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☆ U.N. aid chief raises women's rights concerns with Taliban in Afghan capital
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-23 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

KABUL, Jan 23 (Reuters) - The United Nations' aid chief visited Kabul on Monday and raised concerns over women's education and work with the Taliban administration's acting minister of foreign affairs, an Afghan ministry statement said. U.N. Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs Martin Griffiths raised the issue of women's education and work and how this affected the U.N.'s operations, according to a ministry of foreign affairs statement. He said Griffiths would "underscore the message that humanitarian aid cannot be delivered without women." No foreign government has formally recognised the Taliban administration since it seized power, with some diplomats saying it must change course on women's rights. Enforcement of sanctions and a cut in development aid have contributed to the country falling into an economic crisis which has left more than half the population dependent on humanitarian aid, aimed at meeting urgent needs.

☆ Taliban asks to keep getting UN aid money despite ending education for women
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-16 | by ( Sophia Ankel | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

The Taliban in Afghanistan recently banned women from universities, and working with NGOs. In response, the UN has said it cannot continue to supply the Taliban with humanitarian aid. But the Taliban still asked for support, arguing humanitarian aid shouldn't be "linked" to politics. Then, less than a week later, it banned women from working for non-governmental organizations. UN flights carrying stacks of cash for humanitarian aid into Kabul had already been suspended, he said.

☆ U.N. aid chief to visit Afghanistan over female aid worker ban
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-29 | by ( Michelle Nichols | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

UNITED NATIONS, Dec 29 (Reuters) - U.N. aid chief Martin Griffiths will visit Afghanistan in the coming weeks and will seek to meet the highest possible officials within the Taliban-led administration after it banned female aid workers, a senior U.N. official said on Thursday. Alakbarov said that the humanitarian needs in Afghanistan were "enormous" and the United Nations was committed to staying and delivering help. He said the United Nations was actively working to get the ban reversed. The ban on female aid workers was announced by the Islamist Taliban-led administration on Saturday. The Taliban-led administration has not been recognised internationally.

☆ U.N. halts some programs in Afghanistan after ban on women aid workers
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-28 | by ( Michelle Nichols | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

UNITED NATIONS, Dec 28 (Reuters) - The United Nations said on Wednesday that some "time-critical" programs in Afghanistan have temporarily stopped and warned many other activities will also likely need to be paused because of a ban by the Taliban-led administration on women aid workers. "Banning women from humanitarian work has immediate life-threatening consequences for all Afghans. But we foresee that many activities will need to be paused as we cannot deliver principled humanitarian assistance without female aid workers." The ban on female aid workers was announced by the Islamist Taliban-led administration on Saturday. Four major global groups, whose humanitarian aid has reached millions of Afghans, said on Sunday that they were suspending operations because they were unable to run their programs without female staff.

☆ U.N. Security Council denounces Taliban bans on women in Afghanistan
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-27 | by ( Michelle Nichols | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

UNITED NATIONS, Dec 27 (Reuters) - The U.N. Security Council on Tuesday called for the full, equal and meaningful participation of women and girls in Afghanistan, denouncing a ban by the Taliban-led administration on women attending universities or working for humanitarian aid groups. In a statement agreed by consensus, the 15-member council said the ban on women and girls attending high school and universities in Afghanistan "represents an increasing erosion for the respect of human rights and fundamental freedoms." The university ban on women was announced as the Security Council in New York met on Afghanistan last week. "These restrictions contradict the commitments made by the Taliban to the Afghan people as well as the expectations of the international community," said the Security Council, which also expressed its full support for the U.N. political mission in Afghanistan, known as UNAMA. They had largely banned education of girls when last in power two decades ago but had said their policies had changed.

☆ UN aid chief to visit Kherson on Ukraine trip amid power outages
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-12 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

KYIV, Dec 12 (Reuters) - U.N. aid chief Martin Griffiths arrived in Ukraine on a four-day trip on Monday as officials raced to repair energy facilities hit by Russian air strikes that have caused winter power outages. The under-secretary-general for humanitarian affairs and emergency relief coordinator will visit the southern city of Mykolaiv as well as the frontline city of Kherson, which was liberated last month, the United Nations said. "Griffiths will see the impact of the humanitarian response and new challenges that have arisen as infrastructure damage mounts amid freezing winter temperatures," it said. It said in a statement that nearly 18 million people – around 40% of Ukraine's population – need humanitarian aid. Reporting by Tom Balmforth; editing by Timothy HeritageOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Heaviest Ukraine fighting rages in the east, NATO seeks to sustain support against Russia
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-01 | by ( ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +4 min

This brutalization of Ukraine’s people is barbaric,” Blinken told a news conference in Bucharest following a two-day NATO meeting. At the NATO foreign ministers meeting, allies Wednesday pledged to help Moldova, Georgia and Bosnia-Herzegovina as they face pressure from Russia, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg and ministers said. Russia invaded Ukraine in February in what it calls a “special military operation” to rid Ukraine of nationalists it considers dangerous. “We are analyzing the intentions of the occupiers and preparing countermeasures — tougher countermeasures than is now the case,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in an address Wednesday evening. “We haven’t seen these Iranian unmanned aerial vehicles for about two weeks ... the first batch has probably already run out,” he told Ukraine’s main television network.

