Day: May 6, 2022

UNITED NATIONS— The United Nations and several countries called for an end to Russia’s war in Ukraine, with little mention of reviving the two countries’ apparently stalled peace talks.

“Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is a violation of its territorial integrity and of the Charter of the United Nations,” said UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres at a Security Council meeting organized by the United States.

“It must end for the sake of the people of Ukraine, Russia, and the entire world,” he added.

Guterres recently visited Moscow and Kyiv to advocate for the evacuation of civilians from the battered port city of Mariupol, from where several hundred people have been able to escape since the weekend.

The majority of the Security Council’s members, including China, the United States, Ireland, France and Mexico called for an end to the months-old conflict.

The Chinese ambassador to the UN Zhang Jun underscored that only diplomacy would end the fighting, criticizing arms shipments to Ukraine.

His Kenyan counterpart Martin Kimani called for Guterres’ mediation.

“Every opportunity must be used to achieve peace,” said Ukraine’s ambassador to the UN Sergiy Kyslytsya.

According to diplomats, non-permanent members of the Security Council Norway and Mexico submitted a text expressing “strong support to the efforts of the Secretary-General and the offer of his good offices in the search for a peaceful solution.”

An adoption of the statement, which would be the first show of unity in the council since Russia’s Feb 24 invasion, remains uncertain.

“There is time,” Deputy Russian Ambassador Dmitry Polyanskiy commented when asked if Moscow might approve it.

Meanwhile in ZAPORIZHZHIA (Ukraine), a new UN convoy was expected in Mariupol Friday to evacuate civilians from the “bleak hell” of a besieged steel plant that has become the last pocket of resistance against invading Russian forces in the southern port city.

The Russian military had announced a three-day ceasefire at the site starting Thursday but a Ukrainian commander said there was still heavy fighting at the sprawling Azovstal complex, where hundreds of soldiers and civilians have been holed up for weeks under heavy bombardment.

Ten weeks into a war that has killed thousands, destroyed cities and uprooted more than 13 million people, Russia has focused its efforts on Ukraine’s east and south, and taking full control of the now-flattened Mariupol would be a major victory for Moscow.

“A convoy is proceeding to get to Azovstal by tomorrow morning hopefully to receive those civilians remaining in that bleak hell,” UN humanitarian chief Martin Griffiths told a Ukraine donor conference in Warsaw on Thursday.

The mayor of Mariupol estimates around 200 civilians remain sheltering in dismal conditions in the plant’s Soviet-era underground tunnels.

“We still have to evacuate civilians from there, women and children. Just imagine… more than two months of constant bombing and constant death,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said in his evening address on Thursday.

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said “that a safe passage operation is ongoing” in coordination with the UN. The two organisations have already worked together to evacuate some 100 civilians from the complex.

Source: NAM NEWS NETWORK

U.N. officials warn that soaring prices of food, fuel, fertilizers, and other commodities due to the Russia-Ukraine war could have a profound destabilizing impact on the African continent.

Africa is still reeling from the socio-economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, which has plunged some 50 million people into extreme poverty. The continent is also tackling crises generated by climate change, conflict, and political unrest.

Added to this toxic mix is now the war in Ukraine.

Ahunna Eziakonwa, the U.N. Development Program’s assistant administrator and regional director for Africa, said Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is reverberating badly on the continent.

“Things that really was stunning for the continent and a rude awakening is how much it depends—almost 90% dependence on external sources of goods for what it needs to keep its population alive. Food and medicine,” she said.

Eziakonwa said the impact of soaring inflation due to price hikes of food, fuel, fertilizer and other commodities will soon begin to bite. She said Africa’s reliance on imports of food and other goods from Russia and Ukraine will create another front of discontent and possibly unrest in a growing number of nations.

UNDP-Africa Senior Economist Raymond Gilpin said rising inflation is putting several large investments on hold across the continent. He cited as examples the development of a huge steel mill complex in Nigeria and fertilizer plants in Angola.

Golpin warned tensions are rising in hot spots such as the Sahel, parts of Central Africa, and the Horn of Africa as the Russia-Ukraine war begins to fester.

“Particularly in urban areas, low-income communities, which could spillover just to violent protests and … probably also violent riots,” he said. “Also, and countries that have elections scheduled for this year and next year are particularly vulnerable because this could become a trigger.”

UNDP officials are calling for global action to address the problems in Africa resulting from measures taken half a world away. They say the long-term consequences of this new global crisis pose great risks to peace and stability efforts on the continent.

These dangers, they note, come at a time when Sub-Saharan Africa accounts for nearly half of global deaths caused by terrorism as seen in the record number of coups last year.

Source: Voice of America

Guinea’s military government this week announced plans to prosecute ousted President Alpha Conde and 26 of his former officials for murder, rape, kidnapping and other crimes. Guinea’s coup leader also proposed a three-year transition back to civilian rule.

In 2010, Conde became Guinea’s first democratically elected president, but accusations of corruption and authoritarian behavior mounted throughout his time in office. Last September, after winning what critics said was an illegal third term, Conde was overthrown in a military coup.

Conde had altered the constitution to allow himself to run for a third term, sparking violent protests and a deadly crackdown by police.

The charges against Conde and his government were issued in response to a complaint filed by the National Front for the Defense of the Constitution (FNDC) — the group that had led the protests.

Gilles Yabi, director of the West Africa Citizen Think Tank in Dakar, said while it is important the proceedings shed light on Conde’s regime, he is concerned they risk being perceived as a political tool.

“When it comes to the fight against impunity, in order for it to be credible it must not raise suspicion of political manipulation,” he said. “Given the current context in Guinea, that could be difficult.”

The other officials facing charges include former security officers, speakers of parliament and a prime minister.

“It’s a bold move by the junta,” said Barka Ba, a West Africa political science researcher. “Do they have enough time and political legitimacy to conduct these proceedings? Because the people who are being charged are well respected and thought to be innocent. They will have a right to a defense.”

Leaders of the West Africa bloc ECOWAS had called on Guinea’s military government to announce an “acceptable” plan to transition to civilian rule by April 25 or face immediate sanctions.

Guinea’s interim president, Colonel Mamady Doumbouya, a former special forces commander, missed the deadline. On Saturday, he said he was considering a transition period of more than three years.

ECOWAS defense leaders are meeting May 6, 2022, to discuss security in the Sahel and could announce sanctions against Guinea’s military government.

Source: Voice of America