Saturday 11 May, 2024 {HMC} The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) has overwhelmingly voted to support a Palestinian bid to become a full UN member by recognising it as qualified to join and recommending the UN Security Council “reconsider the matter favourably”.

Memberships can only be decided by the UN Security Council, and last month, the US vetoed a bid for full membership.

The current resolution does not give Palestinians full membership, but recognises them as qualified to join, and it gives Palestine more participation and some rights within the UNGA.

Here is a breakdown of how each country voted in the UNGA in New York City on Friday:

For (143):
A: Algeria, Andorra, Angola, Antigua and Barbuda, Armenia, Australia, Azerbaijan

B: Bahamas, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Barbados, Belarus, Belgium, Belize, Benin, Bhutan, Bolivia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Botswana, Brazil, Brunei, Burkina Faso, Burundi

C: Cabo Verde, Cambodia, Central African Republic, Chad, Chile, China, Colombia, Comoros, Costa Rica, Cuba, Cyprus

D: Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (North Korea), Democratic Republic of the Congo, Denmark, Djibouti, Dominica, Dominican Republic

E: East Timor, Egypt, El Salvador, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Estonia, Ethiopia

F: France

G: Gabon, The Gambia, Ghana, Greece, Grenada, Guatemala, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Guyana

H: Haiti, Honduras

I: Iceland, India, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Ireland, Ivory Coast

J: Jamaica, Japan, Jordan

K: Kazakhstan, Kenya, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan

L: Laos, Lebanon, Lesotho, Libya, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg

M: Madagascar, Malaysia, Maldives, Mali, Malta, Mauritania, Mauritius, Mexico, Mongolia, Montenegro, Morocco, Mozambique, Myanmar

N: Namibia, Nepal, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Niger, Nigeria, Norway

O: Oman

P: Pakistan, Panama, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Portugal

Q: Qatar

R: Republic of Korea (South Korea), Russia, Rwanda

S: Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, San Marino, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Serbia, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, Somalia, South Africa, Spain, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Suriname, Syria

T: Tajikistan, Thailand, Trinidad and Tobago, Tunisia, Turkmenistan, Turkey

U: Uganda, United Arab Emirates, United Republic of Tanzania, Uruguay, Uzbekistan

V: Vietnam

Y: Yemen

Z: Zambia, Zimbabwe

Against (9):

A: Argentina

C: Czech Republic

H: Hungary

I: Israel

M: Micronesia

N: Nauru

P: Palau, Papua New Guinea

U: United States

Abstained (25):

A: Albania, Austria

B: Bulgaria

C: Canada, Croatia

F: Fiji, Finland

G: Georgia, Germany

I: Italy

L: Latvia, Lithuania

M: Malawi, Marshall Islands, Monaco

N: Netherlands, North Macedonia

P: Paraguay

R: Republic of Moldova, Romania

S: Sweden, Switzeland

U: Ukraine, United Kingdom

V: Vanuatu

SOURCE: AL JAZEERA AND NEWS AGENCIES

Saturday 11 May, 2024 {HMC} As Somali forces navigate a delicate transition to assume the country’s security responsibilities from African Union peacekeepers who have secured civilians and personnel of international agencies for the past 17 years, experts say that four million children in Somalia have been affected by conflict and climate change.

Isha Dyfan, UN independent expert on the human rights situation in Somalia, announced this Thursday, at meetings with government officials, UN representatives, children rights activists and other humanitarian agencies operating in Somalia.

“I noted slow progress in the implementation of the National Action Plan on children, and I wish to call upon the Federal Government to take measures to promote and protect women and children’s rights,” she said.

Ms Dyfan said children represent 60-70 percent of the internally displaced persons and other vulnerable populations, all being victims of forced eviction and its impact, and children are further at risk of mines and hazardous materials in the liberated areas.

After decades of isolation, Somalia has recently started to enjoy goodwill from the international community. Last December, the country qualified for debt cancellation under the highly indebted poor countries (HIPC) initiative, making it eligible for up to $4.5 billion of debt relief.

The UN expert urged Somalia to use debt forgiveness and channel the funds – and money from other lenders were the government is sourcing funding for the country’s rebuilding – into sectors that will produce a healthy, educated population.

