News in Brief 13 December 2023 |

This is the News in Brief from the United Nations. 

Gaza ceasefire ‘in everybody’s interest’: UN humanitarian coordinator

A ceasefire in Gaza is “the only way forward” as the war there threatens peace and security for both Palestinians and Israelis for years or even decades to come, the UN’s top humanitarian official in the Occupied Palestinian Territory said on Wednesday. 

Lynn Hastings stressed that the intensifying hostilities have pushed almost half of the population of the Strip, or about a million people, into Rafah in the south, compounding the dire health and hunger crisis:  

“The reason why Gaza is not safe is not just because of the airstrikes but also because of these conditions that are being created by the massive displacement of the population into smaller and smaller areas of Gaza.”

Ms. Hastings also insisted that a ceasefire could be conducive to the release of hostages taken by Hamas during its deadly terror attacks in southern Israel on 7 October, and reiterated calls for access to the hostages.  

Access for humanitarian partners the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) should also be granted to medical staff who have been detained by Israeli forces, such as the director of the Al-Shifa hospital, which was the object of a full-scale military raid last month, she said. 

Fossil fuel phaseout ‘inevitable’: UN chief on COP28 outcome 

The final document of the COP28 UN climate talks in Dubai adopted on Wednesday recognized for the first time the need to transition away from fossil fuels while stopping short of agreeing on a “phaseout”, which UN chief António Guterres called “inevitable”.

“The era of fossil fuels must end – and it must end with justice and equity”, said Mr. Guterres in his statement at the closing of the world’s largest climate gathering.

He underscored that the text which was approved – a review of the progress towards goals set out in the Paris Agreement eight years ago and a roadmap for the way forward – clearly reaffirmed the need to limit global temperature rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius.

The UN chief had repeatedly urged countries to “keep 1.5 degrees alive” and said that while modalities may differ for countries at different levels of development, “all efforts must be consistent with achieving global net zero by 2050”. 

The next round of 2025 national climate action plans must include “credible climate policies and regulations”, he insisted, including “a price on carbon and ending finance for fossil fuel”. 

The Secretary-General also welcomed COP28 commitments to triple renewables capacity and double energy efficiency by 2030, as well as progress on adaptation and support to climate-vulnerable developing countries, although pledges to the newly-operationalised Loss and Damage Fund remain “very limited”.

Global Refugee Forum opportunity to bolster forced displacement response: Grandi

Record forced displacement around the world reflects a “crisis of humanity” and the need to redouble efforts to protect the 114 million people who’ve had to flee their homes.

That’s the message from UN refugee agency (UNHCR) chief Filippo Grandi on Wednesday to the world’s largest gathering dedicated to refugee issues, taking place in Geneva.

The Global Refugee Forum co-hosted by UNHCR and Switzerland and convened by Colombia, France, Japan, Jordan and Uganda, brings together Member States, civil society, financial institutions, private companies and more than 300 refugee advocates.

Addressing the Forum Mr. Grandi stressed the need to tackle the root causes of displacement. 

He highlighted the humanitarian obligation to assist people uprooted by “protracted crises like the plight of the Rohingya, the Syria situation, Afghanistan, the ongoing struggles in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the growing insecurity in the Sahel, the dramatic population flows across the Americas, the Mediterranean and the Bay of Bengal, and many others” largely fuelled by the lack of political solutions to conflicts.

He also recognized that some progress has been made since the UN adopted the Global Compact on Refugees in 2018. Its objective is to pursue “greater burden and responsibility sharing in refugee matters”.

UNHCR lacks $400 million “to end the year with the minimum of needed resources”, Mr. Grandi said, and is looking “with much concern”, at 2024.

Dominika Tomaszewska-Mortimer, UN News.