In December 2013, the UN General Assembly declared the International Decade for People of African Descent to address issues of recognition, justice, and development.

The decade beginning in 2015 aimed to promote the rights of people of African descent, increase awareness of their cultural contributions, and strengthen legal frameworks to combat racial discrimination.

In 2021, 31 August was recognised as the international day.

UN Secretary-General António Guterres called on Member States to declare a second international decade “to help to accelerate global efforts for true change.”

Addressing racism

Mr. Guterres noted how people of African descent have contributed to society through leadership and activism.

“Yet,” he said, “the intolerable legacies of enslavement and colonialism endure.”

“Systemic racism is rife and continues to mutate into new forms – including in new technologies, where algorithms can amplify discrimination,” he continued. The Secretary-General said the UN is prioritising eradicating the “scourge of racism and racial discrimination” and has established a new Anti-Racism Office that will address racism in the workplace

“We also need governments to take the lead – by advancing and implementing policies and laws to tackle systemic racism and ensure inclusion,” Mr. Guterres said.

He also said there is a need for reparatory justice to address slave crimes.

The UN chief calls for global efforts to build a world of equality, opportunity and justice for all.

Systemic and structural

UN Human Rights Council-appointed experts also called for an end to racism ahead of the International Day while recognising “that millions of people of African descent around the world continue to be victims of systemic and structural racism and racial discrimination.”

Like the Secretary-General, the experts call for a second International Decade for People of African Descent from 2025-2034 as “we are far from ensuring respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms of people of African descent, including eradication of all forms of discrimination against them.”

The next decade would need a stronger focus on recognition, justice and development while tackling challenges that directly affect people of African descent.

The experts said Member States should create and enforce human rights tools, strategies, and monitoring systems to address systemic racism and ensure the full protection and respect of the rights of people of African descent in the coming decade.

With the upcoming UN Summit of the Future in September and the 16th Conference of the Parties for biodiversity in October, experts are urging member states to use these important meetings as opportunities to address issues concerning people of African descent.

“The time for decisive action is now,” they said. “Let us seize these opportunities that can result in meaningful change for people of African descent and the whole of humanity.”

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of UN News.

More than a third of the funds will support aid efforts in Yemen ($20 million) and Ethiopia ($15 million), where desperate civilians are grappling with the combined impact of hunger, displacement, diseases and climate disasters.

Allocations are also included for operations in conflict and climate-affected countries, including Myanmar ($12 million), Mali ($11 million), Burkina Faso ($10 million), Haiti ($9 million), Cameroon ($7 million) and Mozambique ($7 million).

Countries responding to El Niño-induced drought and flooding, such as Burundi ($5 million) and Malawi ($4 million), will also receive additional funds, a portion of which will promote climate-smart humanitarian action.

Funding of last resort

Joyce Msuya, acting Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator highlighted the importance of additional resources.

“In far too many humanitarian emergencies, a lack of funding prevents aid agencies from reaching people who need life-saving assistance, and that is heart-wrenching,” she said.

“CERF funding is an emergency cash injection of last resort to avert the worst and save lives when other humanitarian funding is inadequate. We urgently need increased and sustained donor attention to these underfunded crises,” she added.

Ms. Msuya is also the acting head of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), taking over from Martin Griffiths, who stepped down in June.

Second allocation for 2024

The funds were CERF’s second allocation for underfunded emergencies for 2024, following the release of $100 million in February for seven countries, including Chad, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Honduras, Lebanon, Niger, Sudan and Syria.

OCHA cautioned that the combined $200 million this year for humanitarian crises is the lowest amount in the last three years, underscoring the growing gap between humanitarian needs and the donor funding CERF receives to meet them.

This year, the humanitarian community is seeking some $49 billion to reach 187 million of the most vulnerable people in crises worldwide.

To date, only 29 per cent of this funding has been received – a shortfall of $35 billion.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of UN News.

As the global funding outlook remains grim, the United Nations today released US$100 million from the Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) to address critical underfunding of humanitarian emergencies across 10 countries in Africa, the Americas, Asia and the Middle East.

“In far too many humanitarian emergencies, a lack of funding prevents aid agencies from reaching people who need life-saving assistance, and that is heart-wrenching,” said Joyce Msuya, Acting Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator. “CERF funding is an emergency cash injection of last resort to avert the worst and save lives when other humanitarian funding is inadequate. We urgently need increased and sustained donor attention to these underfunded crises.”

More than one third of this new funding from CERF, which is managed by OCHA, will support aid operations in Yemen ($20 million) and Ethiopia ($15 million), where people are grappling with the combined impact of hunger, displacement, diseases and climate disasters.

