Geneva — The World Health Organization is warning that millions of people caught in conflict-driven health emergencies risk dying from traumatic wounds and infectious diseases because life-saving humanitarian aid is not reaching those in need.

In one of his most forceful statements to date, the WHO’s director-general, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, accused the Israeli government of blocking essential aid to Gaza.

In a briefing to journalists Wednesday, Tedros said a humanitarian mission to northern Gaza planned for that day, the sixth since December 26, had to be canceled because “our requests were rejected and assurances of safe passage were not provided.”

“Delivering humanitarian aid in Gaza continues to face nearly insurmountable challenges. Intense bombardment, restrictions on movement, fuel shortages, and interrupted communications make it impossible for WHO and our partners to reach those in need,” he said. “We call on Israel to approve requests by WHO and other partners to deliver humanitarian aid. … Health care must always be protected and respected; it cannot be attacked, and it cannot be militarized.”

WHO officials say Gaza is buckling under what they call a perfect storm for the proliferation of disease. As of January 1, it has documented nearly 200,000 respiratory infections and tens of thousands of cases of scabies, lice, skin rashes, and jaundice.

The agency says 2,140 cases of diarrhea among children under five in Gaza were reported in 2021-2022; by November 2023, that number had increased 20-fold to 42,655 cases.

“This is an underestimation,” said Rik Peeperkorn, WHO representative for the occupied Palestinian territory, speaking in Jerusalem. “We lack access to health facilities. …So, the situation is likely to be worse.

“If the situation is not improved, we can expect more outbreaks and deaths,” he warned.

Gaza’s Hamas-run Ministry of Health says at least 23,357 Palestinians have been killed and 59,410 injured since Hamas terrorists invaded Israel October 7, killing 1,200 people, and taking some 220 hostages.

The WHO says it is impossible to access the population in Gaza without an effective deconfliction system in place because of the massive destruction of Gaza’s public health infrastructure and continued intense hostilities.

“We have heard various comments that the U.N. isn’t doing enough,” said Michael Ryan, head of the WHO’s Health Emergencies Program.

“If you continue to destroy infrastructure, if you continue to destroy services at this rate, and then you blame the people who come in and support and provide life-saving assistance—who is to blame here?” he said. “We are on the ground, and we are serving. We can do much more. We must be given the means to do much more, but right now that is not possible.”

In a virtual briefing Friday, Col. Elad Goren, head of the civil department of COGAT, the Israeli agency that facilitates aid in Gaza, said the “narrative of blockade — that is completely false.”

He said that U.N. and other humanitarian agencies have told him that there was a “sufficient amount of food in Gaza and we continue to push the humanitarian agencies to collect more trucks at the borders and to distribute them.”

He added that “Israel has not and will not stand in the way of providing humanitarian aid to the people of Gaza that are not a part of terror. They are not our enemy.”

 

While Gaza continues to dominate headlines globally, WHO chief Tedros warned that millions of people in other countries in conflict, notably Sudan and Ethiopia, are threatened by increasing violence, mass displacement, spread of disease, famine, and death, and must not be forgotten.

In the past month, he said conflict has displaced half-a-million people from Al-Gezira state, which used to be a haven from the conflict in the Sudanese capital, Khartoum. 

“Due to security concerns, WHO has temporarily halted its operations in Al-Gezira,” he said. “The state is also considered the breadbasket of Sudan, and fighting there has disrupted the annual harvest, and increased the risk of food insecurity in conflict-affected areas.”

Tedros also said conditions have deteriorated especially for Sudanese children since war erupted in mid-April, noting an estimated 3.5 million children under the age of 5 — one in seven — are acutely malnourished, and “more than 100,000 are suffering from severe acute malnutrition, requiring hospitalization.”

Tedros expressed grave concern about the worsening health crisis in parts of Ethiopia, saying the northwestern region of Amhara has been badly affected by conflict since April and restrictions on movement were hampering efforts to deliver humanitarian assistance.

