Musings From Abroad

Former Cameroon PM Yang chairs UN Assembly

Published

2 months ago

September 12, 2024

The former prime minister of Cameroon who assumed leadership of the UN General Assembly has urged divided nations of the globe to unite and take action to address global issues like poverty, armed conflict, and climate change.

The 193-member world body was informed by Philemon Yang that there were concerns over the ability of nations to work together to address these and other urgent issues. But he added: “We must demonstrate that international cooperation remains the most effective tool at our disposal to address the deep and borderless problems we face. ”

The cornerstone of Mr. Yang’s one-year presidency, according to the veteran diplomat who led his West African nation as prime minister from 2009 to 2019, “will be built on the principles of unity in diversity.” He went on to say that throughout his presidency, maintaining peace and security will be “of paramount importance.”

“I will therefore urge the Assembly to intensify its determination to prioritize the resolution of conflicts, including the intractable conflicts in the Gaza Strip, Haiti and Ukraine, as well as to find lasting solutions to the situation in the Great Lakes region and elsewhere in Africa ,” Mr. Yang said.

The United Nations, which was established out of the ashes of World War II, has been encouraged by outgoing General Assembly President Dennis Francis to fulfil its goal of preserving world peace and security.

“It is no exaggeration to say that the scale of man-made human suffering that we are witnessing around the world is simply staggering ,” said the former diplomat and ambassador of Trinidad and Tobago , referring to Gaza and other conflicts.

However, Francis cautioned that “on our current trajectory, millions more will face poverty and hunger by 2030.” Millions of people today live in extreme poverty and despair.

The necessity of international cooperation was again emphasised by UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.

He declared that the 78th session of the General Assembly, which came to a close on Tuesday morning, had been the warmest year on record in addition to being “a tumultuous year” characterised by ongoing poverty, inequality, injustice, division, violence, and conflict.

“But this session also ends at a time of growing hope and inspiration about what we can achieve if we work together ,” the UN chief said.

Tuesday afternoon, Mr. Guterres greeted diplomats at the opening of the 79th session of the Assembly, saying, “Step by step, solution by solution, we can rebuild trust and faith in each other and in what we can achieve through collaboration and solidarity.”

The Secretary-General called the Future Summit on September 22–23, which Mr. Yang will chair. The purpose of the summit is to encourage multilateral action on global issues and reform international organisations established after World War II, such as the United Nations.

Related Topics:Cameroon Featured Philemon Yang United Nations

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Musings From Abroad

Malian singer Rokia Traore arrested in Italy, to be sent to Belgium

Published

19 hours ago

November 20, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

After Italy’s top court denied her appeal, well-known Malian singer, Rokia Traore, who was detained in Rome in June due to a global child custody dispute, will be sent over to Belgium in the next few days, her attorney announced on Wednesday.

The 50-year-old Traore is a goodwill ambassador for the United Nations refugee agency UNHCR and one of Africa’s most well-known vocalists.

“Rokia suffered an injustice. She was arrested without the Belgian criminal court hearing her voice. Now, the battle for Rokia’s rights moves to Brussels,” lawyer Maddalena Del Re said in a statement to Reuters.

The attorney also stated that in its decision late Tuesday, Italy’s Court of Cassation upheld an extradition decision from the European Court of Justice.

Under a European arrest order, Traore was taken into custody on June 20 at the Fiumicino airport in Rome. In October 2023, she was given a two-year prison sentence in Belgium related to a dispute over her daughter’s custody.

She had flown to perform outside Rome’s Colosseum, and she has been imprisoned in Civitavecchia, close to the Italian city, since her detention at Fiumicino.

Lawyer Del Re said that because a conviction was rendered without the defendant’s presence, the Belgian process goes against both international norms and Italian constitutional standards.

After she disregarded a court order to turn over her baby to her Belgian father, the singer’s divorced ex-partner, she was initially taken into custody in France in 2020 on a Belgian arrest warrant.

She disobeyed orders not to leave France until her extradition case was handled by taking a private jet to Mali months after being conditionally released. Mali is where her daughter resides.

Musings From Abroad

Russia vetoes Sudan conflict Security Council move

Published

1 day ago

November 20, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

A draft resolution from the UN Security Council urging Sudan’s warring parties to immediately end hostilities and guarantee the delivery of humanitarian supplies was vetoed by Russia on Monday.

China and every other member of the 15-member council supported the British-Serra Leonean-drafted motion.

In a decision described as “mean, nasty, and cynical” by British Foreign Secretary, David Lammy, Russia was the only member to vote against, sending a message to the warring parties that they may act without consequence.

The world’s greatest relocation crisis began in April 2023 when the Sudanese army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces engaged in a power battle ahead of a scheduled transfer to civilian administration.

The conflict’s participants were urged by the draft resolution to “immediately cease hostilities and engage, in good faith, in dialogue to agree steps to de-escalate the conflict to urgently agree a national ceasefire.”

In addition, it urged them to hold talks to reach agreements on humanitarian pauses and arrangements, guarantee the safe movement of people, and provide sufficient humanitarian relief, among other things.

The United Kingdom was accused by Russia of trying to interfere in Sudanese affairs.

“We agree with all Security Council colleagues that the conflict in Sudan requires a swift resolution. It is also clear that the only way to achieve this is for the warring parties to agree to a ceasefire,” Deputy Russian U.N. Ambassador Dmitry Polyanskiy told the meeting.

He claimed Lammy’s critique was an “excellent demonstration of British neo-colonialism” and accused those who supported the proposed resolution of using “double standards” by allowing Israel to continue violating international humanitarian law in Gaza.

“One country stood in the way of the council speaking with one voice. One country is the blocker. One country is the enemy of peace. This Russian veto is a disgrace, and it shows to the world yet again, Russia’s true colours,” Lammy told the meeting.

“I ask the Russian representative, in all conscience – sitting there on his phone – how many more Sudanese have to be killed? How many more women have to be raped? How many more children have to go without food before Russia will act?”

Nearly 25 million people, or half of Sudan’s population, require help, according to the U.N., since 11 million people have abandoned their homes and starvation has spread to displacement camps. Of those, almost 3 million have departed for other nations.