Africa

The BBC speaks to a man haunted by the decision he was forced to make after Morocco's deadly earthquake.

Protection is paramount to ensure that processes run smoothly during High-Level week. Credit: Shutterstock

By Mollie Fraser-Andrews
GENEVA, Switzerland, Sep 11 2023 (IPS)

The United Nations Security and Safety Service is the Division charged with the strategic management of safety and security operations at Headquarters, Offices away from Headquarters, Regional Commissions, and International Tribunals.

As part of its daily role, the Service enables a safe and secure operating environment for UN activities and high-level events such as the UN General Assembly (UNGA). With the UNGA now in progress, we take you behind the scenes to what it takes to prepare for High-Level week which begins September 19.

The UN security officers are at the front and center of this event, and they undertake their roles of safeguarding dozens of world leaders with the utmost seriousness, professionalism, and experience garnered from their daily responsibilities.

Rodrigo Victor da Paixão, Deputy Chief of the Security and Safety Service, notes, “On any given day of the year at the UNHQ, we might have several VVIPs or Heads of State/Government coming in. We practically do a mini-GA every day,” he adds with a smile.

“From a UN Security point of view, it is all about building on what we do all year round and scaling up for GA week. September witnesses intensified efforts due to the sheer volume of participants”, he mentions.

The number and level of participants call for a strengthened security posture, as per any event in the international arena. This involves flying in additional UN security officers from other duty stations to reinforce the New York staff.

As a National Special Security Event (NSSE) that requires full protective, crisis management, incident response, and counterterrorism capabilities at all levels, from local to the federal government, the UNGA is recognized by the host government as having both national and international significance.

The host government deploys the full power of its law enforcement and emergency response, often incorporating around 17 or 18 distinct US agencies led by the Secret Service.

Security measures are tightened around the UNHQ building during the High-Level segment. Credit: UNDSS Gallery

Preparations for the UNGA

In a sense, the GA never really ends. Da Paixão explains that “For us, it never stops. The day after the last event of the GA High-Level week, we are already preparing for next year, through reviewing lessons learned and how we can do it better next time.”

For all that, there is a process specific to each year’s GA with the stopwatch beginning in May. “That’s when we start doing our first internal coordination meetings. At first it is one every other week, then starting in July, every week,” Da Paixão notes.

Various drills are conducted in July and August, ranging from fire drills to mock medical emergencies to diverse mass casualty scenarios like terrorist attacks, natural disasters, etc. “We have a thorough plan in place in the event that we need to transport several people to the hospital at once. There is also close cooperation with the NYC fire department, our medical service, and hospitals nearby,” Da Paixão says, “We have prepared for all the worst-case scenarios.”

A specific security risk assessment for the UNGA is prepared by the SSS-NY Crisis Management and Strategic Planning Unit, in consultation with the relevant host country law enforcement authorities. Red Team exercises are conducted by various SSS teams to account for any vulnerabilities and implement mitigating measures.

In addition, a Security Operations Plan with evacuation, emergency, and safety plans is also prepared and updated continuously, along with various security concepts and needs analysis for the event that prompts a review of all procedures in place and safety inspections. Additional checkpoints are coordinated with NYPD to extend the outer perimeter to Second Avenue.

Bomb sweeps of the complex are also conducted before and during the event in coordination with the host country. SSS also coordinates and reviews with NYPD the traffic patterns outside the UN premises and manages vehicles and motorcade access and movement inside the complex.

The Special Services Unit (SSU) provides close protection to visiting dignitaries in coordination with host country agencies and visiting national security elements accompanying the VVIPs while on UN premises. SSU also liaises and provides briefings and walk-throughs for security counterparts before the GA.

Security briefings are crucial for the smooth running of the General Assembly session. Credit: UN Photo/Eskinder Debele

During the GA

Months of efforts culminate at the UNGA High-Level week. Statistics from the previous year UNGA-77 revealed screening of a total of 55,580 persons and 67,698 items, with the daily highest record of 13,508 persons and 13,165 items.

The Pass and ID Unit issued a total of 146,940 ground and overlay passes with around 43% (9,524) ground passes, 38% (8,404) mission overlay passes, 16% (3,645) staff overlay passes and 3% (546) media passes.

The Special Services Unit assisted Member States in providing safety and security to 140 Heads of State (HOS) and Heads of Government (HOG), 63 Foreign Ministers (FMs), and 34 other VIPs. To add, 745 motorcades were allowed into the UNHQ compound with their 86 high and medium threat level HOS/HOG representatives, while 73 of them requested walkthrough escorts through the UN compound.

Furthermore, a Joint Operation Center is set up at the UN for the High-Level week, where various US agencies continuously coordinate with the UN Security representatives to e
nsure the smooth operation of the event.