“Fighting is affecting access to health facilities, either through damage or destruction, roadblocks, and other obstacles,” he said. “Health authorities are unable to deliver training and supplies and are unable to transport samples for laboratory confirmation in many areas.

“Disease outbreaks are spreading in northern Ethiopia, as the result of conflict, drought, economic shocks, and malnutrition, especially in the Tigray and Amhara regions,” where many people reportedly were suffering from near-famine conditions, he said, adding that “the most pressing need is for access to the affected areas, so we can assess the need and respond accordingly.”
…

your ad here

…

your ad here

Johannesburg, South Africa — The U.N.’s International Court of Justice will hold hearings this week to decide whether an interim measure needs to be brought against Israel to try and halt the war in Gaza. There is a history behind the South African government’s longstanding solidarity with the Palestinian people.

South Africa has gone to the ICJ or International Court of Justice in The Hague, charging that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza. On Thursday and Friday the court will hear arguments from both sides and will then decide whether to issue an interim order that Israel stop its bombardment of Gaza.

“There are ongoing reports of crimes against humanity and war crimes being committed as well as reports that acts meeting the threshold of genocide or related crimes as defined in the 1948 ‘Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of Genocide’ have been and may still be committed in the context of the ongoing massacres in Gaza,” said Clayson Monyela, spokesman for South Africa’s Department of International Relations and Cooperation

South Africa and Israel are both signatories to the convention. Legal experts say the full case to prove Israel is guilty of genocide could take years, but the hearings this week are an urgent measure to seek a quick order against Israel in the meantime.

If South Africa wins at what is often dubbed “the World Court,” it will be an international embarrassment for Israel, lawyers told VOA this week.

However, while decisions by the court are binding, they are not always followed. Russia for example has still not obeyed a 2022 ICJ order that it halt its invasion of Ukraine.

“Enforcement is typically the Achilles heel of international justice at the ICJ,” said Mia Swart, a visiting international law professor at South Africa’s University of the Witwatersrand. “It’s probably highly likely that Israel will not, you know, immediately desist from all military action should the court order this and this will then have to go to the Security Council.”

As a permanent member of the top U.N. body the U.S. has veto powers and is a firm ally of Israel. Washington, like the Israeli government, has called South Africa’s lawsuit “meritless.”

South Africa’s support for the Palestinian cause is longstanding, said Gerhard Kemp, a South African law professor at the University of the West of England, Bristol.

“There’s also an historic reason for this, the African National Congress, the governing party of South Africa has a very longstanding relationship with the people of Gaza, Palestine, with the Palestinian liberation movements,” Kemp said. “So therefore, there’s also historical significance in that South Africa is taking the lead on this by bringing Israel to the ICJ.”

The African National Congress, or ANC, was itself once a banned liberation movement that led an armed struggle against the racist white apartheid regime in South Africa, and says it sees echoes of that in the plight of the Palestinians.

Former South African President Nelson Mandela was a close friend of former Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat and famously said South Africa’s freedom would not be complete until the Palestinians were also free.
…

your ad here

China is the leading player in Nigeria’s construction industry, according to the Chinese embassy in Abuja. However, Nigerian contractors and engineers say Chinese firms force them out of major projects. Alhassan Bala reports from Abuja, Nigeria, in this story narrated by Steve Baragona. Camera and video edit: Awwal Salihu
…

your ad here

Nigeria is a signatory to several international treaties aiming to end sexual and gender-based violence against women. However, the problem persists. Now some want new laws to hold offenders accountable. Timothy Obiezu has this story from Jos, Plateau State, Nigeria. Editor’s note: The rape survivors interviewed for this report have given consent to have their full names used.
…

your ad here

Geneva — The United Nations’ top human rights official voiced alarm on Sunday about rising ethnic tension and calls to violence in the Democratic Republic of Congo following  disputed elections.

Massive delays and bureaucratic chaos marred the December 20 ballots to choose the president, lawmakers for national and provincial assemblies, and local councilors.

So far the election commission has only announced the result of the presidential vote -– a landslide victory for incumbent Felix Tshisekedi that the opposition has rejected as a sham.

