Africa bigger, US smaller as UN votes to adopt a new world map

ABC News -AFP, 4 September 2026 

Mercator's Projection shows Greenland and Africa as the same size,

when in reality Africa is 14 times the size of Greenland. (Getty: Interim Archives)

The United Nations General Assembly has voted to back a resolution spearheaded by several African countries to adopt a map that makes their continent bigger while shrinking North America and Europe. 

Aimed at "a more accurate representation" of continental landmasses, the resolution was supported by 164 countries while the US voted against it and six other states abstained. 

The new map — known as the Equal Earth cartographic projection — "is a relevant option for improving the accuracy of the cartographic representation of the world", the resolution said.  

The new map was supported by 164 countries, while the US voted against it. (AFP)

It urges member states to adopt the new map in place of the traditional Mercator projection, which was designed for maritime navigation by Flemish cartographer Gerardus Mercator in 1569. 

Foreign Minister Robert Dussey of Togo, which drove the resolution, said: "[Maps] guide education, nourish the imagination, and influence collective perceptions. 

"They are therefore never neutral, when they present a distorted image of our planet, they risk perpetuating inaccurate representation that are passed down through generation." 

The US, however, slammed the resolution, saying such moves are "the reason this institution is losing its credibility".

"Instead of focusing on genuine problems … this body is debating map projects from the 16th century and their role in promoting reparations and cognitive justice," US representative Yaryna Ferencevych said ahead of the vote. 

'Distorted representation' 

The Mercator projection focused on accurate depictions of the shapes and angles of land masses, but their relative sizes were often inaccurate, in part due to the challenge of rendering a three-dimensional globe onto a two-dimensional map. 

It inflated northern regions and compressed equatorial ones, making Europe and North America appear much larger, while shrinking Africa and South America. 

A group of cartographers launched the Equal Earth projection in 2018. 

It makes Africa, Latin America, South Asia and Oceania appear much larger. 

"Equal Earth preserves the relative surface areas of continents and, as much as possible, shows their shapes as they appear on a globe," one of the cartographers, Bojan Savric, told AFP in 2025. 

France — which co-sponsored the resolution in support of the new map — announced Friday that it would abandon the Mercator projection. 

"[In that map] the United States, Russia and China take on a disproportionate visual prominence compared to Africa, Latin America or south-east Asia, [while] Greenland appears almost as big as Africa," Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said. 

"Changing maps obviously doesn't change the world. 

The initiative comes as France is seeking to improve relations with Africa, particularly in former colonies with which it has prickly ties.

AFP

Related Article:

How Big is Africa? Believe It When You See It…

ICC must be allowed to carry out work ‘without intimidation’, say 93 member states

The Guardian, Harry Davies, Sat 15 Jun 2024

Joint statement of support for international criminal court issued following revelations of Israeli interference 

The international criminal court has been the subject of efforts by Israel and its intelligence
agencies to undermine, influence and intimidate. Photograph: Peter Dejong/AP

The international criminal court must be allowed to carry out its work “without intimidation”, a group of 93 states has said in a significant public intervention intended to reinforce support for the judicial body. 

In a joint statement issued late on Friday issued late on Friday, the large group of ICC member states vowed to defend the institution and “preserve its integrity from any political interference and pressure against the court, its officials and those cooperating with it”. 

The show of unity for the court and its staff comes in the wake of revelations published by the Guardian about efforts by Israel and its intelligence agencies to undermine, influence and intimidate the court as part of a nine-year campaign of surveillance and espionage. 

It also follows recent warnings by the office of the ICC’s chief prosecutor, Karim Khan, that it has been subjected to “several forms of threats” and hostile intelligence activity apparently intended to interfere with and improperly influence the prosecutor’s work. 

Last month, Khan announced that he has filed applications for arrest warrants against senior Hamas and Israeli officials for war crimes and crimes against humanity, which he alleged had been committed during Hamas’s 7 October attack and the ensuing war in Gaza. 

Khan’s decision to seek arrest warrants against Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, and defence minister, Yoav Gallant, is the first time an ICC prosecutor has taken such action against the leaders of a close western ally. The move provoked a fierce response from Israel and its allies in the US. 