☆ From Ukraine to Yemen, UN seeks record $51.5 bln for 'shockingly high' aid needs
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-01 | by ( Emma Farge | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

The appeal represents a 25% increase on 2022 and is more than five times the amount sought a decade ago. "Humanitarian needs are shockingly high, as this year's extreme events are spilling into 2023," said U.N. Emergency Relief Coordinator Martin Griffiths, citing the war in Ukraine and drought in the Horn of Africa. But donor funding is already under strain with the multiple crises, forcing aid workers to make tough decisions on priorities. Unlike in other parts of the U.N. where fees depend on countries' economic size, humanitarian funding is voluntary and relies overwhelmingly on Western donations.

☆ -U.N. aid chief to ask for 25% more aid money globally in 2023
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-30 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

NEW YORK, Nov 30 (Reuters) - The United Nations will ask for 25% more money to fund humanitarian aid operations globally in 2023, U.N. aid chief Martin Griffiths told a Reuters NEXT event on Wednesday. He also said that he understands that a famine will not yet be declared in Somalia, but he warned: "We can assume that in Somalia and soon in Ethiopia, where the numbers will be much worse ... people are dying already of hunger and starvation." Reporting by Michelle NicholsOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ U.N. says deal close on resuming Russia ammonia exports via Ukraine
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-30 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

Nov 30 (Reuters) - U.N. aid chief Martin Griffiths said on Wednesday a deal is close on resuming Russian ammonia exports through a pipeline to a Ukrainian Black Sea port. "I think we're quite close, we're edging towards it this week," Griffiths told a Reuters NEXT event. Reporting by Michelle Nichols; editing by Ismail ShakilOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Heaviest Ukraine fighting rages in east, West seeks to sustain support against Russia
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-30 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

[1/2] Ukrainian servicemen fire with a Bureviy multiple launch rocket system at a position in Donetsk region, as Russia's attack on Ukraine continues, Ukraine November 29, 2022. In Washington, a $1.2 billion contract for six National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile Systems (NASAMS) for Ukraine was awarded to Raytheon, the Pentagon said. At the NATO foreign ministers meeting, allies on Wednesday pledged to help Moldova, Georgia and Bosnia-Herzegovina as they face pressure from Russia, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg and ministers said. Russia invaded Ukraine nine months ago in what it calls a "special military operation" to rid Ukraine of nationalists it considers dangerous. "We haven't seen these Iranian unmanned aerial vehicles for about two weeks ... the first batch has probably already run out," he told Ukraine's main television network.

☆ U.N. begins talks with Russia on Black Sea grains deal
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-11 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

GENEVA, Nov 11 (Reuters) - Talks between a Russian delegation and senior U.N. officials to address Moscow's grievances about the Black Sea grains export initiative began in Geneva on Friday, a U.N. spokesperson said. The negotiations come just eight days before the deal brokered by the United Nations and Turkey in July is due to be renewed. The accord has helped stave off a global food crisis by allowing the export of food and fertilisers from several of Ukraine's Black Sea ports. Moscow has indicated that it is prepared to quit the deal, which could expire on Nov. 19, if progress is not made on its concerns. It said it was responding to a drone attack on Moscow's fleet in Crimea that it blamed on Ukraine.

☆ U.N., Russia to talk Ukraine grain deal on Friday ahead of extension deadline
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-09 | by ( Michelle Nichols | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The deal allowing the export of food and fertilizers from several of Ukraine's Black Sea ports - brokered by the United Nations and Turkey on July 22 - could expire on Nov. 19 if Russia or Ukraine object to its extension. A key part of the July package deal is also facilitating exports of Russian grain and fertilizer exports. The United Nations has said that Russian grain exports have increased, but that work needed to be done to alleviate a chilling effect of Western sanctions on Russian fertilizer exports. If Russia did so, however, Putin said it would not impede shipments of grain from Ukraine to Turkey. More than 10 million tonnes of grain and other food has been exported from Ukraine under the deal, according to the United Nations.

