World 360* : 2021

People Of Myanmar Face Unprecedented Crisis In 2022, The U.N. Warns

The people of Myanmar are facing an unprecedented political, socioeconomic, human rights and humanitarian crisis with needs escalating dramatically since the military takeover and a severe COVID-19 third wave.

According to a UN Humanitarian Needs Overview published on Friday by OCHA, the turmoil is projected to have driven almost half the population into poverty heading into 2022, wiping out the impressive gains made since 2005.

The situation has been worsening since the beginning of the year, when the military took over the country, ousting the democratically elected Government. It is now estimated that 14 out of 15 states and regions are within the critical threshold for acute malnutrition.

For the next year, the analysis projects that 14.4 million people will need aid in some form, approximately a quarter of the population. The number includes 6.9 million men, 7.5 million women, and five million children.

Reasons

Price hikes, COVID-19 movement restrictions and ongoing insecurity have forced the most vulnerable people to emergency strategies to buy food and other basic supplies.

Prices for key household commodities have risen significantly, making some food items unaffordable. At the same time, farming incomes have been affected by lower prices for some crops, higher input prices, and limited access to credit.

Monsoon floods in July and August have also affected more than 120,000 people, resulting in crop losses and contributing to food insecurity.

For 2022, the humanitarian affairs office OCHA, says the outlook “remains dire”.

The political and security situation is “expected to remain volatile” and a fourth wave of COVID-19, due to relatively low vaccination rates and the emergence of new variants, is considered a rising risk.

Prices are only expected to decrease marginally, while farm gate prices will likely remain low. As a result, consumer prices are projected to be higher, with incomes continuing to decrease.

In 2020 and 2021, learning was disrupted for almost 12 million children, nearly all the school-aged population, and even though schools had began to reopen, the prospect of a full return to classroom education remains slim for many.

Sudan: Refrain from ‘disproportionate use of force’ against protesters

Reported killings and injuries during peaceful demonstrations in Sudan is a cause for deep concern, said the UN human rights office on Friday (OHCHR).

OHCHR also highlighted attacks which reportedly took place against a hospital and media office on Thursday, during which rights activists were arrested.

“We urge authorities to refrain from unnecessary and disproportionate use of force”, the rights office said in a tweet.

The protests marked the eleventh round of major demonstrations in the country since 25 October, when the military first removed from office, but then later reinstated the Prime Minister in a coup, ending a transitional civilian power-sharing agreement.

According to news reports, the protesters are calling for the military to cease playing any role in government, in the run up to fresh democratic elections.

Four were reportedly shot dead by security forces during Thursday’s demonstrations close to the capital Khartoum, with authorities using live fire and tear gas on the crowds, according to witnesses, while nearly 300 protesters were injured, along with dozens of police.

‘Assaults on press freedom’

The UN Special Representative for Sudan, Volker Perthes, tweeted that he was “deeply disturbed” by the initial reports of civilian deaths, describing the incidents as “assaults on press freedom”.

“Credible investigations into these violations are necessary”, he underscored.

“All people have the right to express themselves peacefully; media have to report freely”.

The death toll from a police crackdown on the latest nationwide protests rose to five, according to the Central Committee of Sudanese Doctors, which align themselves with the protest movement.

According to news reports, security forces fired tear gas and stun grenades as protesters marched through Khartoum and the neighbouring cities of Omdurman and Bahri towards the presidential palace.

The Committee on Friday reported that a fifth person has now died, after being hit in the chest by a tear gas canister fired by security forces, bringing the overall death toll since the crackdown began in October, to 53.

US Presses Russia To Withdraw Troops In Ukraine Call

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken urged Russia to immediately de-escalate tensions and to withdraw troops from Ukraine's borders in a call Tuesday with Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov.

Blinken "emphasized that further invasion of Ukraine would be met with swift and severe consequences and urged Russia to pursue a diplomatic path," the US State department said in a statement.

Lavrov said after the call that he had told Blinken that Russia would continue insisting on its demands, including that the West stick to its security "obligations," and added that: "Blinken agreed that there is subject for further discussion."

The call came amid rising worries that Russia intends to attack Ukraine, and a US official said Lavrov gave "no indication" of any plans to de-escalate.

Blinken said Washington and its European partners are willing to keep talking, but also underscored "the US commitment to Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity," and to Kyiv's right to determine its own alliances -- a reference to Russia's demand for a pledge that Ukraine will not join NATO.

- Surge in diplomatic efforts -

With tens of thousands of Russian troops massed on the Ukrainian border, Tuesday saw another burst of top-level diplomacy to try to head off a major conflict in Europe.

The British and Polish prime ministers were in Kyiv for talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, as Russian President Vladimir Putin met with the Hungarian leader in Moscow and held a phone call with the Italian prime minister.

Putin was to give a press conference with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban after their talks, and could make his first major comments on the crisis in weeks.

Going in to the meeting with Orban, Putin reiterated that Moscow had sent proposals to Washington for "written commitments" on Russia's demands for security guarantees from the West.

"I would like to assure you that no EU leader wants war or conflict, we are ready for a rational agreement, from the EU side," Orban told the Russian leader.

- 'Toughest sanctions ever' -

Orban, one of Putin's few allies among NATO and EU leaders, made the trip to Moscow in defiance of opposition parties who said it went against the country's national interests.

Tensions between Russia and the West have been building for weeks, with Washington accusing Moscow of deploying more than 100,000 troops near the Ukrainian border and preparing an invasion of its pro-Western neighbour.

Russia denies any plans to invade but is demanding that Ukraine never be allowed to join NATO and a series of other security guarantees against the US-led military alliance's expansion in the ex-Soviet bloc.

Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi urged "a de-escalation of tensions" in a call with Putin on Tuesday, a day after French leader Emmanuel Macron spoke to Putin for the second time in four days.

Western leaders have repeatedly warned of "severe consequences" if Russia does invade, including wide-ranging and damaging economic sanctions.

Britain and the United States said Monday they were looking at targeting people in Putin's inner circle, including powerful business allies.

British Foreign Secretary Liz Truss told parliament that the government was putting through "the toughest sanctions regime against Russia we've ever had".

"Those in and around the Kremlin will have nowhere to hide," she said.

The United States and Britain have been at the forefront in warning of an invasion and have sent new shipments of weapons to shore up the Ukrainian military.

Before leaving for Kyiv, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson vowed to "uphold Ukraine's sovereignty in the face of those who seek to destroy it".

Johnson and Zelensky will on Tuesday discuss the "ongoing Russian hostile activity", a British statement said, covering "the full range of strategic UK support to Ukraine".

- Ukraine to bolster military -

Zelensky said Kyiv was enjoying its biggest diplomatic and military support since Russia's 2014 annexation of Crimea from Ukraine, which prompted widespread condemnation and economic sanctions against Moscow.

"Everyone is coming to us. It is very important," Zelensky told parliament.

The Ukraine leader announced plans to add 100,000 personnel to the armed forces over three years and end obligatory service, as Kyiv looks to professionalise its forces.

Ukraine's military has been transformed with Western support over the past eight years, from a threadbare outfit that relied on volunteer fighters to a battle-hardened force.