The statement supporting the ICC was drafted by five of the court’s member states – Belgium, Chile, Jordan, Senegal and Slovenia – and is understood to have been presented to the rest of the court’s state parties last week for their endorsement. 

A diplomatic source familiar with the effort said the disclosures about Israeli intelligence operations against the court had been “really eye-opening for a lot of diplomats” and “made some realise that it’s time to put out some sort of statement from the states that belong to the court responding to what has now come to light”. 

However, they said the statement was also a response to other recent forms of hostile activity against the ICC, such as a cyber-attack last year, and came as the prosecutor is conducting an investigation into senior Russian political and military figures allegedly involved in war crimes and crimes against humanity in Ukraine. 

“The court is going after some very powerful people, not just in the Palestine investigation, and it’s time to send a message that the state parties are there to defend it,” the source said. 

Longtime ICC observers said it was notable that major western powers such as Germany, France, Canada and the UK had supported the statement, which called on “all states to ensure full cooperation with the court for it to carry out its important mandate”. 

They also pointed to the large number of endorsing states – 93 of the ICC’s 124 members – and noted that previous statements rallying around the court had not garnered as much support. 

“This is a unique moment of international solidarity, with 93 ICC states parties standing up for global justice and accountability for mass atrocities,” Danya Chaikel, the International Federation for Human Rights’s representative to the ICC, said. 

“They are collectively opposing the egregious threats to the court from powerful countries including Israel, the US and Russia, and strongly rejecting their efforts to manipulate the rule of law for political gains,” she added.

UN rights council orders probe of Iran crackdown on protests

Yahoo – AFP, Nina LARSON,, November 24, 2022 

The United Nations Human Rights Council on Thursday condemned Iran's repression of peaceful demonstrators following the death of Mahsa Amini, and voted to create a high-level investigation into the deadly crackdown. 

Despite heavy lobbying by Tehran and a last-minute effort by China to undercut the resolution, a broader-than-expected majority of the 47-member council backed launching a probe of Iran's response to the ongoing protests. 

Thunderous applause erupted when the resolution passed with 25 votes in favour, 16 abstaining and only six countries -- Armenia, China, Cuba, Eritrea, Pakistan and Venezuela -- opposed. 

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken hailed the vote, saying it showed the top UN rights body "recognises the gravity of the situation in Iran." 

"The fact-finding mission established today will help ensure that those engaged in the ongoing violent suppression of Iranian people are identified and their actions documented," he said in a statement. 

The vote came at the end of an urgent session requested by Germany and Iceland with the backing of 50 countries to discuss the situation in Iran, rocked by two months of protests. 

Those demonstrations were sparked by the death in custody of 22-year-old Amini, after she was arrested for an alleged breach of the country's strict dress rules for women based on Islamic sharia law. 

Footballer arrested

Iranian authorities have grown increasingly heavy-handed in their response to the demonstrations as they have spread across the country and swelled into a broad movement against the theocracy that has ruled Iran since 1979. 

During Thursday's session, UN rights chief Volker Turk insisted that "the unnecessary and disproportionate use of force must come to an end." 

Turk, who told reporters he had offered to visit Iran but had received no response from Tehran, said more than 300 people had been killed since Amini's death. 

Norway-based group Iran Human Rights has put the toll above 400, including more than 50 children. 

Around 14,000 people, including children, had been arrested over the protests, he said, describing this as "a staggering number", and decried the fact that at least six death sentences had been handed down to demonstrators. 

Among those arrested have been a number of celebrities who have expressed support for the protesters, including Iranian national team footballer Voria Ghafouri, arrested on Thursday for "anti-state propaganda". 

'Impunity prevents justice'

A long line of Western diplomats took the floor in Geneva on Thursday to denounce the crackdown in Iran. 

German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock called on all countries to back the independent international fact-finding mission to probe all abuses connected with the ongoing protests, to ensure "those responsible can be held to account". 

"Impunity prevents justice. Justice for sisters, sons, mothers. They have names. Jina, Abolfazl, Minoo," she said, listing some of the many killed. 

She told reporters that the investigation would collect evidence towards holding perpetrators to account -- although it remains unclear under which jurisdiction they would be tried. 

"If we don't collect the evidence today... justice will never come to the victims," Baerbock said. 

