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An Ocean Summit in Nice ends with a wave of commitments

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“We are closing this historic week not only with hope, but with a concrete commitment, a clear direction and an undeniable impulse,” said Li Junhua, under-secretary general of the United Nations for economic and social affairs and the secretary general of the summit.

Co-organized by France and Costa Rica, the five-day event brought 15,000 participants, including more than 60 heads of state and government, on the Mediterranean coast of France.

With more than 450 secondary events and nearly 100,000 visitors, the rally, nicknamed UNOC3built on the momentum of the previous ocean peaks in new York (2017) and Lisbon (2022). He resulted in a shared call to extend maritime protection, brake pollution, regulate the high seas and release the financing of vulnerable coastal and island nations.

Li Junhua, United Nations Subsecrétaire General for Economic and Social Affairs and Secretary General of UNOC3, during the closing press conference in Nice.

Ambitious commitments

The result of the conference, known as Beautiful ocean action planis a two -part executive which includes a political declaration and more than 800 voluntary commitments by governments, scientists, United Nations agencies and civil society since the previous conference.

“These range from young people to ecosystem literacy in high seas, capacity building in science and innovation and undertakes to ratify intergovernmental treaties,” said Mr. LI.

The promises revealed this week reflected the extent of the ocean crisis. The European Commission announced an investment of 1 billion euros To support the conservation of the oceans, science and sustainable fishing, while French Polynesia is committed to creating the largest protected marine zone in the worldEnclosing its entire exclusive economic zone – around five million square kilometers.

Germany has launched a Program of 100 million euros to remove underwater ammunition Baltic and northern seas. Furthermore, New Zealand has hired $ 52 million to strengthen ocean governance in the Pacific, and Spain has announced five new protected marine areas.

A coalition of 37 countries led by Panama and Canada launched the High ambition coalition for a calm ocean To combat underwater pollution. Meanwhile, Indonesia and the World Bank have introduced an “coral obligation” to help finance the conservation of reefs in the country.

“The waves of change have been formed,” said Mr. Li. “It is now our collective responsibility to propel them forward – for our people, our planet and future generations.”

Olivier Poivre d’Arvor (right), special envoy of France for the conference, during the closing press conference of UNOC3, in Nice.

A diplomatic scene

The summit opened on Monday with Austere warnings. “We do not treat the ocean as what it is – the ultimate global commons,” said the UN Secretary General António GuterresAlongside the presidents of France and the Costa Rica, Emmanuel Macron and Rodrigo Chaves Robles, who called for a renewed multilateralism anchored in science.

Friday, France’s special envoy for the conference, Olivier Poivre d’Arvor, recalled the challenges: “We wanted Nice … to take a chance on a transformer change. I think we have advanced, but we can’t go back. »»

One of the main objectives of the conference was to accelerate progress High seas treaty – known as the BBNJ agreement – Adopted in 2023 to protect marine life in international waters. Sixty ratifications are necessary for it to come into force. During last week, 19 countries ratified the agreement, bringing the total number as for Friday, 50.

“This is an important victory,” said Poivre d’Arvor. “It is very difficult to work on the ocean right now when the United States is so little involved.”

The French envoy alluded to the absence of a senior American delegation, as well as to a recent decree of President Donald Trump, advancing deep exploitation. “The abyss is not for sale,” he said, echoing the remarks made earlier in the week by President Macron.

However, Mr. Poivre d’Arvor underlined the wide agreement concluded at the top. “A country can be missing,” he said. “But 92% of” co -owners “were present today in Nice.”

His counterpart, Arnoldo André-Tinoco, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Costa Rica, urged other nations to accelerate the financing of ocean protection. “Each commitment must be held responsible,” he said during the closing meeting of the conference.

Peter Thomson, the Special Envoy of the UN Secretary General for the Ocean, talks to the news of the UN.

Momentum – and a test

For Peter Thomson, the UN special envoy for the ocean, Nice marked a turning point. “This is not so much what is happening at the conference, that’s what happens later,” he said UN Newsrecalling the first days of ocean plea during the target of sustainable development 14 (SDG14), On life underwater, was established for the first time.

“From the desert in which we were in 2015 … where we are now, where you see this incredible commitment.”

For the future, attention already turns to the fourth conference of the United Nations Ocean, planned to be co-organized by Chile and South Korea in 2028.

“We will again see a big push up here,” predicted Mr. Thomson. He expressed hope that the main global agreements – including the BBNJ treaty, the subsidy agreement for WTO peaches and the future world plastics treaty – will all be ratified and implemented by then.

The 2028 summit will also mark a calculation moment, while SDG 14 approaches its 2030 objective.

