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☆ Ethiopia scraps bid to end UN-ordered Tigray abuses probe early - sources
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-23 | by ( Emma Farge | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

GENEVA, March 23 (Reuters) - Ethiopia has dropped a draft motion that sought to bring an early end to a U.N. mandated investigative probe into the Tigray war, diplomats and observers told Reuters, after pressure from Western countries. The International Commission on Ethiopia, the only independent probe into the two-year conflict which pitted Ethiopia's army against forces in the northern Tigray region, has already found reasonable grounds to believe that all parties have committed war crimes. The U.S. also determined this week that all sides including the Ethiopian and Eritrean armies had committed war crimes - allegations they both reject. But five diplomats and human rights sources said Ethiopia had since backed off amid pressure. Ethiopia has opposed the investigation from the outset, calling it politically-motivated and trying to block its funding, preferring national accountability efforts.

☆ Iran violations may amount to crimes against humanity, UN expert says
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-20 | by ( Emma Farge | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Iran has been swept by protests since the death of a young Iranian Kurdish woman, Mahsa Amini, in custody last September. Addressing the Geneva-based council, Javaid Rehman, Special Rapporteur on Iran, said he had evidence that Amini died "as a result of beatings by the state morality police". Rehman, an independent expert, added that the scale and gravity of crimes committed by authorities as part of the repression following her death "points to the possible commission of international crimes, notably the crimes against humanity". People hold flags during a demonstration against the Republic of Iran in the Place des Nations during the Human Rights Council at the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland, February 27, 2023. Evidence assembled by other investigations set up by the U.N. rights council has sometimes been used before international courts.

☆ Russia has committed 'wide range' of war crimes in Ukraine, U.N inquiry finds
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-16 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/2] A flag is seen on a building during the Human Rights Council at the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland February 27, 2023. REUTERS/Denis Balibouse/File PhotoGENEVA, March 16 (Reuters) - Russia has committed wide-ranging war crimes in Ukraine such as wilful killings, torture and the deportation of children, a U.N.-mandated investigative body said in a report published on Thursday. "Russian authorities have committed numerous violationsof international humanitarian law and violations of international human rights law, in addition to a wide range of war crimes...," the report said. Russia denies committing atrocities or targeting civilians in Ukraine. Reporting by Gabrielle Tétrault-Farber and Emma Farge; Editing by Anthony Deutsch and Raissa KasolowskyOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Exodus of healthcare workers from poor countries worsening, WHO says
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-14 | by ( Emma Farge | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

REUTERS/Baz RatnerGENEVA, March 14 (Reuters) - Poorer countries are increasingly losing healthcare workers to wealthier ones as the latter seek to shore up their own staff losses from the COVID-19 pandemic, sometimes through active recruitment, the World Health Organization said on Tuesday. "Health workers are the backbone of every health system, and yet 55 countries with some of the world's most fragile health systems do not have enough and many are losing their health workers to international migration," said Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the WHO director-general. He was referring to a new WHO list of vulnerable countries which has added eight extra states since it was last published in 2020. Some 115,000 healthcare workers died from COVID around the world during the pandemic but many more left their professions due to burnout and depression, he said. Asked which countries were attracting more workers, he said wealthy OECD countries and Gulf states but added that competition between African countries had also intensified.

☆ Free-diver plunges to record depth beneath frozen Swiss lake
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-14 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

David Vencl Organisation/Handout via REUTERSLAKE SILS, Switzerland, March 14 (Reuters) - David Vencl emerged from the depths of Switzerland's Lake Sils on Tuesday after a record dive beneath the ice to a depth of more than 50 meters without a wetsuit. "There is nothing difficult for him to be in cold water... But this was completely different because it's really difficult to work with the pressure in your ears in cold water," he added. "If you combine all these three things: cold water, lack of oxygen and the problem with working with pressure, it's something very unique," he added. Reporting by Denis Balibouse in Lake Sils, Switzerland Writing by Emma Farge Editing by Matthew LewisOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Russia suggests renewing Black Sea grain deal for shorter term
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-13 | by ( Gabrielle Tétrault-Farber | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

The Black Sea grain initiative, brokered between Russia and Ukraine by the United Nations and Turkey last July, aimed to prevent a global food crisis by allowing Ukrainian grain blockaded by Russia's invasion to be safely exported from three Ukrainian ports. Russia, he said, "does not object to another extension of the 'Black Sea Initiative' after its second term expiration on March 18, but only for 60 days." 'CRITICAL MOMENT'The United Nations said it noted the Russian position and that it remained "fully committed to the Black Sea Grain Initiative, as well as to efforts to facilitate the export of Russian food and fertilizer." "The UN Secretary-General has confirmed that the UN will do everything possible to preserve the integrity of the Black Sea Grain Initiative and ensure its continuity," it said in a statement. "To extend it for 60 days, you have to amend the deal."

