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UN calls for restraint after deadly Kenya protests

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UN calls for restraint after deadly Kenya protests

At least 400 people were injured, including police officers, according to media reports. The official death toll has not been confirmed, with estimates ranging from eight to 16. 

The demonstrations marked the anniversary of last year’s anti-tax protests, when 60 people were reportedly killed and dozens abducted by police.

This year, anger intensified following the death of blogger Albert Ojwan, 31, who died in police custody earlier this month.

The demonstrators reportedly targeted government and police offices, chanted for the occupation of the presidential residence and attacked, looted and burned shops and businesses in Nairobi.

At a press conference, Kenyan Interior Minister Kipchumba Murkomen accused protestors of attempting to unconstitutionally enact “regime change.”

He also said nine police stations were attacked, dozens of vehicles destroyed, and five guns were stolen. 

UN Human Rights response

On Thursday, as smoke still rose from torched buildings in Nairobi, the UN human rights office, OHCHR, released a statement expressing concern.

Alarmed by reports that protesters had been wounded or killed by gunfire, OHCHR stressed that under international human rights law, law enforcement should only use lethal force when strictly necessary to protect life or prevent serious injury from an imminent threat.

The office welcomed the announcement that Kenya’s Independent Policing Oversight Authority will investigate the incidents and underlined the need for “prompt, thorough, independent and transparent investigations to bring those responsible to justice” and prevent recurrence. 

OHCHR also called for calm and restraint.

UN Spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric echoed these concerns at the daily press briefing in New York, saying: “We are obviously concerned about the violence we have seen in Kenya. We are closely monitoring the situation. We are very saddened by the loss of life.”

He also reiterated concerns over the reported gunshot wounds and welcomed plans for oversight investigations.

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‘Our kids cry for food’: Most Gaza families survive on one meal a day

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‘Our kids cry for food’: Most Gaza families survive on one meal a day

The meals which families are able to obtain are nutritiously poor — thin broths, lentils or rice, one piece of bread or sometimes just a combination of herbs and olive oil known as duqqa

Adults are routinely skipping meals in order to leave more for children, the elderly and the ill. And still, on average since January, 112 children have been admitted on a daily basis for acute malnutrition.  

“[When my children wake up at night hungry] I tell them ‘Drink water and close your eyes.’ It breaks me. I do the same – drink water and pray for morning,” as one parent said. 

Risking lives for food

Due to these extreme food shortages, people in Gaza are forced to risk their lives on a daily basis to access small amounts of food. Since 27 May, 549 Palestinians have been killed and 4,066 have been injured trying to access food, according to the Ministry of Health (MoH) in Gaza.

“The majority of casualties have been shot or shelled trying to reach US-Israeli distribution sites purposefully set up in militarized zones,” said Johnathan Whittall, head of office for the UN humanitarian affairs agency, OCHA, in the Occupied Palestinian Territories. 

Since the end of May, the US-Israeli backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) has been distributing aid in Gaza, bypassing the UN and established NGOs.

The UN has said Palestinians who seek aid from the GHF face threats of gunfire, shelling and stampedes.

“We don’t want to be out there. But what choice do we have? Our kids cry for food. We don’t sleep at night. We walk, wait, and hope we come back,” one Palestinian told WFP.

Water is delivered to Gazans sheltering at an UNRWA school.

Systems near collapse

Protracted conflict and bombardment have pushed almost all service systems in Gaza to the brink.

As a result of fuel shortages, only 40 per cent of drinking water facilities are functional and 93 per cent of households face water insecurity. 

The fuel shortage is also negatively affecting the provision of medical services with medical equipment and medicine storage reliant on electricity.

For the first time since the resumption of limited aid entry on 19 May, nine trucks containing medical items offloaded supplies on the Israeli side of the Kerem Shalom crossing on Wednesday.

Displaced, over and over again

Since the resumption of Israeli bombardment in Gaza on 18 March after a 42-day ceasefire, over 684,000 Palestinians have been displaced. And for almost all of them, this is not the first time.

With over 82 per cent of Gaza either designated as an Israeli militarized zone or under a displacement order, there are few places — much less safe places — that the newly displaced can go.

They have been forced to take shelter in overcrowded displacement camps, makeshift shelters, damaged buildings and sometimes just on open streets. Schools are no longer buildings of learning but of shelter.

An UNRWA member of staff inspects destroyed infrastructure.

An UNRWA member of staff inspects destroyed infrastructure.

“Schools have transformed into empty shelters, devoid of any elements of a safe learning environment,” said Kamla, a teacher with the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) in Nuseirat. 

All of these shelters are experiencing rapidly deteriorating conditions as a result of insufficient shelter materials, according to Stéphane Dujarric, spokesperson for the Secretary-General. 

