October - 2021

Education Cannot Wait Urge for Funding to Fulfill the Right to Education of Children in Afghnistan

ECW Director leads first all-women mission to Afghanistan since Taliban takeover: ‘With Afghanistan on the brink of a total collapse, the international community must stay engaged. The humanitarian imperative must come first.’ 27 October 2021, Kabul/New York – Immediately following the first all-women UN mission to Afghanistan since takeover by the de facto authorities, Yasmine Sherif, Director of Education Cannot Wait – the United Nations global fund for education in emergen

Afghanistan: The New Era

By: Khaled A. BaRahma Overview: A new Kabul interim government contains neither women nor minority leaders, but a number of persons on the UN lists of sanctioned individuals, speakers said today as they called on the now ruling Taliban to carry out their promises and create a more representative government. According to Deborah Lyons, the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Afghanistan and Head of the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA), "

Yemen: Houthis And The Civilians’ Health During The COVID-19

By: Khaled A. BaRahma Photo: Yemen, July 7, 2021. - -/AFP via Getty Images Houthi authorities in Yemen have suppressed information about the dangers and impact of Covid-19 and undermined international efforts to provide vaccines in areas under their control, Human Rights Watch said today. Houthi officials have actively disseminated misinformation about the virus and vaccine since the outbreak in Yemen began in April 2020. On April 15, the Office of the Under-Secretary-Gene

Yemen’s Safer: The Floating Bomb

By: Khaled A. BaRahma The international community has failed to address the looming environmental, economic, and political threats in Yemen after giving Houthi rebels control over the ports in Hodeidah governorate on humanitarian grounds as part of the December 2018 Stockholm Agreement. The decaying Safer oil tanker sitting offshore as a “floating bomb” waiting to explode. According to MarrinTraffic.com, the Safer Floating Storage/Production facility is located on the Red

Mosul to Afghanistan - Redefining International Humanitarian and Security Emergency

UN Photo/H. Arvidsson The battle had taken nine months, or 252 days. Casualty numbers were extremely difficult to assess, with estimates of ISIS fighters killed in the thousands. Mosul as one city, is a microcosm of allowing the terrorist factions Taliban, Al Qaeda and ISIS to take over control of the entire country of Afghanistan, now armed with the most advanced U.S. weapons technologies. The call for counterterrorism operations was advanced on 15 August 2021, the moment a

Economic Collapse: The Free Fall of Yemen's Economy

By: Khaled A. BaRahma Yemen's riyal crashed to 1,000 USD in the government-controlled southern capital of Aden in mid-July, the worst exchange rate since the impoverished country began battling Houthi rebels in 2014 when they seized Sana'a, its northern capital. For the Middle East's poorest country, those fears are becoming increasingly real as the prospect of famine and economic collapse rises. Over a quarter of businesses have closed and the unemployment rate has skyroc

Guterres hails Non-Violence Day ‘new era of peace, trust and tolerance’

UN Photo/Michos Tzovaras UNITED NATIONS UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres in his message for the International Day of Non-Violence, noted that the day provides an opportunity to usher in a “new era of peace, trust, and tolerance”. He pointed out that it was no coincidence that the day coincides with the birthday of Mahatma Gandhi – leader of India’s independence movement and a founder of the principles of non-violence. Guterres stated that “For Gandhi, non-violence, peace

Overview: The Endless Suffering of Children in Yemen

By: Khaled A. BaRahma UN Photo/Yutaka Nagata Who Are Child Soldiers? Child Soldiers are children who are or have been members of an armed force or armed group in some capacity, which can include being recruited as fighters, porters, spies, or used sexually. Specifically, it doesn't only pertain to children taking part in hostilities directly or having done so in some way. Background A major humanitarian crisis has resulted from the conflict in Yemen. The conflict has killed a

Ethiopia expelled 7 UN relief aid officials, gave 72 hours to leave

UN Photo/Jorge Aramburu UNITED NATIONS – UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres in a statement issued by the spokesman office said he was shocked by the information that the Government of Ethiopia has declared seven UN officials, including senior UN humanitarian officials, as persona non grata. Guterres stated that all UN humanitarian operations are guided by the core principles of humanity, impartiality, neutrality, and independence. He stressed that “In Ethiopia, the UN is d