Africa

Pour une meilleure sensibilisation des populations sur la santé sexuelle et reproductive, la planification familiale, les violences basées sur le genre, la mortalité maternelle etc., les médias ont un rôle important à jouer. Le Fonds des Nations Unies pour la population (UNFPA), a organisé à cet effet un atelier de renforcement de capacités et d'actualisation de partenariat avec le Réseau béninois des journalistes et communicateurs en population et développement (RBJC-Pod), mercredi 1er octobre 2025, à Cotonou.

Le Fonds des Nations Unies pour la population et le Réseau béninois des journalistes et communicateurs en population et développement renouvellent leur collaboration. Un atelier de renforcement de capacités a été organisé, mercredi dernier, à Cotonou. Occasion pour le représentant résident de l'UNFPA, Richmond TIEMOKO, d'exposer le programme de coopération 2024-2026 de l'UNFPA au Bénin, les résultats des actions menées en 2024, ainsi que les perspectives aux professionnels des médias.

Pour le représentant résident de l'UNFPA, la population est au cœur de tout développement, et la collaboration avec les journalistes vise à la sensibiliser sur les problématiques cruciales telles que la santé sexuelle et reproductive, la mortalité maternelle, la planification familiale, les violences basées sur le genre etc.

Près de 80% de femmes et de jeunes peinent à planifier leurs naissances

Selon les explications de Richmond TIEMOKO, au Bénin, des millions de femmes et de jeunes peinent à planifier leurs naissances ou à choisir leur plan de reproduction. Ceci, en raison « des besoins non satisfaits en planification familiale ». A l'en croire, 80% des femmes en âge de procréer n'utilisent aucune méthode de contraception. « Et pour réduire ces besoins non satisfaits, il faut de l'information. Il faut que chaque personne puisse avoir à sa disposition des informations crédibles qui lui permettent d'aller vers les services, et les services de qualité et faire son choix », a-t-il expliqué évoquant le rôle important des médias qui consiste à mettre à la disposition de la population, des informations crédibles sur la qualité des services, et encourager à aller vers ces services.

Sur le volet concernant la santé maternelle, le taux de mortalité au Bénin est très élevé alors que tout le monde admet « qu'aucune femme ne devrait mourir en donnant la vie ». Un autre fait marquant qui souligne l'importance d'informer et de sensibiliser la population.

L'atelier de renforcement de capacités a été l'occasion pour les participants de revenir sur les initiatives conjointes telles que le concours médias, les reportages thématiques, les documentaires, et campagnes de sensibilisation.
Le représentant résident avait à ses côtés Paul AMOUSSOU, président du RBJC-Pod, au lancement officiel des travaux de l'atelier.

F. A. A.

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Rachel Iliya only took up rugby league last year but is now hoping to help Nigeria reach the Women's World Cup for the first time.

Rachel Iliya only took up rugby league last year but is now hoping to help Nigeria reach the Women's World Cup for the first time.

Rachel Iliya only took up rugby league last year but is now hoping to help Nigeria reach the Women's World Cup for the first time.

A drill monkey in an electric enclosure at the ranch. Credit: Promise Eze/IPS

By Promise Eze
BOKI, Nigeria, Oct 2 2025 (IPS)

For the past 23 years, Gabriel Oshie has started his mornings at Drill Ranch in the Afi Mountain Wildlife Sanctuary, Boki, Cross River state, southern Nigeria.

At sunrise, he walks through an electric enclosure at the ranch, giving bananas and other fruits to the over 200 endangered drill monkeys he watches over.

Drill monkeys are among the world’s rarest primates, known for their brightly coloured faces and short tails. They live in large groups led by a dominant male and are found only in parts of Nigeria, southwestern Cameroon and Bioko Island in Equatorial Guinea.

However, their numbers have fallen sharply due to deforestation, hunting and the illegal wildlife trade. The International Union for Conservation of Nature estimates fewer than 4,000 remain in the wild.

“Wildlife is the beauty of nature,” Oshie said, explaining what motivated him to work at the ranch. “When you see the drill monkeys, the forests, and other animals, you can’t help but appreciate their beauty. But it’s sad that people are destroying wildlife despite its importance.”

Gabriel Oshie has been working at the ranch for the past 23 years. Credit: Promise Eze/IPS

Wildlife Crime

Wildlife crime is the fourth most profitable illegal trade globally, worth billions of dollars each year. Nigeria has become a key hub, with porous borders and weak enforcement enabling traffickers to move ivory, pangolin scales and other endangered species.

Authorities have tried to curb the trade by shutting bushmeat markets and seizing smuggled wildlife. In July, officials announced the country’s largest wildlife-trafficking bust, intercepting more than 1,600 birds bound for Kuwait at Lagos International Airport.

But experts warn these efforts could fail if weak conservation laws, poor enforcement, limited public awareness and the lack of arrests or convictions persist.

“The state of biodiversity in Nigeria is in serious crisis,” said Rita Uwaka, Interim Administrator for Environmental Rights Action. “Much of our forested landscape has been depleted due to industrial plantations expansion, leading to significant loss of plant and animal species with devastating impacts on people and climate. We are also seeing concession agreements awarded to large-scale agro-commodities companies contributing to increased biodiversity loss. They arrive with promises of development, but vast forested areas, family farms, and ancestral lands are handed over to them amidst social, environmental, and gender impacts. In the process, they cut down forests that should serve as vital hubs for ecological conservation.

