-ukrainians-abroad-back-home   http://www.unicef.org/ukraine/en/press-releases/incessant-attacks-devastating-young-lives http://www.unicef.org/ukraine/en/documents/ukraine-humanitarian-situation-report-47 http://reliefweb.int/report/ukraine/ukraine-humanitarian-needs-and-response-plan-2025-january-2025-enuk http://www.wfp.org/news/three-years-ukraine-war-one-third-population-frontline-regions-struggle-find-enough-eat http://www.nrc.no/news/2025/february/ukraine-three-years-on-sharp-increase-in-basic-needs-along-the-frontline http://www.msf.org/medical-humanitarian-needs-ukraine-remain-urgent-ever http://www.ifrc.org/article/ukraine-ifrc-president-kate-forbes-reflects-scars-conflict-and-long-road-recovery http://www.actionagainsthunger.org/press-releases/suspension-of-us-international-aid-has-serious-consequences-as-ukraine-marks-three-years-of-war/ http://unocha.exposure.co/ukraine-three-years-of-fullscale-war   http://www.savethechildren.net/news/ukraine-i-fear-i-wont-be-able-help-my-child-75-people-struggling-make-ends-meet-after-3-years http://reliefweb.int/report/ukraine/three-years-loss-and-fear-war-ukraine-shatters-childrens-lives http://reliefweb.int/report/ukraine/i-have-force-smile-children-continue-bear-brunt-war-ukraine-after-three-years-conflict http://reliefweb.int/report/ukraine/advocacy-brief-three-years-full-scale-war-ukraine-enuk http://www.caritas.org/2025/02/three-years-of-full-scale-war-in-ukraine/ http://www.unwomen.org/en/articles/in-focus/women-leading-humanitarian-aid-and-economic-resilience-after-three-years-of-war-in-ukraine http://www.unfpa.org/ukraine http://reliefweb.int/report/ukraine/ukrainian-women-and-girls-voices-must-be-central-conflict-resolution-three-years-full-scale-war-leave-millions-ukrainians-uprooted   http://reliefweb.int/country/ukr http://www.acaps.org/en/countries/ukraine http://ukraine.ohchr.org/en/Human-rights-3-years-into-Russias-full-scale-invasion-of-Ukraine http://ukraine.ohchr.org/en/UN-report-details-devastating-impact-of-hostilities-on-children-in-Ukraine http://phr.org/news/1762-attacks-on-health-care-over-three-years-as-russia-escalates-its-war-on-ukraines-doctors-and-hospitals-phr/ http://ukraine.un.org/en/289667-civilian-harm-and-human-rights-abuses-persist-ukraine-war-enters-fourth-year http://ukraine.un.org/en/289062-ukraine-short-range-drones-become-most-dangerous-weapon-civilians-un-human-rights-monitors Visit the related web page
	Unprecedented risk to life on Earth: Scientists call for halt on ‘mirror life’ microbe research by Nobel laureates Science Journal, IPBES   World-leading scientists have called for a halt on research to create “mirror life” microbes amid concerns that the synthetic organisms would present an “unprecedented risk” to life on Earth.   The international group of Nobel laureates and other experts warn that mirror bacteria, constructed from mirror images of molecules found in nature, could become established in the environment and slip past the immune defences of natural organisms, putting humans, animals and plants at risk of lethal infections.   Although a viable mirror microbe would probably take at least a decade to build, a new risk assessment raised such serious concerns about the organisms that the 38-strong group urged scientists to stop work towards the goal and asked funders to make clear they will no longer support the research.   “The threat we’re talking about is unprecedented,” said Prof Vaughn Cooper, an evolutionary biologist at the University of Pittsburgh. “Mirror bacteria would likely evade many human, animal and plant immune system responses and in each case would cause lethal infections that would spread without check.”   The expert group includes Dr Craig Venter, the US scientist who led the private effort to sequence the human genome in the 1990s, and the Nobel laureates Prof Greg Winter at the University of Cambridge and Prof Jack Szostak at the University of Chicago.   Many molecules for life can exist in two distinct forms, each the mirror image of the other. The DNA of all living organisms is made from “right-handed” nucleotides, while proteins, the building blocks of cells, are made from “left-handed” amino acids. Why nature works this way is unclear: life could have chosen left-handed DNA and right-handed proteins instead.   Scientists have already manufactured large, functional mirror molecules to study them more closely. Some have even taken baby steps towards building mirror microbes, though constructing a whole organism from mirror molecules is beyond today’s know-how.   The work is driven by potential applications. Mirror molecules could be turned into therapies for chronic and hard-to-treat diseases, while mirror microbes could make bioproduction facilities, which use bugs to churn out chemicals, more resistant to contamination.   The fresh concerns over the technology are revealed in the journal Science. While enthusiastic about research on mirror molecules, the report sees substantial risks in mirror microbes and calls for a global debate on the work.   Beyond causing lethal infections, the researchers doubt the microbes could be safely contained or kept in check by natural competitors and predators. Existing antibiotics are unlikely to be effective, either.   “Unless compelling evidence emerges that mirror life would not pose extraordinary dangers, we believe that mirror bacteria and other mirror organisms, even those with engineered biocontainment measures, should not be created,” the authors write in Science.   “We therefore recommend that research with the goal of creating mirror bacteria not be permitted, and that funders make clear that they will not support such work.”   http://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.ads9158   Dec. 2024   Planet in Peril: IPBES Report reveals options to achieve urgently needed transformative change to halt Biodiversity Collapse.   