LONDON, Oct 31 (Reuters) - Lloyd’s of London insurer Ascot is suspending writing cover for new shipments using the Ukrainian grains corridor in the Black Sea until it has more clarity about the situation there, a senior official said on Monday. Moscow said it was forced to pull out of the Black Sea grain shipping deal after blasts damaged Russian navy ships in the Crimean port of Sevastopol on Saturday. "From today we are pausing on quoting new shipments until we better understand the situation,” Ascot head of cargo Chris McGill told Reuters. Ascot and broker Marsh launched a facility for grain traders in late July to provide up to $50 million in cargo cover for every voyage. Russia's announcement on Saturday that it was suspending its role in the U.N.-backed programme that escorts cargo ships through the Black Sea fanned fears it would reimpose a blockade on Ukrainian grain.

☆ U.N. says no ships in grain corridor when Russia says it was attacked
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-31 | by ( Michelle Nichols | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

UNITED NATIONS, Oct 31 (Reuters) - The United Nations on Monday said no ships involved in a U.N.-brokered Ukraine Black Sea grain export deal were transiting a maritime humanitarian corridor on the night of Oct. 29, when Russia says its vessels in Crimea were attacked. Russia has accused Ukraine of using air and maritime drones to target vessels in the Bay of Sevastopol early on Saturday. "Today 12 ships sailed out from Ukrainian ports and two headed in to load food," Griffiths told the 15-member council. The package deal also aims to facilitate exports of Russian grain and fertilizer exports. Griffiths heads talks on Ukrainian exports, while senior U.N. trade official Rebeca Grynspan leads discussions on Russian food and fertilizer exports.

ISTANBUL, Oct 29 (Reuters) - Russia said on Saturday it was pulling out of a deal aimed at unlocking Ukrainian grain and fertiliser exports from Black Sea ports and easing global food shortages. TIME FRAMEThe deal signed on July 22 was valid for 120 days and the United Nations expected it to be renewed unless the war had ended by then. Under the deal, Ukrainian pilots guide the ships along safe channels in its territorial waters, with a minesweeper vessel on hand but no military escorts. Monitored by the JCC, the ships then transit the Black Sea to Turkey's Bosphorus strait and off to world markets. He added the deal had been successful in bringing food prices down and boosting export quantities.

☆ Russia suspends participation in deal on Ukraine grain exports
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-29 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Oct 29 (Reuters) - Russia has suspended participation in a U.N.-brokered deal to export agricultural produce from Ukrainian ports following attacks on ships in Crimea, TASS quoted the defence ministry as saying on Saturday. Russia said that Ukrainian forces, with the help of drones, attacked ships from the Black Sea Fleet in Sevastopol, the biggest city in Russian-annexed Crimea, in the early hours of Saturday. United Nations aid chief Martin Griffiths had said only on Wednesday that he was "relatively optimistic" that the deal that allowed a resumption of Ukraine Black Sea grain exports would be extended beyond mid-November. Under the July 22 agreement, Ukraine was able to restart its Black Sea grain and fertilizer exports, which had stalled when Russia invaded its neighbor on Feb. 24. The Ukraine export deal was initially agreed for 120 days.

☆ Russia halts Ukraine Black Sea grain exports, citing attack on Crimea
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-29 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

in the sea port in Odesa after restarting grain export, as Russia's attack on Ukraine continues, Ukraine August 19, 2022. Russia said the step, which will cut Ukrainian grain exports from its crucial Black Sea ports, was taken due to the drone attack and the participation of British specialists. 'HUNGER GAMES'Since Russia and Ukraine signed the U.N.-backed Black Sea Grain Initiative in Turkey on July 22, more than 9 million tonnes of corn, wheat, sunflower products, barley, rapeseed and soya have been exported from Ukraine. But ahead of the Nov. 19 expiry of the grain deal, which allows Ukrainian Black Sea grain exports, Russia has repeatedly said that there are serious problems with it. Russia will officially notify U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres shortly of its suspension of the Ukraine Black Sea grain deal, Russia's Deputy U.N.

☆ Russia says grain deal extension 'directly depends' on easing restrictions on its exports
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-17 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Oct 17 (Reuters) - Russia on Monday told a top United Nations representative that the extension of a landmark Black Sea grain deal was dependent on the West easing Russia's own agricultural and fertiliser exports, the defence ministry said in a statement. In a meeting in Moscow, Russia's deputy defence minister Alexander Fomin told U.N. Under-Secretary-General Martin Griffiths that extending the deal, which unlocked Ukrainian agricultural exports from its southern ports, "directly depends on ensuring full implementation of all previously reached agreements." Russia says the impact of Western sanctions on logistics, payments, shipping and insurance prevents it from exporting fertilisers and chemicals like ammonia and that easing those restrictions was a key part of the deal, brokered in July by Turkey and the United Nations. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterReporting by ReutersOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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