☆ Talks underway on Black Sea grain deal extension in Geneva
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-13 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

GENEVA, March 13 (Reuters) - Negotiations began on Monday between U.N. officials and Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Vershinin on a possible extension to a deal allowing the safe export of grain from Ukraine's Black Sea ports, the Russian diplomatic mission in Geneva said. The deal, which was extended for 120 days in November, is up for renewal on March 18. Two sources involved with the talks said they were initially scheduled to last just one day but could be extended as needed. "Wheat and corn markets are weaker today as the talks start about extending the safe shipping agreement for Ukraine’s exports," said Matt Ammermann, StoneX commodity risk manager. "As such a large wheat and corn exporter, Ukraine’s supplies are vital to world markets."

☆ Finding COVID-19's origins is a moral imperative: WHO's Tedros
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-12 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

GENEVA, March 12 (Reuters) - Discovering the origins of COVID-19 is a moral imperative and all hypotheses must be explored, the head of the World Health Organization said, in his strongest comments yet that the U.N. body remains committed to finding how the virus arose. "Understanding #COVID19's origins and exploring all hypotheses remains: a scientific imperative, to help us prevent future outbreaks (and) a moral imperative, for the sake of the millions of people who died and those who live with #LongCOVID," Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on Twitterlate on Saturday. loadingHe was writing to mark three years since the WHO first used the word "pandemic" to describe the global outbreak of COVID-19. Since then, the WHO has set up a scientific advisory group on dangerous pathogens but it has not yet reached any conclusions on how the pandemic began, saying key pieces of data are missing. (This story has been refiled to add the day the comments were made)Reporting by Emma FargeOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Alternative to WTO trade arbitration gains steam as Japan joins
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-10 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

The top appeals bench of the global trade watchdog which rules on trade disputes has been idle for more than two years because of holds on appointments during the administration of former President Donald Trump. The United States, which continues to resist regular calls to approve appointments, is instead leading private discussions on how to reboot the dispute system. Japan, a regular user of the WTO dispute system including in a recent case with South Korea, is the 26th member to join the alternative arrangement, according to the MPIA website. "Japan's membership may increase pressure on wavering potential members, like the United Kingdom and South Korea," Dmitry Grozoubinksi, Executive Director of the Geneva Trade Platform told Reuters. He added that its adhesion would offer a legal path forward for any future disputes between Japan and China, since they are both members.

☆ In economics, women's voices still struggle to be heard
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-08 | by ( Maria Martinez | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

There seems to be a lot to celebrate on International Women's Day in the field of economics. Women head the International Monetary Fund, the World Trade Organization, the U.S. Treasury and the European Central Bank. "The pervasive underrepresentation of women in economics is systemic and structural," Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, the first woman to head the World Trade Organization, told Reuters. "There are no women in the textbooks and most big names in economics are men," said Sandra Kretschmer, economics researcher and member of the Women in Economics Initiative. Women and men tend to have different research interests, said Alisa Weinberger, economics researcher at Goethe.

During the session, which opens on Monday and runs until April 4, many states will seek to extend the mandate of a U.N investigation body set up to probe atrocities in Ukraine. Kyiv and its allies are disgruntled by the participation of Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov, who will address the council on Thursday. Filipenko said Ukraine did not welcome Russia's presence and would "act accordingly," without giving details. The Geneva-based U.N. human rights council is the only body made up of governments to protect human rights worldwide. Countries also will closely watch how Volker Turk, U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights since October, refers to China after his predecessor Michelle Bachelet was accused by some rights groups of being too soft on Beijing.

☆ Russia 'not a responsible nuclear power' for suspending new START treaty - U.S. official
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

GENEVA, Feb 27 (Reuters) - Russia's decision to suspend its participation in the new START nuclear arms control treaty shows it is not a responsible nuclear partner, a U.S. official said on Monday at the United Nations disarmament conference in Geneva. "Only a few days ago, President (Vladimir) Putin announced that Russia was unilaterally suspending the implementation of the New START treaty. Russia is once again showing the world that it is not a responsible nuclear power," said Bonnie Jenkins, U.S. Under-Secretary for Arms Control and International Security. Reporting by Gabrielle Tétrault-Farber and Emma Farge Editing by Gareth JonesOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

