XUNICEF News and Views

Why don’t people wish to live in peace while alive? Rest in Peace is a phrase used in traditional Christian services and prayers to wish the soul of a departed person for a decent eternal rest and peace. But these days everyone sends this three-letter message in social media, especially Facebook whenever someone passes away. There are hundreds of R.I.P. messages in social media sent by people of all religions regularly, even if the deceased is a total stranger. It is a goodgesture indeed, but does it mean anything? A question one might ask is why is it that everyone wishes people Rest in Peace only when they are dead. Why can’t people wish and Live in Peace while people are still alive? Do people feel superior? An increasing trend in our society is that the majority of the people seem interested in their own personal benefits instead of the well-being of the community at large. We see conflicts between parents and children; conflicts between siblings and between friends and between nei

I ran and hopped on the stairs––the ringing annoyed me . . . The call was from the office of the first secretary, Netherland’s Embassy. They wanted to know if I was available to undertake a consultancy to design a multi-pronged strategy for the women in development and communication components of a project (18 District Town Water, Sanitation, Hygiene Education and Drainage Project). It was funded by the Netherlands government, managed by Dutch professionals. Their local partner was Bangladesh Department of Public Health Engineering (DPHE). I was hired as an “Advisor.” (Oh, in 1990, wasn’t I too young for that?? It felt good, definitely). A team of national male engineers and hydrogeologists were already recruited. I was the only Bangladeshi-woman in the band–– a public health/communication professional. “Always wear a sharee (saree) . . . look mature. You’ve to establish authority over these ‘bygone’, corrupt engineers,” a warning from my veteran female-referee. I had just completed a

   

A planned United Nations vote on Wednesday to renew approval for a peacekeeping mission in Lebanon has been delayed as France, the United States and the United Arab Emirates argue over the freedom of movement of U.N. troops, diplomats said. Click here for the original article The U.N. Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) - established in 1978 - patrols Lebanon's southern border with Israel. The mandate for the operation is renewed annually and its current authorization will expire on Thursday. The Security Council stalemate comes amid an escalating war of words between Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah in Lebanon with each vowing to return the other to the "stone age" and preparing for possible conflict even as they deny seeking one. France has drafted a U.N. Security Council resolution to extend the peacekeeping mission for another year, but the United States and the United Arab Emirates argue it has weakened some language on the ability of U.N. troops to move freely. "

Jamal Benomar *  Editor's Note: Jamal Benomar is a former UN diplomat. He worked at the UN for 25 years, including as a special envoy for Yemen and a special adviser to former Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon . He currently heads ICDI, the International Center for Dialogue Initiatives It is no secret that United Nations mediation is in a state of decline. The UN is no longer in the lead role in conflict countries where the Secretary General and his representatives or Special Envoys are mandated to provide mediation and good offices. In most of these conflicts, powerful members of the Security Council, regional and subregional organizations are taking the lead, pushing the UN to the sidelines. The only two conflicts where the UN is still clearly in the lead are Cyprus and Western Sahara, and, in both countries, it has failed for decades to make any progress. One needs only look at the fact that many of the UN Envoys cannot enter the countries where they are supposed to be mediating

So glad Pope Francis speaks so strongly on issues of social justice, climate crisis, poverty, conflict and oppression -- going well beyond fixation on issues of "sexual morality" & abortion. "But focusing on issues of sexual morality and downgrading issues of social justice, he said, clashes with his vision of the true church. “That a politician looking for votes might say such a thing is understandable,” he added. “But not a Christian. Kul Click here or enter the url below in your browser. ” https://www.nytimes.com/2023/08/30/world/europe/pope-francis-american-conservatives.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare

  Roy Bowen Susan Csikos Joyce Gachir Marjan Montazemi Thokozile Ncube Toshi Niwa Marie Pierre Poirier Bernadette Tachivona Aysel Toprakli

Out of at least 242 successful military coups that have occurred globally since 1950, Africa accounts for the largest number at 106. Click here for the original article Early on Wednesday, a group of Gabonese military officers announced a takeover of power and an annulment of the results of Saturday’s election , which they claim lacked credibility. The announcement came shortly after the state election body said President Ali Bongo Ondimba had won a third term in office in the disputed elections. The son of former president Omar Bongo who ruled Gabon from 1967-2009, Ali Bongo has ruled the country since 2009. This continued control for decades has led to a “deep resentment” of “dynastic-style politics” in West and Central Africa, said Tara O’Connor, director of Africa Risk Consulting. “This military intervention should really be seen in the context of perhaps the military intervention in the neighbouring Francophone countries, Mali, Burkina Faso and most recently Niger,” she said. If s

