And more and more, climate change aggravates the problem – damaging the roads, disturbing supply chains and threatening already fragile infrastructure with floods, droughts and extreme weather conditions.

But as global discussions are intensifying, a United Nations conference in progress in Turkmenistan aims to return the script – to help transform Lldcs Liaison linked to the connection linked to a more intelligent and more resilient infrastructure, to rationalized logistics and to stronger regional links.

Like the second day of the third United Nations Conference on developing countries without coast (LLDC3) started on Wednesday, the atmosphere of the center of the Awaza congress changed.

The presidents and the heads of government having left after the opening ceremony on Tuesday, the security measures relaxed, which allows the delegates to move more easily on the site.

But the pace of the conference has not slowed down. The meeting rooms have remained crowded, the exhibition is held burst of activity and the participants sailed on long corridors in white carpets to attend consecutive events. A large team of young multilingual volunteers helped guide participants through the sprawling complex, keeping high energy and soft logistics.

Commercial problems and “geographic gap”

The day’s discussions focused on Overcome the disadvantages of geography. The main thematic round table has been devoted to trade, which is an urgent problem for the 32 LLDC in the world, which lack direct access to sea ports. Consequently, they must count on longer and more complex routes to reach international markets, increase costs and reduce competitiveness.

And geography is not the only obstacle. Many LLDCs have trouble with obsolete infrastructure and limited use of digital tools that could speed up slow transport times.

These roadblocks do not only delay trade – they retain economic growth and widen the gap between the LLDC and other developing countries.

Tuesday, a Secretary General António Guterres Tell to journalists In Awaza, “developing countries without ancestry need intelligent logistics, rationalized systems and stronger partnerships with transit countries”, adding: “We must reduce administrative formalities, digitize border operations and modernize transport networks to reduce delays and costs.”

The figures tell the story

The impact of geography is clearly manifested in the figures.

Local developing countries represent more than seven% of the world’s population, but in 2024, they only represented 1.2% of the world’s trade in goods. It is a brutal reminder of the way in which physical barriers can result in physical barriers.

The Awaza action program for 2024-2034, adopted by the United Nations General Assembly last year, aims to change this reality. But transforming ambition into results will take daring and coordinated efforts between borders and sectors.

A sentence echoing in the corridors of the center of the Awaza congress is “of the linked connection” – a rallying call to transform geographic disadvantage into opportunity.

The state of mind counts

Umberto de Pretto, secretary general of the International Road Transport Union (IRU), said UN News: “There is evidence that if you put the right policies in place … you can be lineage … I think that the biggest obstacle for landlocked countries is the state of mind. »»

The IRU, founded in 1947, supports sustainable mobility and logistics worldwide and represents more than 3.5 million transport operators in more than 100 countries.

As M. de Preto points out, only 11 of the 32 developing countries without coastline in the world have joined the shooting system supported by the UN, which allows goods to move from origin to destination in compartments sealed in a mutually recognized customs procedure.

“The largest user of the system we are directing, the United Nations Convention called Tir, is Uzbekistan, one of the only two double hiding places. It is therefore proven that if you put good policies in place, your country will be linked, not landlocked, “he said.

Digital tools for smoother transit

New technologies offer additional means of simplifying the freight movement.

“How do you go from paper to digitally transfer of information to government authorities?” We need things like “only one window”, where you have a single admission point for electronic information so that the government can analyze this information and make decisions earlier, “said Ian Saunders, Secretary General of the World Customs Organization.

He shared examples of successful initiatives, such as monitoring cargoes in East and West Africa and the use of electronic shooting notebooks – sometimes called “goods passport” – by private companies in Central Asia. These unique documents guarantee the payment of rights and taxes suspended while the goods are in transit.

Climatic risks and smarter infrastructure

Another example came from Dmitry Maryasin, deputy executive secretary of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE).