[1/3] An Ethiopian boy who fled the ongoing fighting in Tigray region, gestures in the Hamdayet village, in eastern Kassala state, Sudan December 15, 2020. The Ethiopian government's two-year conflict with forces in the northern Tigray region ended last November with thousands dead and millions uprooted. Though the Geneva-based U.N. Human Rights Council has never ended a probe before its mandate, Addis Ababa has circulated a draft version of a resolution calling for the Tigray inquiry to stop some six months early. AFRICAN OPPOSITIONThe war pitted the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF) against federal troops, who were also backed by fighters from nearby Amhara region and Eritrea. Reporting by Emma Farge, Gabrielle Tetrault-Farber; Additional reporting by Dawit Endeshaw in Addis AbabaOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Ukraine war's impact on trade not as bad as expected: WTO
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-23 | by ( Emma Farge | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The global trade watchdog had forecast just 3% growth for 2022 as the conflict caused major disruptions to exports including wheat and fuels. However, WTO Chief Economist Ralph Ossa, presenting its latest analysis of the war's impact on trade, said global trade had "held up well". Ossa added that global trade was resilient because WTO members showed restraint in their use of export restrictions. Some countries previously reliant on imports from Ukraine swapped one food product for another, the WTO report said, switching for example from wheat to rice. During the same period, Russia's exports increased by 15.6% due to higher prices for fuels, fertilisers and cereals, the WTO said.

☆ Israeli reforms would undermine judiciary, U.N. rights chief says
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-21 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

GENEVA, Feb 21 (Reuters) - The United Nations' human rights chief on Tuesday voiced concern that a proposed overhaul of Israel's judicial system would "drastically undermine" the ability of the judiciary to uphold human rights and the rule of law. "Breaking from decades of settled practice, such a law would drastically undermine the ability of the judiciary to vindicate individual rights and to uphold the rule of law as an effective institutional check on executive and legislative power," said U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk. Israel's ambassador to the United Nations in Geneva, Meirav Eilon Shahar, has said a previous statement from Turk showed prejudice. Austria's Turk, who became High Commissioner in October, earlier this month called on Israel to ensure respect of international rights law after his office documented a record 151 killings of Palestinians by security forces last year. Reporting by Emma Farge; additional reporting by James Mackenzie in Jerusalem Editing by Andrew Cawthorne and Mark PotterOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Death toll from Turkey, Syria quake set to jump, WHO says
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-06 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

GENEVA, Feb 6 (Reuters) - The World Health Organization (WHO) expects a significant jump in the death toll following a major earthquake and its aftershocks in southern Turkey and northwestern Syria that reduced many buildings to rubble. The magnitude 7.8 quake, which rattled southern Turkey early on Monday, was the worst to hit the country this century, killing more than 900 people there and about 550 across the border in Syria, according to officials. "I think we can expect the death toll to increase significantly," Rick Brennan, the WHO's regional emergency director for the Eastern Mediterranean, told Reuters. "There's been a lot of building collapses and it will increase more significantly around the epicentre of the earthquake." "It's harder for the rescue teams to get in there to extract people," he said.

☆ Liberian warlord's trial concludes in Switzerland
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-03 | by ( Emma Farge | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

If Kosiah is found guilty of crimes against humanity, this could extend his sentence to life. The Kosiah hearings were often laden with emotion, with some Liberian witnesses and victims confronting him for the first time since the country's civil wars. They all asked for anonymity because of the risk of reprisals back home where former warlords still hold prominent roles. In another, a witness who had been held as a sex slave by a soldier described how Kosiah had stabbed one of the Liberian plaintiffs present in the back. "I want him in jail," she told Reuters on the opening day of the appeals trial on Jan. 11.

REUTERS/Athit Perawongmetha/Summary WHO's executive board meets from Jan. 30-Feb. 7WHO seeking $6.86 bln for 2024-2025 budgetBody seen pushing for bigger role in global health crisesGENEVA, Jan 30 (Reuters) - The World Health Organization will push at its board meeting this week for an expanded role in tackling the next global health emergency after COVID-19, but is still seeking answers on how to fund it, according to health policy experts. Also on his list was "the position of the World Health Organization, recognizing there is a need for a reinforced central role for WHO" in the global health emergency system. "It's a huge knot," said Nicoletta Dentico, the co-chair of the civil society platform the Geneval Global Health Hub. PANDEMIC PREPARATIONThe WHO, which celebrates its 75-year anniversary having been set up in 1948, will also use the meeting to advocate for a boosted role in pandemic preparedness, documents showed. Tedros will call for a Global Health Emergency Council to be set up linked to WHO governance.