Icelandic Foreign Minister Thordis Kolbrun Reykfjord Gylfadottir agreed, telling reporters that the council vote was "about respecting, protecting and fulfilling human rights and fundamental freedoms." 

Dozens of people protested outside the UN in Geneva, waving the flags used in Iran prior to the 1979 revolution, amid pictures of alleged victims of the Iranian regime. 

The organisers of that demonstration, the People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran, hailed the Thursday's vote as "a positive and important step," insisting the "culture of impunity must end". 

'Historic'

Rights groups also celebrated the vote, with Amnesty International describing it as "historic", while Human Rights Watch said it was "a welcome step towards accountability." 

Iran however denounced the Western countries behind Thursday's meeting. 

Europe and the United States "lack the moral credibility to preach... on human rights", said Khadijeh Karimi, Iran's deputy of the vice president for women and family affairs. 

"Reducing the common cause of human rights to a tool for political purposes of specific groups of Western countries is appalling and disgraceful," she added. 

Iran received backing from some countries, with Pakistan, Venezuela and others decrying growing politicisation in the council, and China's ambassador Chen Xu warning against "turning human rights into a tool to intervene into other countries' internal affairs". 

China also put in a last-minute bid to change the text of Thursday's resolution, asking that the request to establish an investigation be removed. Only six countries supported that effort.

UN satellite analysis tracks Ukraine cultural damage

Yahoo – AFP, October 26, 2022 

The United Nations is using before-and-after satellite imagery to monitor the cultural destruction inflicted by Russia's war in Ukraine, announcing Wednesday it will launch its tracking platform publicly within days. 

The UN's culture agency UNESCO said it had verified damage to 207 cultural sites in Ukraine since the Russian invasion on February 24. 

They include 88 religious sites, 15 museums, 76 buildings of historical and or artistic interest, 18 monuments and 10 libraries. 

"Our conclusion is it's bad, and it may continue to get even worse," UNESCO's cultural and emergencies director Krista Pikkat told reporters at a briefing in Geneva. 

So far in the war, none of the seven world heritage sites have been damaged. 

UNESCO -- the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization -- has joined forces with the UN Satellite Centre UNOSAT. 

Based on reports on the ground, UNESCO sends a list of potentially damaged sites to UNOSAT. It then asks for satellite images from commercial suppliers and a small team of experts studies the difference in before-and-after pictures. 

The team matches up the images and is then able to give a time window in which the damage took place. 

It does not attribute blame for the damage. 

"This is a kind of pilot experiment to see how we can usefully compile this information, and possibly in the long term, the ambition would be to widen the scope beyond Ukraine and take the tool to a global level so we can really have a kind of real-time, interactive tool for our experts," said Pikkat. 

UNESCO is also working with museums and collections in Ukraine to try to combat against the threat of looting -- a common problem in war. 

UNESCO has been discussing with Kyiv about possibly removing cultural heritage items from the country for the duration of the war, but Pikkat acknowledged that it was a "difficult call", with the first move being to evacuate collections to safer parts of Ukraine.

Pope urges UN reform after Ukraine war, Covid ‘limits’

Dgital Journal – AFP, October 16, 2022 

Pope Francis in his new book called for the reform of the UN after the pandemic
and the Ukraine war showed its 'limits' - Copyright AFP

Pope Francis said the need to reform the United Nations was “more than obvious” after the Covid-19 pandemic and the Ukraine war exposed its limits, in an extract of his new book published Sunday. 

The Argentine pontiff said Russia’s February invasion of Ukraine highlighted the need to ensure the current multilateral structure — especially the UN Security Council — finds “more agile and effective ways of resolving conflicts”. 

“In wartime, it is essential to affirm that we need more multilateralism and a better multilateralism,” but the UN is no longer fit for “new realities”, he added in an extract published by La Stampa daily. 

The organisation was founded to prevent the horrors of two World Wars from happening again, but although the threat represented by those conflicts was still alive, “today’s world is no longer the same”, said Francis. 

“The necessity of these reforms became more than obvious after the pandemic” when the current multilateral system “showed all its limits”, he added. 

Francis denounced the unequal distribution of vaccines as a “glaring example” of the law of the strongest prevailing over solidarity. 