“The biggest drivers of biodiversity loss in Nigeria are in the agro-commodity sector, where large tracts of forest and wildlife sanctuaries are allocated to corporations at the expense of local communities, especially women and vulnerable groups who suffer differentiated impacts when forests and biodiversity are destroyed,” she added.

Preserving the drills

Two American conservationists, Liza Gadsby and Peter Jenkins, founded Drill Ranch in 1991 through their non-profit group Pandrillus. Now home to over 600 drills, it is the world’s most successful breeding project for the species.

En route to Botswana with only a tourist visa, Gadsby and Jenkins arrived in Nigeria where they learned of a gorilla conservation project in Boki. There, they discovered not only gorillas but also drill monkeys, thought before the 1980s to be nearly extinct outside Cameroon.

“Less was known about drills at the time, and they were more endangered than gorillas across Africa. Of course, the local people knew they were there all along, but the international community had only recently rediscovered them. So, we became quite interested in them,” Gadsby explained to IPS.

For over three years, their tourist journey took a different turn as they travelled across southeastern Nigeria and southwestern Cameroon, gathering information and persuading locals to surrender captive drills.

They established a sanctuary in Calabar, the capital of Cross River state, later expanding it into a natural habitat in Boki. They worked closely with 18 Boki communities, each contributing rangers who were often former hunters, to patrol the forests and deter poaching. Their efforts paid off, with locals surrendering as many as 90 drills to the project.

Today, the ranch houses both captive-bred and wild-born drills, each with a name and tattoo number. Alongside the drills, it cares for 27 chimpanzees, a soft-shell turtle and 29 African grey parrots seized from traffickers in 2021. In 2024, 25 parrots were released back into the wild.

The presence of Pandrillus in Boki, one of Nigeria’s largest green canopies, helped drive conservation gains in the area. In 2000, after a decade of lobbying, part of the forest reserve, where the ranch is located, was declared a wildlife Sanctuary by the government.

“We had been lobbying for over ten years, proposing that a portion of the forest reserve be upgraded to wildlife sanctuary status,” Gadsby said.

Bleak Future?

Rehabilitating drills into the wild is the main goal of the project, but rapid deforestation in Boki and Cross River is making this increasingly difficult, said ranch manager Zach Schwenneker.

With the thriving cocoa trade in the region, many people turn to farming for a living, often cutting down forests, including protected areas, for cultivation and exposing drills and other animals in the ranch to poachers.

Government support is also dwindling. Pandrillus once received monthly subventions to care for the animals, but the suspension of this funding has hindered conservation efforts. Today, the ranch relies largely on international aid and individual donations.

Uwaka told IPS that Nigeria’s National Biodiversity Strategic Action Plan would have effectively addressed these issues, but she argues that “The problem lies in enforcement. While the laws look impressive on paper, they are often ineffective in practice due to weak monitoring systems. Even where such systems exist, they are insufficient to ensure compliance. Policies should be put in place not to encourage poaching, and there should be strong regulatory frameworks to curb deforestation.”

For Oshie at the ranch, the project can only succeed if people value wildlife and biodiversity and no longer feel the need to hunt drills.

“But I’m here because I want to protect nature. If we are not here, logging activities could take over, destroying the trees and harming the animals,” he said.

IPS UN Bureau Report

 

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Kathmandu’s Singha Durbar in flames

By Jan Lundius
ROME, Oct 2 2025 (IPS)

In the Global South, where people under the age of 18 comprise more than 50 percent of the population, youth activism is increasing rapidly. Youngsters are more agile and volatile than older people, less restrained by family, prestige and work. However, many suffer from marginalisation, lack of employment, and poverty. Furthermore, insecurity and limited life experience make young people an easy target for manipulating and unscrupulous politicians, criminal networks, and religious fanatics.

Students and young citizens come together by using social media to make their presence felt and mount protests in public spaces. The role of new media technologies as an organising tool has led besieged authorities to ban online platforms, though imposed restrictions have rather than contain protests accelerated them.

Rebellious youth generally belong to the Gen Z, which refers to “digital native”, the first generation fully immersed in a digital world, with constant access to internet and social media. An upbringing that has shaped their world view, making them independent, pragmatic and focused on social impact.

South Asia has recently experienced massive protest movements involving crowds of young people. In July 2022, after an economic collapse in Sri Lanka, a rebellion forced its president to flee the country. In July 2024, upheavals ended the long rule of Sheikh Hasina in Bangladesh, and in September this year, violent protests in Nepal forced Prime Minister Khadga Oli’s government to resign.

Even though specific incidents triggered these upheavals, they were all due to long-term, shared grievances evolving from stark wealth gaps, rampant nepotism, and unlimited corruption. Above all, youngsters protested against members of powerful dynasties, favouring a wealthy and discredited political elite.

Sri Lankans were in 2022 faced with a galloping inflation, daily blackouts, as well as shortages of fuel, domestic gas, food, medicines, and essential imports. Amid massive desperation, huge crowds of mostly young people did on 25 March take to the streets under the slogan Aragalya, Struggle.

Political power had by then become embedded within the Rajapaksa dynasty. From 2005 to 2022, two brothers – Mahinda and Gotabaya Rajapaksa, had alternately shared the presidency and prime minister post, while another brother headed their political party; a fourth was speaker of the parliament, and other relatives occupied influential political positions.

