\n
UNITED NATIONS, 31 May (AP) \u2014 The number of people fleeing their homes because of war, violence and persecution has reached 114 million and is climbing because nations have failed to tackle the causes and combatants are refusing to comply with international law, the U.N. refugee chief said Thursday.<\/p>\n
In a hard-hitting speech, Filippo Grandi criticized the U.N. Security Council, which is charged with maintaining international peace and security, for failing to use its voice to try to resolve conflicts from Gaza, Ukraine and Sudan to Congo, Myanmar and many other places.<\/p>\n
He also accused unnamed countries of making \u201cshort-sighted foreign policy decisions, often founded on double standards, with lip service paid to compliance with the law, but little muscle flexed from the council to actually uphold it and \u2014 with it \u2014 peace and security.\u201d<\/p>\n
Grandi said non-compliance with international humanitarian law means that \u201cparties to conflicts \u2014 increasingly everywhere, almost all of them \u2014 have stopped respecting the laws of war,\u201d though some pretend to do so.<\/p>\n
The result is more civilian deaths, sexual violence is used as a weapons of war, hospitals, schools and other civilian infrastructure are attacked and destroyed, and humanitarian workers become targets, he said.<\/p>\n
Calling himself a frustrated humanitarian and looking directly at the 15 council members, Grandi said that instead of using its voice, \u201cthe council\u2019s cacophony has meant that you have instead continued to preside over a broader cacophony of chaos around the world.\u201d<\/p>\n
The high commissioner for refugees told the council it\u2019s too late for the tens of thousands who have been killed in Gaza, Ukraine, Sudan and other conflicts.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut it is not too late to put your focus and energy on the crises and conflicts that remain unresolved, so that they are not allowed to fester and explode again,\u201d Grandi said. \u201cIt is not too late to step up help for the millions who have been forcibly displaced to return home voluntarily, in safety and with dignity.\u201d<\/p>\n
It\u2019s also not too late to save millions of people from the scourge of war, the refugee chief said.<\/p>\n
But the Security Council is increasingly polarized, and its five veto-wielding permanent members are at odds, with the U.S., Britain and France often strongly opposed to the views of Russia and China.<\/p>\n
On the Gaza war, the council has not called for a cease-fire because of opposition from the United States, Israel\u2019s closest ally. And on Ukraine, the council has been ineffective as Russia, a key party to the conflict after Moscow invaded its smaller neighbor in February 2022, would veto almost any resolution.<\/p>\n
Grandi called what\u2019s happened in Gaza since Hamas\u2019 surprise attack on Oct. 7 and the \u201catrocious\u201d recent events in the southern city of Rafah after an Israeli airstrike led to a deadly fire at a camp for displaced Palestinians an example of the \u201cbrutal conduct of hostilities meant not only to destroy but also to terrify civilians,\u201d who increasingly more often have no choice but to flee.<\/p>\n
He said Gaza is also \u201ca tragic reminder of what happens when conflicts (and by extension a refugee crisis) are left unattended\u201d for decades. He also pointed to Syria where after 13 years of conflict, 5.6 million Syrian refugees remain in neighboring countries including Lebanon and Jordan which also host Palestinian refugees.<\/p>\n
Grandi said violations of international law, including forcing people to flee, are having a devastating effect on people around the world.<\/p>\n
For example, in Myanmar, more than 1.5 million people have been displaced by fighting since October, bringing the total to over 3 million, \u201cwith many trying to seek refuge in neighboring countries,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
In Ukraine, international humanitarian law is violated every day with Russian attacks on the country\u2019s power networks, houses and other civilian infrastructure, he said.<\/p>\n
And in Congo, Grandi said, \u201cviolence between men with guns is so common that no other place on Earth is as dangerous for women and children than the east of that country.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBut how can members of the United Nations, how can `we the peoples\u2019 pay so little attention and have so much inaction in a place where sex with a child can be bought for less than a cold drink?\u201d the refugee chief asked.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat a shameful stain on humanity!\u201d Grandi said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
UNITED NATIONS, 31 May (AP) \u2014 The number of people fleeing their homes because of war, violence and persecution has reached 114 million and is climbing because nations have failed to tackle the causes and combatants are refusing to comply with international law, the U.N. refugee chief said Thursday. In a hard-hitting speech, Filippo Grandi […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[15],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-241361","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-world"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/arunachaltimes.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/241361","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/arunachaltimes.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/arunachaltimes.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/arunachaltimes.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/arunachaltimes.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=241361"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/arunachaltimes.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/241361\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/arunachaltimes.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=241361"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/arunachaltimes.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=241361"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/arunachaltimes.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=241361"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}