“No shelter materials have entered Gaza since 1 March, before the Israeli authorities imposed a full blockade on aid and any other supplies for nearly 80 days,” he said at a briefing on 19 June.

“While some commodities have subsequently been allowed in small quantities, tents, timber, tarpaulins and any other shelter items remain prohibited.”

The UN and its partners have 980,000 shelter items prepared to dispatch into Gaza once authorization is granted by the Israeli authorities. 

‘Symbols of hope’

Since the beginning of the violence in Gaza, UNRWA has continued to work tirelessly to provide displaced and injured Palestinians with many types of support.

“Despite all this, the eyes and hopes of our community remain fixed on us. UNRWA staff are not merely service providers. In the eyes of people in Gaza, we are pillars of resilience, lifelines of stability and symbols of hope,” said Hussein, an UNRWA worker in Gaza City. 

An UNRWA worker carries a young boy in Gaza.

An UNRWA worker carries a young boy in Gaza.

But as fuel shortages continue and only small amounts of humanitarian aid — food, medicine, shelter materials — trickle through the Kerem Shalom border crossing, the job of UNRWA workers and other humanitarians in Gaza is increasingly untenable. 

“We have lost all the tools needed to work, so we have had to adapt,” said Neven, a psychosocial UNRWA worker in Khan Younis.

Dspite their best efforts, the bombardment and devastation of Gaza continues with children going hungry and some even expressing suicidal thoughts. 

“I told my daughter her deceased father is safe, eating and drinking with God,” one mother said. “Now, she cries every day and says, ‘I’m hungry and want to go to my father because he has food to feed us.’” 

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Millions of people remain invisible – but the leaders of Asia -Pacific engage in the change by 2030

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Now governments have committed to filling this gap by 2030.

At the end of Third ministerial conference on civil registration and vital statistics in Asia and the Pacific,, The leaders have adopted a renewed declaration to strengthen national civil registration systems – the fundamental mechanisms that record births, deaths and other vital events.

This decision extends the regional initiative of the “decade of the CRVS”, launched for the first time in 2014, in a new phase aligned with the Sustainable development objectives (ODD), in particular Target 16.9 by ensuring a legal identity for all.

“” These figures are more than statistics, they represent lives without legal recognition and families are left without support »» said Armida Salsiah Alisjahbana, Executive Secretary of the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (Escape), who summoned the forum.

“This week was a powerful call for action. We have seen inspiring examples from countries reaching the most marginalized, adopting digital innovation and strengthening legal and institutional frameworks. ”

More than statistics

Civil registration systems and civil statistics (CRVS) are essential to establish legal identity, access services and ensure inclusion in public policy.

A birth certificate can mean access to health care, education and social protection.

A death certificate allows families to claim inheritance, pensions and other rights.

Without these critical documents, individuals – in particular women, children and rural populations – exclusion of risks, vulnerability and injustice.

Unequal progress

According to a recent escape report,, The region has produced remarkable gains since 2012 – The number of children not recorded under the age of five has dropped by more than 60%, from 135 million to 51 million.

In 2024, 29 countries now recorded more than 90% of births in one year, and 30 do the same for deaths. The number of countries publishing civil statistics based on civil registration has almost doubled during this period.

However, progress remains uneven – around 14 million children in the region reaching their first birthday without their birth being recorded. And 6.9 million deaths are not recorded each year, in particular those that occur outside health establishments or in remote areas.

Many countries are always faced with gaps in the certification and coding of death causes, hampering the surveillance of diseases and public health responses, as shown in the COVID 19 pandemic.

Escap Photo / Panumas Sanguanwong

A participant in the ministerial conference on civil registration and essential statistics (CRV) in Bangkok participates in a demonstration at the Thai Digital Id and Verification exhibition stand.

Put everyone in the photo

The new ministerial declaration calls for universal and reactive CRVS systems which are inclusive, digitally compatible and resilient.

It emphasizes gender equity in registration, legal protections for personal data and continuity of services during emergencies.

Governments have also been committed to increasing training, extending community awareness and improving relationship relationships – including through verbal autopsies and improving certification systems.

“” Everyone counts. Data save livesMs. Alisjahbana said“Legal identity is a right, not a privilege. No one should be left behind – simply because they have never been counted in the first place. ”

“” Let’s finish what we started. Let’s give everyone in the photo and make sure that each life really matters.“”

Originally published at Almouwatin.com

Ukraine: the increase in hostilities moves civilians, limit humanitarian access

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The regions of Donetsk, Kherson and Sumy have suffered the most damage, several civilians were said to have been killed, and many displaced spokespersons from the UN, Stéphane Dujarric, told journalists on Thursday during a regular press bass.

“Our humanitarian colleagues tell us that food insecurity remains a first line concern and in border regions,” he added.

According to a recent assessment of the United Nations World Food Program (Wfp) and the organization of food and agriculture (Fao), the conflict has devastated livelihoods and quadrupled poverty levels, leaving the most vulnerable people – especially inappropriate people – more at risk.