While Gotabaya Rajapaksa served as defence minister, he was credited with ending the twenty-six-year-long civil war with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam. After churches and luxury hotels in April 2019 had been targeted by ISIS-related suicide bombers, killing 270 people, Mahinda and Gotabaya Rajapaksa, who at the time were in opposition, accused the current government of leniency. When Gotabaya ran for the presidency the same year, he based his campaign on his record as a militant leader, embracing a Sinhalese-Buddhist nationalism inspired by his brother Mahinda’s ethno-nationalist rhetoric, favouring the Buddhist establishment. Gotabaya was elected with an overwhelming majority and six ministries were then headed by members of the Rajapaksa clan.

Most Aragalaya protesters considered their personal hardships to be a result of the mismanagement and corruption of the Rajapaksa-led government. They demanded that the president be deposed and a thorough “system change” brought about. After appointing an astute insider, Ranil Wickremesinghe, as acting president, Gotabaya Rajapaksa fled to Singapore. Wickremesinghe’s government refused to hold elections and persistently portrayed Aragalaya as a chaotic movement, captured by militants, fascists, and terrorists.

Several Aragalaya supporters were wary of being used by partisan or militant groups, particularly those with leftist ideologies which had a long history of organizing protests and strikes. One exception could have been the leftist National People’s Power (NPP), established in 2019. The 2024 elections, which Wickremesinghe had been forced to accept, was won by a NPP coalition lead by Anura Dissanayake.

So far, Dissanayake and his NPP coalition have not introduced any radical political or economic changes. They have largely continued the Wickremesinghe government’s economic and foreign policies, raising questions about the extent to which the NPP coalition is willing, or able, to depart from established governance patterns and deliver the systemic change that has been promised. Deep set divisions and ethnic-religious tensions continue to harass the nation and NPP is apparently trying to tread lightly to avoid stirring up any violent disaccord.

The same could be said about Bangladesh, where an interim government led by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus seems to be cautious not to cause any antagonistic violence. Yunus’ group of personal supporters and experts presides over a nation with a chilling rise in mob violence and political discord; women are often being targeted, as well as there are reports of attacks on religious minorities.

The formerly dictatorial, but secular and highly corrupt political party, the Awami League, has been banned and democratic elections are promised by the interim government in February 2026. Some are optimistic about democratic elections, described by Yunus as becoming the most “beautiful elections ever”. However, others are unsure if elections will actually be held within a political scenario where violence is a common-day affair.

In Bangladesh, it was a quota system for jobs that forced youngsters into the streets. It was mainly students who led the protests. Student politics had for several years been ferocious, especially since religious and political fractions used them as a mobilising force. Violent feuds within educational institutes had killed many and seriously hampered the academic atmosphere.

Student anger became unified through a common resentment of reserved positions in the Bangladesh Civil Service (BCS), a cherished field of government service. The reserved positions were destined to “freedom fighters, i.e. veterans from the 1971 liberation war, as well as their children and grandchildren. Protests erupted in full force on 1 July after the Supreme Court in June 2024 had reinstated a 30 percent quota reserved for veteran descendants, generally interpreted as an intent by the governing party to favour its traditional supporters.

Bangladesh became a sovereign nation in December 1971, after a war against Pakistan, which was supported by India. Sheik Mujibur Rahman was until his assassination in 1975 president and prime minister. Following further turmoil with counter coups, General Ziaur Rahman eventually took over as president; he was in May 1981 assassinated in yet another coup. Ziaur Rahman’s widow, Begum Khaleda Zia, served from 1991 to 1996 as the second female prime minster in the Muslim world (after the Pakistani Benazir Bhutto) and again between 2001 and 2006, when Bangladesh, according to the Corruption Perceptions Index was listed as the most corrupt country in the world. Following the end of her government’s term, a military-backed caretaker government charged Khaleda Zia and her two sons with corruption and in 2018 she was sentenced to 17 years in prison.

Sheikh Hasinah, daughter of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman was prime minister between 1996 and 2001, and again from 2009 to 2024, following several controversial elections. Her tenure as prime minister was marked by economic mismanagement, rampant corruption, leading to a rising foreign debt, increased inflation, youth unemployment, banking irregularities and an enormous wealth gap. The Financial Times reported that more than an estimated USD 200 billion was allegedly plundered from Bangladesh during Sheikh Hasinah’s time as prime minister, with a lot of these money ending up in countries such as the UK.

As the case had been in Sri Lanka and Bangladesh, several members of the Nepalese political elite considered themselves as privileged and not accountable, while favouring family members and supporters to syphon wealth from overprized building endeavours.

Khadga Prassad Oli, a communist who began his political career as “spokesman for the oppressed”, seemed to be unaware of the anger accumulating around him within a nation where some two thousand men and women daily left to look for livelihoods in other countries (remittances from Nepalis working abroad constitute a third of the country’s GDP). Of those who stayed behind, more than 80 percent work in the informal sector, while youth unemployment in the formal sector is more than 20 percent.

On 4 September this year, the government ordered authorities to block 26 social media platforms, including Facebook, X, YouTube, LinkedIn, Instagram, Reddit, Signal and Snapchat, for not complying with a deadline to register with the country’s ministry of communication. The measure was explained as a means to tackle fake news, hate speech, and online fraud.

By then, youngsters had with increasing anger accessed platforms where politicians’ children posted photos of their opulent existence, awash with designer clothes, luxury holidays, and lavish parties. The close down of all media platforms, except the Chinese TikTok, further inflamed the resentment of Nepalese youth.