Speak with UN NewsHe noted the adoption in 2023 of a roadmap for the digitization of the transcaspian corridor. Using United Nations tools and harmonized regulations, the corridor operates both land and sea transport – including rail and shipping through the Caspian Sea – to move goods between Asia and Europe.

Climate change also makes freight transport more difficult. “We see flooding of recurring roads, a vulnerability to landslides, mud flows, avalanches and droughts – all of this is now a reality in Central Asia,” said Maryasin.

In response, the one has developed a test of transport infrastructure stress test that facilitates climate risks. An online platform based on satellite data has also been launched, allowing users to superimpose commercial routes and climatic risks on a card to make more smart investment decisions.

“Countries are already using it,” said Maryasin. Efforts are underway to integrate this platform with the same developed by the United Nations Escape Office, covering South and Southeast Asia.

A day for LLDC

On Wednesday also marked the first celebration of the International Day for the dissemination of information on the special needs of developing countries without coast. Although each LLDC is faced with unique development challenges, they also share common priorities. And with nearly 600 million people living in these countries, finding shared solutions is essential.

Awaza’s message is clear: isolation is not fate. With good state of mind, effective policies and significant partnerships, landlocked countries can become linked to the affair – and prosper.

LLDC3 continues tomorrow, Thursday August 7, with round tables and events on a range of subjects, as well as a female forum. Find all our cover here.

While the city has been rebuilt, the nuclear conflict remains a global threat, said Izumi Nakamitsu, a high UN representative for disarmament affairs Remarks at the Hiroshima Peace Memorial.

It was the only structure left standing near the bomb hypochent, which marked the first use of an atomic weapon at war.

Survivors, family members and representatives of international organizations and 120 countries were among around 55,000 people who attended the ceremony, according to the office of the Japanese Prime Minister.

Remember the dead, honoring the survivors

“On this 80th anniversary, we remember those who perished. We stick to families who carry their memory“Said Ms. Nakattisu, transmitting a message on behalf of the UN Secretary General António Guterres.

She paid tribute to hibakusha – The term for those who survived Hiroshima and atomic bombing of Nagasaki three days later – “whose voices became a Moral for peace. “”

“While their number becomes smaller each year, their testimony-and their eternal message of peace-will never leave us,” she said.

Rebuild hope, share vision

At a single instant on August 6, 1945, Hiroshima was reduced to ruins, tens of thousands of people were killed, “and humanity crossed a threshold from which he could not have returned”.

The next day, many thought that the city would never recover and that nothing would grow, she said, but the population has proven the opposite.

“You, the inhabitants of Hiroshima, have not simply rebuilt a city,” she said. “You have rebuilt hope. You have fed a vision of a world without nuclear weapons. And you have shared this vision with the world.

Listen to our podcast with the American Japanese author Kathleen Burkinhaw whose novel about a young Hibakusha “The Last Cherry Blossom” was inspired by the experience of his mother.

Duty to protect

Ms. Nakamitsu noted that 2025 also marks 80 years since the UN Foundation. In May, plants from the seeds of a kakis that survived the attack were planted at the New York headquarters.

“These are more than symbols of survival,” she said. “These are living will to the strength of the human mind – and our common duty to protect future generations against horrors of nuclear annihilation.”

In addition, the anniversary of the UN is a reminder of the reason why it was created in the first place – to prevent war, maintain human dignity and ensure that the tragedies of the past are never repeated.

“However, today, the risk of nuclear conflict increases,” she warned. “Confidence is crumbling. The geopolitical divisions widen. And the very weapons that brought such devastation to Hiroshima and Nagasaki are again treated as coercion tools. ”

During the ceremony, the mayor of Hiroshima, Kazumi Matsui, warned against the growing acceptance of nuclear weapons, according to the media. He cited conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East as examples.

However, signs of hope have emerged, according to the head of the United Nations disarmament.