Food insecurity on the front line

The executive director of PAM, Cindy McCain, described the challenges.

“This front line extends over 700 miles and countless towns and villages are still without survival bases,” she said.

This made the work of humanitarian workers even more vital, with more than 400,000 people in Donetsk and Kherson receiving food and agricultural support in addition to cash assistance.

In total, more than 130 humanitarian organizations have distributed food aid and livelihoods to more than 1.8 million people across the country.

Help challenges

But hostilities becoming more and more deadly, humanitarian access remains limited. Since the start of the year, there has been a 50% increase in civil deaths compared to the same period last year.

The authorities continue to urge the 10,000 people who remain in the first line region to be evacuated for their own security.

“For those who stayed or those who returned, there is no job, no income and no opportunity,” said McCain.

Originally published at Almouwatin.com

The United Nations Rights Office sounds the alarm on forced displacement in the West Bank

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Israeli authorities have intensified measures to transfer a large number of people from Palestinian cities and communities for a long time, according to OhchrBureau of the occupied Palestinian territory.

On June 18, the High Planning Council of the Israeli civil administration published a directive to reject all the building permits and planning submitted by the Palestinians to Masafer Yatta, in the south of the hills of Hebron, in the region designated by the Israeli authorities under the name of the 918 shooting area.

The decision was based on the reason that the Israeli army needs the “military training” region, the Office of Rights said.

Demolitions

In recent months, Israel has considerably accelerated home demolitions, as well as arbitrary arrest and the ill -treatment of Palestinians and human rights defenders. This occurs alongside intensification of movement restrictions in and around Masafer Yatta, to force the Palestinians, noted the office.

At the same time, the Israeli settlers of neighboring outposts led daily attacks and the harassment of the Palestinians, including the elderly, women and children, to force them to leave.

“The recent directive of the Israeli civil administration actually opens the way to the Israeli army to demolish the existing structures in the region and expel about the approximately 1,200 Palestinians, who have lived there for decades,” said the OHCHR.

“This would be equivalent to a forced transfer, which is a war crime. This could also constitute a crime against humanity if it was committed as part of a widespread or systematic attack on any civilian population, with knowledge of the attack. »»

Some 6,463 Palestinians were forcibly moved following the demolition of their houses by Israel between October 7, 2023 and May 31, 2025, according to the United Nations Humanitarian Affairs Office, Ochha,,

This figure does not include around 40,000 Palestinians displaced by three refugee camps in Jenin and Tulkarem due to intensive Israeli operations in the north of the West Bank since January.

During the same period, more than 2,200 Palestinians were forcibly moved by settlers and access restrictions.

More risky communities

Ohchr added that countless other Palestinian communities are faced with the same forced trip. He said that on June 10, the municipality of Jerusalem would have issued demolition notices for the whole village of a Nu’man, which houses 150 people.

The village, which is located near Bethlehem, was cut off from the rest of the West Bank by building the separation wall and incorporated within the unilaterally declared limits of Israel of the municipality of Jerusalem unilaterally. Most Palestinians have not received Jerusalem identification cards, which actually makes them incapable of accessing services in East Jerusalem or the rest of the West Bank.

“These demolition opinions seem to be another stage of Israel to worsen the coercive environment and forcibly transfer the Palestinians in the village and consolidate the annexation of this land,” said the office.

EXPOLS in East Jerusalem

Meanwhile, the Palestinians in East Jerusalem also occupied the continuous threat of forced expulsion of their homes and their land.

The OHCHR said on June 16 and 22, the Israeli Supreme Court approved the expulsion of five Palestinian families, 37 people, their homes in the Batn El Hawa district of Silwan on the basis of discriminatory laws which allow Jewish people to recover lost goods in the 1948 war, while refusing the same rights.

In addition, the Israel Land land authority published expulsion notices on June 11 for residences at Umm Tuba. The 150 Palestinians affected were informed that the land was registered with the Jewish National Fund under the “Title on the Land”.

“These expulsions are part of a concerted campaign of Israeli state organizations and settlers, which target the Palestinian districts to grasp the Palestinian houses and extend the Jewish colonies,” said the Ohchr.

The office stressed that these acts violated international law, which prohibits the confiscation of private property in occupied territory, as the advisory opinion of the International Court of Justice (Icj) Last July.

Originally published at Almouwatin.com

UN rights office sounds the alarm over forced displacement in the West Bank

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UN rights office sounds the alarm over forced displacement in the West Bank

Israeli authorities have stepped up measures to transfer large numbers of people from long-standing Palestinian towns and communities, according to OHCHR’s office in the Occupied Palestinian Territory.

On 18 June, the High Planning Council in the Israeli Civil Administration issued a directive to reject all building and planning permits submitted by Palestinians in Masafer Yatta, South Hebron Hills, in the area referred by the Israeli authorities as Firing Zone 918.