The 85-year-old advocated “organic reforms” aimed at allowing international organisations to rediscover their essential purpose of “serving the human family” and said international institutions must be the result of the “widest possible consensus”. 

The pope also proposed guaranteeing food, health, economic and social rights on which international institutions would base their decisions. 

Francis’s new book, “I ask you in the name of God: Ten prayers for a future of hope”, is due to come out in Italy Tuesday. 

Zelensky tells UN to 'act immediately' on Russia or close

Yahoo – AFP, Philippe RATER, April 5, 2022

President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine, addresses a meeting of the United Nations Security
Councilin New York City on April 5, 2022 (AFP/TIMOTHY A. CLARY) (TIMOTHY A. CLARY)

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky challenged the United Nations to "act immediately" or "dissolve yourself altogether" during a blistering address Tuesday in which he showed harrowing footage of dead bodies -- including children -- he said were victims of Russian atrocities. 

Likening Russia's actions in Bucha and other Ukrainian cities to violence carried out by "terrorists" such as the Islamic State group, Zelensky called on the 15-member Security Council -- which aims to ensure international peace and security -- to expel Russia "so it cannot block decisions about its own aggression, its own war." 

Russia, as one of the five permanent members of the Council, has a veto, which it has repeatedly wielded to block resolutions and negotiations on the global stage. 

That means it cannot be expelled from the body, as it would simply veto any vote or recommendation by the Security Council to do so. 

"If there is no alternative ... then the next option would be dissolve yourself altogether," Zelensky continued. 

"Ladies and gentlemen, are you ready to close the UN? ... If your answer is no, then you need to act immediately." 

Bearded and dressed in his now trademark military green T-shirt, Zelensky, speaking remotely from Kyiv, gave a chilling rendition of the atrocities he said were carried out by Russian troops against civilians in Bucha, a town outside the Ukrainian capital. 

Bucha had been occupied by Russian troops, but when they withdrew recently Ukrainian authorities and independent international journalists including AFP found bodies of people in civilian clothing, some with their hands tied behind their backs. 

Zelensky aired a graphic, 90-second clip of what he said were images from towns including Bucha and the southern port of Mariupol. 

The footage showed partially uncovered dead people, including children, in shallow graves, several bodies in a courtyard and dead people with hands tied behind their back slumped towards a wall. 

"Now the world can see what the Russian military did in Bucha," Zelensky said. 

"They were killed in their apartments, houses, blowing up grenades, civilians were crushed by tanks while sitting in their cars in the middle of the road, just for their pleasure. They cut off limbs... slashed their throats," he said. 

"Women were raped and killed in front of their children, their tongues were pulled out only because the aggressors did not hear what they wanted to hear from them. 

"This is no different from other terrorists such as Daesh ... and here it is done by a member of the United Nations Security Council," he said, using another acronym for the Islamic State group. 

"Accountability must be inevitable," he said, claiming that "hundreds of thousands" of Ukrainians had also been deported to Russia. 

Moments later Russia's ambassador, in his own comments, rejected the claims entirely. 

'No witnesses' 

Addressing his remarks directly to Zelensky, Vassily Nebenzia said Moscow places "on your conscience the ungrounded accusations against the Russian military, which are not confirmed by any eye witnesses." 

At least one witness has told AFP of watching Russian soldiers shoot a man in cold blood in Bucha. 

Russia has claimed that images presented by Ukrainian authorities to show there had been a massacre in Bucha were fake, or that the deaths occurred after Russian soldiers pulled out of the areas.

 It has not offered evidence, and satellite imagery has shown bodies there for weeks, before Moscow withdrew its troops from the town. 

Nevertheless Nebenzia repeated those claims, telling the council: "You only saw what they showed you. You couldn't ignore the flagrant inconsistencies in the version of events which are being promoted by Ukrainian and Western media." 

He also denied Zelensky's allegation of mass deportations. 

Since the invasion began "over 600,000 people have been evacuated to Russia, including over 119,000 children," Nebenzia told the body. 

He said the evacuations were "voluntary," not "coercion or abduction." 

Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24, sparking outrage across the world and displacing millions of Ukrainians.