At least six protesters and one policeman were killed in the eastern Congolese city of Goma on Wednesday when a demonstration against the U.N. peacekeeping mission and other foreign organisations turned violent, the Congolese army said. Since 2022, the United Nations MONUSCO mission has faced protests spurred partly by complaints that the peacekeepers have failed to protect civilians against years of militia violence. Organisers had called for the demonstration to be peaceful, but images circulating on social media showed men and women in civilian clothes armed with sticks and stones beating a policeman tied up on the ground. Reuters was unable to verify the images and footage independently. The Congolese army said in a statement that six protesters had been killed in the ensuing violence and 158 were arrested. A U.N. source said the death toll was at least eight, including two soldiers and a policeman. An anti-MONUSCO protest in July 2022 resulted in more than 15 deaths, including th

Jim Grant and I shared an entry year to UNICEF which was coincidental but memorable because I attended one of his first speeches to field staff, in Bangladesh, in May, 1980. It was a lot to take in – not solely because he could speak fluent Mandarin and was much admired in China for doing so. For those of us who are old enough to remember Mr Grant, he came with enormous enthusiasm, humility and an inclination to use acronyms. Who can ever forget his use of GOBI which I originally thought was a desert but which I very soon learned was “Growth Monitoring; Oral Rehydration Therapy; Breast Feeding and Immunisation”. Perhaps an acronym was useful in this case. I don’t think Mr Grant was ever to be found anywhere in the world without a sachet of UNICEF prepared ORS which he would whip out of a top pocket and wave around to remind us how important it was for the survival of children. Some wag thought that he might slip a condom into that same pocket to embarrass him. . . . . . . . . .and

  AROUND THE WORLD, CHILDREN ARE BEING FORCED FROM THEIR HOMES WITH UNACCEPTABLE AND ALARMING FREQUENCY At the end of 2022, the number of  displaced children reached a record of 43.3 million, including 29.7 million internally displaced children . Close to  half the world’s children  live in countries at extremely high risk of  climate hazards  – nearly a quarter of these countries also have a high proportion of displacement. While the well-being of many children on the move is under threat, they too often remain  invisible  in data and left out of pertinent global discussions.   IDAC continues to sound the alarm on the urgent need to improve data and statistics for children on the move and facilitate solutions to these data gaps. It has just launched a pair of reference documents that take a deep dive into the terminologies and data sources related to this population, and its latest edition of  On the Move, In the Know , IDAC’s newsletter, highlights the most recent numbers on children

Three women and a teenaged girl from El Geneina, West Darfur, who survived rape committed between April and June 2023. © 2023 Belkis Wille/Human Rights Watch In Sudan, a genocide unfolds — again — and the world does little By the Editorial Board of the Washington Post Populated villages razed. Satellite images of mass graves. Millions of innocent civilians displaced. People massacred while trying to flee for their lives. Women and girls subjected to horrific sexual violence, including rape . This was Sudan’s Darfur region 20 years ago, when government-backed Arab “janjaweed” militiamen — “devils on horseback,” as some translate the name — embarked on a campaign of ethnic cleansing that killed 300,000 people and drove millions from their homes. And this is Sudan today, where a new campaign of ethnic cleansing is underway. The devils are now riding in trucks instead of on horses. They now call themselves the Rapid Support Forces . But their atrocities are an ominous echo of the past.

The food aid scam in Ethiopia is as embarrassing as it is tragic. A country where 20 million people rely on overseas help to feed their families must ensure aid reaches those in need and isn’t pilfered behind the scenes for profit or political gain. Unfortunately, that’s what seemingly happened. Investigations are ongoing, but we can exclusively reveal that Tigray’s regional police have sought to interrogate at least three local staff members of the World Food Programme, triggering a diplomatic standoff with the Rome-based food agency. The United Nations food outfit — whose workers enjoy immunity for official activities — hasn’t complied with the request yet and has asked for clarification from the Ethiopian government. But the move comes after food aid was cut off in Ethiopia earlier this year. The stoppage began after WFP and USAID uncovered widespread theft of its food assistance across Tigray — a region battered by two years of civil war and debilitating hunger. It soon became e