The decision was based on the grounds that the Israeli army needs the area for “military training,” the rights office said.

Demolitions on the rise

In recent months, Israel has dramatically ramped up home demolitions, as well as the arbitrary arrest and ill-treatment of Palestinians and human rights defenders. This is happening alongside intensifying movement restrictions in and around Masafer Yatta, to force Palestinians out, the office noted.

At the same time, Israeli settlers from nearby outposts have carried out daily attacks and harassment of Palestinians, including older people, women and children, to force them to leave.

“The recent directive by the Israeli Civil Administration effectively paves the way for the Israeli army to demolish existing structures in the area and expel the approximately 1,200 Palestinians, who have been living there for decades,” OHCHR said.

“This would amount to forcible transfer, which is a war crime. It could also amount to a crime against humanity if committed as part of a widespread or systematic attack directed against any civilian population, with knowledge of the attack.”

Some 6,463 Palestinians have been forcibly displaced following the demolition of their homes by Israel between 7 October 2023 and 31 May 2025, according to the UN humanitarian affairs office, OCHA,

This figure does not include the approximately 40,000 Palestinians displaced from three refugee camps in Jenin and Tulkarem as a result of intensive Israeli operations in the northern West Bank since January.

During the same period, over 2,200 Palestinians were forcibly displaced by settler attacks and access restrictions.

More communities at risk

OHCHR added that countless other Palestinian communities face the same fate of forced displacement. It said that on 10 June, the Jerusalem municipality reportedly issued demolition notices for the entire village of An Nu’man, home to 150 people. 

The village, which is located near Bethlehem, was cut off from the rest of the West Bank by the construction of the separation wall and incorporated into Israel’s unilaterally declared boundaries of the Jerusalem municipality. Most Palestinians were not provided with Jerusalem identification cards, effectively rendering them unable to access services in either East Jerusalem or the rest of the West Bank. 

“These demolition notices appear to be another step by Israel to compound the coercive environment and forcibly transfer Palestinians from the village and consolidate the annexation of this land,” the office said.

Evictions in East Jerusalem

Meanwhile, Palestinians in occupied East Jerusalem also face the ongoing threat of forced eviction from their homes and lands. 

OHCHR said that on 16 and 22 June, the Israeli Supreme Court endorsed the eviction of five Palestinian families, 37 people, from their homes in the Batn El Hawa neighbourhood of Silwan based on discriminatory laws that permit Jewish individuals to reclaim property lost in the 1948 war, while denying Palestinians the same rights. 

Additionally, the Israel Land Authority issued eviction notices on 11 June for residencies in Umm Tuba.  The 150 Palestinians affected were informed that the land was registered to the Jewish National Fund under the “settlement of land title”. 

“These evictions form part of a concerted campaign by the Israeli State and settler organisations, which target Palestinian neighbourhoods to seize Palestinian homes and expand Jewish settlements,” OHCHR said.

The office stressed that these acts violate international law, which prohibits the confiscation of private property in occupied territory, as highlighted by the advisory opinion of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) last July. 

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DR Congo: Conflict survivors ‘have been through hell,’ says UN aid chief

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DR Congo: Conflict survivors ‘have been through hell,’ says UN aid chief

Speaking from the Goma region, whose main city was overrun by Rwanda-backed M23 rebels in January, UN Emergency Relief Coordinator Tom Fletcher explained that people had suffered “decades of trauma”.

The last few months have been “particularly horrific for so many”, he added, referring to the lawless fall-out from heavy fighting this year between the rebel fighters and the regular DRC army that has been linked to serious human rights abuses, including potential war crimes.

“Most striking today and yesterday has been the stories of sexual violence, and sitting with women who tell horrific stories which are too horrific for me to tell here and who are trying to find the courage to rebuild their lives,” the UN relief chief said.

We’re there providing that support to them, trying to help them rebuild, but they have been through hell.”

Peace call

All those newly displaced by the M23 rebel advance are in addition to the five million people already living in displacement camps in eastern DRC. Today, more than 20 million people need relief assistance. “They are desperate for this conflict to end,” Mr. Fletcher continued.

A day after NATO Member States agreed to a five per cent increase in funding for their collective defence, investment in the humanitarian work of the UN and its partners is at rock bottom.  

In DRC, a full 70 per cent of UN aid programmes was historically funded by the United States – “amazing generosity over decades” – Mr. Fletcher noted. But today “we’re seeing most of that disappearing”, he insisted, forcing the humanitarian community to make “brutal choices, life-and-death choices” about who receives help.

“For these women – the survivors of sexual violence, for the kids who told me they needed water, for the communities that told me they needed shelter, medicine, these cuts are real right now and people are dying because of the cuts,” the top UN official explained.

