Ulrika Richardson, Deputy Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Haiti and UN Resident Humanitarian Coordinator, told reporters in Geneva that 5.2 million Haitians are in need of humanitarian assistance and more than 4.3 million are acutely food insecure. He said he was facing. This is an astonishing halving. This country, which was once self-sufficient in terms of food production, has a population of five people.
Unfortunately, the UN's humanitarian response plan for the country is only 33% funded, even as the end of the year approaches, she said.
Gangs control 80 percent of the capital, Port-au-Prince, and violence has spread to the neighboring Artibonite department, Haiti's breadbasket.
In all, there are around 300 armed groups in the country, and 8,000 murders, lynchings, kidnappings and brutal rapes have already taken place in 2023, Richardson said.
The country is waiting for a support mission
UN officials have expressed solidarity with their country in the form of Security Council Resolution 2699, adopted last October to deploy a multinational security assistance mission to strengthen the Haitian National Police. , emphasized that most Haitians are openly welcoming.
Everyone is looking forward to its arrival.
The timing was dependent on pending High Court approval for the Kenya mission. Kenya had taken the lead, pledging to send 1,000 police officers to the new mission.
UN Secretary-General António Guterres said in a statement on Thursday that he looks forward to continuing preparations for the deployment of an “urgently needed” mission and announced the opening of the Haiti-Haitian Dialogue for the country's recovery. He expressed concern about “limited progress”. democratic institutions.
Sudan: Conflict-ravaged health system overwhelmed by disease outbreak
Nearly eight months of conflict in Sudan has caused a dire humanitarian crisis, with some 6.8 million people forced to flee their homes and the health system overwhelmed.
Dr. Mohammad Tawfiq Mashal, the country's representative for the U.N. health agency WHO, warned on Friday that the disease outbreak is spreading rapidly amid mass displacement and lack of medical access.
He said that within a month, cholera had spread from three to nine Sudanese states, with more than 5,400 suspected and confirmed cases and 170 deaths. More than 4,500 suspected measles cases and 104 deaths have been reported, as well as more than 6,000 dengue cases and 56 related deaths.
humanitarian access is limited
Dr. Machar stressed that access to humanitarian assistance continues to be limited across the country due to insecurity and bureaucratic hurdles. He said the situation in Darfur was “particularly concerning” as violence and lack of essential goods continue to cause people to seek safety in neighboring Chad.
Speaking to journalists in Port Sudan, Dr. Machar highlighted WHO's efforts to use cross-border routes to distribute relief supplies to cover hard-to-reach areas, despite difficult access conditions.
He said WHO was preparing to send medical and diagnostic supplies to Darfur and Kordofan as part of a larger UN convoy.
The UN health agency supports 21 mobile clinics in eight provinces and operates 10 cholera treatment centers to provide primary health care to internally displaced people.
Dr Mashal also said that WHO, in collaboration with the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) and partners, supported an oral cholera vaccination campaign that vaccinated more than 2.2 million people in Gedaref and Al Jazeera provinces.
According to the WHO, 11 million of Sudan's 25 million people are currently in need of urgent medical assistance, and nearly three-quarters of health facilities in conflict areas are closed.
UK sentencing reform requires bold action
Alice Gilles Edwards, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Torture, on Friday welcomed changes by UK House of Commons MPs to the so-called Imprisonment for Public Protection (IPP) Act.
In effect, this law often meant waiting years for sentencing to be considered and finalized. Currently, the maximum waiting period for examination has been reduced from 10 years to 3 years.
“The changes adopted by the House of Commons on 4 December are very welcome as they provide a clearer process for resolving the circumstances of around 1,800 people currently in prison.” said.
problem persists
However, she acknowledged that the problem remained unresolved for many others still in prison.
Their future is uncertain, as even relatively minor offenses can result in them being kept in prison indefinitely. The Special Rapporteur believes that their text should be urgently reviewed to resolve this issue. The changes have been passed by the House of Commons, but must now be submitted to the House of Lords, the second chamber of parliament.
The IPP system imposed mandatory indefinite sentences for at least 50 serious offenses in England and Wales between 2005 and 2012.
More people were convicted under the law than expected, totaling 8,711 people. By September of this year, approximately 1,250 people were still incarcerated on IPP sentences, with more than 700 of them having been detained for more than 10 years since their initial conviction.
Special Rapporteurs are appointed by the UN Human Rights Council to monitor the situation in specific countries or thematic issues.
They are not UN employees and do not receive compensation for their work.