News in Brief 19 January 2024 |

This is the News in Brief from the United Nations.

Gaza crisis: Babies being born ‘into hell’ amid desperate aid shortages

The UN Children’s Fund warned on Friday that babies are being “delivered into hell” in Gaza and that many others are likely dying as a result of conflict with Israel and the increasingly dire conditions there. 

Nearly 20,000 children have been born since the start of widespread Israeli bombardment on 7 October, in response to Hamas-led attacks in Israel that left some 1,200 dead and approximately 250 taken hostage.

The crisis has created major aid access delays that have left hospitals without painkilling drugs for childbirth and too overwhelmed to deliver stillborn infants, the UN agency said. Here’s UNICEF Communications Specialist Tess Ingram:

“We’ve heard reports particularly in the north of mothers having to have Caesarean sections to give birth without anaesthetic and I can only imagine the amount of trauma that would stay with you the rest of your life, having that kind of surgery without any painkillers.”

The dire reports from UNICEF echo deep concerns about the deteriorating humanitarian situation throughout Gaza where hepatitis A infections have now been confirmed, according to the UN World Health Organization.

$26 million Congo flooding response plan needs international support

Unprecedented flooding in Congo has left more than 350,000 people in urgent need of humanitarian assistance, the UN aid coordination office OCHA said on Friday.

Some 1.8 million people have been impacted by torrential downpours that have dumped double the usual amount of rainfall on the Congo, impacting nine out of the country’s 12 departments. 

In the three weeks since the government in Brazzaville declared an emergency, the floods have destroyed or damaged 34 health facilities, 120 schools and over 64,000 houses. 

Many villages can only be reached by boat or canoe, said OCHA spokesperson Jens Laerke, who appealed for $26 million for basic support including shelter, food, health, water, sanitation and hygiene. 

$3.6 million from the UN’s Central Emergency Response Fund has been allocated to the emergency already. 

But much more is needed for the people of the Congo due to the destruction of arable land, fruit trees, fishing gear and livestock, Mr. Laerke said.

Sri Lanka anti-terror bill revisions are serious concern, says UN rights office

To Sri Lanka now, where the UN rights office, OHCHR, expressed concern on Friday about plans to revise anti-terrorism legislation there.

In a statement, OHCHR said that the Bill under consideration by Colombo lawmakers was “substantially identical” to previous drafts and risked “perpetuating patterns of violations from the past”, by granting “excessive powers” to those holding political office.

The UN rights office also maintained that the definition of what constitutes terrorism was overly broad and restricted the possibility of challenging detention orders and of visiting prisons, as it called on the government to engage more with civil society and “substantively revise” the legislation in line with international human rights law. 

Daniel Johnson, UN News.