Explainer – Career Meaning

Explainer: What is the Genocide Convention?

Filed with the Hague-based International Court of Justice (ICJ), a UN court, on 29 December, South Africa’s case stated that Israel, particularly since 7 October, “has failed to prevent genocide and has failed to prosecute direct and overt incitement to genocide”. So, what is the Genocide Convention? The basics The 1948 Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of…

Explainer: How Darfur became a ‘humanitarian calamity and catastrophic human rights crisis’

Close to nine million people need humanitarian assistance and reports suggest that some 4,000 people have been targeted and killed because of their ethnicity. There are now concerns that Darfur is returning to the years of brutal fighting and increasing atrocities last witnessed two decades ago that left some 300,000 people dead and millions of…

Explainer: How aid reaches Gaza

Barricaded for two weeks at the outset of the conflict, the Rafah crossing re-opened on 21 October following an Israel-Egyptian deal for limited entry of humanitarian aid deliveries. Still, only a trickle is getting across the border. While media reports announce fresh efforts to get aid to Gaza, like French and Italian hospital ships and…

Explainer: How AI helps combat climate change

The recent launch of the UN-led AI Advisory Body advanced a growing global trend to harness machine learning to find solutions to common challenges. AI is upping the data crunching game and a growing number of governments, businesses and civil society partners are working together to reap its many benefits. That includes speeding up and scaling efforts…

Explainer: Fighting for facts amid crisis in Israel and Gaza

Harmful disinformation about the ongoing conflict in the wake of the 7 October attacks by Hamas against Israel continues to circulate online, with potentially dangerous consequences on the ground. While misinformation refers to the accidental spread of falsehoods, disinformation can be circulated intentionally by State or non-State actors, including during an armed conflict, to influence…

Explainer: A look inside the Gaza crossing convoy

After viewing some of the shipments himself in Egypt close to Gaza, pallets of medical supplies, food, and water among them, UN Secretary-General António Guterres told reporters that right now, the trucks urgently need to move to the other side of the border, as a matter of “life and death”. The ongoing siege imposed shortly…

Explainer: What is international humanitarian law?

But, what exactly are the rules of war and what happens when they are broken? To find out more about international humanitarian law, known by its acronym IHL, UN News spoke with Eric Mongelard at the UN human rights office, OHCHR. Here’s what you need to know: Rules of war International humanitarian law is as…

Explainer: How the UN works behind the scenes during crises

The humanitarian role is what gets a lot of public attention as agreements are secured to arrange for aid to get through to civilians and to protect them, including trying to ensure that international humanitarian law (often called the laws governing war and broadly covered by the Geneva Conventions) are upheld. The Gaza Strip prior…

Explainer: How UN delivers life-saving aid amid crises

One in every 33 people (that’s 242 million people) on the planet needed humanitarian assistance in 2022, and most of that aid was coordinated through the UN. Here’s how the UN does it: Coordination: Crisis HQ This week, as the Israel-Palestine crisis erupted on 7 October, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA)…

Explainer: UN on the ground amid Israel-Palestine crisis

As the conflict intensified amid escalating violence, a complete blockade of food, water, and vital services was put in place by Israel as reports emerged of Israeli ground operations in Gaza, which is home to more than two million people. While UN offices in Gaza sustained “significant damage” from nearby airstrikes on Monday night, agencies…