Soon Kathmandu was burning – Singha Durbar, i.e. Nepal’s administrative headquarters; the health ministry; the parliament building; the Supreme Court; the presidential palace; the prime minister’s residence, offices of the governing communist party, and the Kathmandu Hilton, were all set ablaze.

Nepal, the oldest sovereign, and until 2008 only Hindu state in South Asia, was for 250 years, under a strict caste system, ruled by the Shah dynasty. After internal power struggles and murders within the “Royal House of Gorkha” the monarchy was abolished and it was only in 1990 that it had ceded partial power to political parties. After that, a series of failing civilian governments gave in 1996 rise to a “Maoist” insurgency, which took sixteen thousand lives.

The leader of that rebellion, Pushpa Kamal Dahal, was in 2008 elected prime minister. However, he and his erstwhile revolutionaries proved incapable of improving Nepalese living standards and soon indulged themselves in corruption. After the September Gen Z-led upheaval a caretaker Prime Minister has been appointed. Sushila Karki, has a good record after being Nepal’s first female Chief Justice, between 2016 and 2017.

While new leaders seem to have emerged in Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Nepal, the general public is now asking itself if these recently arrived politicians will be more prudent, corruption free and restrained in controversial actions, than their predecessors.

Much of the outcome depends on the “big brother” in the area – The Republic of India, where millions of migrant workers from Nepal, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka reside and work. Indian democracy has, with all its shortcomings, been characterized by a collective political discourse in which concerns of a diversity of all Indians could find a space. However, under prime minister Modi we now witness the rise of Hindu nationalism, rooted in homogeneity and exclusion, questioning who really belongs in the Hindutva community, while marginalizing those who don’t, among them migrants, Muslims, and many others. A dangerous polarization that could worsen the situation in neighbouring countries, particularly considering the huge number of their emigrants being present in a country prone to discriminate against them, as well as forcing them back to a tumultuous situation in their countries of origin.

This is part 1 of an analysis of the connection between youth movements and political change, part 2 will analyse how youth-led revolutions have changed political scenarios globally.

IPS UN Bureau

 

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This two-storeyed residential building was one of 12 structures demolished by Israeli authorities in Area C of Al Judeira village, in Jerusalem governorate, citing the lack of Israeli-issued building permits, which are almost impossible for Palestinians to obtain. Credit: community via UNOCHA

By the Norwegian Refugee Council
OSLO, Norway, Oct 2 2025 (IPS)

In less than nine months, Israel has demolished more Palestinian homes and structures in the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, over building permits than in the whole of last year.

By 30 September, Israeli authorities had demolished 1,288 structures over building permits, nearly five a day, including 138 funded by international aid. More than 1,400 Palestinians were displaced and nearly 38,000 affected through the loss of livelihood, agricultural and water and sanitation infrastructure.

This marks a 39 per cent increase in demolitions over building permits compared with the same period last year, when 929 structures were torn down due to lack of permits. Israeli authorities demolished a total of 1,281 structures over building permits in 2024.

“Families are being stripped of homes, water and livelihoods in a calculated effort to drive them from their land and make way for settlements,” said Angelita Caredda, NRC’s Regional Director for the Middle East and North Africa. “This is not accidental destruction. It is a deliberate policy of dispossession.”

The demolitions are rooted in a planning system that denies Palestinians the right to build in Area C, which covers more than 60 per cent of the West Bank and remains under full Israeli control. Palestinians must apply for permits that are almost never granted.

Since October 2023, 282 applications have been submitted. Not a single one was approved.

Israel has also carried out 37 punitive demolitions this year, matching the record set in 2023. These demolitions involve destroying or sealing the homes of Palestinians accused of attacks against Israelis. The practice punishes entire families and constitutes collective punishment, prohibited under international law.

At the same time, Israeli military operations in Jenin, Nur Shams and Tulkarm refugee camps have left destruction not captured in official demolition figures. The UN reports at least 245 buildings destroyed and 157 severely damaged, with nearly 32,000 refugees displaced. With limited access to the camps, the real toll is likely far higher.

These developments come a year after the UN General Assembly endorsed the July 2024 advisory opinion of the International Court of Justice (ICJ), which found Israel’s presence in the occupied Palestinian territory unlawful and said it must end as rapidly as possible.

In its 18 September 2024 resolution, the Assembly gave Israel 12 months to withdraw and called on states not to recognise annexation, not to aid violations, and to act together to end them. That period has now lapsed, yet Israel has only tightened its grip.

“Instead of ending its occupation, Israel is entrenching it and accelerating its annexation agenda,” Caredda said. “Over 150 states have recognised Palestine, yet the land that state needs to survive is disappearing. Governments must urgently act to protect Palestinians from the relentless erosion of their rights.”

• Between 1 January and 30 September 2025, Israeli authorities demolished 1,288 Palestinian structures in the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, for lack of permits. This is an average of 4.7 demolitions per day. In the same period in 2024, 929 structures were demolished for lack of permits, an average of 3.4 per day. The demolitions in 2025 have displaced 1,414 people and affected 38,017 others (OCHA).

• Israeli authorities demolished 1,281 structures citing lack of permits in 2024. (OCHA).

• Since October 2023, 282 applications have been submitted. None have been approved. (Israel Planning Council)

• Between 2016 and 2021, Palestinians in Area C submitted 2,550 requests for building permits. Only 24 were approved, less than one per cent (Bimkom).