“I am very concerned about the rise in ethnic-based hate speech and incitement to violence in the Democratic Republic of the Congo,” (DRC) said U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk.

He said the post-election calls for violence were particularly concerning in the eastern provinces of North and South Kivu -– which have been plagued for decades by armed groups and ethnic killings -– as well as the regions of Kasai and Katanga.

Tshisekedi hails from Kasai and Moise Katumba, one of his main rivals, from Katanga.

“Hateful, dehumanizing and inciteful rhetoric is abhorrent and can only deepen tension and violence in the DRC itself, as well as putting regional security at risk,” Turk said.

He urged the authorities “to thoroughly and transparently investigate all reports of hate speech and incitement to violence and to hold those responsible to account.”

Election-related tensions are common in the DRC, which has a history of authoritarian rule and violent government overthrow.

Some 250 different ethnic groups live in the vast country. It sits on considerable  mineral wealth but little trickles down the population of around 100 million. 
…

your ad here

ROME — As Italy assumes the rotating presidency of the Group of Seven leading industrial nations, Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said this week that a focus on developing strategic partnerships with Africa, rather than providing aid, will be key during its one-year tenure.

Developing local economies and raising living standards in Africa, she said, could dissuade prospective migrants from seeking refuge in Europe.

Meloni told a news conference that the Mattei Plan — named after Enrico Mattei, founder of the state-controlled oil and gas giant Eni — includes specific projects beyond energy deals. Details will be unveiled later this month at a Rome conference, she said.

Professor Nicholas Westcott of the School of Oriental and African Studies at the University of London welcomed the announcement.

It’s an “encouraging development, but it needs to be delivered on,” he told VOA, saying that previously “there has been more talk than delivery along these lines.”

Westcott, who was formerly the European Union’s managing director for Africa, said the EU had put up “a significant sum of money to encourage investment, but it hasn’t had much impact yet.”

He said the EU needs to “up its game in terms of effective investment in Africa.”

“Now is a good time to do it. Africa is starved of investments,” Westcott said. “The demands for investment allow for the economies to adapt to climate change, which is already having quite a dramatic impact in Africa.”

Most of the nearly 261,000 migrants who crossed the Mediterranean Sea from northern Africa in 2023 entered Europe through Italy, according to the United Nations. Italy’s stringent immigration laws and restrictions on sea rescue charities have not stemmed the tide.

Meloni’s government says it is open to legal immigration to help plug labor gaps in Italy, which has one of the world’s oldest and shrinking populations.

Westcott said the plan’s underlying motive of reducing illegal migration from Africa is “politically realistic” in Europe.

“The far right … is using this anti-immigrant card to increase their vote in Europe, and without constructive policies to tackle the problem, there will be more destructive policies introduced,” he said.

Maddalena Procopio, an Africa analyst with the European Council on Foreign Relations, told VOA that Italy wants “to build cooperation and serious strategic relationships in Africa as equals not predators.” She cited the energy cooperation Africa has provided Italy that helped it move away from Russian gas.

Procopio said that while migration concerns play a big role for Italy and the EU, “the Mattai Plan is more economically oriented.”

“Italy and Europe in general are talking a lot about a shift from aid, from development cooperation to economic partnership,” she said. “But it’s unlikely that we will see a real shift, reduction of aid, so it’s more likely to be both.

“The fact that the focus is an economic partnership and not only development cooperation means a good and pragmatic change of approach. Africa has massive needs in terms of financing: infrastructure, energy access, health, education.”

Procopio said EU and Western public finance alone will not be sufficient to address such development needs, so private funds will be necessary.
…

your ad here

Nairobi — The Horn of Africa is facing two diplomatic crises. Somalia recalled its ambassador from Ethiopia and Sudan recalled its ambassador from Kenya. Both countries complain of alleged interference in their internal affairs and threats to their sovereignty.

Experts warn that the two diplomatic crises, one between Kenya and Sudan, the other between Ethiopia and Somalia, could threaten the stability of East Africa.

