March 25, 2022 – Djibouti News Gazette

March 25, 2022

Russia-Ukraine conflict: UN General Assembly demands Russia end Ukraine war

UNITED NATIONS— The UN General Assembly on Thursday adopted by an overwhelming majority a new non-binding resolution that demands an “immediate” halt to Russia’s war in Ukraine.

At UN headquarters in New York, 140 countries voted in favor, 38 abstained and five voted against the measure, with applause ringing out afterwards.

The vote came after the adoption of a similar non-binding resolution on March 2 that demanded Russia immediately cease its use of force — a vote that was approved by 141 countries.

On Wednesday Ukraine put forward the new resolution, originally prepared by France and Mexico, at an emergency session of the General Assembly.

A competing text by South Africa, which never mentioned Russia by name, received only 50 votes for, 67 against and 36 abstentions, and was therefore not adopted.

The approved resolution specifically implicates Moscow and “demands an immediate cessation of the hostilities by the Russian Federation against Ukraine, in particular of any attacks against civilians and civilian objects.”

The same five countries voted against the resolution Thursday and March 2 — Russia, Syria, North Korea, Belarus and Eritrea.

The US ambassador to the UN, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, welcomed the “strong majority” of member states that approved the resolution.

The countries made clear that “Russia bears sole responsibility for the grave humanitarian crisis and violence in Ukraine,” she said.

“As President Biden has stated clearly, Vladimir Putin will not see victory in Ukraine. And we heard today that he will not see it here in New York either.”

Joe Biden and his Western counterparts gathered in Brussels on Thursday for NATO, G7 and EU summits, with Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky also participated by videolink.

On Wednesday Russia submitted a resolution to the UN Security Council on the “humanitarian situation” in Ukraine — but it was not adopted, with 13 of the 15 member states pointedly abstaining in solidarity over what diplomats said was the text’s unacceptable basis.

Source: NAM NEWS NETWORK

March 25, 2022

Cameroon says hospitals overwhelmed with cholera patients; 12 deaths so far

YAOUNDE— Cameroon’s public health ministry says a cholera outbreak is sweeping across the towns of Limbe, Buea and Tiko, near the border with Nigeria.

The government says 12 of the 600 patients rushed to hospitals in those towns died within the past 72 hours.

Nyenti Annereke, director of the Limbe government hospital, said the facility, which has a capacity of 200 beds, has received more than 240 cholera patients.

“We built three tents in Limbe hospital yesterday because patients were at the veranda, in the corridors of the wards,” he said. “All the beds were full. The Tiko district hospital, the capacity also is overpowered. The hospital in Bota is another crisis zone.”

To cope with the overflow, humanitarian workers are helping to erect tents at the hospitals in Limbe and Buea.

Still, The government says many families are rushing their sick relatives to surrounding towns, including Mutengene and Douala, a commercial hub on the Atlantic coast.

Bernard Okalia Bilai, governor of the South West region where Limbe, Tiko and Buea are located, chaired at least three crisis meetings on Wednesday.

Bilai said the cholera outbreak is caused by a shortage of clean drinking water in western towns and villages provoked by the long dry season and civilians should desist from drinking open stream water. He said the disease is spreading fast because cattle and civilians defecate in the open and in rivers.

“Our structures, the hospitals are overloaded, but thank God that the medical officers in charge of those hospitals have been proactive and they have taken measures to receive various patients,” he said. “All the patients are under treatment.”

Bilai said the government will provide water to arid towns like Limbe, Buea and Tiko and surrounding villages but did not say when.

Meanwhile, health officials are moving from door to door encouraging civilians to boil water from wells and streams before drinking it.

The government says people should also eat only properly cooked food and wash their hands before and after meals, and after using the bathroom.

An earlier cholera outbreak in Cameroon in February affected 1,300 people and killed about three dozen.

Source: NAM NEWS NETWORK

March 25, 2022

UN: Election of new ILO chief wide open

GENEVA— The International Labour Organization will pick its next chief Friday, with the possibility it could place a woman or an African at the helm for the first time.

Five candidates are in the running to succeed British trade unionist Guy Ryder, who will step down at the end of September, after two terms and 10 years in the job.

Observers say that former Togo prime minister Gilbert Houngbo appears to be in a strong position, with backing from most of the Africa and labour representatives.

Former French labour minister Muriel Penicaud is also said to have a good shot, with backing from European countries.

Also in the running are South Korea’s ex-foreign minister Kang Kyung-wha, entrepreneur Mthunzi Mdwaba of South Africa, and ILO deputy Greg Vines of Australia.

Whoever wins, a change is on the cards: the ILO’s 10 chiefs so far have all been men from Europe or the Americas.

Founded in 1919, the ILO is the oldest specialised UN agency, with 187 member states, which are, uniquely in the UN system, represented by governments, employers and workers.

Headquartered in a vast 1960s-designed rationalist rectangular block, the ILO aims to promote rights at work, encourage good employment opportunities, enhance social protection and strengthen dialogue on work-related issues.

The next ILO chief will have their work cut out for them, as the 103-year-old organisation strives to adapt its norms to a world of work rapidly transforming due to evolving technologies.

The Covid-19 pandemic has only sped up those changes, leading to the rapid uptake of virtual technologies to enable remote working.

Friday’s vote will take place behind closed doors, and only members of ILO’s governing body are permitted to participate.

The vote, by secret ballot, will kick off at 10:00 am (0900 GMT), and it could take several rounds of gradually eliminating the candidate with the least votes before one candidate secures a majority.

The governing body counts 56 members, with half of them representing governments, and a quarter each representing employers and workers.

Ten of the government slots are permanently held by countries of significant industrial importance: Brazil, Britain, China, France, Germany, India, Italy, Japan, the United States, and Russia.

That permanent seat means that Russia will be permitted to participate in Friday’s vote, despite an ILO decision earlier this week to suspend all technical cooperation with the country until it halts its war in Ukraine.

Going in, it remains unclear which of the candidates has the backing needed to secure a win.

Houngbo of Togo has been seen in the lead after the African Union threw its weight behind him.

Currently head of the Rome-based International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), he also enjoys strong backing on the labour side.

He has held several high level positions within the UN system previously, including as finance director at the UN Development Programme (UNDP) and as deputy director-general of ILO itself, from 2013-2017.

The International Organisation of Employers (IOE) has meanwhile come out in favour of Mdwaba of South Africa, who currently serves on the ILO board.

If he gets the nod — not a likely outcome, according to observers — he would be the first ever representative of the employer side to take the ILO helm.

Penicaud, who served as France’s labour minister from 2017 to 2020, has meanwhile faced strong union criticism over her role initiating some of President Emmanuel Macron’s major social reforms, including changing labour laws and unemployment insurance.

She was also instrumental in promoting apprenticeships in France and pushing for more gender equality in the workplace.

Kang, who served as South Korea’s first female foreign minister, in post from 2017 to February last year, has a broad UN career behind her, including as policy advisor to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.

But she has faced criticism for lacking labour experience.

Vines, who has served as ILO deputy director-general since 2012 and previously represented Australian unions, could meanwhile provide continuity after Ryder, something seen as a weakness for some of the other candidates.

Source: NAM NEWS NETWORK