Abolish nuclear weapons

Last October, the Japanese anti-nuclear group Nihon Hidankyo-which represents the survivors of the attacks-received the 2024 Nobel Peace Prize. It came only a few weeks after the meeting of countries at the UN adopted the Pact for the futureRecommending a world without nuclear weapons.

Ms. Nakamitsu insisted that “Commitments must lead to real change by strengthening the global disarmament regime -in particular, the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, supplemented by the momentum created by the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons. »»

She urged countries to draw the strength from both the resilience of Hiroshima and the wisdom of thehibakusha.

“Let’s work to eradicate the threat of nuclear weapons by eradicating the weapons themselves,” she said.

“And keep our commitment to thehibakushaAnd make sure that their testimony and their message of peace are postponed. Remembering the past is to protect and build peace today – and in the future. »»

Development – which also applies to occupied West Bank – is the result of the Israeli requirement introduced on March 9 impacting international non -governmental organizations (NGOs).

“Unless urgent measures are taken … Most of the NGO international partners could be deactivated on September 9 or earlier – Force them to withdraw all international staff and prevent them from providing critical humanitarian assistance and saving lives to the Palestinians, “said the UN and partner assistance organizations which are known collectively as the humanitarian country in the Palestinian Territory (OPT).

Many United Nations agencies still operate in Gaza, working in close collaboration with NGO partners to reach the most vulnerable people of the Enclave torn by the war. International NGOs are essential because they provide critical support to Palestinian NGOs in the form of supplies, financing and technical support.

Collective call

“Without this cooperation, their operations will be cut, reducing even more communities in food services, medical care, shelters and critical protection services,” said the humanitarian team, which is supervised by the UN superior assistance official in OPT and includes heads of the United Nations agency and more than 200 local and international NGOs.

Already, NGOs are prohibited who have not registered in the new system to send supplies to Gaza.

Last month, the Israeli authorities rejected repeated requests by 29 of them to send humanitarian aid to Gaza, citing organizations as “unauthorized”.

“This policy has already prevented the delivery of rescue aid, including medicine, food and hygiene,” said the humanitarian collective. “This most deeply affects women, children, the elderly and disabled people, more aggravating the risk of being subject to abuse and exploitation.”

In a statement urging Israel to reconsider its request for information sensitive to NGO employees, the humanitarian team insisted that The empire of his work violates international law “when we receive daily death reports by famine while Gaza faces famine conditions”.

Convoy tragedy

Meanwhile, inside Gaza, reports indicated on Wednesday that at least 20 people had been killed and dozens of others injured in the center of Gaza after a convoy of aid trucks overturned in a crowd.

The incident occurred Tuesday in southern Deir al-Balah, Central Gaza, according to local authorities. Other reports have indicated that desperate people asking for help had climbed the trucks before drivers lost control.

In his Last help update, the United Nations Coordination Office, OCHA, noted that 90% of the aid to Gaza since July 20 was “discharged by hungry crowds or looted by armed gangs”.

People who are approaching assistance convoys near Israeli military checks continue to be killed and injured, Ochha said.

He cited the health authorities who reported that Between May 27 to August 4, there were 1,516 deaths and more than 10,000 injuries On militarized distribution sites or along the ways of humanitarian aid convoy.

Some 21 months have passed since the armed attacks of October 7 against Israel, which sparked the current brutal conflict.

Thousands of people have died and a large part of Gaza has been lost, but life must continue, according to the correspondent, which remains anonymous for security reasons.

“Those who live here in Gaza do not need explanations to understand the meaning of this war.

It is enough to listen to a few minutes: the planes constantly buzz over the head, and the air strikes silence everything except the fear which, although invisible, fills each space between our tents and the outbursts in our body.

At night, there are absolute darkness with the exception of the lightning lights.

We sleep knowing that alarm clock is not guaranteed.

Each morning in Gaza is a new attempt to live and each evening a challenge to survive. This is the harsh reality in which we live.