“The GA entails more than its central proceedings. Numerous side events, dinners, and themed events and functions occur concurrently. This year, for instance, will feature the Sustainable Development Goal summit,” Paixão says. “This will bring in a lot more people and it is going to be a lot busier than a regular GA.”

Mollie Fraser-Andrews is Editorial Coordinator, UN TODAY.

Source: UN TODAY, the official magazine of international civil servants, Geneva

The link to the website: https://untoday.org/

IPS UN Bureau

 

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Farmers have improved their income by rearing Gramapriya poultry, which is environmentally friendly and organic. Credit: Umar Manzoor Shah/IPS

By Umar Manzoor Shah
TELANGANA, INDIA, Sep 11 2023 (IPS)

Even after toiling hard for an entire year, Shivaji Rao, a 37-year-old farmer, would find it hard to cover the basic expenses of his family.

He cultivates maize from his one-and-a-half-acre land in India’s Southern State of Telangana.

Roa told IPS that the prices of fertilisers and seeds in his home state have skyrocketed to the extent that it is herculean to even think of buying them in adequate quantity.

“The changes in climate, on the other hand, is wreaking havoc on poor farmers like us. The untimely rainfall, the drought-like situation coupled with the scarcity of irrigation facilities is leaving us high and dry to the core,” Roa said.

In a remote village of the state called Aseefabad, another farmer, namely Bhagwan Nath, shares a similar predicament.

He says besides farming, he does menial jobs like day labour at some government-sponsored construction sites to make ends meet.

However, the farmer who grows redgram (a type of legume) from a one-acre field says the farming and the daily paid labour aren’t enough to suffice his family’s needs.

“I mean, we have children who deserve better education. I need to send my kids to a good school so that they can get a quality education, but doing so needs money. I am not earning enough,” Bhaghwan told IPS.

There are scores of other farmers in the hamlet sharing the same tale and facing the same ordeal.

Nominally, their monthly incomes do not go beyond a mere 15 to 20 thousand rupees (180-240 USD).

Climate change in the region has been severely affecting the farmers with the late arrival of monsoons and sudden unexpected heat waves occurring.

“This drastic change in the weather pattern damages the crops beyond repair. At times, a year of hard work gets wasted with one single blow of wind. Further, the cost of seeds and fertilisers is adding to our predicament. It is turning us insane,” sighs Shivaji.

As per the government records, the hamlet, during February and March, experienced temperatures higher than the norm.

Typically, elevated temperatures result in increased moisture capacity of the air, often leading to the formation of thunderstorms. The temperatures in the hamlet surpassed 35°C, facilitating the absorption of moisture from the Bay of Bengal, culminating in the development of a depression.

Reports show that over the past decade, the area has encountered unprecedented weather occurrences – believed to be both climate-change-induced and because of rapid urbanisation in the region.

To mitigate the suffering of the farmers of this remote village, a few non-government organisations have visited the farmers, and this resulted in discussions around opportunities for marginalised farmers for self-sustaining livelihood and climate-resilient agricultural practices through community-owned processes.

One of the NGOs mooted the idea of pollution-free poultry farming for these farmers.

Along with other farmers, Roa and Bhagwan enrolled for the program. Each farmer received 40 chicks of the Gramapriya breed, with a mature weight ranging from 1.5 to 2 kilograms. The poultry rearing was environmentally friendly, ensuring that there was no odour emanating from the shed. This approach not only resulted in wholesome meat and eggs for the farmer’s family due to the organic nature of the produce but also generated supplementary income through the sale of organic meat, eggs, and compost derived from the bedding.

The training provided to farmers included instructions on formulating appropriate feed for the chicks, enabling them to be ready for the local market within just four months. One farmer, Bhagwan, has already sold ten birds weighing a total of 18 kilograms, earning an extra income of Rs 5400 (70 USD) at a rate of Rs 300 (4 USD) per kilogram over a span of nine months. Additionally, he has sold 200 eggs at Rs 5 each, resulting in an income of Rs 1000.

Moreover, Bhagwan is implementing a breeding strategy by using local chicks to hatch PFPF eggs, thereby multiplying the poultry population on his PFPF farm.

As a result of this new PFPF initiative, his annual earnings have increased by Rs 6400 (80 USD). In total, Bhagwanath’s annual income has risen from Rs 35,000 to Rs 40,000 (about 420 to 480 USD) within a few months due to these efforts.

Roa says that the poultry he has received has also helped him receive extra income and make a good living.

“Now, I am not entirely dependent upon farming. The poultry is what keeps me hopeful. I am planning to put in extra effort in this business and make a good living out of it.”

Roa says within three months, he has been able to earn more than 50 thousand rupees (700 USD) from selling organic eggs and chicken in the market.

“There is a growing demand for organic food, and people really like what I sell. They are quite responsive to it,” Roa said.

IPS UN Bureau Report

 

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