Aid teams haven’t stopped

Despite the difficulties linked to the protracted nature of the conflict in DRC and the massive needs, UN aid teams and their partners are “working hard to get access to those communities,” Mr. Fletcher insisted – “trying to get the airport back open, trying to get roads open, trying to unblock checkpoints that are impeding our aid from getting through”.

In an attempt to square the circle of the steadily diminishing amount of aid funding provided globally, Mr. Fletcher recently announced a “hyper-prioritized” plan to save 114 million lives this year. But that is dependent on receiving the necessary funding. “All we’re asking for to do that is one per cent of what the world spent on defence last year,” he continued.

After visiting and connecting with communities impacted time and again by the fighting, the top UN official insisted that they should not be forgotten. “They are the frontlines of the humanitarian effort,” he said.

Communities on front line

“I suppose the glimmer of hope in all of this is, yes, we can work in that more efficient and prioritized way and will do that; but also, the communities here who are – basically – they’ve come through so much and they are determined to support each other.”  

And despite rising antipathy in some countries towards international cooperation including the work and peace-promoting efforts of the United Nations, Mr. Fletcher insisted that reasons for optimism remain.

“I really strongly believe there is a movement out there that will back this work, that will support this work,” he told UN News. “We’ve got to find them. We’ve got to enlist them, and we’ve got to show them that we can deliver for them.

“And, you know, I have not given up on human kindness and human solidarity. I have not given up on the UN Charter for a second. And this work is at the heart of it.” 

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Eighty years later, a UN charter marked by reflection, resolution – and a race

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Under a fresher sky after days of intense heat, the race ended when it all started, at the original Charter of the United Nations – The document that launched the organization and reshaped the modern international order – now exposed to the UN headquarters.

Inside the general meeting room, the delegates gathered to commemorate the 80th anniversary of his signature.

They have thought about the last eight decades in which the UN has helped to rebuild countries after the Second World War, supported the independence of the former colonies, favored peace, provided aid, rights and advanced development of man and a fight against emerging threats such as climate change.

To save the following generations of the scourge of war

President of the General Assembly Philitarmon Yang described the moment as “symbolic” but dark, noting in progress in Gazan, Ukraine and Sudan, and the growing challenges of multilateralism.

He urged nations to choose diplomacy rather than strength and to maintain the vision of the Charter of Peace and Human Dignity: “We must grasp the moment and Choose dialogue and diplomacy instead of destructive wars. “”

Secretary General António Guterres Echoing this call, warning that the principles of the Charter are increasingly threatened and must be defended as the foundation of international relations.

“” The Charter of the United Nations is not optional. It is not an à la carte menu. This is the foundation of international relations“He said, stressing the need to go to his promises” for peace, for justice, for progress, for us the peoples “.

Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett, Security advice The president of June, underlined the urgency of renewing collective measures to fight against emerging global threats.

“” That this 80th anniversary of the Charter is not only an opportunity for reflection, but also a call to actionShe urged.

The general assembly commemorates the 80th anniversary of the signature of the Charter UN.

To unite our strength to maintain international peace and security

Eighty years ago, on June 26, 1945, the delegates of 50 countries gathered in San Francisco to sign a document that would change the course of history.

Forged following the Second World War, by a generation marked by the great depression and the holocaust and having learned the painful lessons of the collapse of the League of Nations, the Charter of the United Nations represented a new world pact.

Its preamble – “we, the peoples of the United Nations” – echoed the determination to prevent future conflicts, to reaffirm faith in human rights and to promote peace and social progress.

This very document, kept by the National Archives and Records Administration of the United States, has returned-for the first time in decades-at the heart of the institution it has founded.

Now on the public demonstration at the UN headquarters until September, the original charter is a powerful symbol: not only of a past promise, but of a lasting commitment to multilateralism, peace and the shared goal.

Video: The UN Charter returns to the UN headquarters

To promote social progress and better standards of life

No more votes – presidents of Economic and social council (Ecosoc) and the International Court of Justice (Icj) – also spoke, reaffirming the lasting relevance of the charter and the need to defend it.

Bob Rae, president of Ecosoc, attracted an arc through human history to underline the young people’s relative of the UN – aged eight decades in a global context of millennia.

“We currently have the advantage of being able to look lucidly what we have accomplished, while recognizing our successes and our failures,” he said, holding a copy of the charter used by his father.

“” The United Nations is not a government and the Charter is not perfect“, He said,”But it was founded with great aspirations and hope.“”

The president of the CIJ, judge Yuji Iwasawa, reflected in progress since 1945 and the challenges the world community is still confronted.

“During the 80 years that followed the editors of the Charter, the international community has made remarkable progress. However, he also faces many challenges, “he said. “” The vision of the editors of the Charter to respect the rule of law for international peace and security, remains not only relevant but essential today.“”

Jordan Sanchez, a young poet, speaks to the General Assembly during the commemoration of the 80th anniversary of the signing of the Charter of the United Nations.