• Between 1 January and 30 September 2025, Israeli authorities carried out 37 punitive demolitions of homes belonging to Palestinians accused of attacks against Israelis. This equals the record number set in 2023 (OCHA).

• Israeli authorities have denied humanitarian monitors access to Jenin, Nur Shams and Tulkarm refugee camps in the northern West Bank, where widespread destruction has occurred during military operations. A UNOSAT satellite assessment recorded at least 245 buildings destroyed, 157 severely damaged, and 750 moderately damaged.

• In 2024, Israeli authorities demolished 452 Palestinian structures during military operations (OCHA).

• Between 1 January and 30 September 2025, the UN verified the destruction of 1,384 Palestinian structures by Israeli authorities in total (OCHA).

• In 2024, Israeli authorities and forces demolished 1,768 structures across the West Bank (OCHA).

• At least 31,919 Palestine refugees have been displaced from Jenin, Nur Shams and Tulkarm camps, based on self-registration by affected families. The real number is likely higher, reflecting displacement on a scale beyond what has been verified (UN).

• Area C comprises more than 60 per cent of the West Bank and remains under full Israeli control.

• Under the Oslo II Interim Agreement, powers in Area C were meant to be gradually transferred to Palestinian jurisdiction within 18 months of the inauguration of the Palestinian Council in 1996. Nearly three decades later, Area C remains under Israeli control.

IPS UN Bureau

 

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The huge off-shore facility run by BP means they now struggle to survive, the fishermen say.

The huge off-shore facility run by BP means they now struggle to survive, the fishermen say.

Filippo Grandi, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, addresses the high-level conference of the General Assembly on the situation of Rohingya Muslims and other minorities in Myanmar. Credit: UN Photo/Manuel Elías

By Oritro Karim
UNITED NATIONS, Oct 1 2025 (IPS)

On September 30, the United Nations (UN) convened a high-level meeting on the situation of Rohingya Muslims and other minorities in Myanmar shortly following the end of the 80th session of the General Assembly (UNGA80). The conference was an opportunity to draw global attention once more to the Rohingya refugee situation with dialogue from UN officials, world representatives and civil society organizations.

Since the 2017 military crackdown on the rights and citizenship of Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar, over one million refugees have fled to Bangladesh, most settling in Cox’s Bazar which became the world’s largest refugee camp. Despite repeated repatriation efforts by the Bangladeshi government, ongoing insecurity in Myanmar makes a safe return impossible, with refugees still at risk of persecution and discrimination.

UN Secretary-General António Guterres noted that Rohingya Muslims and minorities face widespread insecurity and discrimination, especially in Rakhine State. “Minorities in Myanmar have endured decades of exclusion, abuse and violence,” Chef de Cabinet Courtenay Rattray said, delivering Guterres’ statement on his behalf. “The Rohingya have been stripped of their right to citizenship, targeted by hate speech, terrorized with deadly force and destruction, confined to displacement camps in Myanmar, with severely limited freedom of movement and little access to education and health services.”

Rattray added that minorities are routinely subjected to forced displacement, conscription, aerial attacks, and extrajudicial killings. Sexual and gender-based violence remain pervasive, with women and girls facing heightened risks of trafficking, child marriage, and other forms of exploitation.

With humanitarian aid budgets shrinking and conflict escalating in Myanmar, delegates discussed mechanisms to ensure the protection of Rohingya refugees and minorities, as well as strategies to facilitate a safe and dignified return home. Many speakers urged for increased accountability measures, in hopes of addressing the root causes of insecurity in Myanmar and ending the cycle of impunity.

“To create a conducive environment for repatriation, first and foremost we must end this military dictatorship and its atrocities against civilians, and we all need to double every effort to build trust and unity among us,” said Ambassador Kyaw Moe Tun, Permanent Representative of Myanmar to the UN. “Resolving the situation of Rohingya Muslims and Other Minorities in Myanmar will not be possible unless we address the root cause. We can yield results only by acting together to end the military dictatorship, its unlawful coup, and its culture of impunity.”

Numerous member state and civil society representatives also emphasized the need for stronger accountability measures, warning of significant risks to regional stability. Stavros Lambrinidis, Ambassador of the European Union (EU) to the UN, noted that tensions have grown considerably between refugees and host communities, with minors often joining armed groups, risking further violence in the region.

“This crisis is not only a Myanmar crisis,” said Nabhit Kapur, the Permanent Observer of the Pan-African Intergovernmental Agency for Water and Sanitation in Africa (WSA) to the UN. “Its implications stretch far beyond borders, affecting regional peace, stability, and trust in the very foundations of multilateralism…The longer uncertainty prevails, the greater the risk of radicalization, human trafficking, and destabilization across the region.”

Several speakers also underscored the urgency of increased funding, particularly for essential services such as food assistance, protection, and education, which are vital in enabling a dignified return to Myanmar. The World Food Programme (WFP) warned that if additional funding is not secured soon, Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh risk falling into acute food insecurity, with monthly food rations potentially being reduced to just USD 6 per person.

Dylan Winder, a representative of the International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), informed the room about conditions in the Cox’s Bazar settlement, describing the situation as “fragile” and entirely dependent on humanitarian assistance. “Families continue to live in shelters beyond capacity and are exposed to disasters. Protection and security risks are serious and growing. And the hard truth is that shrinking funding is accelerating these risks—threatening food rations, healthcare, including maternal and child health, and water and sanitation services—driving disease, violence, and trafficking, and pushing families toward dangerous coping strategies.”

