8 November 2017 – As the number of people displaced worldwide due to climate change-related events continues to grow, the United Nations and its partners are focusing on regional approaches, framed by existing international practice, to respond to the issue of ‘climate refugees.’

The number of disaster displacements on annual average between 2008 and 2016 amounted to 25.3 million, according to figures released by the Norwegian Refugee Council. The five countries globally that have the highest proportion of their population affected by displacements are all island States: Cuba, Fiji, Philippines, Tonga and Sri Lanka.

“During this hurricane season alone for example, we saw the displacement of 1.7 million people in Cuba ¬– that’s the equivalent of 15 per cent of its population,” said Camila Minerva, Humanitarian Programme Manager with Oxfam in the Dominican Republic, during a press conference on ‘human mobility and climate change’ at the UN Climate Conference (COP23), in Bonn, Germany.

“The poorest and the most marginalized are five times more likely to be displaced and to remain so for longer time than people in higher income countries and it is increasing with climate change,” she added.

Mariam Traore, Migration, environment and climate change specialist with the UN Migration Agency (IOM) said that it is also important to remember that the slow onset effect of climate change makes people move and migrate, sometimes in a forced way.

“In a country like Bangladesh, we did a survey last year and 40 per cent of the households we interviewed told us that climate change contributed directly to their decision to migrate,” she added.

In this context, some have suggested to create a climate refugee status, protecting those forced to leave their country because of the impacts of climate change.

“The refugee legal status is provided by the 1951 Refugee Convention, which is very clear on what [basis refugee status is conferred], which is basically persecution,” said Marine Franck, Programme Officer (climate change), Division of International Protection, in the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).

“In the context of climate change displacement, there might be cases where there is persecution involved where this refugee status could apply but in most cases, it doesn’t,” she added.

She recalled that in 2011, States had suggested that UNHCR create a new status of refugee for people displaced because of climate change. “But some States were not ready at all for that,” she stated.

Ms. Franck stressed that this issue of broadening the scope of refugee protection “is not necessarily desirable, because there is a risk of undermining the refugees fleeing persecution and violent conflict.” Moreover, she explained: “We would need also to renegotiate the Convention and there is no appetite for that from States and it might not be the most effective protection tool.”

UNHCR thinks it is better to look at what exists at the regional level and try to have a bottom-up approach with broadening at the regional level using practices that are effective. She mentioned humanitarian protection visas, temporary protection and stay arrangements, as well as migration laws that can provide real protection.

“It is much more effective because States are going to look at what their neighbours are doing and may adopt the same kind of procedures, rather than if we adopt a global convention or a new category […] it might not be easy to negotiate and it is not also sure that States will then implement it properly,” Ms. Franck said.

8 November 2017 – The United Nations and the United Arab Emirates have underscored their commitment to work together in the peaceful uses of outer space.

This follows the signing of an agreement between the heads of the UN Office for Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA) and the UAE Space Agency on Wednesday.

The ceremony was held during the High-Level Forum on Space as a Driver for Socio-Economic Sustainable Development, jointly organized by the two agencies and taking place this week in Dubai.

Through the agreement, known as a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), UNOOSA and the UAE Space Agency will work on capacity-building initiatives in both the technical and legal aspects of the peaceful uses of outer space.

They also will undertake joint research projects on the use of space technology and applications for economic and social benefits, in addition to promoting and coordinating regional cooperation on these topics.

“Together we will work on a number of initiatives to promote and facilitate the peaceful uses of outer space and the use of space as a tool for the achievement of the 2030 Agenda […] and its 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs),” said UNOOSA Director Simonetta Di Pippo, pointing to, among others, a particular focus on the Middle East region, as well as science, technology, engineering and mathematics education (STEM), especially for women and girls.

The five-year MOU also addresses the UAE Space Agency’s support for the commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the first UN conference on space.

That event, known as UNISPACE+50, will take place in June of next year and will provide an opportunity for the international community to consider the future course of global space cooperation.

Wednesday’s session of the High-Level Forum also saw the announcement of a proposal by Thailand to host a regional office for UNOOSA.

Representatives from around 50 countries are attending the High-Level Forum in Dubai, which concludes on Thursday.

8 November 2017 – Recent escalation of fighting in close proximity of critical infrastructure and services in Donetsk, eastern Ukraine, could endanger over a million lives, the top United Nations official in the country has warned.

&#8220As we enter winter, any disruption of essential services, such as water and heating amid freezing temperatures could have grave consequences,&#8221 said Neal Walker, the UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator in Ukraine, in a statement Wednesday.

