UN Insider

Photo: The African Union Commission Chairperson, Moussa Faki Mahamat. Source: African Union

The AU Peace Process to Solve the Conflict in Tigray Alleged to Have Been Undermined

Compiled by EEPA

BRUSSELS (IDN) – Ethnic Tigray soldiers suspended and/or returned from Ethiopian peace-keeping missions are being reportedly imprisoned by the Ethiopian Federal Government. Ethnic Tigrayan military attachés in Ethiopian diplomatic services abroad are being sacked.

Eritrean soldiers were ambushed by Tigrayan forces East of Wukro. Pictures have emerged of the ambush between Mekoni and Mekelle. Also, the Ethiopian National Defense Forces (ENDF) forces were ambushed by Tigray forces.

: Africa & ME Editor; THE WORLD; Horn of Africa; 08 January 2021

Photo: More soldiers committed suicide last year than were killed in combat. A new study suggests that multiple concussions may be contributing to suicide risk. (Rick Loomis / Los Angeles Times)

Ending Our Suicidal War Against Nature

Viewpoint by John Scales Avery*

COPENHAGEN (IDN) – "Our planet is broken," the Secretary-General of the United Nations, António Guterres, has warned. Humanity is waging what he describes as a "suicidal" war on the natural world. "Nature always strikes back, and is doing so with gathering force and fury," he told a BBC special event on the environment. Mr Guterres wants to put tackling climate change at the heart of the UN's global mission, wrote BBC Chief Environment Correspondent Justin Rowlatt on December 2.

: Opinion Editor; OPINION; 06 January 2021

Photo credit: Tens of thousands of refugees have crossed the border from Ethiopia to Sudan, fleeing conflict in Ethiopia’s Tigray region. © WFP/Leni Kinzli

UN Concerned Over the Situation of Refugees from Tigray

Compiled by EEPA

BRUSSELS (IDN) – The US Secretary of the Treasury Mnuchin is due to visit Khartoum on January 6. The aim of the visit is to review the economic situation, as well as the US assistance to Sudan. Mnuchin will also visit other countries in the region such as Egypt, Qatar and Israel.

The UN estimates that more than 322,000 people are Internally Displaced (IDP). The provisional Tigrayan government reported yesterday that it believed there were 2.2 million IDPs.

: Africa & ME Editor; THE WORLD; Horn of Africa; 05 January 2021

Photo: Men install solar panels for a hospital in Yemen. UNDP’s SPCRP project is equipping COVID-19 isolation centers with vital equipment such as solar energy panels. This allows the key healthcare facilities to function even with the chronic lack of electricity in the country. Photo: UNDP Yemen

Clean Energy Set to Grow in 2021

By Marcel Alers

The author is Head of Energy of the UN Development Programme (UNDP)

NEW YORK (IDN) – The energy sector, still dominated by fossil fuels, is the largest contributor to greenhouse gas emissions. We know people and nations need reliable sources of energy to power hospitals and light schools, and to safely cook, heat or cool their homes. We know we need to switch to sustainable energy.

: UN Bureau; SUSTAINABILITY; Affordable Clean Energy; 03 January 2021

Photo: Chinese UNAMID peacekeepers (file photo) Credit: UNAMID/Albert Gonzalez Farran

Unease as UN Peace Mission in Sudan Ends and Ethiopian Soldiers Return Home

Compiled by EEPA

BRUSSELS (IDN) – The TPLF is keeping control of mountainous areas in Tigray. As many analysts predicted when Mekelle was taken, the ENDF has had difficulties driving the TPLF out of well entrenched mountain positions.

The ENDF has launched an offensive towards Samre, East of Mekelle.

Meanwhile, cruelties against civilians are reported. These include forcing relatives to commit incest on women and girls under the threat of arbitrary execution.

: Africa & ME Editor; THE WORLD; Horn of Africa; 03 January 2021

Photo: The United Nations Security Council Chamber in New York, also known as the Norwegian Room. CC BY-SA 2.0

India Has an Ambitious Agenda as UN Security Council Member

By Devinder Kumar

NEW DELHI (IDN) – With the start of the New Year, India joins the 15-member United Nations Security Council (UNSC) as a non-permanent member for the eighth time. Along with Norway, Kenya, Ireland and Mexico, India will have a two-year term: 2021-2022.

Of the 15 UNSC members, five occupy a permanent seat. They have the right to veto resolutions: China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom and the United States.

: Devinder Kumar; THE WORLD; South Asia; 02 January 2021

Photo: Midwife lifts one of the very first babies born in Mali in 2020 at a Health Center in Segou, central Mali. © UNICEF/Seyba Keïta

Make 2021 A Fairer, Safer, Healthier World for Children

By Caroline Mwanga

NEW YORK (IDN) – More than 371,500 children would be born on the first day of 2021, according to the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF). The agency's Executive Director Henrietta Fore said on the eve of the New Year day: "The children born today enter a world far different than even a year ago, and a New Year brings a new opportunity to reimagine it."

: Caroline Mwanga; SUSTAINABILITY; Health & Well Being; 01 January 2021

Photo: Musicians perform at a concert in India, in December 2019, prior to the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. Credit: UNICEF/Srikanth Kolari.

Culture Struggling to Survive COVID-19 Impact

By Jaya Ramachadran

PARIS (IDN) – The UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) has urged adequate policies and actions to help the culture sector weather the crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and its fallout. The sector employs more than 30 million people globally. It has been hit much harder than expected.

: Jaya Ramachandran; UN INSIDER; 01 January 2021

Photo: Millions of children in Ethiopia's Tigray out of reach. Credit: Anadolu Agency.

An Overview of the Situation in Tigray as 2021 Begins

By EEPA

BRUSSELS (IDN) – More than two million children in Tigray do not have access to food, water and safety and may have been displaced. While there is a severe humanitarian situation regarding 100.000 Eritrean refugees in Tigray; full humanitarian access has not been given.