The new funding package will also support humanitarian operations in countries beset by years of conflict and displacement, exacerbated by climate shocks and stresses. They include Myanmar ($12 million), Mali ($11 million), Burkina Faso ($10 million), Haiti ($9 million), Cameroon ($7 million) and Mozambique ($7 million). Countries responding to El Niño-induced drought and flooding, such as Burundi ($5 million) and Malawi ($4 million), are also included.

Recognizing climate change as a key driver of humanitarian needs, part of this allocation will promote climate-smart humanitarian action supported by CERF’s Climate Action Account.

This is CERF’s second allocation for underfunded emergencies this year, following the release of $100 million in February for seven countries.* However, the combined $200 million released this year for poorly funded humanitarian crises is the lowest amount in the last three years, underscoring the growing gap between humanitarian needs and the donor funding CERF receives to meet them.

This year, the humanitarian community is seeking some $49 billion to reach 187 million of the most vulnerable people in crises worldwide. To date, only 29 per cent of this funding has been received, leaving a $35 billion gap.

*CERF allocates funding for underfunded emergencies twice a year. The previous $100 million, released in February, supported humanitarian operations in Chad, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Honduras, Lebanon, Niger, Sudan and Syria.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).

Chad hosts more than 1.1 million refugees, many escaping violence in Sudan, where rival militaries have been fighting since April 2023. At the same time, the war has also triggered colossal suffering within Sudan’s borders.

“The humanitarian task that we have in Sudan has been very big,” UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed said. “It has been one that we have been consistently supporting the government to try to address the crisis. The suffering of the people in this country is one of the worst crises in the world today.”

Ms. Mohammed met officials in Chad and announced $5 million allocation from the UN’s Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) as part of a rapid response towards supporting flood recovery efforts, UN Spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric told reporters at UN Headquarters on Friday.

Region in crisis

Chad and neighbouring Sudan have been grappling with multiple crises. That includes the ongoing Sudanese war and recent floods affecting 960,000 people in Chad and 310,000 in Sudan, according to UN agencies.

Discussions between the UN deputy chief and local authorities in Chad centred on the complex challenges facing the country, including regional dynamics and key risks, and highlighted “the urgent need for global solidarity”, the UN Spokesperson said.

Reaffirming the UN’s commitment, Ms. Mohammed called for “maximum solidarity and resources” to ensure the humanitarian response fulfills its mandate and supports the people of the region, urging parties “to invest more in saving lives and livelihoods”.

‘Vital lifeline for aid delivery’

While in Chad, Ms. Mohammed observed the humanitarian corridor operation at the newly opened Adré crossing point into Sudan and engaged with refugee representatives, women, youth and community leaders, welcoming the recent opening as “a positive step” towards providing lifesaving aid in Sudan.

“This crossing is a vital lifeline for aid delivery to millions in Sudan and must remain open and accessible to facilitate large-scale humanitarian assistance while ensuring the safety of aid workers,” according to the UN Spokesperson.

Shuttered for one year, this humanitarian corridor will allow UN agencies to scale up assistance to 14 areas facing famine in Darfur, Kordofan, Khartoum and Al Jazirah.

‘We need resources now’

The UN deputy chief underlined the critical importance of keeping the border crossing permanently open.

The Adré crossing is the most effective and shortest route to deliver humanitarian assistance into Sudan – and particularly the Darfur region – at the scale and speed required to respond to the immense hunger crisis.

“What we have to do is to match the openings of these borders with the aid that goes in, and that means resources,” she insisted, “and so we need those resources, and we need them now.”

The UN $2.7 billion appeal is only 41 per cent funded.

Sudan: War, displacement and hunger

Across the border, in Sudan, food security experts recently declared that the war has pushed parts of North Darfur state into famine, particularly the Zamzam camp, where more than half a million displaced people are sheltering.

About 25.6 million people – over half of the population of Sudan – face acute hunger, including more than 755,000 people on the brink of famine and an estimated 10.7 million people are now internally displaced, according to UN agencies.

When visiting Sudan earlier this week, Ms. Mohammed met with the country’s President and cabinet members, who agreed that the Jeddah peace process must be implemented swiftly. She emphasised that “there is consensus there, and there is no reason why that cannot be moved forward.”

However, the discussion largely focussed on the humanitarian agenda and “the urgency of this”, she told reporters at a press conference in Port Sudan on Thursday.

She said efforts are addressing the Sudanese Government’s legitimate concerns and setting up procedures that “would ensure this aid gets to people where it’s meant.

‘Crisis around famine’

“We have impending crisis around famine,” Ms. Mohammed said. “We are not getting medical supplies in where there are health crises. But, more importantly, we have to remember the suffering of the people, and we are here to do this with the Government of Sudan.”

Ms. Mohammed met with displaced persons, the UN team as well as with a number of government officials.

“What we have done is to sit down with the humanitarian aid commission, and then we have had discussions on how, first of all, not to stop any of the aid that is available right now going in,” she explained.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of UN News.