We'll never abandon Gaza, says UN’s top aid official

UN aid teams and partner organizations remain deeply committed to delivering lifesaving supplies into Gaza, despite the increasing dangers of working there, the Organization’s top aid official said on Wednesday.

Responding to media reports that the UN had warned the aid effort may have to stop unless the security situation and coordination with the Israeli military improved, Emergency Relief Coordinator Martin Griffiths denied that any “ultimatum” had been given.

“We continue as we have done” for many months “to negotiate with the Israeli authorities and others” to deliver aid safely and securely, he told UN News.

“Aid delivery has never been so difficult as it is now in Gaza. And that is the crucial, brutal truth. And if we don't see an improvement in this - in the security context - for all our agencies, not just the United Nations, local organizations, international NGOs, then we're just going to be failing the people of Gaza. We'll keep on at it. But we fail them daily every time we're not able to get aid through to the people who need it.”

The UN relief chief’s comments follow the publication on Tuesday of the latest dire assessment of food insecurity in Gaza, which highlighted the “high risk” of famine across the whole Gaza Strip “as long as conflict continues and humanitarian access is restricted”.

International court convicts police chief of Mali war crimes

The International Criminal Court – or ICC- has convicted an Islamist police chief of war crimes and crimes against humanity in Timbuktu.

Court papers on Wednesday noted that Al Hassan Ag Abdoul Aziz Ag Mohamed Ag Mahmoud committed the crimes between  2012 and 2013 while northern Mali was controlled by the armed groups Ansar Dine and other ISIL terrorist affiliates.

Mr. Al Hassan had been recruited by senior leaders of the extremist groups and had a “pivotal” leadership role, said the ICC, where three judges convicted him by majority, of committing the crimes which included torture, mutilation and passing sentences without previous judgment by a regular court.

A date for sentencing will be issued shortly.

World Drug Day report highlights spike in drug use, increased trafficking

And finally, the UN agency tackling crime and drug abuse (UNODC) said on Wednesday that there are now nearly 300 million users globally, alongside an stark increase in trafficking.

In the decade to 2022, the number of people using illicit drugs increased to 292 million, UNODC said in its annual World Drug Report.

It noted that most users worldwide consume cannabis – 228 million people - while 60 million take opioids, 53 million people use amphetamines and cocaine and 20 million take ecstasy.

The UN agency noted that there has been an increase in overdose deaths following the emergence of nitazenes – a group of synthetic opioids potentially more dangerous than fentanyl – in several high-income countries.

Data indicates that traffickers in the Golden Triangle, a region in Southeast Asia, have found ways to integrate themselves into other illegal markets, such as wildlife trafficking, financial fraud and illegal resource extraction.

“Displaced, poor and migrant communities” bear the brunt of this criminal activity and are sometimes forced to engage in opium farming or illegal mining for their survival; this can lead to civilians becoming drug users or fall into debt, at the mercy of crime groups, UNODC said.

Ghada Waly, Executive Director of UNODC, said that providing evidence-based treatment and support to all those affected by drug use is needed, “while targeting the illicit drug market and investing much more in prevention”.