I am one of the more than two million Palestinians living under the charge of the trip. I document stories of war and despair while experimenting with all their bitterness.

Since our house was destroyed in November 2023, the tent became our safety. My family, once part of my private world, is now one of the stories I share with the world.

Here, life is simple and tragic.

Sleeping on the field hard, cooking on firewood and the exhausting pursuit of a piece of bread are no longer options, but a lifestyle imposed by the cruelty of war.

Faced with my eldest son, who is not yet 14 years old, I see the reflection of a war which stole his childhood and imposed him greater charges than his years.

He has become an expert on water distribution roads, merchanting bread and carrying heavy gallons of water. I feel unlimited pride of his courage, but simultaneously a painful feeling of helplessness because I cannot protect him from what is happening around us.

Oasis of Hope

My wife tries to create an oasis of hope for our other children. My two older daughters continue to learn online when the Internet works intermittently and read the available books.

My youngest daughter is based on worn cardboard pieces while my youngest son, who is four years old, has no memory of something other than the sound of explosions.

We are helpless in front of his innocent questions. There are no schools, no education, only desperate attempts to maintain the brightness of childhood in them, faced with a brutal reality.

More than 625,000 children in Gaza have been deprived of an education.

This is due to the destruction of schools and the absence of a safe environment in which to learn.

The future of an entire generation is threatened.

Testimony

I work alongside other journalists. We walk between hospitals, streets and shelters.

We carry our journalistic equipment not only to document the events, but also to be a voice for those whose voices have been silenced.

We film a child suffering from a serious malnutrition, listen to the story of a man who has lost everything and attends the tears of a woman unable to provide food to her children.

We document a scene that is repeated daily: thousands of people rush to reach a truck of flour. They run after the trucks, collecting the last grains of flour on the ground.

They do not care about the danger because the hope of getting their hands on a miche of bread is more precious than life.

Each time, the victims fall along the roads of the militarized convoys and distribution points.

We walk in the streets, alert of each sound, as if we were waiting for the end to each turn that we do.

There is no more time for surprises or sadness, only constant tension and anxiety which are part of the DNA of survivors here.

This is the reality that the cameras do not capture, but it is the daily truth that we are trying to explain to the world.

UN colleagues tears

We document the efforts of the United Nations and its various organizations.

I see staff sleeping in their cars to get closer to level passages, and I see our colleagues from the United Nations cry while listening to the stories of my colleagues Gazans.

There is not enough help. The crossings open and close suddenly, and certain areas are deprived of supplies for days.

The western areas of Gaza City are overcrowded. The tents are distributed at each corner, on the sidewalks and among the rubble of destroyed houses, in disastrous conditions.

Empty markets

The value of the local currency has evaporated. Those who have money in their bank accounts pay costs up to 50% to withdraw it, to find themselves facing almost empty markets. Everything available is sold at exorbitant prices.

The vegetables are rare and, when available, one kilogram can cost more than $ 30. Fruits and meat are a distant memory.

The health system is in a complete collapse, because 85% of Gaza hospitals no longer work and most of the dialysis and chemotherapy services have ceased.

Medicines for chronic diseases are not available. I am unable to obtain medication for my parents, who suffer from diabetes and high blood pressure, and there is no hope of surgery that could save my brother’s arm, which was injured in an air strike.

Witness of everything

Sometimes I feel between two identities, the journalist documenting the suffering and the Humane who experiences it.

But, this is perhaps where the strength of our journalistic mission of the Gaza Strip lies: to be a voice of the heart of the tragedy, to transmit to the world the reality of what happens daily.

Each day in Gaza asks a new question:

Are we going to survive?

Will our children come back from their water search?

Will war end?

Will level crossings be open so that the aid can be delivered?

From there, we will continue, because new stories die and because each child, woman and man in Gaza deserves to have the voice heard.

I am a journalist.

I am a father.

I am moved.

And I witness everything.