Hope for Russia-Ukraine talks ‘barely' alive: UN
Hope is 'just barely' alive in the negotiations between Russia and Ukraine, a senior UN official said on Thursday, denouncing the recent 'brutal surge in large-scale Russian attacks' against Ukraine.
UN Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs Rosemary DiCarlo told the Security Council that the 'cautious hope' she expressed a month ago
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'Stop The Clock On Madness': UN Expert Appeals To States After Gaza Aid Distribution Shootings
GENEVA (30 May 2025) – The international community must stop the clock on continued and deliberate misuse of humanitarian language and mechanisms by Israel aimed at obscuring and facilitating the commission of atrocity crimes in Gaza, a UN expert said today. 'We continue to witness a brutal humanitarian camouflage, where the red lines have led to massive atrocities. Israel pretends to promote humanitarian solutions in order to continue its control of Gaza and sustain its systematic denial of life-saving humanitarian aid to the starving population in the besieged strip,' said Francesca Albanese, the Special Rapporteur on the human rights situation in the occupied Palestinian territory. 'It is a deliberate strategy – aimed at masking atrocities, displacing the displaced, bombing the bombarded, burning Palestinians alive and maiming survivors,' Albanese warned. 'All camouflaged behind the language of aid, to divert international attention from legal accountability, in Israel's attempt to dismantle the very principles upon which humanitarian law was built.' Albanese echoed concerns by the UN and other humanitarian actors about the Israeli aid system and the establishment of the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation – a body backed by Israel and the United States to distribute aid under a system of full military control. The proposal has been criticised for failing to respect international law and the humanitarian principles of humanity, impartiality, independence and neutrality. On 27 May, thousands of Palestinian flocked towards the foundation's distribution sites to receive food packages after several days without food. 'Within hours, horrifying images and videos emerged from Gaza demonstrating how this mechanism functions and how the Israeli army fired on unarmed Palestinian civilians. It seems that there is no limit to Israel's actions,' the expert said. At least 3 people were killed and 46 injured and seven went missing according to authorities in Gaza. 'As the occupying power, Israel must agree to allow and facilitate the aid and access cannot be assessed based on political or military considerations,' the expert said. Aid that has entered the besieged enclave after Israel's 11-week blockade is a drop in the ocean, she said. 'To starve a population for months and then shoot at them when they clamour for food is unmitigated cruelty', Albanese said. 'The time for sanctions is now, as Israeli politicians continue to call for the extermination of babies while over 80 percent of the Israeli society, according to Israeli media, ask for the forcible removal of Palestinians from Gaza. The time to save life is shrinking,' Albanese said. 'I am reiterating my call for a full arms embargo and suspension of all forms of trade with Israel by all States. In a world of growing consensus that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza, using ceaseless bombardment and starvation, while only a minority of the population opposes it, is an affront to the UN principles and values, States can no longer sit by and watch.' 'The International Court of Justice Advisory Opinion of 19 July 2024, and its Orders issued on 26 January and 24 May 2024 in the case South Africa v. Israel provided States with the imperative to act,' the Special Rapporteur said. "Every day that has passed since without tangible action from States is steeped in the blood of innocent Palestinians." 'The gravity of Israel's conduct is matched only by the complicity of States that continue to provide political and material cover, and by corporations that profit from Israel's crimes,' she said. 'Accountability can no longer be deferred. The UN and States need urgently to establish an independent protection mechanism that Israel shall not stop - it has no sovereignty over the occupied territory, and it is about time States implement it. The people of the world are watching, and history will remember'.