To reaffirm faith in fundamental human rights

In a powerful reminder that the charter speaks not only of the past, but also of future generations, Jordan Sanchez, a young poet, went on stage.

His piece of words spoken, Let light fallmentioned not statements, but feelings of hope And the vision of a better world.

“Let the light fall,” she started, “on faces fallen hidden in the shadow of contempt … where children run towards the light of your face, towards the warmth of your presence and the silence of your peace.”

“There is no fear, only abundance, of security, of security, to know that there will always be enough light for me,” she said, describing a restored Eden of Eden landscape-not a lost paradise, but glimpsed from justice, equity and shared humanity.

“” Let’s be bold enough to look down and take it, humble enough to kneel and bathe us, love enough to collect and share it, and childish enough to really, really believe.“”

Equal rights of men and women

While the world marks 80 years of the Charter of the United Nations, it should be remembered that its promise of equal rights for men and women was hardly won from the start.

In 1945, only four women were one of the 850 delegates who met in San Francisco to sign the document, and only 30 of the countries represented granted women the right to vote.

In 2018 UN News Podcast, the researchers highlighted these neglected pioneers – and asked why women who helped shape the founding vision of the UN are so often excluded from its history.

Listen to the podcast here.

Note: The subtitles of this article are drawn directly from the preamble to the Charter of the United Nations, whose sustainable language continues to guide the organization’s mission.

Originally published at Almouwatin.com

EPPO strikes criminal networks flooding EU with fraudulent Chinese imports

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EPPO strikes criminal networks flooding EU with fraudulent Chinese imports

Tons of goods illegally imported through port of Piraeus, €700 million in losses

(Luxembourg, 26 June 2025) – A coordinated raid by the European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) in Athens (Greece), Madrid (Spain), Paris (France) and Sofia (Bulgaria) has dealt a significant blow to criminal networks flooding the EU market with goods fraudulently imported from China, while evading custom duties and VAT. The criminal scheme, which involved the massive importation of textile, shoes, e-scoters, e-bikes and other goods, is believed to have caused an estimated damage of approximately €700 million. 

The investigation carried out by the EPPO, code-named ‘Calypso’, spans 14 countries: Bulgaria, China, Czechia, Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia and Spain. A total of 101 searches were conducted yesterday at the offices of customs brokers, companies controlled by the organised criminal groups under investigation, the premises of the suspects, and at the offices of tax advisers and representatives, lawyers, accountants and transport companies, in Bulgaria, Greece, France and Spain. Ten suspects were arrested, including two customs officers. In addition, firearms and cold weapons were found and seized in the houses of three of the suspects.

Law enforcement agents seized €5.8 million (of which €4.75 million in Greece and the remaining in France and Spain), in different currencies, including Hong Kong dollars, euros in digital wallets and cryptocurrencies. In addition, 7 133 e-bikes and 3 696 e-scooters were secured, as well as 480 containers for further checks and verification in the Port of Piraeus. Eleven properties located in Spain were also seized, as well as 27 vehicles and luxury items (bags, watches and jewellery). Freezing orders were also issued in Greece to seize real estate, boats and bank accounts.

At issue are several criminal networks, mainly controlled by Chinese nationals, that handle the full circuit of the goods imported from China into the EU market, including distribution to different Member States and sales to end customers, as well as money laundering and sending the profits back to China, while defrauding the payment of customs duties and committing large-scale VAT fraud. 

How it works 

The fraudulent scheme starts with the introduction of the goods from China into the EU, mainly through the port of Piraeus (Greece), with a substantial undervaluation or misclassification of the goods, in order to evade custom duties – using false documents to conceal the true value and nature of the merchandise. A network of professional enablers operating at the customs entry point, such as customs brokers, service providers and accounting firms, facilitate the initial clearance, and the apparent purchase and transport of the merchandise by companies mainly registered in Bulgaria, but operating in Greece with a Greek VAT registration number. 

The goods are subsequently sold to companies established in other Member States, thus allowing the first apparent purchaser to benefit from a VAT import exemption based on Customs Procedure 42 (CP42). This procedure, created to simplify cross-border trade, exempts importers from paying VAT in the country of importation, if the imported goods are subsequently transported to another EU Member State. 

Through a chain of buffer and shell companies, the goods are apparently sold to companies in specific Member States, where they are supposed to be sold on the market. These fraudulently declared destinations include Bulgaria, Czechia, Denmark, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Slovakia, Slovenia and Spain. However, these fake ultimate acquirers of the goods never receive the merchandise, and operate as a missing trader, thus not paying VAT. In some cases, the criminal organisations used identity documents from legitimate companies, fraudulently hijacking their VAT numbers to conceal the true destination of the goods.