Bangladesh’s Chief Advisor, Muhammad Yunus, stressed that Bangladesh cannot bear this burden alone as it already faces the challenge of supporting a densely populated nation and cannot “afford to allow employment of Rohingyas inside Bangladesh”. Refugees continue to face severe shortages of resources along with alongside reoccurring security challenges, such as clashes with host communities. “We are forced to bear huge financial, social and environmental costs. Criminal activities, including narco-flows into Bangladesh through Rakhine, threaten our social fabric,” Yunus said.

Speakers also emphasized the need for a comprehensive political framework that guarantees minority rights and citizenship, and fosters inclusion, particularly for women and children—the most vulnerable among the persecuted population.With Rohingya Muslims rendered stateless and largely silenced, many underscored the urgency of ensuring their meaningful representation in decisions that will shape their future.

“The 2021 military coup halted democratic aspirations of Myanmar’s people and the Rohingya’s hopes to participate in shaping Myanmar’s future,” said the Ambassador for International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (IDEA) to the UN. “The Rohingya crisis is not only a humanitarian and human rights crisis; it is a crisis of democracy and inclusion…Without inclusion, there can be no reconciliation; without democracy, there can be no justice.”

While this conference was meant to center the direct perspectives of Rohingya refugees from the camps, very few of the speakers were refugees or came from the camps. The conference did not include statements from Rohingya refugees currently living in the camps. In previous years, Bangladesh and the UN had sponsored trips for Rohingya refugees to represent themselves in discussions that could shape their own futures. This year, there were none, with Bangladeshi officials citing difficulty in obtaining clearance and security concerns.

“Peace in Myanmar rests on the recognition that the Rohingya are equal members of Burmese society, equally deserving of education, citizenship, human rights and justice,” said the Representative of the Independent Diplomat to the UN. “True action has been lacking. As diplomatic experts and activists have convened in these halls, the Rohingya have remained stateless, displaced, and denied their own fundamental rights. The gap between our stated principles and our collective responsibility has allowed atrocities to continue with impunity and it deepens the suffering of far too many people.”

IPS UN Bureau Report

 

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Worshippers had gathered at the Arerti Mariam church early in the morning for the annual St Mary celebration.

UBA Plc, la banque africaine d'envergure mondiale, a réaffirmé son engagement à offrir une valeur durable à long terme à ses actionnaires et parties prenantes, profitant des retombées de ses investissements solides dans des plateformes numériques performantes et de son expansion récente.

Le Directeur général du Groupe, Oliver Alawuba, qui a fait cette promesse, a souligné qu'avec son modèle d'affaires diversifié et ses investissements stratégiques dans des marchés clés en Afrique et au-delà, les investisseurs continueront de bénéficier d'importants avantages financiers et de dividendes au cours de l'exercice en cours et dans le futur.

Alawuba, qui s'exprimait lors de la conférence téléphonique à l'attention des investisseurs depuis le siège du Groupe à Lagos, mardi, après la publication des résultats semestriels arrêtés au 30 juin 2025, a expliqué que son modèle de diversification reste une stratégie de croissance clé, comme en témoigne la contribution élevée de ses filiales au cours du premier semestre.

Il a déclaré :
« Comme vous le savez peut‑être déjà, UBA est présente dans 20 pays d'Afrique, dont 19 en dehors du Nigeria, et ces pays performent très bien. Dans beaucoup de ces pays, nous sommes une banque systémique significative. La contribution de notre activité africaine à notre profit avant impôts est montée à 53 %, et nous prévoyons que cela continuera de croître au cours de l'année. »

Poursuivant, il a expliqué :
« Beaucoup de croissance vient d'Afrique, et nous sommes effectivement bien positionnés pour poursuivre la création de valeur. Nous voyons de nombreuses opportunités en Afrique, et je crois que nous investissons dans ces pays pour les saisir. En tant que banque proactive, nous nous sommes efforcés de nous développer solidement — en termes d'activités, de produits et de services — et aussi en termes de recrutement de talents qui soutiendront notre expansion de valeur. »

Répondant à une question d'un investisseur concernant le paiement de dividendes pour l'année complète, Alawuba a dit :
« Concernant les perspectives de dividende pour le reste de l'année : nous estimons toujours que, sur la base des chiffres que nous examinons, nous serons en mesure de verser un dividende compétitif pour le reste de l'année. »

À la fin des deux premiers trimestres de l'année, les revenus bruts de UBA ont augmenté de 17,28 %, passant de 1 371 milliards de nairas en juin 2024 à 1 608 milliards sur la période étudiée. Les revenus d'intérêts ont également augmenté de 32,89 %, passant de 1 004 milliards de nairas en juin de l'année dernière à 1 334 milliards, tandis que les actifs totaux ont progressé de 9,71 %, pour atteindre 33,3 billions de nairas, contre 30,3 billions enregistrés en décembre 2024. Les dépôts totaux ont aussi bondi de 11,96 % au cours de la même période, pour s'établir à 27,6 billions, contre 24,7 billions à la fin de 2024.

Lors de l'appel, Alawuba a mis en avant les investissements continus de la banque dans la technologie et l'innovation comme des leviers critiques pour l'efficacité et la compétitivité. En s'appuyant sur les canaux et solutions numériques, UBA vise à renforcer ses sources de revenus, améliorer l'expérience client et consolider sa position de partenaire financier privilégié pour plus de 45 millions de clients à l'échelle mondiale.