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Rwanda Must Avoid Balancing Budget On The Backs Of The Poor: UN Poverty Expert
KIGALI (30 MAY 2025) – The UN Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights, Olivier De Schutter, today praised Rwanda for its impressive progress in reducing poverty, but warned that much good work could be undone if plans to slash social protection are followed through, leaving the rural poor especially vulnerable. 'Rwanda has made remarkable strides lifting approximately 1.5 million Rwandans out of poverty in just seven years between 2017-2024,' De Schutter said in a statement at the end of his official visit to the country. 'The challenge now is to reach the approximately 3.6 million people still living below the poverty line, in an environment of cuts to international aid and the national budget.' According to the most recent data, the vast majority of people living below the poverty line live in rural areas, where poverty affects nearly one in three people – almost twice the urban rate. Regional disparities are also stark, with the Western and Southern Provinces, both of which the Special Rapporteur visited, registering the highest poverty levels in the country. Income and wealth inequalities also remain high. The top 1% of earners receive 20% of national income, nearly double the share of the bottom 50%. These challenges come at a difficult moment. Public debt reached 78.7% of Rwanda's GDP in January 2025, prompting the government to commit to a sharp reduction in its budget deficit – from 6.9% to 3.3% within two years – entering a period of what De Schutter referred to as 'economic shock therapy'. 'The persistence of poverty in rural areas, and especially among those who depend on agriculture for their livelihoods, should guide the hard choices facing the government to reduce its budget deficit,' De Schutter said. 'Rwanda must not make the same mistakes of other countries that have balanced the budget on the backs of the poor – making counterproductive spending cuts that hit the most vulnerable the hardest,' he warned. De Schutter pointed to 'concerning trends' in this regard, including a decrease in the health budget as a share of the national budget from 10% to 7% since 2020/21. Social protection allocations have been slashed by 22% in the 2024/25 budget, with an additional 30% cut anticipated next year. Funding of policies in areas such as healthcare and social protection depend largely on international donor support, which is becoming increasing unpredictable, leading De Schutter to call for 'an urgent rethink in how to sustainably finance these life-saving sectors by better mobilising domestic resources.' De Schutter pointed to a range of promising initiatives that he urged the government to protect and strengthen further: the universal school feeding programme; the introduction of Imibereho, a social registry to better identify and support households experiencing poverty; community-based health insurance schemes; and the Ejo Heza long-term savings scheme that allows both formal and informal workers to build financial security with government support. However, the expert expressed concern about the lack of unemployment, family and maternity benefits. The Ingoboka cash transfer remains limited, and with no minimum wage and low unionization, one in four workers lives in poverty. De Schutter urged the government to strengthen public participation in order to address these concerns, warning that dismissing people's criticism of its policies as 'instigating divisions' or as 'causing civil unrest' would ultimately lead to wasteful and ineffective policies. 'It is only by protecting human rights that Rwanda will maintain its momentum on poverty reduction and reap the benefits of its demographic dividend. Only governments that listen and learn are equipped to serve the population: participation allowing for genuine concerns to be put forward, and bottom-up solutions to be proposed, are an indispensable ingredient of development,' De Schutter said. The Special Rapporteur's final report on Rwanda will be presented to the UN Human Rights Council in June 2026.
