“Since we last gathered, the war in Ukraine continues to destroy the lives of many, causing havoc and destruction. The horrors inflicted on the civilian population will leave their indelible mark, including on generations to come. Its social, economic and political ramifications ripple across the region and globally, with no end in sight.”
“A global food, fuel and finance crisis now risks plunging millions into food insecurity and poverty. 1.2 billion people live in countries that are severely exposed and vulnerable to all three dimensions of finance, food, and energy, simultaneously.”
“According to the UN Global Crisis and Response Group the combination of higher food and energy prices, growing inflation, export restrictions, and tightening financial conditions will be devastating, in particular on the most vulnerable.”
“We need to invest in addressing the conditions that provoke these crises. I urge us, at precisely this moment of grave and profound threat, to pursue the path we had committed to in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.”
“We gathered in multilateral fora, in high level debates and donor meetings and spoke of global solutions and of putting people at the centre of our efforts. We committed ourselves to learning the lessons of the pandemic, and to recover better.”
The UN High Commissioner highlighted four areas of intervention that she hopes can give some direction in the face of the current crises.
“First, we need to tackle inequality and discrimination. We live in a world of staggering inequality, with one study estimating that global inequalities are about as great today as they were in the early 20th century.”
“The World Bank had projected 198 million more people living in extreme poverty during 2022 due to COVID-19. Global food prices alone are now estimated to add a further 65 million more people to that total. While people across all income groups experienced losses during the pandemic, the poorest 20 percent experienced the steepest decline in incomes. And the poorest 40 percent haven’t started to recover their income losses.”
“And as the climate crisis continues to worsen for us all, it is again the poorest and most vulnerable who are bearing the harshest brunt. People’s capacity to withstand yet another crisis is shrinking even further.”
“Second, national budgets should integrate human rights. If national budgets integrate States’ human rights obligations and are designed and implemented through a human rights-based approach, they can be a powerful lever for SDG progress. If they allocate sufficient resources to cover at least minimum essential levels of economic and social rights, we can deliver better development results.”
“Increasing national spending in social sectors, with a focus on accessibility, affordability, and quality of services and non-discrimination, particularly in the current context, will strengthen countries’ capacity to withstand shocks.”
“In this regard, my office is assisting countries to analyse their budgets, mobilise resources and create more fiscal space through a human rights lens. “
“Third, greater international cooperation and solidarity – including for debt relief - is needed now. Without a significant boost in financial resources, we will not be able to achieve the SDGs. The financing gap to achieve the SDGs has widened by over 70 per cent to an annual amount of $4.3 trillion. This gap requires countries to mobilise public and private resources both domestically and internationally. Yet, spiralling debt and uncertain prospects of economic outlook – which will be further exacerbated in the current context - are holding many developing countries back. In 2022, it is estimated that these countries will require $311 billion to service public external debt, amounting to 13.6 per cent of government revenues.
“Strengthening fiscal systems can certainly help raise additional domestic resources in all countries.”
“And finally – civic space. I wish to conclude on what I think is the most crucial – and valuable – element of building resilience in times of crisis. These are times for greater – not less - transparency and broader space for civic engagement and participation if we are serious about our commitments to build transformative and greener societies. A vibrant civic space is a lever of a stable, secure society. Yet, we continue documenting attacks against defenders and journalists, off-line and online, worldwide.”
“We cannot separate progress on economic goals, such as reducing poverty, from the rights of those who are the intended beneficiaries of those developments – including the right of those people to be heard.”
For more information and media requests, please contact for more information and media requests, please contact: For more information and media requests, please contact for more information and media requests, please contact: Ravina Shamdasani - + 41 22 917 9169 / ravina.shamdasani@un.org or or Marta Hurtado - + 41 22 917 9466 / marta.hurtadogomez@un.org
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Edited News , Press Conferences | HRC
Sudan crisis: Rights investigators demand arms embargo extension to end ‘rampant’ abuses
Top human rights investigators into Sudan’s brutal war called on Friday for a country-wide arms embargo as they recounted harrowing testimony of victims of horrific sexual attacks whose bodies are viewed as a “theatre of operation” by fighters acting with total impunity.
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Edited News | OHCHR
The UN Human Rights Spokesperson Ravina Shamdasani provided the following update on the detained UN staff in Yemen, at the bi-weekly press briefing in Geneva.
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Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
The human rights situation in Nicaragua has seriously deteriorated since last year, with increasing cases of arbitrary detentions, intimidation of opponents, ill-treatment in custody and attacks against Indigenous peoples, according to a report by the UN Human Rights Office released today.
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Edited News | WHO , UNICEF
Gaza: UN humanitarian agencies ahead of their targets for polio vaccinations, says WHO
The UN World Health Organization (WHO) said on Tuesday that 161,030 children under 10 years of age had been vaccinated in central Gaza after the first two days of the UN-led mass vaccination campaign, surpassing the initial target of 156,000. The figure amounts to about a quarter of the total population needing to be reached - some 640,000 children.
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Edited News | UNRWA
The UN-led mass polio vaccination campaign entered its second day in central Gaza on Monday with pauses in fighting holding sufficiently for thousands more children to receive their dose, in addition to the 87,000 who received their first round on Sunday, UN agencies said.
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Edited News , Press Conferences | WMO
We must do more to keep the air we breathe clean, says UN weather agency
Unchecked climate change, wildfires and air pollution continue to have “a spiralling, negative impact on health, ecosystems and agriculture”, with millions of deaths attributed to the dirty air we breathe, the UN World Meteorological Organization (WMO) said on Thursday.
According to a new report from the UN agency covering air quality and its impact on the climate, the first eight months of 2024 have seen no let-up in periods of intense heat and persistent droughts around the world, “fuelling the risk of wildfires and air pollution”.
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Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
The UN Human Rights Spokesperson Ravina Shamdasani provided the following update on UN Human Rights Office work in Bangladesh at the bi-weekly press conference.
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Edited News | WHO
Humanitarian pauses in Gaza fighting will enable polio vaccine campaign to begin Sunday, says WHO
The United Nations has reached a tentative agreement with parties involved in the war in Gaza for humanitarian pauses to allow 640,000 children to be vaccinated amid an outbreak of the virus. According to UN World Health Organization (WHO) Representative for the Occupied Palestinian Territories, Dr. Rik Peeperkorn, the two-round vaccination campaign is due to begin on 1 September in central Gaza for three days, then move to the southern and northern areas. A second dose will be administered after four weeks.
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Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
At the bi-weekly press conference in Geneva, Ravina Shamdasani Spokesperson for the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights made the following comments on the recent adoption of the repressive law in Afghanistan.
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Edited News | WHO , OCHA
In Gaza, repeated mass evacuation orders issued by the Israeli military are radically shrinking the space in which aid workers can operate and depriving war-weary Palestinians of desperately needed relief items and health care, UN humanitarians said on Tuesday.
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Edited News | UNITED NATIONS
Geneva Conventions commemoration hears urgent call to respect laws of war
Seventy-five years since the ratification of the Geneva Conventions, a former child soldier-turned foreign minister of Sierra Leone urged greater international support for the key accords, highlighting their importance in rehabilitating him and tens of thousands of his fellow compatriots following the country’s bitter civil war.
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Edited News | OCHA , UNHCR , WHO
Aid teams cite huge challenges in tackling new Sudan cholera outbreak
Protecting war-weary people in Sudan from a second deadly cholera outbreak is proving a huge challenge for aid teams after more than 16 months of heavy fighting, combined with flooding and ongoing access obstacles, they reported on Friday.