In reality, after the goods enter the EU, they are stored in warehouses and places controlled by the criminal organisations, and from there they are transported, using false documents, to France, Italy, Poland, Portugal and Spain (the real countries of destination). These Chinese logistics centres, where all goods are stored, operate as highly controlled warehouse districts, functioning almost like exclusive communities, accessible only to members of the criminal groups managing them.

The transport documents are destroyed as soon as the goods are delivered, and the merchandise is sold to end customers mostly on the black market, in cash, as part of a highly concealed parallel economy. 

One-stop criminal enterprise

The criminal organisations under investigation are in charge of producing the false invoices and transport documents to conceal the real destination of the goods, and to recruit a large network of sham companies used for the fake sales and deliveries, in order to hide the whole fraudulent chain. This allows the companies controlled by the criminal organisations to sell the products at a very competitive price, since VAT remains unpaid and customs duties and anti-dumping fees are largely evaded.

Finally, the proceeds of the crime are transferred to China using different money laundering techniques, including providing money laundering services to other criminal organisations via trade-based underground banking systems. In this way, the organised criminal groups control and conceal the whole criminal chain, from the initial fraudulent import to the VAT fraud, and from the sale of the goods to the laundering of the profits.

The total damage of the criminal activities under investigation is currently estimated at approximately €700 million: over €250 million come from evaded customs duties (which revert entirely to the EU budget), and close to €450 million from unpaid VAT (which damages both the EU budget and the national budgets of Member States). The damage caused by the fraudulent scheme under investigation is likely much higher. Greece’s Independent Authority for Public Revenue (AADE) is also actively supporting the EPPO to further evaluate the extent of the damage in evaded customs duties. 

This EPPO-led investigation was supported by Europol through analytical assistance, coordination via a Virtual Command Post, and the deployment of an expert to the command centre in Luxembourg, with additional backing from national law enforcement agencies – highlighting the value of cross-border cooperation against organised crime. The European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF) contributed to the detection. 

All persons concerned are presumed to be innocent until proven guilty in the competent courts of law.

The EPPO is the independent public prosecution office of the European Union. It is responsible for investigating, prosecuting and bringing to judgment crimes against the financial interests of the EU.

List of most important partners and national authorities involved:

  • Europol
  • European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF)
  • Hellenic Internal Affairs Agency of Law Enforcement Bodies (Υπηρεσία Εσωτερικών Υποθέσεων Σωμάτων Ασφαλείας)
  • Hellenic Police’s Digital Forensics Investigations and Analysis Subdivision (Υποδιεύθυνση Ψηφιακής Εγκληματολογικής Έρευνας και Ανάλυσης της ΔΕΕ)
  • France’s National Anti-Fraud Office (Office National Antifraude – ONAF)
  • Bulgaria’s State Agency for National Security (ДАНС); National Investigation Service (Национална следствена служба); General Directorate National Police) Главна дирекция “Национална полиция”) and General Directoratе Gendarmerie and Specialised Counter-Terrorism Department (Главна дирекция “Жандармерия и специализан отряд за борба с тероризма”)
  • Spain’s National Police and Tax Agency (Policía Nacional and Agencia Estatal de Administración Tributaria)

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Investigation ‘Calypso’: EPPO strikes criminal networks flooding EU with fraudulent Chinese imports

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Investigation ‘Calypso’: EPPO strikes criminal networks flooding EU with fraudulent Chinese imports

Tons of goods illegally imported through port of Piraeus, €700 million in losses

(Luxembourg, 26 June 2025) – A coordinated raid by the European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) in Athens (Greece), Madrid (Spain), Paris (France) and Sofia (Bulgaria) has dealt a significant blow to criminal networks flooding the EU market with goods fraudulently imported from China, while evading custom duties and VAT. The criminal scheme, which involved the massive importation of textile, shoes, e-scoters, e-bikes and other goods, is believed to have caused an estimated damage of approximately €700 million. 

The investigation carried out by the EPPO, code-named ‘Calypso’, spans 14 countries: Bulgaria, China, Czechia, Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia and Spain. A total of 101 searches were conducted yesterday at the offices of customs brokers, companies controlled by the organised criminal groups under investigation, the premises of the suspects, and at the offices of tax advisers and representatives, lawyers, accountants and transport companies, in Bulgaria, Greece, France and Spain. Ten suspects were arrested, including two customs officers. In addition, firearms and cold weapons were found and seized in the houses of three of the suspects.

Law enforcement agents seized €5.8 million (of which €4.75 million in Greece and the remaining in France and Spain), in different currencies, including Hong Kong dollars, euros in digital wallets and cryptocurrencies. In addition, 7 133 e-bikes and 3 696 e-scooters were secured, as well as 480 containers for further checks and verification in the Port of Piraeus. Eleven properties located in Spain were also seized, as well as 27 vehicles and luxury items (bags, watches and jewellery). Freezing orders were also issued in Greece to seize real estate, boats and bank accounts.