“What are we doing when SDG 14 matures in 2030?” Mr. Thomson asked. “Obviously, this must be raised from ambition. It must be stronger. He stressed that if SDG14 had aimed to protect 10% of the ocean by 2020 – a target that the world has not reached – the new reference is 30% by 2030.

Wearing a shell collar offered by the Marshall Islands, the Native of Fiji congratulated the small island nations and the Atoll collectives for having fixed ambitious marine protections.

“If small countries can make great measures like that, why can’t the big countries follow suit?” He said.

He also praised the 2,000 scientists who met for the One Ocean Science Congress before the summit. “What a great way to manage things,” he said.

A unit demonstration

Despite the festive tone, the tensions lingered. Small island in development of states pushed to a stronger language Loss and damage -The damage inflicted by climate change that goes beyond what people can adapt. “You cannot have an ocean declaration without SMSN,” warned a delegate earlier this week.

Others, including President Chaves, from Costa Rica, called for a moratorium on the exploitation of the deep sea in international waters until science can assess risks – a step not included in the final declaration.

However, the political declaration adopted in Nice, entitled Our ocean, our future: United for urgent actionreaffirms the objective of protecting 30% of the ocean and the land by 2030, while supporting world executives as the Kunming-Montreal biodiversity agreement (Adopted in 2022, hiring countries to stop and reverse the loss of nature by 2030 through ambitious conservation targets and sustainable biodiversity management) and the UN International Maritime OrganizationClimatic objectives (IMO).

“The real test,” said Mr. Li, “is not what we said here in Nice – but what we do next. »»

While the sun plunged behind the Promenade des Anglais and the final plenary of the adjourned conference, the sea – old, vital and in danger – was silent of a fragile but shared promise.

Originally published at Almouwatin.com

Humanitarians must be able to deliver aid in Gaza, UN agencies insist

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Humanitarians must be able to deliver aid in Gaza, UN agencies insist

The humanitarian network is currently at a standstill because the internet shut down earlier this week after the last fibre cable route serving central and southern areas was cut during heavy fighting.

As the outage continues, partners are unable to communicate or coordinate response activities, and people in need remain isolated and without the information they need to access life-saving support and emergency services,” UN aid coordination office OCHA said in an update.

Connectivity a life or death issue

Restoring connectivity is urgent. OCHA said the Israeli military recently posted a warning on social media where areas marked in red on a map are considered dangerous combat zones, calling on people to stay away from them.

Although these areas apparently cover most of the Gaza Strip’s territory, most people have no way to access the announcement.

Meanwhile, partners working on telecommunications continue efforts to coordinate urgent repairs of the fibre optic cable routes in Gaza, including those that were previously damaged. 

However, since April, Israeli authorities have denied more than 20 requests to carry out this work.  

“It is critical that repair of the lines is enabled immediately,” OCHA said.

Humanitarian missions denied

The agency further reported that the Israeli authorities continue to deny many humanitarian movements aimed at providing support to Gaza’s population, which numbers over two million.

On Thursday, they rejected eight out of 18 UN attempts to coordinate such movements, including efforts to retrieve wheat flour and fuel supplies. 

Four other missions were unable to be accomplished, either because of impediments or because they had to be cancelled for security or logistical reasons. 

The remaining six missions, which included the movement of staff, were successful.

‘Recipe for chaos’

Conditions continue to deteriorate in Gaza after 20 months of war followed by a total blockade of aid and commercial goods which began on 2 March.

People are crammed in shelters, or living in tents, and lack basic essentials.  For example, the accumulation of solid waste is severely impacting health and environmental conditions, the UN Palestine refugee agency UNRWA said on Friday.

Israel temporarily lifted the ban in mid-May, and the UN was able to bring in small amounts of key aid items such as flour and medicines – though far from enough to prevent starvation from impacting the population.

Since late May, the UN and partners have been sidelined as a new aid distribution model began operations.

The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, which is backed by Israel and the United States, uses private military contractors, according to media reports.  More than 200 people have been killed, and thousands more injured by gunfire near its hubs.

The mechanism is “a recipe for chaos,” UNRWA tweeted on Friday, echoing the words of its chief Philippe Lazzarini.

It is weaponising aid and resulting in fear, discrimination, and growing desperation,” the agency said.

“It is time to lift the siege and let the UN, including UNRWA, do the work. Aid must be delivered safely and at scale.”

‘Hunger must never be met by bullets’

The UN Humanitarian Affairs Coordinator Tom Fletcher underscored the need to act now in a statement issued late on Thursday.

“Hunger must never be met with bullets,” he said. “Humanitarians must be allowed to do their work. Lifesaving aid must reach people in need, in line with humanitarian principles.” 

Mr. Fletcher said attacks against civilians in Gaza “are unacceptable”, which includes the killing and injury of hungry people seeking food and those delivering aid.

