This is the News in Brief from the United Nations.
ICC sentences DR Congo warlord to 30 years
Former leader of the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s (DRC) M23 rebel group, Bosco Ntaganda, was sentenced on Thursday by the International Criminal Court, the ICC, to 30 years imprisonment.
He was convicted on 18 counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity in the DRC from 2002 to 2003, including murder, rape, sexual slavery and using child soldiers.
His sentence is the longest-ever handed down by the Court.
“The conditions warranting life imprisonment were not met,” the court said in a statement, adding that the six and a half years that Mr. Ntaganda had spent in custody would be deducted from his sentence.
During sentencing, the Court outlined his crimes:
UN chief calls for ‘meaningful dialogue’ in Iraq to end wave of protests
To Iraq now, where UN chief António Guterres has expressed his serious concern over the rising number of deaths and injuries during ongoing demonstrations there.
Amidst disturbing reports of the continued use of live ammunition against demonstrators, despite Wednesday’s reported Government ban on live fire, he urged all actors to refrain from violence.
The Secretary-General also called on the Government to “investigate all acts of violence seriously”, renewing his appeal for “meaningful dialogue”.
More than 250 have been killed and thousands injured since anti-Government demonstrations against corruption, poor services and high unemployment began on October 1st.
Montreal Protocol in the food chain
And turning to the environment, the chief of the UN Food and Agriculture Organization, FAO, said on Thursday that international co-operation and climate friendly technologies are critical to address global food waste.
Around 1.3 billion tonnes, or one third of all food produced for consumption around the world, is either lost or wasted, according to FAO.
Food loss mainly occurs in developing countries where 821 million people still suffer from chronic malnutrition. It also impacts climate change.
In Rome, at a meeting of the Parties to the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer, Qu Dongyu underscored that the Montreal Protocol is the “only a successful environmental agreement that has helped the recovery of the ozone layer and contributed to the fight against climate change”.
“It is also of great importance in protecting the food chain”, and “an excellent example of multilateral cooperation”, he added.
Liz Scaffidi, UN News.