☆ U.N. refugee chief: Russia violating principles of child protection in Ukraine
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-27 | by ( Max Hunder | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

REUTERS/Sofiia GatilovaKYIV, Jan 27 (Reuters) - Russia is violating the "fundamental principles of child protection" in wartime by giving Ukrainian children Russian passports and putting them up for adoption, the U.N.'s refugee agency (UNHCR) chief told Reuters in an interview. "Giving them (Russian) nationality or having them adopted goes against the fundamental principles of child protection in situations of war," Grandi said. "We categorically reject unfounded allegations that the Russian authorities are kidnapping children," Russian diplomat at the United Nations Dmitry Polyansky said in July, according to the TASS news agency. The UNHCR chief also urged countries to process prospective asylum seekers more quickly in order to stop unfounded asylum claims from clogging up the system. Additional reporting by Emma Farge in Geneva and Caleb Davis; Editing by Frank Jack DanielOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ China, U.S. spar at WTO meeting over disputes
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-27 | by ( Emma Farge | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

China's ambassador to the WTO Li Chenggang spoke at a meeting on trade disputes shortly after the United States lodged an appeal against a series of WTO rulings involving China, Turkey, Norway and Switzerland which found that U.S. metal tariffs breached global rules. Washington, which has long criticized the WTO dispute system for overreach and is leading discussions on reforming it, has criticized both rulings. The United States said it regretted the metal tariffs dispute with China was even on the agenda at the meeting and accused Beijing of imposing "illegal unilateral retaliatory measures" on U.S. exports. "A WTO that serves to shield China's non-market policies and practices is not in anyone's interest," said Deputy United States Trade Representative Maria Pagan, according to a copy of her speech. In an interview with Reuters on Thursday, Pagan played down the significance of more vocal criticism of Washington by China at WTO meetings.

☆ U.S. wants World Trade Organization dispute system fixed by 2024
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-26 | by ( Emma Farge | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

The WTO's appeals bench, which rules on top disputes, has been mothballed for over two years due to Trump-era blockages of adjudicator appointments. Under President Joe Biden, Washington has resisted calls by WTO members to approve appointments and has instead been leading negotiations on how to reboot the WTO's dispute system. "Our goal is a fully functioning (dispute system) by 2024," Deputy United States Trade Representative Maria Pagan told Reuters in her first public comments on the closed-door talks, saying Washington was "very committed" to reforms. The United States has criticized the WTO's alleged overreach and lengthy processes and it has strongly contested some of its recent rulings against the United States. Pagan described the process as "frustrating" but said she was hopeful a breakthrough had been found, without elaborating.

☆ Top diplomats, former UN officials seek to fix 'Wild West' of peacemaking
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-20 | by ( Emma Farge | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

But the framework's proponents, who have just completed a two-year consultation period in dozens of countries, say today's peace brokers are applying the wrong strategy. "You could say 'Why the hell are people talking about peace when the whole thing falls apart?' "Right now the peacemaking space is like the Wild West," said Hiba Qasas, the executive director of the Principles for Peace Initiative, who is Palestinian and a former U.N. official. Current shortcomings are widely acknowledged and U.N. chief Antonio Guterres is working on a so-called "New Agenda For Peace" this year. (This story has been corrected to change "UN officials" to "former UN officials" in the headline)Reporting by Emma Farge; Editing by Hugh LawsonOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ China reports big jump in COVID hospitalisations - WHO
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-19 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/2] A medical worker checks the IV drip treatment of a patient lying on a bed in the emergency department of a hospital, amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak in Shanghai, China, January 5, 2023. REUTERS/StaffGENEVA, Jan 19 (Reuters) - China reported a large jump in COVID-19 hospitalisations in the week through to January 15 to the highest since the pandemic began, according to a weekly report published by the World Health Organization on Thursday. However, the WHO said it awaited "detailed provincial data disaggregated by week of reporting" on nearly 60,000 additional COVID-related hospital deaths reported by China last week and did not include them in the tally. The number of people hospitalised with the disease in China rose by 70 % to 63,307 versus the previous week, according to the WHO report based on data submitted by Beijing. This is the highest weekly figure China has reported since COVID-19 first emerged more than three years ago.

☆ China reports big jump in COVID hospitalisations -WHO
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-19 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

☆ China's Lunar New Year travel to boost economy after COVID crunch
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-17 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

While many analysts say a return to economic normality will be gradual as the impact of COVID weakens, some see the Lunar New Year as a welcome early consumption boost. But with so many people on the move, health experts fear a deepening of the COVID outbreak, leaving the elderly in rural villages particularly vulnerable. Reuters reported on Tuesday that doctors in both public and private hospitals were being actively discouraged from attributing deaths to COVID. State media reported that some 390,000 passengers were expected to travel from Shanghai train stations on Tuesday alone for what is known as the Spring Festival holiday - seen as the world's largest annual mass migration before COVID. As travellers moved through stations in Shanghai, China's largest city, some expressed optimism despite the risks.

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