Deep, fundamental shifts in how people view and interact with the natural world are urgently needed to halt and reverse biodiversity loss and safeguard life on Earth, warns a landmark new report by the Intergovernmental Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES).   The IPBES Assessment Report on the Underlying Causes of Biodiversity Loss and the Determinants of Transformative Change and Options for Achieving the 2050 Vision for Biodiversity – also known as the Transformative Change Report – builds on the 2019 IPBES Global Assessment Report, which found that the only way to achieve global development goals is through transformative change, and on the 2022 IPBES Values Assessment Report.   Prepared over three years by more than 100 leading experts from 42 countries from all regions of the world, the report explains what transformative change is, how it occurs, and how to accelerate it for a just and sustainable world.   “Transformative change for a just and sustainable world is urgent because there is a closing window of opportunity to halt and reverse biodiversity loss and to prevent triggering the potentially irreversible decline and the projected collapse of key ecosystem functions,” said Prof. Karen O’Brien (Norway/USA), co-chair of the assessment with Prof. Arun Agrawal (India & USA) and Prof. Lucas Garibaldi (Argentina).   “Under current trends, there is a serious risk of crossing several irreversible biophysical tipping points including die-off of low altitude coral reefs, die back of the Amazon rainforest, and loss of the Greenland and West Antarctic ice sheets.   Transformative change is also necessary because most previous and current approaches to conservation, which aim to reform rather than transform systems, have failed to halt or reverse the decline of nature around the world, which has serious repercussions for the global economy and human well-being.”   The cost of delaying actions to halt and reverse biodiversity loss and nature’s decline around the world by even a decade is estimated to be double that of acting now. Acting immediately can also unlock massive business and innovation opportunities through sustainable economic approaches, such as nature-positive economy, ecological economy and Mother-Earth centric economy.   Recent estimates are that more than $10 trillion in business opportunity value could be generated and 395 million jobs could be supported globally by 2030.   Approved in Windhoek, Namibia by the IPBES Plenary, composed of the 147 Governments that are members of IPBES, the report defines transformative change as fundamental system-wide shifts in views – ways of thinking, knowing and seeing; structures – ways of organizing, regulating and governing; and practices – ways of doing, behaving and relating.   Current dominant configurations of views, structures and practices perpetuate and reinforce the underlying causes of biodiversity loss and nature’s decline. Transforming them is central to delivering on the global commitments for a just and sustainable world.   “Promoting and accelerating transformative change is essential to meeting the 23 action-oriented targets of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework by 2030 and four goals of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework by 2030 and for achieving the 2050 Vision for Biodiversity, which describes a world where all life can thrive,” said Prof. Agrawal.   “Transformative change is rarely the outcome of a single event, driver, or actor. It is better understood as changes that each of us can create, and multiple cascading shifts that trigger and reinforce one another, often in unexpected ways.”   The underlying causes of biodiversity loss identified by the report are the disconnection of people from nature and domination over nature and other people; the inequitable concentration of power and wealth; and the prioritization of short-term individual and material gains.   “As complex and challenging as it is to address these underlying causes of biodiversity loss, it is possible,” said Prof. Garibaldi.   “History has shown us that societies can transform at immense scale – as they did during the Industrial Revolution. While that era wrought terrible environmental and human costs, it stands as proof that fundamental, system-wide change is achievable, although it occurred over a much longer period of time than is needed for current transformative change for a just and sustainable world.   To meet our shared global development goals today means we need to embark on a new transformation – one that urgently conserves and restores our planet’s biodiversity rather than depleting it, while enabling everyone to prosper.”   The authors created and analyzed a database of hundreds of separate case studies of initiatives around the world with transformative potential. Their analysis shows that positive outcomes for diverse economic and environmental indicators can happen in a decade or less.   The analysis also demonstrates that initiatives addressing greater numbers of indirect drivers of biodiversity loss and nature’s decline, and those in which diverse actors work together, lead to more positive outcomes for societies, economies and nature.   Principles and Obstacles   The report identifies four principles to guide deliberate transformative change: equity and justice; pluralism and inclusion; respectful and reciprocal human-nature relationships; and adaptive learning and action.   Speaking about the obstacles that prevent transformative change and reinforce the status quo, Prof. O’Brien said: “The impacts of actions and resources devoted to blocking transformative change, for example through lobbying by vested interest groups or corruption, currently overshadow those devoted to the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity”.   