He said UN humanitarian convoys have been intercepted by armed Palestinian gangs, endangering staff and drivers.

“Civilians in desperate need of the food we’re able to bring in, have not been spared; some have been shot by Israeli forces, and others crushed by trucks or stabbed while trying to retrieve food,” he added.

UN Relief Chief Tom Fletcher talks to a child at an UNRWA shelter during a visit to Gaza in February.

Let humanitarians work

He also mentioned incidents “concentrated around militarized distribution centres, where starving people tell us that Israeli forces opened fire on them.” 

Hospitals report that they have received 245 fatalities and over 2,150 injuries from these areas over the past two weeks,” he said.

Furthermore, the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation said on Thursday that Palestinians involved in their distribution were killed, injured, and captured by Hamas.

“Without immediate and massively scaled-up access to the basic means of survival, we risk a descent into famine, further chaos, and the loss of more lives,” the UN relief chief warned.

“We stand ready, as we have repeatedly emphasized, to deliver life-saving aid at scale,” he said.  “Let us do our work.”

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Weekly schedule of President António Costa

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Weekly schedule of President António Costa

Weekly schedule of President António Costa, 15-22 June 2025

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World News in Brief: Rights abuses in Haiti, Sudan war sees exodus to Chad, food trade optimism

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World News in Brief: Rights abuses in Haiti, Sudan war sees exodus to Chad, food trade optimism

Between 1 January and 30 May, at least 2,680 people – including 54 children – were killed, 957 injured, 316 kidnapped for ransom, and many more subjected to sexual violence and child gang recruitment.

“Alarming as they are, numbers cannot express the horrors Haitians are being forced to endure daily,” said Mr. Türk.

Conflicts on all sides

In recent months, gangs have attacked Mirebalais in the centre of the country, looting police stations, destroying property and freeing over 500 inmates from the local prison.

Meanwhile, so-called self-defence groups have targeted individuals they suspect of gang affiliation. On 20 May, at least 25 people were killed and 10 injured by a group accusing them of supporting gangs.

Law enforcement has ramped up operations against them. Since January, police have killed at least 1,448 people, including 65 during extrajudicial executions.

Mr. Türk called on the international community to take decisive action to end the violence, including renewed support for the Security Council-backed Multinational Security Support (MSS) mission and full enforcement of the council’s arms embargo.

He also reiterated his call for States to not forcibly return anyone to Haiti.  

“The coming months will be crucial and will test the international community’s ability to take stronger, more coordinated action – action that will help determine the future stability of Haiti and the wider region,” Mr. Türk added.

Outlook for food trade ‘relatively optimistic’, FAO says

The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) released their annual Food Outlook report Thursday which provides a “relatively optimistic” look at international food markets.  

According to the report, production is expected to increase across almost all categories, with grain production expected to reach record levels. And while prices do remain higher this year than last, between April and May there was an overall decrease of almost one per cent. 

The report noted, however, that global trends — including rising geopolitical tensions, climate shocks and trade uncertainties — may still negatively impact production.  

“While agricultural production trends appear solid, drivers that could negatively impact global food security are increasing,” said FAO Chief Economist Máximo Torero.

Fowl, fish fraud and fertilizer flows

The report noted that outbreaks of avian influenza have become more persistent and constitute “one of the most significant biological threats to the global poultry sector.” Nevertheless, poultry exports have largely remained largely resilient so far.  

The issue of fish fraud – the misrepresentation of the location or manner of the catch – was also discussed, with FAO warning that risks are growing.  

Additionally, the report examined fertilizer flows, noting Russia’s growing exports and the decrease in fertilizer prices since the COVID pandemic.  

Overall, the report noted, the cost of imports worldwide has increased by 3.6 percent or nearly $2.1 trillion.  

Eastern Chad ‘reaching a breaking point’ as Sudan war refugees continue to arrive  

Aid teams in eastern Chad warn on Friday that host communities are reaching breaking point because of climate shocks and the pressure of hosting war refugees from neighbouring Sudan.

In an alert, the UN’s top aid official in Chad, François Batalingaya, warned that a humanitarian catastrophe is unfolding almost unnoticed by the world’s media.

“Right now, nearly 300,000 people are stranded at the border, waiting to be relocated inland,” he noted.  

“Tens of thousands, mostly women and children, are sleeping in the open without shelter, clean water and health care. These are survivors of war. They arrive traumatized, hungry, and with nothing. They recount stories of mass killings, sexual violence and entire communities destroyed.” 

Major exodus

Since the outbreak of war in Sudan in April 2023, more than 850,000 Sudanese refugees have crossed into Chad. They’ve joined the 400,000 existing Sudanese refugees who have arrived over the last 15 years.

