News in Brief 31 January 2024 |

This is the News in Brief from the United Nations.

‘We cannot abandon the people of Gaza’: chiefs of UN agencies and NGOs unite in appeal for UNRWA

Top UN humanitarians and chiefs of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) have warned about the “catastrophic consequences” of defunding UNRWA, the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, some of whose staff face allegations of collusion with Hamas.

In a statement led by UN Emergency Relief Coordinator Martin Griffiths, the 14 signatories insisted that despite “horrifying” allegations that 12 UNWRA staff were involved in the Hamas-led terror attacks on Israel on 7 October, “we must not prevent an entire organization from delivering on its mandate to serve people in desperate need.”

The UN-led group of aid agencies, known collectively as the Inter-Agency Standing Committee (IASC) also noted that withdrawing funds from UNRWA would have “far-reaching humanitarian and human rights consequences” in the Occupied Palestinian Territory “and across the region”.

The development comes as hundreds of thousands of people have been left homeless and “on the brink of famine” amid ongoing heavy fighting and bombing in Gaza into Wednesday, particularly in the southern city of Khan Younis.

UNRWA is the largest aid agency in Gaza and provides a lifeline to more than two million people there. It has played a key role in education, healthcare and more in the enclave since 1949 when it was created by the UN General Assembly.

Its future is in jeopardy after several major donors halted funds pending probes into Israel’s allegations that 12 of the agency’s 30,000 staff played a role in the 7 October attacks and which are now under investigation.

At least 170,000 children displaced amid violence in Haiti: UNICEF 

Violence in Haiti has triggered a deep humanitarian catastrophe, UN agencies have warned.

According to the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF), 170,000 youngsters are now displaced. This is double last year’s number, and it comes amid a surge in gang-led killings and kidnappings, sexual violence and a severe food crisis.

The UNICEF Representative in Haiti, Bruno Maes, who visited three displacement sites in downtown Port-au-Prince, said that children and families live in fear of “relentless waves of brutal violence, with each day bringing new horrors, the loss of loved ones and homes being destroyed by fire”.

The latest UNICEF data from January 2024 indicates that nearly 314,000 people have been uprooted across Haiti, mostly in the capital, Port-au-Prince, and the Artibonite department; half are estimated to be children. 

In less than two weeks, nearly 2,500 people, most of them women and children, have been newly displaced following clashes in the areas of Solino and Gabelliste, in Port-au-Prince. 

The violence has placed an enormous strain on “already limited” resources of host communities and social services while hundreds of schools have had to shut temporarily, UNICEF said.

Torture used to obtain evidence in Hong Kong trial, claim rights experts

To Hong Kong, where a top human rights expert has called for China to address torture claims in connection with the trial of Hong Kong pro-democracy media mogul Jimmy Lai.

Special Rapporteur Alice Edwards warned on Wednesday that evidence obtained through torture must not be admissible, urging authorities to investigate allegations that evidence from a key prosecution witness had been obtained under duress. 

“The absolute prohibition of reliance on evidence obtained as a result of torture or other ill-treatment in any proceedings is a fundamental protection,” Ms. Edwards said, in her capacity as an independent UN-appointed expert who reports to the Human Rights Council in Geneva.

Mr. Lai was arrested in August 2020 and charged with sedition and foreign collusion under a new security law following tweets, interviews and articles published in his newspaper, the Apple Daily.

He was convicted of unauthorized assembly in 2021 for his participation in previous protests and sentenced to 17 months in prison. He was sentenced to an additional five years and nine months for fraud in October 2022.