This push ties in with the proposals of the African Union, that 15 percent of Somalia’s new debt should be spent on education and healthcare.

In December 2023, the Somali security conference held at the UN headquarters in New York delineated the government’s strategic priorities and roadmap for the security sector over the next six years, including the requirement for international support.

UN officials also describe the level of sexual and gender-based violence as an “epidemic,” with allegations of rape and gang rape, homicide and the lack of accountability for perpetrators.

Despite this desire, Somalia still faces security challenges, with its civilians, especially women and children, continuing to bear the brunt of deadly attacks carried out by Al Shabaab.

The Federal Government of Somalia has also started reforms by launching several initiatives to protect the rights of children during armed conflict.

These include measures to prevent the recruitment and use of children as soldiers, implementing age verification processes and biometric registration within the Somali National armed forces to ensure compliance and end the tag of child soldiers in its army.

UN officials describe the level of sexual and gender-based violence as an “epidemic problem,” with allegations of rape and gang rape, homicide and the lack of accountability for perpetrators.

In her discussions with Somali officials, Ms Dyfan tasked the government to strengthen capacity for investigations and prosecutions of perpetrators, so that survivors can report the crimes without fear.

With little or no protection, rape victims and survivors live in fear of reprisals and stigma with no hope of access to justice and effective remedies.

SOURCE 

By JULIUS BARIGABA

Saturday 11 May, 2024 {HMC} A European naval force detained six suspected pirates on Friday after they opened fire on an oil tanker traveling through the Gulf of Aden, officials said, likely part of a growing number of piracy attacks emanating from Somalia.

The attack on the Marshall Islands-flagged Chrystal Arctic comes as Yemen’s Houthi rebels have also been attacking ships traveling through the crucial waterway, the Red Sea and the Bab el-Mandeb Strait connecting them. The assaults have slowed commercial traffic through the key maritime route onward to the Suez Canal and the Mediterranean Sea.

The pirates shot at the tanker from a small ship “carrying weapons and ladders,” according to the British military’s United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations center, which oversees Mideast shipping routes. The pirates carried Kalashnikov-style rifles and rocket-propelled grenades, the private security firm Ambrey said.

The pirates opened fire first at the Chrystal Arctic, whose armed, onboard security team returned fire at them, the UKMTO said.

The pirates then abandoned their attempt to take the tanker, which continued on its way with all its crew safe, the UKMTO said. Dark black smoke came out of the small boat carrying the pirates, likely from a burning fuel drum, Ambrey said.

Hours later, the European Union naval force in the region known as Operation Atalanta said a frigate operating in the region detained six suspected pirates. The frigate seized the pirates given “the unsafe condition of their skiff” and said that some had “injuries of varied severity.”

It wasn’t immediately clear if those injured suffered gunshot wounds from the exchange of fire with the Chrystal Arctic. The EU force declined to elaborate “due to the security of the operations.”

Ambrey identified the EU vessel as Italy’s Carlo Bergamini-class frigate ITS Federico Martinego.

Once-rampant piracy off the Somali coast diminished after a peak in 2011. That year, there were 237 reported attacks in waters off Somalia. Somali piracy in the region at the time cost the world’s economy some $7 billion — with $160 million paid out in ransoms, according to the Oceans Beyond Piracy monitoring group.

Increased naval patrols, a strengthening central government in Mogadishu, Somalia’s capital, and other efforts saw the piracy beaten back.

However, concerns about new attacks have grown in recent months. In the first quarter of 2024, there have been five reported incidents off Somalia, according to the International Maritime Bureau.

“These incidents were attributed to Somali pirates who demonstrate mounting capabilities, targeting vessels at great distances, from the Somali coast,” the bureau warned in April. It added that there had been “several reported hijacked dhows and fishing vessels, which are ideal mother ships to launch attacks at distances from the Somali coastline.”

In March, the Indian navy detained dozens of pirates who seized a bulk carrier and took its 17 crew hostage. In April, pirates releases 23 crew members of the Bangladesh-flagged cargo carrier MV Abdullah after seizing the vessel. The terms of the release aren’t immediately known.

These attacks come as the Houthi campaign targeting shipping since November as part of their pressure campaign to stop the Israel-Hamas war raging in the Gaza Strip.

SOURCE
BY JON GAMBRELL