Visit us also at
The latest landmine monitor was launched in Geneva in mid-November. The related cluster munition munition was presented back in September. In both reports the developments in Ukraine stand out particularly clearly. The Eastern European country is a state party to the Antipersonnel-Mine Ban Convention, but not to the Convention on Cluster Munition. Both types of weapons were used extensively on the territory of Ukraine in 2022. The number of casualties, thus people who were either killed or injured by landmines in Ukraine alone increased tenfold in 2022 and until the beginning of 2023. After Syria (17%), Ukraine is in second place worldwide with 12% of all casualties newly recorded. 2022 was also the year with the highest number of cluster munition casualties on record. 78% of the 1,272 newly registered casualties were detected in Ukraine alone. Once again, most of the victims were civilians and children in particular. 85% of mine victims were civilians, 49% of them children and as many as 95% of cluster mine victims were civilians, 71% of whom were children. In 2023, Nigeria and South Sudan were accepted as new states parties to the Convention on Cluster Munition, which still counts 73 non-signatories. The Mine Ban Treaty enjoys broader support, with only 33 non-signatories. In addition, a total of 12 countries are still actively producing landmines and 16 are actively producing cluster munitions.
After Russia's membership in the Human Rights Council was suspended by a resolution of the UN General Assembly in April 2022, Russia now tried to become a member of the Council again. However, there were two opposing candidates in the Group of Eastern European States: Albania and Bulgaria. EU member Bulgaria received 163 votes, while Albania, currently a very active member of the UN Security Council, received 123 votes. In the context of the war in Ukraine, it is nevertheless surprising that Russia was able to secure the support of 83 member states despite the daily violation of fundamental human rights and international law. Key votes during the 54th UN Human Rights Council included an extension of the mandate of the Special Rapporteur on the domestic situation in Russia or the creation of a fact-finding mission for Sudan. Regarding the right to development, a resolution was adopted that includes a draft international covenant on the right to development which shall be submitted to the UN General Assembly for its consideration, negotiation and adoption. Western countries criticised the text, pointing out that the resolution prioritised development over human rights and thus undermines the human rights system as such.
On 6 July - after approximately six years of negotiations - 114 WTO members successfully concluded negotiations on the Joint Statement on Investment Facilitation for Sustainable Development (JS on IFD). The aim of the statement is to provide greater transparency and attract higher and better quality investment while taking the needs of developing countries into account. Members hope to conclude a WTO agreement on the matter and are actively reaching out to Members who did not take part in the Joint Statement negotiations, especially in light of the upcoming 13th WTO Ministerial Conference.
As of 19 August, World Humanitarian Day, only 26.9% of the required funds for 2023 have been received, which are channeled through UN agencies, funds, NGOs and the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement. With 8.7 billion USD, the USA is by far the largest donor, followed by the European Commission and Germany. China contributes 0.0013% of the US amount and as the second largest economy behind the US only 0.00002% of its GDP. The largest donors in relation to the GDP are Sweden, Honduras and Sierra Leone. Ukraine is currently the largest recipient with USD 2.1 billion, followed by Syria, Yemen and Ethiopia.
During an urgent debate of the UN Human Rights Council on July 11-12, a resolution on the recent Quran burning in Sweden was adopted with 28 votes in favour, 12 against, and 7 abstentions, after Belgium called for a vote on behalf of the EU states who are members of the Council. Pakistan had introduced the resolution on behalf of the Organization for Islamic Cooperation (OIC). It calls on states to adopt laws, policies, and law enforcement frameworks, among other things, and to take steps to ensure accountability. States voting against the resolution pointed to the high threshold to restrict the right to freedom of expression under Article 20(2) of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) and recalled the consensus reached around resolution 16/18 in 2011. General blasphemy laws were incompatible with the ICCPR. Among the 30 resolutions adopted at the 53rd UN Human Rights Council was i.a. a text on the right to development, again tabled by China, which, according to the EU, takes a development-based approach to human rights instead of a human rights-based approach to development. The Council also extended the mandate of the Special Rapporteur on Belarus and the Special Rapporteur on Eritrea. In addition, the OHCHR was mandated to report on their work in Ukraine at each Council session. The situation in Afghanistan was discussed as well. According to Special Rapporteur Bennet, it was the worst in the world for women and girls, who suffered gender-based persecution that amounted to crimes against humanity and could even be characterized as "gender apartheid". 58 states had signed a joint statement condemning the situation at the June meeting (compared to 73 in March).
To underscore their demands for equity in the pandemic agreement, 19 WHO Member States joined together to form the Group for Equity. The Group for Equity currently includes Bangladesh, Botswana, Brazil, China, Colombia, Dominican Republic, Fiji, India, Indonesia, Kenya, Malaysia, Mexico, Pakistan, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, South Africa, Tanzania and Thailand. The founding financial members of the Pandemic Fund are: Australia, Canada, China, Germany, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Republic of Korea, New Zealand, Norway, Singapore, Spain, United Arab Emirates and the United States. In addition, the European Commission, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the Rockefeller Foundation and the Wellcome Trust are among the founding donor. Subsequently, France, India, the Netherlands, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Switzerland and the United Kingdom were added to the list. In total, more than $1.6 billion in financial contributions have been pledged to date. It is unusual that countries in Southeast Asia in particular are also acting as donor countries.
Globally, 108.4 million people were forcibly displaced by the end of 2022 as indicated in the Global Trends Report 2023 of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). 70% of them were hosted in neighbouring countries and 76% in low- and middle-income countries. More than 5 million people displaced originated from only four countries: Syria, Ukraine, Afghanistan and Venezuela. By mid-June, the UNHCR counted 110 million forcibly displaced worldwide, mainly due to the ongoing fighting in Sudan.
During a donor conference for Sudan in Geneva on 19 June, USD 1.52 billion in pledges were received against a need of USD 3 billion. Co-organisers were the UN, the EU and the African Union, as well as Germany, Egypt, Qatar and Saudi Arabia. The highest contributions came from the USA (550 million), Germany (161 million), the European Commission (151 million), Canada (102 million) and Saudi Arabia (100 million). About half of Sudan's population, 24.7 million people are in need of humanitarian aid. The pledges made fall far below the massive $2.57 billion needed for the 2023 Humanitarian Response Plan (HRP) which is currently only about 17% covered and the $445 million for the Regional Response Plan (RRP) which is only about 13% covered.
Director KAS Genf Office