Sudan’s government, led by the head of the Sudanese Armed Forces, General Abdel Fatah al-Burhan, expressed its displeasure with Kenya after the government there gave a warm welcome to Burhan’s rival, the leader of Sudan’s paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, also known as Hemedti.

Kenya received Dagalo Wednesday as part of its efforts to find a peaceful settlement to the nearly nine-month-old Sudan conflict.

Angered by the move, Sudan’s government recalled its ambassador from Nairobi.

Al-Burhan sees Kenya as favoring Hemedti in the conflict and has called for Nairobi not to be part of mediation efforts spearheaded by regional bloc IGAD.

In the other crisis, Somali leaders were angered by the agreement this week between Ethiopia and the breakaway region of Somaliland. The deal would give landlocked Ethiopia access to the sea and allows it to establish a military base in Somaliland, which Somalia considers part of its territory.

To protest the deal, Mogadishu recalled its ambassador from Addis Ababa.

The head of the Horn Institute for Strategic Studies, Hassan Khannenje, explained what the latest diplomatic spats mean for a region that has a history of border disputes and conflicts.

“For Sudan, it complicates efforts to mediate that conflict, considering Kenya has been a key player in the IGAD quartet,” Khannenje said. “It also opens another area of potential conflict between Ethiopia and Somalia, considering that just in the recent week, Mogadishu had made efforts to restart the reconciliation talks with Hargeisa. What that does is it torpedoes all those efforts and sends the entire region into a tailspin with regard to diplomacy.”

Both Somalia and Sudan have long struggled with internal divisions and conflict, which have displaced millions.

Nasong’o Muliro, an international relations and diplomacy lecturer in Kenya, said some foreign powers, including countries in the Gulf, are fueling the potential conflict between the African countries.

“So many foreign actors are at play in the region, and it’s creating alliances that are now also degenerating into inter-state conflicts because the Horn of Africa was basically suffering from internal conflict, but now, we see a spike of inter-state conflicts whether they are armed, but then they are conflict between states,” Muliro said.

Muliro said countries like Kenya and Ethiopia should not be taking advantage of the weak central governments in Sudan and Somalia to engage local leaders and pursue their own interests in those countries.

“We are seeing a situation where the tradition that has been there of engaging the government of the day, no matter how weak it is, but now it’s almost changing,” Muliro said. “We are looking at Hemedti and Burhan and in any case, Africa should be behind Burhan but you can see that the states are selectively almost recognizing Hemedti.”

The African Union and other international actors are calling for de-escalation of tensions and respect for each nation’s territorial integrity and sovereignty.
…

your ad here

white house — South Africa is taking the war in Gaza to a top global court, accusing Israel of genocide in a lengthy court filing that the International Court of Justice is preparing to hear next week.  

Israel says the filing constitutes “blood libel,” and the White House dimisses it as “meritless.”  

More than 22,000 Palestinians have perished since the start of Israel’s offensive on Gaza, according to the Gaza Ministry of Health. U.S. officials have previously cast doubt on those figures, noting that the ministry is run by Hamas, the group that was elected to govern Gaza and whose armed wing launched the October 7 attack on Israel that killed more than 1,200 people. 

Hamas, which is designated a terrorist organization by the U.S. and some of its allies, lists the killing of Jews and the elimination of the Jewish state as its main objectives. 

South Africa’s 84-page submission, filed last week, says that Israel’s actions in its Gaza offensive “are genocidal in character, as they are committed with the requisite specific intent … to destroy Palestinians in Gaza as a part of the broader Palestinian national, racial and ethnical group.”

Israel’s use of state organs and agents to do this, they say, is a violation of its obligations under the 1948 Genocide Convention.  

Alarms over possible war crimes

International organizations, including United Nations agencies, have raised alarms over possible war crimes, with the U.N.’s human rights agency calling in November for “prompt, transparent and independent investigations into allegations of war crimes and crimes against humanity, perpetrated in Israel and in the Occupied Palestinian Territory on 7 October 2023 and thereafter.”  

