10 November 2017 – As the impact of climate change worsens around the world, United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres has called on the global community to redouble efforts to help countries respond to climate shocks, especially the most vulnerable.

&#8220I am encouraged to see climate action taking hold, at all scales, at all levels, involving an ever-wider coalition of actors and institutions,&#8221 said the Secretary-General, at a press stakeout at the UN Headquarters, in New York.

&#8220But we need to do more,&#8221 he underlined.

In his remarks, the UN chief said that he will be travelling to Bonn to participate in the UN Climate Change Conference (COP23), where, he will urge efforts to accelerate climate action as well as to raise ambition to do more.

&#8220The window of opportunity to meet the 2-degree target may close in 20 years or less &#8211 and we may have only five years to bend the emissions curve towards 1.5 degrees,&#8221 he said, noting the need for a further 25 per cent cut in emissions by 2020.

Speaking on the need for bolstering finance, Mr. Guterres called for mobilizing the agreed $100 billion annually for developing countries, which is crucial to spur action.

He also said that in September 2019, he will convene a Climate Summit to mobilize political and economic energy at the highest levels.

&#8220I ask world leaders to show courage in combatting entrenched interests; wisdom in investing in the opportunities of the future; and compassion in caring what kind of world we build for our children,&#8221 he said.

&#8220As a former politician myself, I have no doubt that in today’s world, this is the path to progress today and a meaningful legacy for tomorrow.&#8221

Also at the stakeout, the UN chief informed that before Bonn, he will visit the Philippines to attend the UN-ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) Summit, and after participating at COP23, he will deliver an address at the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) University of London on counter-terrorism and human rights on Thursday, 16 November.

&#8220As the world responds to modern terrorism, our goal must be to win the fight while upholding our values,&#8221 he said.

9 November 2017 – Surviving victims can help shape effective strategies to counter terrorism, a senior United Nations counter-terrorism official said on Thursday, pledging to provide practical, pragmatic and realistic support to victims.

“Victims are powerful and credible messengers,” the Under-Secretary-General of the UN Counter-Terrorism Office, Vladimir Voronkov, at a roundtable discussion on victims’ resiliency in New York. “And I promise that we will continue to make victims our priority,” he added.

To rectify a deficit of information on and for victims, the UN Victims of Terrorism Support Portal was created in June 2014. It has grown in strength, attracting more and more users to its site, he said.

The UN Office of Counter-Terrorism has also commissioned a series of documentaries on victims of terrorism. Created together with the Department of Public Information (DPI), the series provides a platform to give victims a voice on a variety of issues.

At Thursday’s event, the documentary Surviving Terrorism: Victims’ Voices from Norway, offered an intimate portrayal of two victims of the July 2011 mass killings by Anders Breivik.

The film showed the lives of Ms. Kamzy Gunaratnam and Mr. Viljar Hanssen as they recover from the attack and turn their experiences into something positive.

“Building a resilient society is a powerful tool in the fight against terrorism,” Mr. Voronkov said at the earlier discussion. “A society that is resilient is more likely to uphold human rights and the rule of law, and not give into the grievances of terrorists.”

9 November 2017 – While there had been a period of de-escalation in many areas of war-riven Syria – reducing human suffering to some extent – the fighting now seems to be returning to some of the “bleakest days” of the conflict, a senior United Nations official warned Thursday.

The situation is particularly concerning in eastern Ghouta, near the capital Damascus, where some 400,000 men, women and children are living in besieged towns and villages, and extremely high prices have put food and basic supplies beyond reach. There are fears that conditions could get much worse as winter closes in and temperatures could plummet to freezing.

“[They have been through] a seven-year war, longer than the second World War,” Jan Egeland, the Special Advisor to the UN Special Envoy for Syria, told journalists after a meeting of the Humanitarian Task Force in Geneva.

“With little, if any, reserves, no heat in their houses and living amid ruin, [for them] it will be a horrific winter,” he warned.

Since September, eastern Ghouta, on the outskirts of the capital, Dmascus, has been completely cut off and the sole life-line for those still there are humanitarian convoys which, when successful in getting to the location, brings in food and medical supplies.

There are also growing numbers of acutely malnourished children, noted Mr. Egeland, calling on the parties to the conflict to allow medical evacuation urgently.

An estimated 400 patients – about three quarters of whom are women and children – need to be evacuated.

“We have confirmation that seven patients died because they were not evacuated and a list of 29 critical cases […] including 18 children, among them young Hala, Khadiga, Mounir and Bassem […] they all have a name, they all have a story, they all have to be evacuated now,” stressed the Senior Advisor.

