Negotiators advance plastic pollution treaty amid ‘extremely ambitious timeline’

The Prime Minister of Antigua and Barbuda is leading the charge for more climate action paving the way for “resilient prosperity” as host of this month’s upcoming International Conference on Small Island Developing States, SIDS4.In an exclusive interview with UN News’s Shanaé Harte, Gaston Browne said the very survival of small island nations is increasingly at stake due to rising waters, extreme weather, crushing debt and lack of basic resources.

People living in countries rich in the minerals needed for the transition to a net-zero carbon global economy could find themselves victims of a new “resource curse”, remaining in poverty despite the new-found wealth of their leaders. This is one of the findings of economists at the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA), in their latest prediction of the state of the world economy in the coming months ( the World Economic Situations and Prospects mid-year update), which was released on 16 May.Hamid Rashid, an economist at DESA and the lead author of the report, explained to Conor Lennon from UN News how nations can prosper from the cleaner energy future, and why the economy is still all suffering from a COVID-19 hangover.

Civilians in Gaza have been dealing with conflict and crises for seven months – a catastrophe that no word in the dictionary could describe, according to Yasmina Guerda, a Humanitarian Affairs Officer with the UN emergency relief coordination agency, OCHA.In an interview with UN News’s Jerome Bernard, Ms. Guerda spoke about the unmissable destruction, the lack of basic necessities for civilians, and their daily battle to survive. Additionally, she said, challenges derived from the war have resulted in difficulties in bringing staff and supplies into Gaza, leaving many without much-needed aid.Ms. Guerda called on people everywhere to reach out to decision-makers to demand that international law, human rights, and dignity be respected and to play any role in aiding civilians in Gaza. 

Daily attacks by the Russian military in Ukraine have damaged dozens of towns and villages in the south and east of the country but also in central areas - including the city of Dnipro, which was shelled again early this Friday, UN humanitarians said.An array of military hardware has been deployed against heavily populated areas, such as drones and a new, frightening threat: relatively inexpensive glide bombs that can fly up to 80 kilometres and cause heavy damage.The effect has been to reduce the ability of humanitarians to reach vulnerable communities who are unable or unwilling to leave their homes, according to the International Organization for Migration (IOM).The UN agency says that 80 per cent of energy infrastructure in Ukraine’s second city, Kharkiv, has now been damaged and that 14,000 people have been forced to evacuate from frontline areas and border communities in the east in just the last week.With more on the worrying situation, here’s IOM Eastern Area Coordinator Leila Saleiravesh , speaking to UN News’s Daniel Johnson just after a fresh attack on the city in Dnipro, where she and her team are based.

Amidst ongoing armed conflict in Sudan, where millions of civilians are left displaced and food insecure, Deputy Executive Director for the World Food Programme (WFP), Carl Skau, visited the nation where he said a window of opportunity to reach civilians is rapidly closing as the rainy season approaches. Mr. Skau noted that the Sudanese want to see an end to the conflict. He further warned that famine may be approaching and WFP is currently only able to reach about 30 per cent of about 18 million acutely food-insecure people.WFP’s Leni Kinzli asked Mr. Skau about his visit and he said that internally displaced people (IDPs) are desperate for basic needs and want to return to their homes.   

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is rapidly developing and raising concerns on the battlefield, particularly lethal autonomous weapons systems, commonly known as “killer robots”.The United Nations Institute for Disarmament Research (UNIDIR) works to increase understanding of the risks and implications of AI for international peace and security. UN News’s Sachin Gaur spoke to Shimona Mohan, UNIDIR Associate Researcher, who focuses on the intersection of gender, disarmament and emerging technologies such as AI.

A breakthrough in Libya cannot be achieved if leaders continue to monopolise the political process, the outgoing head of the UN mission in the country, UNSMIL, has said.Libya has remained mired in deep crisis since the postponement of national elections, originally planned for December 2021.UN Special Representative Abdoulaye Bathily called on leaders to “have a sense of history” and “think about the future of their country”, pointing to their long-standing impasse.Before leaving office, he sat down with UN News’s Khaled Mohammed to discuss the stalemate, the dire situation of citizens and renewed geopolitical interest in Libya, including due to the wars in Ukraine and Sudan.

Rescue efforts continue in Afghanistan following deadly flash floods in three northeastern provinces this past weekend.The Resident Representative of the UN Development Programme (UNDP), Stephen Rodriques, said that so far, 180 deaths have been confirmed and nearly 9,000 homes have been damaged or completely destroyed. The UN has deployed just over 20 teams to the region to conduct a joint assessment alongside partners and the de-facto authorities.UN News’ Anshu Sharma asked him about challenges to the relief efforts and plans for longer-term support.   

Two arson attacks which followed weeks of protests forced UN Palestine refugee agency UNRWA to temporarily close its compound in East Jerusalem on Thursday.The developments are part of a wider campaign to undermine the agency, said Senior Communications Manager Jonathan Fowler.UN News’s Ezzat El-Ferri asked him about these incidents, intimidation of UNRWA staff, and their commitment to stay and deliver amid the war in Gaza and rising violence in the West Bank.

Amid intensified settlement building and the increased use of war tactics by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), the number of casualties and injuries in the West Bank are now the highest on record, said the head of the UN human rights office in the Occupied Palestinian Territory on Wednesday.Ajith Sunghay, told Anton Uspensky of UN News that “whatever happens in Gaza has a massive impact on the West Bank” while violations of Palestinians’ rights have intensified at the hands of “emboldened” settlers.