This is the News in Brief from the United Nations.

Ukraine: Black Sea grain shipment spurs hope of further ports opening

The first, eagerly-awaited shipment of grain to leave the Ukrainian port of Odesa since Russia’s invasion more than five months ago, was cleared to proceed to Lebanon on Wednesday, after a scheduled inspection stopover in Istanbul.

In line with the UN-partnered Black Sea Grain Initiative, the crew of the merchant vessel Razoni and its 26,000-tonne cargo of Ukrainian corn underwent three hours of checks.

The ship arrived in Istanbul’s waters on Tuesday evening, after sailing from Odesa on Monday.

Inspectors from Russia, Türkiye, Ukraine and the United Nations carried out the inspection, according to the Black Sea Grain Initiative Joint Coordination Centre, which said that three ports in Ukraine were due to begin exporting millions of tonnes of wheat, corn and other crops.

In addition to shipping food from Ukraine, the Black Sea initiative also envisages the export of fertilizer needed by the world’s farmers, “under close monitoring.”

Iraq: Eight years after Yazidi slaughter, justice and security still lacking

To Iraq now, where it’s been eight years since ISIL fighters attacked, killed and took hostage many members of the ethnic Yazidi community.

In a call to help the many thousands of Yazidis who have been unable to return home to northern Iraq, the UN said on Wednesday that many of them still suffer mental trauma after years of captivity, torture, sexual violence and slavery at the hands of the extremists.

Continuing tensions have meant that many Yazidis cannot travel to their ancestral homeland in Sinjar district, which lacks the “essential stability” that’s needed for people to rebuild their lives “free of fear and intimidation”, the UN said.

In a statement, the UN office in Iraq insisted that it was “everyone’s responsibility to work relentlessly to ensure that the ongoing plight of the Yazidis ends now”, with opportunities, reconstruction and public services for all.

UN human rights office spotlights increasing attacks on Cambodia’s media

Journalists in Cambodia face increasing harassment and pressure which has led to “fear and self-censorship” ahead of recent elections, the UN human rights office, OHCHR, said on Wednesday.

In a new report, OHCHR highlighted how a new law to prevent the transmission of COVID-19 and a decree apparently aimed at censoring information shared on social media, had given the government “wide-ranging powers to block information and punish unspecific crimes”.

Of the 65 journalists contacted for the report, all said that they had faced “interference” while carrying out their work.

More than four in five experienced surveillance and restrictions, including in relation to access to information.

In a comment, the UN human rights chief Michelle Bachelet said that “a free, independent and pluralistic media” played a central role in every democratic society.

She urged the authorities to ensure that reporters could work fairly…for the benefit of all Cambodians.

Daniel Johnson, UN News.