This is the News in Brief from the United Nations.

Gaza: Rafah aid situation increasingly desperate, UN teams warn

Hostilities across Gaza reportedly continued on Wednesday, fuelling already alarming aid access problems, UN aid teams warned.

According to the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA), food distribution has been suspended because of a lack of supplies and ongoing hostilities that have made it too dangerous for humanitarians to work in the southern city of Rafah.

UNRWA spokesperson Louise Wateridge said that the situation in the southernmost city of Rafah has deteriorated significantly since Israeli evacuation orders were issued on 6 May:

“As this military operation has expanded further into Rafah, this has severely, severely restricted our ability and the wider humanitarian ability to provide aid, to provide services and in this case, to distribute food. …We have a lot of people on the ground ready to provide aid and provide services, but without access across the borders to any supplies and without access to our distribution centres, we are simply unable to distribute food.” 

Latest information from the UN aid office, OCHA, indicates that only 10 bakeries were operational at the weekend, out of a total of 16 supported by UN partners. “It is expected that these will run out of stock and fuel within days if no additional supplies are received,” OCHA said.

The development comes as Ireland, Spain and Norway jointly announced that they intended to recognize a Palestinian state. 

The diplomatic move becomes effective 28 May and follows months of consultations “with like-minded countries across Europe and the Middle East”, the Irish Government said in a statement.

Geopolitical tensions threaten global trade, warns UN deputy chief

Global trade remains fragile since the COVID-19 crisis and is at risk of unravelling unless countries and regions unite to overcome the disruption caused by geopolitical tensions and climate change.

That’s the message from UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed, who’s been speaking at the UN’s Global Supply Chain Forum in Barbados.

Last year, trade volume fell more than one per cent, which is in stark contrast to the 2.5 per cent growth rate recorded since 2010, she said. 

At the same time, there’s been a “staggering surge in trade restrictions”, with approximately 3,000 measures now imposed - almost three times the level of 2019, Ms. Mohammed explained, noting that the result of these obstacles to the flow of trade has been marked by “significant delays, increased costs and economic uncertainty”.

In a call not to pursue isolationist policies, the Deputy Secretary-General urged country and regional representatives “to prioritize diversification, improve logistics and strengthen collaboration” as it is this which will help address challenges and ensure sustainable growth for everyone.

The top UN official highlighted the particular vulnerability faced by small island developing States – or SIDS - to fluctuating global supply chain trade.

Rising container shipping costs increase consumer prices worldwide but the impact on SIDS is five times greater than the global average, Ms. Mohammed noted. 

Biodiversity breakdown alert: One million species now under threat

Biodiversity is under constant threat and humanity is to blame, the UN Secretary-General has warned, in a call to protect the plants, animals, microorganisms and more, that sustain all life on Earth.

On the occasion of the International Day for Biological Diversity, observed on 22 May, António Guterres issued an alert. 

“We are contaminating land, oceans and freshwater with toxic pollution, wrecking landscapes and ecosystems, and disrupting our precious climate with greenhouse gas emissions,” he said.

Decimating biodiversity damages sustainable development today and creates a dangerous and uncertain world tomorrow, the UN chief insisted, as he urged Governments and people everywhere to restore the richness of our natural world.

To do this, Mr. Guterres noted that the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework provided the pathway to reverse loss, restore biodiversity and protect the planet, while also “creating jobs, building resilience and spurring sustainable development”.

The goals of the international agreement include restoring 30 per cent of ecosystems, reducing food waste by half and investing at least $200 billion annually in strategies that benefit biodiversity - all by 2030.

Daniel Johnson, UN News.