Countries must be ‘very ambitious’ ahead of COP29

As the war in Lebanon grinds on, some 1.3 million people have now fled intense Israeli bombardment up and down the country, according to the authorities.This includes a significant number of Syrian refugees, who’ve already had to flee over a decade of civil war in their own country.Reaching Syria is by no means easy, because of the very real risk of bombing at border crossing points; and then there’s the question of how safe it is to return to Syria’s towns and cities.With more on this – and how the UN refugee agency, UNHCR, is helping returnees at Lebanon’s borders in cooperation with the Syrian Government – here’s Rula Amin, Senior Communications Advisor for UNHCR, speaking to UN News’s Nancy Sarkis.

The number of prisoners in Iran being executed is rising while civic space shrinks, according to the independent human rights expert who monitors the country.Special Rapporteur Mai Sato was at UN Headquarters last week briefing the General Assembly, where she highlighted lack of transparency by authorities in Tehran and the failure to uphold the right to life, while also raising the alarm over the worsening situation facing women in the country.In an interview with UN News’s Julia Foxen, the UN Human Rights Council-appointed expert who only took up her role in August this year, explained how she hopes to fulfill her mandate and hold authorities to account.

As the Democratic Republic of the Congo enters its third decade of armed conflict, a huge number of unexploded land mines and other ordinance remain, constituting a deadly threat to civilians.That’s according to Jean-Denis Larsen, the chief of the UN Mine Action Service (UNMAS) in the central African nation, who told UN News’s Julia Foxen in an interview at UN Headquarters in New York, that the danger leaves less land available for housing and crucial civilian infrastructure.The key measure of success, he says, is the agency’s ability to hand back safe environments to communities.

Countries around the world are being encouraged to develop more ambitious plans to fight climate change as they meet at the global COP29 climate conference; That’s according to the Secretary-General of the UN World Meteorological Organization (WMO)Celeste Saulo spoke with UN News as the conference got underway in Baku, Azerbaijan, on Monday.Some 198 States are coming together to assess global efforts in advancing the nearly ten-year-old Paris Agreement and limit global warming to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels. The country-specific plans are called Nationally Determined Contributions.Nazrin Babayeva asked Ms. Saulo about the WMO’s role today in adapting and mitigating climate change on a global scale. 

The armed conflict in Myanmar is escalating. Ethnic armed groups have captured key towns and regions, and the country’s military – known as the Tatmadaw – are employing increasingly brutal tactics, including heavy weapons and airstrikes.Caught in the middle, civilians are bearing the brunt.Against this background, UN News’ Vibhu Mishra spoke with Nicholas Koumjian, head of the Independent Investigative Mechanism for Myanmar (IIMM), which monitors and collects evidence of crimes in the country.He said as violence intensifies, new actors and alliances are emerging – and it’s incumbent on the international community to act.Established by the UN Human Rights Council in 2018, the IIMM is mandated to collect and preserve evidence of the most serious international crimes and violations of international law and prepare files for criminal prosecution.Previous interviews with IIMM:Myanmar: Technology key to aid war crimes investigationsMyanmar citizens show ‘great desire’ for justice: Investigative Mechanism chiefFor head of Myanmar Mechanism, time is of the essence for accountability

Despite the setback of a further two-year delay in holding elections that were promised for next month, the “silver lining” is that the UN can help South Sudan build capacity and become the “democratic, stable society” that its people deserve.That’s the view of UN Special Representative and Head of the UN Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS), Nicholas Haysom, who told UN News on Thursday that he is “confident” the country can progress in spite of a slew of major challenges including climate shocks and war over the border in Sudan – as long as the political will is there on the part of the country’s leaders.The veteran Special Representative from South Africa – who served as chief legal adviser to Nelson Mandela – sat down with Ben Malor shortly after briefing the Security Council. 

Although the use of mercenaries in conflict has increased in recent years, little is known about how they are funded and paid.The issue is the focus of the latest report by the Working Group on the use of mercenaries, which was presented to the UN General Assembly this week.Jovana Jezdimirovic Ranito is the Chair-Rapporteur of the Working Group, which receives its mandate from the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva.She spoke to UN News’s Dianne Penn about the difficulties in tracking financing for foreign fighters and how bankrolling them negatively impacts human rights, sustainable development and the environment. 

In Afghanistan under Taliban rule, it is now even more important to ensure that women have access to public spaces and adequate housing, creating places that are “accepted culturally in the current environment, but also provide a space where women can meet”.That’s the view of Stephanie Loose, Program Manager at the UN-Habitat Afghanistan Country Office, who is in Cairo to discuss the opportunities and challenges women are facing in urban areas.She spoke to UN News’s Khaled Mohammed who’s at the UN World Urban Forum in Cairo.

On August 1, the United States and Russia conducted a landmark prisoner exchange involving 16 people – the first of its kind since 1986 – which resulted in the release of several leading Russian dissidents. Among those freed was opposition politician Vladimir Kara-Murza, who recently visited UN Headquarters in New York with Mariana Katzarova, the UN Human Rights Council-appointed independent expert – or Special Rapporteur – who monitors the Russian Federation, to introduce her new report to the General Assembly.In an interview with UN News’s Nargiz Shekinskaya, Mr. Kara-Murza reflected on his recent release, Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, and the ongoing human rights crisis in his homeland.He underscored the "horrendous" scale of political imprisonment in Russia, where over 1,300 political prisoners are currently held, and countless others remain invisible.

Stressing that housing is a human right which gives meaning and dignity to people’s lives, the independent UN rights expert – or Special Rapporteur – who monitors the issue has issued an alert over the impact of war, with many civilians simply “losing their houses” as battlefields shift and expand.Balakrishnan Rajagopal is at the World Urban Forum (WUF12) in Cairo, where he spoke to UN News’s Khaled Mohamed on the challenges of ensuring affordable and safe housing for all.