Reprenant les propos d'Alawuba, Ugo Nwaghodoh, directeur exécutif en charge des finances et de la gestion des risques de UBA, a déclaré que la banque continuera de s'appuyer sur la technologie et l'innovation pour améliorer l'efficacité, développer ses revenus numériques et offrir une expérience client supérieure.

« Nos opérations diversifiées à travers l'Afrique et interconnectées restent un solide tampon face aux chocs locaux, renforçant la position de UBA comme la banque africaine globale », a souligné Nwaghodoh, précisant que la stratégie de croissance de la banque repose fermement sur la résilience, l'innovation et la création de valeur, en renforçant sa mission : autonomiser les clients, soutenir les communautés et stimuler le progrès économique à travers l'Afrique et au-delà.

United Bank for Africa est l'un des plus grands employeurs du secteur financier sur le continent africain, avec 25 000 employés au niveau du groupe, et sert plus de 45 millions de clients dans le monde. Présente dans vingt pays africains ainsi qu'au Royaume‑Uni, aux États‑Unis, en France et aux Émirats arabes unis, UBA propose des services bancaires aux particuliers, aux entreprises et aux institutions, en favorisant l'inclusion financière et en mettant en œuvre des technologies de pointe.

Au Bénin, bien loin de cette vieille sagesse qui voulait que les mains de tous compensent les failles de la jarre trouée, la politique cherche aujourd'hui une chaussure nouvelle. Les temps, on le sait, imposent des tenues différentes, des pas moins assurés, des mélodies changeantes. Jadis, la jarre percée était réparée par tous, dans un effort commun où chacun, du notable au paysan, venait colmater la brèche. Aujourd'hui, cette métaphore semble trop naïve, presque démodée. La jarre, pourtant, est toujours là, plus fissurée que jamais, mais les mains se retirent, hésitantes, parfois indifférentes, trop souvent occupées à tracer des lignes de démarcation entre « nous » et « eux ».

Car dans ce gala politique, qui n'a rien d'un bal mondain, on ne veut plus s'accommoder — ou s'incommoder — d'un convive qui porterait une couleur différente. Le brillant danseur, fût-il habile, reste suspect s'il n'arbore pas les mêmes étoffes. Et l'on ne parle pas ici de valse ni de mazurka : la scène est celle du pouvoir, où chaque geste est scruté, où chaque sourire est interprété. Dans ce climat, la fraternité n'est plus qu'un mot. Un mot que l'on prononce par habitude, mais dont le sens s'est dilué dans le tumulte. Un mot qu'on chasse dès qu'il menace l'ordre des camps, un mot qu'on convoque uniquement pour attiser des rancunes. Triste ironie : là où la fraternité devrait être un ciment, elle n'est plus qu'un chiffon agité pour diviser.

Dans cette atmosphère troublée, certains noms résonnent comme des rappels d'un passé plus stable. Je pense à Nestor WADAGNI, que Dieu lui fasse miséricorde ! Un homme d'une grande qualité, un ami fidèle, mieux, un frère, dont la mémoire continue de m'habiter. Son fils, Romuald, incarne aujourd'hui une part de cet héritage. Candidat de la mouvance présidentielle, il est propulsé sur le devant de la scène avec une détermination qui étonne certains, rassure d'autres, et inquiète ses adversaires. Je n'ai pas avec lui les mêmes liens qu'avec son père. Je ne l'ai entrevu que deux fois en tête à tête. La première dans la salle d'attente du bureau de son père qui était alors directeur de cabinet de Bruno Amoussou alors ministre d'état au plan. La deuxième fois, dans la cour d'une église catholique à Lomé au sortir d'une cérémonie de mariage. Deux rencontres brèves, presque anodines, mais suffisantes pour m'imprégner d'une impression : celle d'un homme méthodique, sobre, peu enclin aux effusions. Mais les deux fois, on me l'a présenté. La première, par son père, la deuxième par le père de mon neveu, qui venait de se marier à Lomé. C'est là qu'il me donna son numéro de téléphone. Inutile de préciser que j'en avais évidemment parlé à mon ami Nestor. A ce niveau, je vous épargne des détails.
De ce choix, je puis dire qu'il n'est pas irrationnel. L'homme a des compétences, un parcours, et il est entouré de figures solides. Rien, en tout cas, ne devrait troubler ma quiétude.

En face, l'hypothèse d'un Éric HOUNDETÉ, candidat, a de quoi faire vaciller les certitudes. Pour moi, Éric n'est pas un simple nom sur une affiche : il est un vieil ami, presque un frère, un homme dont la courtoisie et l'humilité légendaires n'ont pas été ternie par des décennies de combats politiques. Sa connaissance des arcanes béninoises est fine, son attachement à la démocratie réel, parfois douloureux tant il a payé de sa personne. Bref, Eric HOUNDETE est un homme qu'on ne peut qu'apprécier et aimer. Et, comme nombre de béninois, je l'apprécie et je l'aime beaucoup. S'il devait être porté candidat par les Démocrates, mon dilemme serait profond.

