This is the News in Brief from the United Nations.
A third of Haiti’s children in urgent need of emergency aid: UNICEF
Nearly a third of all children in Haiti – around 1.5 million - are in urgent need of emergency relief due to rising violence, insufficient access to clean water, health and nutrition, said the UN Children’s Fund UNICEF on Friday.
Amid a political and economic crisis heightened by the assassination of Haiti’s beleaguered president on Wednesday, young people have also been suffering the long-term impact of disrupted education and protection services amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as the threat of hurricanes.
UNICEF said it was deeply concerned that further violence and insecurity following the assassination could pose serious challenges to the humanitarian work of its teams on the ground and their ability to safely reach the most vulnerable children and families.
While UNICEF has lifesaving supplies in Haiti, prolonged violence and instability could prevent the delivery and replenishment of stockpiles, including vaccines, medicine and medical supplies.
“This is the worst humanitarian crisis the country has faced over the past few years, and it’s deteriorating week after week,” said Bruno Maes, UNICEF representative in Haiti.
Creation of Israeli settlements should be designated ‘war crime’ by ICC says UN rights expert
The UN independent expert on the situation of human rights in Palestinian Territory occupied since 1967, Michael Lynk, called on Friday for the international community to designate the creation of Israeli settlements “a war crime” under the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC).
He argues that they violate the absolute prohibition against the transfer by an occupying power of parts of its civilian population into an occupied territory.
Mr. Lynk said for Israel, the settlements guarantee that the occupied territory will remain under its control “in perpetuity” and also “ensure that there will never be a genuine Palestinian state”, he told the UN Human Rights Council.
“It is a tragic paradox”, he added, “that while the Israeli settlements are clearly prohibited by international law, the international community has been remarkably reluctant to enforce its own laws.”
Honduras urged to stop criminalising defence of indigenous rights
And finally, a group of independent UN experts on Friday called on Honduras to stop arbitrarily detaining and criminalising human rights defenders of the Garifuna indigenous communities.
The Garifuna number around 300,000 in Honduras, are an ethnic group of mixed African and indigenous heritage.
Mary Lawlor, UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders, spoke out after the arrest of three prominent defenders – two of them sisters - of the territory and rights of the Garifuna.
The Public Prosecutor´s Office has accused them of robbery with violence or intimidation, but reports suggest the investigations arise from the conflict related to the possession, use and ownership of lands for which there are both private property titles, and an ancestral property title, in favour of the community of Cristales and Río Negro.
“The timing of the sisters’ arrest is disturbing”, said Ms. Lawlor. They were arrested just one day before a crucial hearing on the Honduran Government’s failure to comply with judgements of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights.
Matt Wells, UN News.