At issue are several criminal networks, mainly controlled by Chinese nationals, that handle the full circuit of the goods imported from China into the EU market, including distribution to different Member States and sales to end customers, as well as money laundering and sending the profits back to China, while defrauding the payment of customs duties and committing large-scale VAT fraud. 

How it works 

The fraudulent scheme starts with the introduction of the goods from China into the EU, mainly through the port of Piraeus (Greece), with a substantial undervaluation or misclassification of the goods, in order to evade custom duties – using false documents to conceal the true value and nature of the merchandise. A network of professional enablers operating at the customs entry point, such as customs brokers, service providers and accounting firms, facilitate the initial clearance, and the apparent purchase and transport of the merchandise by companies mainly registered in Bulgaria, but operating in Greece with a Greek VAT registration number. 

The goods are subsequently sold to companies established in other Member States, thus allowing the first apparent purchaser to benefit from a VAT import exemption based on Customs Procedure 42 (CP42). This procedure, created to simplify cross-border trade, exempts importers from paying VAT in the country of importation, if the imported goods are subsequently transported to another EU Member State. 

Through a chain of buffer and shell companies, the goods are apparently sold to companies in specific Member States, where they are supposed to be sold on the market. These fraudulently declared destinations include Bulgaria, Czechia, Denmark, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Slovakia, Slovenia and Spain. However, these fake ultimate acquirers of the goods never receive the merchandise, and operate as a missing trader, thus not paying VAT. In some cases, the criminal organisations used identity documents from legitimate companies, fraudulently hijacking their VAT numbers to conceal the true destination of the goods.

In reality, after the goods enter the EU, they are stored in warehouses and places controlled by the criminal organisations, and from there they are transported, using false documents, to France, Italy, Poland, Portugal and Spain (the real countries of destination). These Chinese logistics centres, where all goods are stored, operate as highly controlled warehouse districts, functioning almost like exclusive communities, accessible only to members of the criminal groups managing them.

The transport documents are destroyed as soon as the goods are delivered, and the merchandise is sold to end customers mostly on the black market, in cash, as part of a highly concealed parallel economy. 

One-stop criminal enterprise

The criminal organisations under investigation are in charge of producing the false invoices and transport documents to conceal the real destination of the goods, and to recruit a large network of sham companies used for the fake sales and deliveries, in order to hide the whole fraudulent chain. This allows the companies controlled by the criminal organisations to sell the products at a very competitive price, since VAT remains unpaid and customs duties and anti-dumping fees are largely evaded.

Finally, the proceeds of the crime are transferred to China using different money laundering techniques, including providing money laundering services to other criminal organisations via trade-based underground banking systems. In this way, the organised criminal groups control and conceal the whole criminal chain, from the initial fraudulent import to the VAT fraud, and from the sale of the goods to the laundering of the profits.

The total damage of the criminal activities under investigation is currently estimated at approximately €700 million: over €250 million come from evaded customs duties (which revert entirely to the EU budget), and close to €450 million from unpaid VAT (which damages both the EU budget and the national budgets of Member States). The damage caused by the fraudulent scheme under investigation is likely much higher. Greece’s Independent Authority for Public Revenue (AADE) is also actively supporting the EPPO to further evaluate the extent of the damage in evaded customs duties. 

This EPPO-led investigation was supported by Europol through analytical assistance, coordination via a Virtual Command Post, and the deployment of an expert to the command centre in Luxembourg, with additional backing from national law enforcement agencies – highlighting the value of cross-border cooperation against organised crime. The European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF) contributed to the detection. 

All persons concerned are presumed to be innocent until proven guilty in the competent courts of law.

The EPPO is the independent public prosecution office of the European Union. It is responsible for investigating, prosecuting and bringing to judgment crimes against the financial interests of the EU.

List of most important partners and national authorities involved:

  • Europol
  • European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF)
  • Hellenic Internal Affairs Agency of Law Enforcement Bodies (Υπηρεσία Εσωτερικών Υποθέσεων Σωμάτων Ασφαλείας)
  • Hellenic Police’s Digital Forensics Investigations and Analysis Subdivision (Υποδιεύθυνση Ψηφιακής Εγκληματολογικής Έρευνας και Ανάλυσης της ΔΕΕ)
  • France’s National Anti-Fraud Office (Office National Antifraude – ONAF)
  • Bulgaria’s State Agency for National Security (ДАНС); National Investigation Service (Национална следствена служба); General Directorate National Police) Главна дирекция “Национална полиция”) and General Directoratе Gendarmerie and Specialised Counter-Terrorism Department (Главна дирекция “Жандармерия и специализан отряд за борба с тероризма”)
  • Spain’s National Police and Tax Agency (Policía Nacional and Agencia Estatal de Administración Tributaria)

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