This is the News in Brief from the United Nations
Saudi Arabia ‘responsible’ for Khashoggi death, Crown Prince must be investigated: Independent UN expert
Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi was the victim of a premeditated extra-judicial execution, for which the State of Saudi Arabia is responsible, says a report by UN independent expert Agnes Callamard, published on Wednesday.
The report from the UN Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary killings, finds that 15 Saudi State agents used the cover of their official status, employing “State means” to execute Mr. Khashoggi in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul.
Ms. Callamard said the killing constitutes an international crime, and called on the UN to launch an international criminal investigation – led by either the Human Rights Council, the Security Council or the Secretary-General – into the involvement of senior Saudi royal, Crown Prince Mohammad Bin Salman, and other top officials.
Doubling of displaced people over the last 20 years, says UN refugee agency
The number of people forced to leave their homes because of war, persecution and conflict has almost doubled in the past 20 years, reveals a report from the UN refugee agency UNHCR, published on Wednesday.
The Annual Global Trends Report on Forced Displacement shows that in 2018, there were more than 70 million who had been driven from their homes, the highest number UNHCR has seen since the birth of the agency some 70 years ago.
The report points out that the figure of 70.8 million is actually a conservative estimate, given that the Venezuela crisis, which has seen around 4 million people leave the country, is only partly reflected in the figures.
Following the release of the report, Filippo Grandi, the head of UNHCR, appealed to the countries neighbouring Venezuela such as Peru and Colombia, to keep their borders open and allow refugees to enter.
South Korea sends food aid to North
South Korea has sent a landmark donation of 50,000 metric tons of rice and $4.5 million in cash to support the North Korean people, who have been hit hard by droughts and poor harvests.
The UN World Food Programme (WFP) thanked South Korea for its donation on Wednesday, and pointed out that the North needs at least 300,000 metric tons of food, valued at around $275 million, to meet the country’s humanitarian needs.
A food security assessment, released jointly by the WFP and UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) in May, found that food production in 2018 had dropped dramatically, putting 10.1 million people at risk from severe food shortages over the coming months.
Conor Lennon, UN News.