Comment choisir ? Comment se laisser enfermer dans un camp, quand l'un et l'autre renvoient à des visages familiers, à des souvenirs, à des affections sincères ? Voilà le piège de la politique béninoise contemporaine : elle ne laisse plus place à l'ambiguïté de l'amitié, à la richesse de la pluralité. Elle impose des camps, elle dresse des barrières. On voudra me demander, comme à tant d'autres : « De quel côté es-tu ? » Et l'on n'acceptera plus que je puisse rire avec l'ami de l'autre bord.
Cette obsession des camps est une mécanique bien huilée. Elle transforme chaque citoyen en agent de surveillance. Les regards se font soupçonneux, les mots deviennent des étiquettes, les silences des preuves. On ne me permettra plus d'être l'ami de l'ami, l'ami de l'adversaire. On voudra que je me définisse, que je m'assigne, que je me range. C'est ainsi que les nations perdent leur grandeur : non dans le fracas des guerres, mais dans l'érosion lente des liens quotidiens.

On oublie que bien avant la politique, il y avait des hommes. Et que longtemps après elle, il en restera encore. La vraie question n'est donc pas « Qui va gagner ? », mais bien « Qui restera ? » Qui restera, quand les tentes de campagne auront été pliées ? Qui restera, quand les slogans se seront éteints, que les cortèges auront déserté les boulevards, que les micros seront muets ? Qui restera, quand le temps, impitoyable, aura dépouillé les mains qui se croyaient fermes et sûres ?

La jarre commune, elle, restera. Mais percée, fissurée, parfois abandonnée. Elle continue de dilapider les efforts d'un labeur orgueilleux. Chacun y verse, mais l'eau s'échappe. Chacun se fatigue, mais rien ne demeure. Et tandis que l'on se querelle pour savoir qui doit porter la jarre, personne ne songe à la réparer. Voilà le drame de notre République : un pays où l'on confond prestige et service, apparence et travail de fond.

À cette fragilité collective s'ajoute un poison insidieux : la suspicion. Elle infiltre tout, elle déforme tout. Aujourd'hui par exemple il suffit que l'on sache que je suis très proche de Fagbohoun avec qui, en plus de nous voir fréquemment, aucune journée ne passe sans que nous n'ayons échangé deux fois par téléphone, pour que certains m'évitent. Des personnes que je voyais chaque jour, qui me sollicitaient même, se sont soudain éclipsées. D'autres sont allées jusqu'à déconseiller aux gens de me fréquenter. Ces mêmes personnes qui, hier encore, s'empressaient de me chercher pour obtenir une rencontre, s'érigent désormais en gardiens d'une morale qu'elles n'appliquent pas à elles-mêmes. Des personnes ridicules, qui ramènent tout à leurs intérêts personnels.

C'est cela, la suspicion politique : elle dévore les amitiés, elle fait fuir les relations, elle isole. Elle transforme un pays en archipel de méfiances. Elle installe dans les cœurs une peur de la trahison permanente.
La présidentielle devient alors un grand théâtre. On applaudit, on hue, on distribue des rôles. Mais que reste-t-il du projet ? Où est l'ambition commune ? La République n'est pas un ring où deux boxeurs s'affrontent à coups de slogans. Elle est une maison que l'on doit bâtir ensemble, pierre après pierre. Or, à chaque élection, c'est comme si l'on reprenait la construction à zéro, après avoir démoli les murs de l'adversaire.

Ce cycle de destruction est épuisant. Il nous empêche de bâtir durablement. Il nous enferme dans des querelles de personnes, alors que les urgences sociales, économiques, éducatives, sanitaires, sont immenses.
Il est temps de penser une autre manière de faire campagne. Une manière où la victoire ne se construit pas sur les ruines, mais sur l'idée qu'au lendemain, il faudra gouverner ensemble. Où l'adversaire d'hier peut devenir l'allié de demain, sans que cela soit vécu comme une trahison.

Le Bénin a déjà montré sa capacité à inventer. La Conférence nationale de 1990 en est le plus bel exemple : un moment unique où des hommes et des femmes, venus d'horizons différents, ont accepté de s'asseoir ensemble pour sauver l'essentiel. Nous devons retrouver cet esprit.
Nos aînés ont su faire preuve de grandeur dans des moments critiques. Mathieu Kérékou, Nicéphore Soglo, Albert Tévoédjré, Bruno Amoussou, Adrien Houngbédji, et tant d'autres, malgré leurs divergences, ont su négocier, céder, transiger, pour que le pays avance. Aujourd'hui, leurs héritiers semblent avoir oublié cette leçon. Le compromis est devenu un gros mot, la main tendue un signe de faiblesse. Pourtant, l'histoire enseigne que ce sont les nations capables de se réconcilier qui survivent aux tempêtes.

Alors, que voulons-nous ? Une République de camps irréconciliables, où chaque amitié devient suspecte ? Ou une nation qui, malgré ses fissures, décide de réparer la jarre commune ? La présidentielle passera, les visages aussi, mais le Bénin restera. Et il restera tel que nous l'aurons façonné : divisé ou rassemblé.

Il est encore temps de choisir la deuxième voie. Celle de l'unité, de la fraternité réelle, celle qui ne se réduit pas à un mot. Celle qui n'est pas un slogan, mais une pratique quotidienne. Celle qui permet à Romuald WADAGNI et à Éric HOUNDETÉ, non de s'affronter comme des ennemis, mais de se respecter comme des adversaires responsables.

La jarre trouée réclame plus que des discours. Elle réclame des mains, toutes les mains. Elle réclame du courage, de l'honnêteté, une mémoire fidèle. Elle réclame, surtout, que nous comprenions enfin que le véritable vainqueur d'une élection ne peut être un camp seul : c'est la nation entière.

Jérôme BIBILARY

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