&#8220I remind all parties to the conflict of their obligation to respect civilian infrastructure and to protect civilians. Any intentional disruption of access to quality water supply or critical heating systems is a clear violation of International Humanitarian Law,&#8221 he underscored.

In the past six days, the Donetsk Filter Station has been shelled for three consecutive nights. Another station, the Verkhniokalmiuska Filter Station, was hit more than a dozen times in a single night.

Stations such as these provide clean water to some 1.1 million people on both sides of the 459-kilometre ‘contact line’ dividing eastern Ukraine. Furthermore, these stations are also essential to keep heating systems functioning.

&#8220Without sustained water supply, heating systems will stop and health conditions will deteriorate. Children, the elderly, women and people with disabilities may flee their homes in search of heat and shelter,&#8221 noted Mr. Walker.

Such an escalation, so close to critical infrastructure, risks prompting a severe deterioration of the ongoing humanitarian crisis on Europe’s doorstepNeal Walker, UN Humanitarian Coordinator

At the same time, the fighting has also prompted concerns over the possible release of hazardous chlorine gas stored at the two filter stations.

If a single 900-kilogram gas container is hit, anyone within 200 meters might receive fatal dose of the poisonous gas.

The conflict, now in its fourth year, continues to take a toll on civilians, denying the most vulnerable of their basic needs as well as their safety and protection.

&#8220In this protracted crisis, millions of families trapped in active hostilities and people displaced are losing hope for a future,&#8221 said the UN official, calling on parties to uphold their responsibility to facilitate the access of humanitarian organizations to provide critical services for the most vulnerable Ukrainians affected by the conflict.

7 November 2017 – The Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL/Da’esh) was responsible for using sulfur mustard in a September 2016 attack in Umm Hawsh and the Syrian Government was accountable for the release of sarin in an April 2017 attack in Khan Shaykhun, the head of a Security Council-mandated investigation said Tuesday.

“There has been sufficient evidence of a credible and reliable nature to make its findings,” said Edmond Mulet, Head of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons-UN Joint Investigative Mechanism (OPCW-UN JIM), during a briefing on the entity’s latest findings, released on 26 October.

He said that despite the challenges of investigating complex cases during an armed conflict, the Mechanism has taken great care to ensure that its methodology and findings were technically and scientifically sound.

He said the Mechanism has been guided by the terms of reference approved by the Security Council, conducting its work “in an independent, impartial and professional manner.”

Mr. Mulet noted that 12 Member States provided case-specific information, including Syria. The Mechanism interviewed over 30 witnesses and reviewed 2,247 photographs, 1,284 video files, 120 audio files and 639 documents. Technical teams visited Damascus and the Al-Shayrat air base in September and October. Syria has engaged constructively with the Mechanism.

Although it was too dangerous to visit Umm Hawh and Khan Shaykum, the panel considered that sufficient information had been gathered to come to a solid conclusion. The Mechanism has also obtained independent expert analysis and assessments and consulted with several international recognized experts in energetic materials and the medical effects of chemical warfare agents. It cross-checked witness statements and ensured that information gathered was credible and reliable. As for the 15-16 September 2016 incident, two women were found to have been exposed to sulfur mustard at Umm Hawsh, he said. A mortar shell containing sulfur mustard hit the house of one of the victims and a second shell containing the chemical agent was recovered lodged in the pavement. Based on the positioning of ISIL and the forensic assessment that the mortar shell came from the direction of areas held by that group, the panel is confident that ISIL was responsible for the use of the mortar shells containing sulfur mustard. As for the 4 April incident involving sarin, it killed around 100 people in Khan Shaykhun. The Mechanism examined eight possible scenarios, including that the incident might have been staged to place responsibility on the Government of Syria, he said. The Mechanism has carefully put together pieces of a complex puzzle, of which some parts are still missing. It could not establish with certainty that the aircraft which delivered the chemical bomb had taken off from Al Shayrat air base, or the type of plane involved. However, Syrian aircraft was in the immediate vicinity of Khan Shaykhun at the time of the bombing. The crater was determined by experts to have been most likely caused by the impact of an aerial bomb travelling at high velocity. In-depth laboratory study into the chemistry of sarin has revealed that the nerve gas used was very likely to have been made from the same precursor chemical that had come from the original stockpile of Syria, based on unique markers. He said the panel is confident that when taken together, all those elements constituted unmistakable evidence that Syria was responsible for the use of sarin at Khan Shaykun. It is now up to the Council to consider the next steps, he said, asking the 15-member body that in doing so, it also consider the victims of those insidious acts. “Impunity must not prevail,” he said, pointing out that today, news about another instance of the use of chemical weapons in Syria has been received.