The UN aid official explained that even before the latest Sudanese arrivals, nearly one million people in eastern Chad were in urgent need of help.  

Today, “they are sharing what little they have – food, water, and space – with those fleeing the war,” Mr. Batalingaya said.

In an appeal for international assistance, he warned that clinics are overwhelmed, malnutrition is rising and basic services are buckling.  

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Press briefing – Eurogroup meeting of 19 June 2025

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Weekly schedule of President António Costa

Press briefing ahead of the Eurogroup meeting will take place on 17 June 2025 at 14.30. 

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EU member states agree to extend temporary protection for refugees from Ukraine

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EU member states agree to extend temporary protection for refugees from Ukraine

The Council reaches a political agreement about extending the temporary protection for more than 4 million Ukrainians who fled from Russia’s war of aggression. Source link

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Israel-Iran crisis

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Any military climbing in the Middle East should be censored, said the UN chief in a brief statement published by the office of his spokesperson. “He is particularly concerned about Israeli attacks on nuclear installations in Iran while the talks between Iran and the United States on the status of the Iranian nuclear program […]

Originally published at Almouwatin.com

Displacement doubles while funding shrinks, warns UNHCR

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Displacement doubles while funding shrinks, warns UNHCR

In December last year, the overthrow of the Assad regime by opposition forces reignited hope that most Syrians could see home again soon. As of May, 500,000 refugees and 1.2 million internally displaced people (IDPs) returned to their areas of origin.

But that’s not the only reason Syria is no longer the largest displacement crisis in the world.

Sudan sets a grim record

More than two years of civil war in Sudan has seen it pass Syria with 14.3 million people displaced since April 2022, 11.6 million of whom are internally displaced – that’s one-third of the entire Sudanese population, representing the largest internal displacement crisis ever recorded.

The UN refugee agency’s (UNHCR) latest report released Wednesday highlights the sheer scale of the problem, noting “untenably high” displacements – but it also contains “rays of hope,” despite the immediate impact of aid cuts in capitals around the world this year.

We are living at a time of intense volatility in international relations, with modern warfare creating a fragile, harrowing landscape marked by acute human suffering,” said High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi.

A place to live in peace

By the end of 2024, 123.2 million people worldwide were displaced, representing a decade-high number, largely driven by protracted conflicts in Sudan, Myanmar and Ukraine.

73.5 million people worldwide have fled within their own countries, and of the 42.7 million refugees living beyond their borders, 73 per cent are hosted in low and middle-income countries, with 67 per cent are hosted in neighbouring countries.

Sadeqa and her son are refugees who have faced repeated displacement. They fled from Myanmar after Sadeqa’s husband was killed in 2024. In Bangladesh, they lived in a refugee camp for Rohingya Muslims, but the camp was overcrowded, leading them to flee again via boat.

She got on the boat not knowing where it was going. Ultimately, the vessel was rescued after weeks at sea, and now, she and her son live in Indonesia.

We are searching for a place where we can live in peace,” Sadeqa said.

There are countless stories like hers. However, at the same time, Mr. Grandi said that there were “rays of hope” in the report. This year, 188,800 refugees were permanently resettled into host countries in 2024, the highest number in 40 years.

Moreover, 9.8 million people returned home in 2024, including 1.6 million refugees and 8.2 million internally displaced people mostly in Afghanistan and Syria.

‘Long-lasting solutions’

While 8.2 million IDPs returning home represents the second-largest single year tally on record, the report noted continuing challenges for returnees.

For example, many of the Afghan and Haitian refugees who returned home in the past year were deported from their host countries.

The report emphasized that returns must be voluntary and that the dignity and safety of the returner must be upheld once they reach their area of origin. This requires long-term peace-building and broader sustainable development progress.

The search for peace must be at the heart of all efforts to find long-lasting solutions for refugees and others forced to flee their homes,” Mr. Grandi said.

‘Brutal’ funding cuts

In the last decade, the number of people who have been forcibly displaced worldwide has doubled but funding levels for UNHCR remain largely unchanged.

The report explained that this lack of increased funding endangers already vulnerable displaced communities and further destabilizes regional peace.

“The situation is untenable, leaving refugees and others fleeing danger even more vulnerable,” UNHCR said. 

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Eurogroup statement on the draft budgetary plan of Belgium for 2025

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Weekly schedule of President António Costa

Eurogroup issued a statement on the draft budgetary plan of Belgium for 2025.

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Schengen: Council approves declaration to commemorate 40th anniversary and renew its commitment for the common travel area

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EU member states agree to extend temporary protection for refugees from Ukraine

The Council approves a declaration to mark the 40th anniversary of the signing of the Schengen Agreement. Source link

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