Israel’s government has slammed the move as a “decision to play advocate for the devil” and accused South Africa of “blood libel.” The accusation that Jewish people use the blood of Christians in religious rituals has been touted for centuries — notably by the genocidal Nazi regime, which oversaw the extermination of some 6 million Jews — to justify targeting Jews.  

“History will judge South Africa for its criminal complicity with the bloodiest massacre of Jews since the Holocaust, and it will judge it without mercy,” said Israeli government spokesman Eylon Levy. 

The White House, when asked by VOA, dismissed South Africa’s argument.  

“We find this submission meritless, counterproductive and completely without any basis in fact whatsoever,” said John Kirby, director of strategic communications for the National Security Council.  

South Africa’s Foreign Affairs Ministry did not respond to requests for comment, but spokesperson Clayson Monyela said on the social media platform X that this is an example of his nation’s decision to “flex its diplomatic muscle in defense of humanity.”  

South Africa’s ruling African National Congress has historically supported the Palestinian cause, with the nation’s first democratically elected president, Nelson Mandela, saying, “We know too well that our freedom is incomplete without the freedom of the Palestinians.”  

In the court application, South Africa argues that the treatment of Palestinians also bears strong resemblance to South Africa’s own racially motivated apartheid regime, which ended in 1994 with Mandela’s election.  

“It is important,” the submission reads, “to place the acts of genocide in the broader context of Israel’s conduct towards Palestinians during its 75-year-long apartheid, its 56-year-long belligerent occupation of Palestinian territory and its 16-year-long blockade of Gaza, including the serious and ongoing violations of international law associated therewith, including grave breaches of the Fourth Geneva Convention, and other war crimes and crimes against humanity.” 

The grassroots Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) says it supports South Africa’s submission, which has also been endorsed by Muslim-majority nations Turkey and Malaysia.  

Robert McCaw, government affairs department director for CAIR, notes that while the group has “condemned the killing of Palestinians and Israelis alike” and the actions of both Hamas and Israel’s government, it believes South Africa’s case “fits the definition of genocide.” 

“When you are systematically erasing Palestinians from Gaza, that is a genocide,” he said. “And you can, you know, use whatever terms you want to dismiss this claim, but it’s a genocide.” 

But can it stop the war? South Africa, in its submission, asks the court to immediately call upon Israel to halt attacks, but it’s not clear whether such a ruling would stick.  

“It can’t enforce its verdicts, but members of the United Nations, which are all the world’s government, they can accept its findings, and that impacts the types of policies that are put out by the U.N.,” McCaw said. 

“So, this can have a significant impact in how we might be able to get a cease-fire or to hold Israel accountable by other means for its ongoing genocide of Palestinians. Also, it’s a very good way to legally document the crimes that are occurring.” 

Proceedings begin January 11 and will be streamed live on the United Nations’ web-based TV site.  
…

your ad here

Nairobi, Kenya — Kenya’s president is coming under criticism from judges, lawyers, legal experts and opposition groups after saying he won’t respect court orders that he perceives as an effort to undermine key policies of his administration. Critics are calling for nationwide protests to protect the judiciary’s independence and respect for the rule of law.

Kenyan lawyers have called for a demonstration following Tuesday’s comments from President William Ruto.

The head of the Law Society of Kenya, Eric Theuri, said they will be marching in support of Kenya’s judges.

“The Law Society will be organizing a countrywide peaceful demonstration where we will read and affirm the oath that each and every one of the advocates of the high court took to protect the rule of law, the independence of the judiciary and the constitution we have.”

The lawyers’ association has called on each of its members to wear a purple ribbon next week to show their displeasure with the attack on the country’s judicial system.

On Tuesday, President Ruto said he will ignore some court orders that he sees as aimed at stalling government development programs.

He accused some judges of corruption and working with those filing cases against his government’s economic plans.

“We will protect the independence of the judiciary. What we will not allow is judicial tyranny and judicial impunity,” Ruto said.

The government led by Ruto has made the construction of affordable houses and provision of universal healthcare two of his top priorities. But critics say in implementing the plans, the government is trampling over the legal process.