Briefing on the work of the Organisation for Prohibition of Chemical Weapons

Also briefing the Council was Izumi Nakamitsu, High Representative for Disarmament Affairs, who gave an update on the work of OPCW.

Izumi Nakamitsu, UN High Representative for Disarmament Affairs, briefs the Security Council. UN Photo/Cia Pak

Following a long-standing delay in gaining access, the OPCW is now conducting a visit to two stationary above-ground facilities to confirm their condition. This is the first step in the process of OPCW verification of the destruction of these facilities. She also expressed regret that neither the information provided during the consultations nor the latest submissions by the Syrian Arab Republic have enabled the resolution of all identified gaps, inconsistencies and discrepancies in Syria’s declaration. Efforts to resolve these issues have been hampered by a lack of original historical records, as well as an ongoing lack of access to and engagement with senior leaders and officials who have an overarching knowledge of the Syrian chemical weapons programme, she said. On 2 November, the OPCW Fact-Finding Mission submitted its report on the alleged incident of the use of chemical weapons at Ltamenah on 30 March 2017. Given the limitations in some evidence, the Mission was not able to determine “with absolute certainty” the use of a chemical weapon, but was able to determine the presence of sarin on samples that came from the alleged site of the incident. These most recent findings are deeply concerning – all the more so in view of the fact that the mandate of the OPCW-UN JIM is set to end on 16 November. “Allegations of the use of chemical weapons in Syria have not ceased and therefore nor has the need to identify and hold accountable those responsible for their use,” she said. “The unity of the Security Council will be necessary in order to avoid impunity for the use of these abhorrent weapons.”

7 November 2017 – The Security Council on Tuesday extended the authorization of the European Union-led multinational stabilization force in Bosnia and Herzegovina for an additional year, following an analysis by a United Nations envoy that a resurgence of divisive nationalism is threatening to take the country backwards.

“Bosnia and Herzegovina is a complex political and security environment, where negative scenarios can quickly endanger the Dayton Peace Agreement and the progress achieved so far,” Valentin Inzko, the High Representative for Bosnia and Herzegovina, told the Security Council.

“For this reason, I am firmly convinced that there is still the necessity to maintain the EU military force on the ground with an executive mandate,” he said.

Unanimously adopting a resolution, the 15-member Council recognized the right of both European Union Force Althea (EUFOR ALTHEA) and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) presence to take all necessary measures to defend themselves from attack or threat of attack and authorized Member States to assist both organizations in carrying out their missions.

The Council also urged all parties to step up the implementation of comprehensive reforms, in an inclusive manner, to the benefit of all citizens and in line with the European perspective the country is committed to, calling on them to refrain from any polarizing policy, action and rhetoric.

Mr. Inzko noted that more than 25 years have passed since Bosnia and Herzegovina joined the United Nations in 1992, and more than two decades have passed since the tragic conflict came to an end in 1995.

The country has since made remarkable progress in many ways, he said, highlighting that the state institutions provided for under the Peace Agreement were established and the three armies that fought each other were unified into one.

Today the country is at a crucial moment in its history, as leaders of all ethnic affiliations aspire to join the European Union and are working towards fulfilling the requirements necessary for the country to be granted EU candidate status, he said.

However, he continued, “As progress on economic and political reforms has significantly slowed down over the last ten years, divisive nationalism and persistent challenges to the Peace Agreement and the institutional arrangements provided for under that agreement have threatened to take the country backwards.”

Over the last six months, many key political actors in Bosnia and Herzegovina have been unwilling to search for the compromises needed to adopt necessary reforms.

And with the general elections expected to take place next year, many political leaders have already started exchanging divisive rhetoric rooted in the past and an early electoral agenda have slowed the pace of reform and affected the political climate, he said.

In July, the Constitutional Court struck down provisions of the election law regulating indirect elections to the Federation House of Peoples. If the House is not formed after the next elections, this will most likely prevent the formation of a Federation government and the formation of one chamber of the state-level parliament.

“I want to call attention to this issue now, while there is still time for the parties in parliament to address the problem ahead of the 2018 elections,” he said.

Also, in October, the Republika Srpksa National Assembly adopted a resolution which asserts the entity’s neutrality vis-a-vis integration with NATO.

He insisted that foreign policy is an exclusive responsibility of the state institutions.

In conclusion, Mr. Inzko outlined the major challenges for the political leaders and institutions in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

These include completion of the actions needed to achieve the next steps in Euro-Atlantic integration, ensuring that the 2018 elections can be held and their results implemented smoothly, and the rule of law under which the decisions of courts and the Dayton Peace Agreement are respected and implemented, he said.