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New African Development Bank President Has A Chance To Shift The Continent To Clean Energy, For And By Communities
29 May 2025, Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire. The African continent is on the frontlines of the climate crisis, but the election of Sidi Ould Tah as the new president for the African Development Bank is an opportunity to pave a new path for the continent's energy future - to shift toward a just and transformative approach to energy access, one that harnesses Africa's vast renewable resources and affirms the rights, dignity, and agency of its people. As the debt crisis reaches new heights for the continent, scaling up grant-based, concessional funding is vital to ensure countries are financially able to pursue a clean energy transition that is just, equitable, people-centred, and democratically governed. Now is the time for transformative public finance models which serve the people of Africa, not fossil fuel interests. As UN Secretary-General António Guterres stated, investment in Africa's renewable energy is 'the economic opportunity of the century.' With 60% of the world's best solar resources and wind potential capable of powering the continent 250 times over, Africa is uniquely positioned to lead. It's time for President Sidi Ould Tah to close the gap for the 600 million people who remain without electricity and over 970 million that lack access to clean cooking. Accelerating the adoption of decentralised, community-based renewable energy is not just a technical fix, it is a transformative, justice-driven solution which makes the most economic sense. It can empower local ownership, enhance resilience, create jobs, develop local economies, and reduce dependence on expensive, unreliable, and centralised energy infrastructure. Civil society demands for the President Sidi Ould Tah are: A comprehensive ban on fossil fuel financing by the AfDB, including gas, and rejection of false solutions such as destructive hydropower, carbon capture, usage and storage, and hydrogen for export. A roadmap to 100% renewable energy systems that prioritises decentralised solutions and enables Africa to become a leader in green industrialisation and energy sovereignty. A just transition approach that avoids creating new debt traps and includes local communities in all decision-making through Free, Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC). Karabo Mokgonyana, Just Transition Campaigner from Power Shift Africa, 'The election of Dr. Sidi Ould Tah as President of the African Development Bank marks a critical moment for Africa's energy future. With over 600 million people still living without electricity, just 2% of global clean energy investment reaching the continent, and vast untapped solar and wind potential, the urgency for action could not be clearer. We call on the new President to make renewable energy the cornerstone of his leadership, to drive a just, equitable, and homegrown energy transition that rejects harmful fossil fuels and embraces Africa's immense clean energy promise. These AfDB Annual Meetings have shown us that progress is possible. Now, with bold leadership and renewed clarity, we must turn possibility into power - for every home, every enterprise, and every generation to come.' Fiza Naz Qureshi, Gas Campaigner from Big Shift Global Campaign, said, "With the election of the new President, Sidi Ould Tah, civil society calls for bold leadership that breaks from fossil fuel dependency. Continued support for gas — including through Mission 300 and clean cooking initiatives — risks locking communities, especially women, into harmful energy systems. Women and frontline communities suffer most from extractive projects and weak safeguards. Under new leadership, the AfDB must champion a just energy transition rooted in truly clean, renewable solutions that uplift women, protect people and ecosystems, and fulfill Africa's climate commitments. Africa's future lies in leapfrogging fossil fuels - not repeating their mistakes.' Gloria Kafui Kuzo, Lead on Energy Transition, from Strategic Youth Network for Development (SYND) Ghana said, "Africa's innovation landscape holds immense potential to drive sustainable transformation, and AfDB has a pivotal role in shaping it. We urge that innovation across the continent be driven by solutions that harness Africa's green, resilient human and natural capital. This must be pursued through an inclusive approach that ensures women, youth, and local communities are not merely passive beneficiaries, but empowered as active participants and leaders in the innovation ecosystem. By aligning sustainability with equity and inclusion, AfDB can help catalyze transformative growth that is not only impactful but enduring for all Africans". Mamadou Barry, Executive Director, from Action Solidaire International said, 'While we welcome the ambition of Mission 300 by the AfDB and the World Bank, we firmly call for it to fully exclude fossil fuels like gas. To truly deliver for communities, strong safeguards must be established to prevent the private sector from capturing the benefits at the expense of those most affected — especially women and frontline communities.' Anja Gebel, Policy Advisor for Development Banks and Climate at Germanwatch said: 'In difficult geopolitical times, when climate action is facing headwinds, the new President must keep the African Development Bank on course for climate action. It is important that he honours and continues to implement the bank's Paris alignment commitment. Shareholders should actively support him in this mission and make clear that a just and climate-compatible energy transition is an integral part of Africa's development.' Rajneesh Bhuee, Campaign Manager from Recourse said, 'Congratulations to Mr. Sidi Ould Tah on becoming the new President of the African Development Bank. With millions of Africans still living without electricity, we hope he'll use this moment to double down on public funding for renewable energy that actually reaches people and communities. Mission 300 can be a game-changer, but only if it leaves fossil fuels behind and puts real access first. Civil society is here, as a partner, to help make that happen and hold the Bank to its promises.'