The report also identifies five overarching challenges to transformative change: relations of domination over nature and people, especially those that emerged and were propagated in colonial eras and that persist over time; economic and political inequalities; inadequate policies and unfit institutions; unsustainable consumption and production patterns including individual habits and practices; as well as limited access to clean technologies and uncoordinated knowledge and innovation systems.   “The underlying causes of biodiversity loss and nature’s decline also create inequalities and injustices,” said Prof. Agrawal. “Those who have benefited most from the economic activities associated with damage to nature – in particular, wealthy actors - have more opportunities and resources to create change. Doing so while involving others in balanced decision-making processes can unleash agency as well as resources to create change.”   Strategies   Embracing insights and evidence from diverse knowledge systems, disciplines and approaches, the Transformative Change Report highlights five key strategies and associated actions that have complementary and synergistic effects, and which countries and people can pursue to advance deliberate transformative change for global sustainability:   Conserve, restore and regenerate places of value to people and nature that exemplify biocultural diversity: This includes a focus on places of biocultural diversity – where place- based actions, such as restoration activities, can also support cultural values, sustainable production and biodiversity.   An example is the Community Forestry Programme in Nepal – integrating decentralized forest policy into local community needs, views and practices to restore and manage degraded forests.   Drive systematic change and mainstreaming biodiversity in the sectors most responsible for nature’s decline: The agriculture and livestock, fisheries, forestry, infrastructure and urban development, mining and fossil fuel sectors contribute heavily to the worst outcomes for Transformative approaches such as multifunctional and regenerative land use can promote a variety of benefits for nature and people.   “Studies have suggested that increasing biodiversity, protecting natural habitats and reducing external inputs in agricultural landscapes can enhance crop productivity, for instance by enhancing pollinator abundance and diversity,” said Prof. Garibaldi.   Transform economic systems for nature and equity: Global public explicit subsidies to sectors driving nature’s decline ranged from $1.4 trillion to $3.3 trillion per year in 2022 and total public funding for environmentally harmful subsidies has increased by 55% since 2021.   It is estimated that between $722 billion and $967 billion per year is needed to sustainably manage biodiversity and maintain ecosystem integrity Currently, $135 billion per year is spent on biodiversity conservation, leaving a biodiversity funding gap of $598-824 billion per year.   Some of the actions that could be taken to advance the necessary transformations include: internalizing environmental costs and using true cost accounting, reforming subsidies in sectors that contribute to biodiversity loss and nature’s decline, reconsidering global debts, greater positive private sector engagement, establishing sustainability as a core tax principle, and redefining goals, metrics and indicators to acknowledge social (including cultural), economic and environmental dimensions, as well as the different values of nature.   Transform governance systems to be inclusive, accountable and adaptive: Integrating biodiversity into sector policies and decision-making, engaging a greater diversity of actors and holding actors accountable are important elements in transforming governance systems for more just and sustainable outcomes for people and nature.   An example of this kind of approach to governance is the ecosystems-based spatial management of the Galapagos Marine Reserve, which supports sustainable fisheries and tourism – vital for more than 30,000 residents and 300,000 annual visitors.   Shift views and values to recognize human-nature interconnectedness: Many human behaviours are habitual, learned within social and environmental conditions – and they can be changed. Enhancing the visibility of desired behaviours and supporting these with targeted policy measures can catalyze and sustain new social norms and behaviours.   Cultivating feelings of nature-connectedness is also important, as is transformative learning and education, experiential nature-based activities and knowledge co-creation by combining different knowledge systems including Indigenous and local knowledge.   Visions of Transformative Change   Visions are fundamentally important to inspire transformative change. The authors assessed more than 850 separate visions of a sustainable world for nature and people. They find that visions of a better future for humans and nature are abundant, but most do not change the status quo.   “The diversity of societies, economies, cultures and peoples means that no single theory or approach provides a complete understanding of transformative change or how to achieve it,” said Prof. O’Brien. “Many knowledge systems, including Indigenous and local knowledge, provide complementary insights into how it occurs and how to promote, accelerate and navigate the change needed for a just and sustainable world.”   Indigenous and local knowledge systems offer philosophies, ethics of care and reciprocity, values, and practices to shape approaches to transformative change. These include the use of ancestral, embodied and experiential knowledge and non-human ways of knowing and making sense of the world in decision making for conservation.   