Amid starvation in Gaza, Sudan, Guterres slams hunger ‘as a weapon of war’
As starvation intensifies in war-torn Gaza, UN agencies issued new warnings on Monday that Israel’s decision to support a “one-week scale-up” of aid is far from enough to reverse deadly malnutrition rates in the enclave.
The warning comes as UN Secretary-General António Guterres cautioned that hunger caused by conflict is spreading from the world’s trouble spots.
Here he is now, in a recorded message to the UN Food Systems Summit Stocktake in Addis Ababa:
“Conflicts continue to drive hunger from Gaza to Sudan and beyond. Anger feeds further instability and undermines peace. We must never accept hunger as a weapon of war…Above all, we need peace so that investments can take root and farmers can look to the future with confidence.”
The UN chief’s comments came as the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA, cited reports that “more children died of hunger” on Monday.
The UN agency said that it hoped to receive permission to bring in thousands of trucks loaded with food, medicine and hygiene supplies that Israel has blocked from entering Gaza for months.
“They are currently in Jordan and Egypt waiting for the green light,” the UN agency explained, adding that “at least 500/600 trucks” are needed every day to prevent more people from starving.
Iran: UN rights chief Volker Türk condemns proposed extension of espionage law
Turning to Iran, where UN rights chief Volker Türk has expressed alarm that “several hundred executions” have reportedly been carried out this year.
Mr. Türk also called for the Iranian authorities to withdraw a draft bill against spying, which would permit the death penalty for online communication and for collaborating with foreign media.
According to the UN human rights office, at least 612 people were reportedly executed in Iran between January and June.
This is more than twice the number executed during the same period in 2024. Minority communities continue to be disproportionately affected by executions.
In a statement, High Commissioner for Human Rights Türk said that at least 48 people remain on death row, and 12 are believed to be at imminent risk of execution.
More than 40 percent of those executed this year were convicted of drug-related offences.
Others were tried on what the UN rights chief described as “vague charges” such as “enmity against God” and “corruption on earth,” which are often used to suppress dissent, he explained.
Tributes for David Nabarro, ‘great champion’ of global health
In health news, tributes to Dr. David Nabarro have continued throughout the weekend, after his death was announced at the age of 75.
Dr. Nabarro worked for decades on the international stage advocating for an end to hunger.
He represented the UN Secretary-General to promote food security and coordinate a taskforce to tackle the global food security crisis.
Dr Nabarro – a trained physician – was also the World Health Organization’s lead on Ebola and Special Envoy on COVID-19, among other key roles. He was also the first head of the SUN Movement, an organization dedicated to eradicating malnutrition.
Among those paying tribute, head of the UN health agency, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, called him a “great champion of global health” whose work impacted so many lives across the world.
Daniel Johnson, UN News.
Source of original article: United Nations (news.un.org). Photo credit: UN. The content of this article does not necessarily reflect the views or opinion of Global Diaspora News (www.globaldiasporanews.com).
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