A Kenyan court stopped the government’s plan to raise taxes to construct the houses, saying it was unconstitutional and discriminatory, a decision that has angered the executive.

In a statement, Kenyan Chief Justice Martha Koome condemned the president’s remarks on matters that are still before the court.

Koome called on judges to fulfill their duties in accordance with the law and the constitution. She said the Judicial Service Commission will protect the targeted judges.

Theuri said Ruto must use judicial means to challenge the court rulings and judicial officers he thinks are corrupt.

“The president, therefore, as the foremost custodian of the rule of law, should refrain from undermining the judiciary and instead utilize legal avenues at his disposal to challenge decisions,” Theuri said.

Kenya has a history of political violence and ethnic conflict, especially during election campaigns.

The constitution passed in 2010 gave the judiciary independence to do its work without the interference of the government, a freedom which has given Kenyans increased confidence in the judiciary.

Donald Rabala is an advocate at the High Court of Kenya. He told VOA that when the citizens are aggrieved and laws are broken, their hopes lie in courts, and it’s good for the nation’s stability.

“It’s important for the common people for those who are governed. A constitution is basically a social contract between the governed and the governance,” Rabala said. “So what we are saying is that that’s the only way the common man can be able to challenge any decision by the executive. They cannot change it through a compromised parliament.

They cannot challenge it through the executive itself but through the judiciary they can question any decision made by the executive. With that, then you have peace, then you have prosperity in place.”

Despite the criticism, the government has vowed to crack down on allegedly corrupt judges and judicial officers.

Many Kenyans hope any future action does not affect people’s confidence in the country’s judicial system, which has taken decades to build.
…

your ad here

kampala, uganda — A prominent Ugandan LGBTQ activist was stabbed on his way to work on Wednesday by unknown assailants on a motorbike, police and a rights campaigner said.

Steven Kabuye, 25, suffered knife wounds and was left for dead in the assault on the outskirts of the capital Kampala before being found by local residents, police said.

Human rights defenders have been warning about the risk of attacks on members of the LGBTQ community after Uganda last year adopted what is considered one of the harshest anti-gay laws in the world.

Kabuye told detectives investigating the incident that he had been getting death threats, according to a statement issued by police spokesman Patrick Onyango.

“According to Mr. Kabuye, two unidentified individuals on a motorcycle, wearing helmets, approached him. The passenger jumped off and attacked him, specifically targeting his neck with a knife,” Onyango said.

“Kabuye managed to shield his neck with his right arm, resulting in a stab wound to his hand. Despite attempting to flee, the assailants chased and stabbed him in the stomach, and left him for dead,” he said, adding that local residents found him and took him to a medical clinic.

Richard Lusimbo, the head of community action group Uganda Key Populations Consortium, told AFP that Kabuye was in “critical condition,” but Onyango said he was out of danger.

“All our efforts at the moment [are to ensure] that he gets the medical attention he deserves and also the perpetrators of this heinous act are held responsible,” said Lusimbo.

Kabuye, who works with the Colored Voices Media Foundation that campaigns for LGBTQ youth, told investigators who visited his hospital bedside that he had been receiving death threats since March 2023.

He had returned to Uganda in December for Christmas after traveling abroad in June.

In May last year, Uganda adopted anti-gay legislation that contains provisions making “aggravated homosexuality” a potentially capital offence and penalties for consensual same-sex relations of up to life in prison.

“Having laws like the Anti-Homosexuality Act puts lives of the LGBTQ community at risk and empowers hatred,” Lusimbo said.

The legislation triggered outrage among rights advocates and Western powers, and it is currently being challenged in Uganda’s constitutional court.

President Yoweri Museveni’s government has struck a defiant tone, with officials accusing the West of trying to pressure Africa into accepting homosexuality.
…

your ad here

Every New Year, people make resolutions to improve their lives. In Burkina Faso’s capital, a common New Year’s goal is to get in better physical shape. Gildas Da met members of Ouagadougou gyms who plan to exercise more in the coming year. Gildas Da has the story, narrated by Arzouma Kompaore.
…

your ad here