Evacuation, is however, not the solution, he stressed, calling for the fighting and shelling to stop.

Further, the UN envoy informed that the situation is equally dire in Berm, a desolate area in south-east Syria, where as many as 55,000 civilians are in need of assistance but the last time relief was able to reach them was in June.

Also in his remarks, Mr. Egeland also said that a trilateral mechanism, initiated by Russia, and having the UN and Syria onboard, offers hope to help address problems.

“[The mechanism] had its first meetings. It still hasn’t produced the results needed, but it is our strong feeling that Russia wants us to get the access and wants to help us, so we are hopeful that this trilateral mechanism will yield results soon,” he added.

9 November 2017 – One out of every four people in Central African Republic (CAR) is either displaced or living as a refugee in another country, a senior United Nations official said Thursday, urging the international community to provide more resources for a humanitarian plan that up to now is only partially funded.

“The aid community has very limited capacities and is struggling to provide basic services” outside of the main two cities, Najat Rochdi, told journalists in New York, saying the situation hinders on “life and death.”

Briefing on the latest humanitarian developments in CAR – where she is the Deputy Special Representative for the UN Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission (MINUSCA) and UN Resident Coordinator – Ms. Rochdi said the nearly $500 million Humanitarian Response Plan for 2017 is only about 39 per cent funded.

“This is not the time to give up on the people of CAR,” Ms. Rochdi said, highlighting “unprecedented levels of hunger” in a country where people are dependent on agriculture, and where women and children are particularly vulnerable.

In addition to food, one of the main concerns in CAR is the lack of medicines and access to healthcare. Some 60 per cent of the health structures are managed by international organizations and non-governmental organizations, according to today’s briefing.

“Underfunding hampers the ability to respond,” said Ms. Rochide. “Failing to address the current needs will hamper all;” affecting not only the country but the entire central African region.

She pleaded for the international community to “leave no stone unturned and leave no one behind.”

The security situation continued to deteriorate since May 2017, relapsing into violence that could lead to peak levels not seen since 2014, “some along ethnic lines”, said Ms. Rochdi.

She warned that the high number of people displaced from their homes renders reconciliation between the predominantly Muslim and the predominantly Catholic communities, as well as rebuilding services and homes destroyed in the fighting, extremely difficult.

UN Secretary-General António Guterres visited CAR last month, highlighting a crisis that he said had been largely forgotten by the international community. During the visit, he travelled to the PK5 area, a traditionally Muslim section of the capital Bangui, that had been the site of violence. He also met with local Christian leaders who spoke of reconciliation.

Peacekeepers from MINUSCA are working to protect people from communal tensions and stabilize areas where fighting had taken place.

9 November 2017 – The cost of importing food is rising in 2017, driven by increased international demand for most food stuffs, as well as higher freight charges, the United Nations agriculture agency said Thursday.

While food commodity prices have been generally stable, the cost of importing food is forecast to rise six per cent in 2017 to $1.413 trillion, making it the second highest bill on record, according to the latest Food Outlook published by the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), expressing concern about the economic and social impact of this trend on poor countries.

The food import bills are set to increase by double-digit rates for least-developed countries (LDCs) and low-income food-deficit countries.

In the livestock and dairy sectors, the meat import bill is set to reach a record $176 billion this year, up 22 per cent from 2016, and the FAO Butter Price Index has risen 41 per cent so far in 2017.

The prices of a popular high-quality variety of wheat, ‘US Hard Red Spring,’ with enough protein content to make noodles and pasta, was 40 per cent higher in July 2017 than a year ago.

Aromatic rice varieties have risen eight times faster than the FAO All Rice Index, which is up four per cent on the year.

However, the higher import costs come at a time when inventories are robust, harvest forecasts are strong and food commodity markets remain well supplied.

Export of tropical fruits is promising for poverty relief and rural development as almost all production takes place in developing countries.

Export volumes of mango, pineapple, avocado and papayas are on course to achieve a total combined value of $10 billion this year, according to the Food Outlook.

Currently 95 per cent of output is consumed locally, but rising incomes and changing consumer preferences will likely boost export volumes, especially if freer trade and better market access stimulates further technological gains in distribution.

In sub-Saharan Africa, production of cassava &#8211 one of the fastest-expanding staple crops at the global level and the third most important source of calories in the tropics, after rice and maize &#8211 may reach a record high this year of 156 million metric tonnes.