Visions where Indigenous Peoples and local communities play a meaningful role are found to have a greater likelihood of advancing transformative change. Visions for living in harmony with nature are more likely to succeed when they emerge from inclusive, rights-based approaches and stakeholder processes and when they incorporate collaboration for change across sectors.   A key message from the report is that there is a role for every person and organization to create transformative change at multiple levels, but that coalitions of actors and actor groups are more effective in pursuing transformative change than change pursued individually.   Such coalitions include individual citizens, Indigenous Peoples and local communities, civil society organizations, non-governmental organizations, trade unions, funders, faith-based organizations, governments at all levels, the private sector, financial institutions and the scientific community.   Governments across all levels are found to be key in engaging diverse coalitions of State and non- State actors. Governments are powerful enablers of transformative change when they foster policy coherence, enact and enforce stronger regulations to benefit nature and nature’s contributions to people in policies and plans across different sectors, deploy innovative economic and fiscal tools, phase out or reform environmentally harmful subsidies and promote international cooperation.   The report finds that current government actions for transformative change are undermined by a mismatch between the scale of biodiversity challenges and the jurisdiction of separate, siloed institutions or the length of time for policy implementation compared to the length of time between elections that can bring new political authorities to power that oppose such policies.   Civil society plays important and effective roles in bringing about transformative change by mobilizing citizens, creating initiatives that propagate change and by holding governments and the private sector accountable for harmful environmental practices. The report finds that a way to support transformative change is by supporting and amplifying civil society initiatives for a just and sustainable world and protecting environmental defenders from violence and violations of rights.   Dr. Anne Larigauderie, Executive Secretary of IPBES said, “Acting decisively now to shift views, structures and practices to address the underlying causes of biodiversity loss will be tremendously challenging but is urgent, necessary and possible.”   * The richness and variety of all life on Earth – is declining at every level from global to local, and across every region. These ongoing declines in nature, largely as a result of human activity, including climate change, have direct and dire impacts on food security and nutrition, water quality and availability, health and wellbeing outcomes, resilience to climate change and almost all of nature’s other contributions to people. More than $50 trillion of annual economic activity around the world – is moderately to highly dependent on nature.   $5.3 trillion the annual private-sector financial flows directly damaging to biodiversity.   “Current decision-making has prioritized short-term financial returns while ignoring costs to nature, and failed to hold actors to account for negative economic pressures on the natural world. It is estimated that the unaccounted-for costs of current approaches to economic activity – reflecting impacts on biodiversity, water, health and climate change, including from food production – are at least $10-25 trillion per year,” said Prof. Pamela McElwee.   More than half of the world’s population is living in areas experiencing the highest impacts from declines in biodiversity, water availability and quality and food security, and increases in health risks and negative effects of climate change.   These burdens especially affect developing countries, including small island developing states, Indigenous Peoples and local communities, as well as those in vulnerable situations in higher-income countries. 41% of people live in areas that saw extremely strong declines in biodiversity between 2000 and 2010.   Unsustainable freshwater withdrawal, wetland degradation and forest loss have decreased water quality and climate change resilience in many areas of the world, impacting biodiversity, water and food availability with consequences for humans, plants and animals.   Unsustainable agricultural practices have resulted in loss of biodiversity, unsustainable water usage, reduced food diversity and quality, and increased pollution and greenhouse gas emissions. Many marine systems globally have been overharvested and degraded through human activities.   Climate change affects biodiversity, water, food and health through changes in average climatic conditions and the frequency and magnitude of extreme weather events. Under current trends, climate change is leading to a irreversible loss of biodiversity.   http://www.ipbes.net/transformative-change/media-release http://www.ipbes.net/nexus/media-release http://ipbes.canto.de/v/IPBES11Media http://www.pik-potsdam.de/en/news/latest-news/ipbes-nexus-report-integrated-solutions-to-address-interconnected-global-crises http://www.carbonbrief.org/ipbes-nexus-report-five-takeaways-for-biodiversity-food-water-health-and-climate/ http://www.iied.org/new-biodiversity-reports-wake-call-for-action http://www.ids.ac.uk/news/new-global-report-on-transformative-change-for-biodiversity/ http://www.ipsnews.net/2024/12/transformative-change-will-save-a-planet-in-peril-ipbes/ Visit the related web page
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