UN General Assembly demands Russia end Ukraine war

MSN – AFP, 24 March 2022

© TIMOTHY A. CLARY Ukraine's UN Ambassador Sergiy Kyslytsya, speaks during
a General Assembly Emergency Special Session on Ukraine at the United Nations
in New York on March 23, 2022

The UN General Assembly on Thursday adopted by an overwhelming majority a new non-binding resolution that demands an "immediate" halt to Russia's war in Ukraine. 

At UN headquarters in New York, 140 countries voted in favor, 38 abstained and five voted against the measure, with applause ringing out afterwards.  

The vote came after the adoption of a similar non-binding resolution on March 2 that demanded Russia immediately cease its use of force -- a vote that was approved by 141 countries. 

On Wednesday Ukraine put forward the new resolution, originally prepared by France and Mexico, at an emergency session of the General Assembly. 

A competing text by South Africa, which never mentioned Russia by name, received only 50 votes for, 67 against and 36 abstentions, and was therefore not adopted. 

The approved resolution specifically implicates Moscow and "demands an immediate cessation of the hostilities by the Russian Federation against Ukraine, in particular of any attacks against civilians and civilian objects." 

The same five countries voted against the resolution Thursday and March 2 -- Russia, Syria, North Korea, Belarus and Eritrea. 

The US ambassador to the UN, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, welcomed the "strong majority" of member states that approved the resolution. 

The countries made clear that "Russia bears sole responsibility for the grave humanitarian crisis and violence in Ukraine," she said. 

"As President Biden has stated clearly, Vladimir Putin will not see victory in Ukraine. And we heard today that he will not see it here in New York either." 

Joe Biden and his Western counterparts gathered in Brussels on Thursday for NATO, G7 and EU summits, with Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky also participated by videolink. 

On Wednesday Russia submitted a resolution to the UN Security Council on the "humanitarian situation" in Ukraine -- but it was not adopted, with 13 of the 15 member states pointedly abstaining in solidarity over what diplomats said was the text's unacceptable basis.

UN chief calls Russia-Ukraine war 'unwinnable'

France24 – AFP, 22 March 2022 

In this file photo taken on February 28, 2022, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres
speaks on the Russia-Ukraine conflict at the General Assembly emergency special
session in New York Kena Betancur AFP/File

United Nations (United States) (AFP) – UN chief Antonio Guterres said Tuesday that it was time for Russia to end their "absurd war" in Ukraine, declaring the conflict "unwinnable." 

The Secretary General told reporters at the world body's headquarters in New York that the war "is going nowhere, fast." 

"For more than two weeks, Mariupol has been encircled by the Russian army and relentlessly bombed, shelled and attacked. For what?" he said. 

"Even if Mariupol falls, Ukraine cannot be conquered city by city, street by street, house by house." 

Guterres added that "the only outcome" to more fighting was "more suffering, more destruction, and more horror as far as the eye can see." 

Negotiators from Moscow and Kyiv have held ongoing talks aimed at ending nearly four weeks of fierce fighting, but have failed to announce any progress so far. 

Guterres said though that he believed diplomatic negotiations to bring a halt to fighting were making headway. 

"There is enough on the table to cease hostilities now and seriously negotiate now. 

"This war is unwinnable. Sooner or later, it will have to move from the battlefield to the peace table. That is inevitable," he added. 

The UN General Assembly is due to reconvene a special emergency session on Ukraine on Wednesday and hold a vote this week on a non-binding French and Mexican resolution condemning Russia's invasion. 

Earlier this month, 141 out of 193 United Nations member states supported a similar resolution. 

The vote will indicate whether Russia has lost or gained any support over its actions since that vote on March 2. 

South Africa, which abstained last time around, has circulated a rival draft resolution which calls for an end to hostilities but makes no mention of Russia as the aggressor.

US, UN demand proof of missing Chinese tennis star's well-being

Yahoo – AFP, Robin MILLARD, November 19, 2021 

The WTA is threatening to pull out of China if tennis star Peng Shui's
whereabouts and safety are not confirmed (AFP/GREG BAKER) 

The United States and UN on Friday demanded proof of Peng Shuai's whereabouts and well-being amid rising concern for the tennis star, missing since alleging she was sexually exploited by a former vice-premier of China. 

White House press secretary Jen Psaki said President Joe Biden's administration wanted China to "provide independent, verifiable proof" of Peng's whereabouts and expressed "deep concern" about the former world top-ranked doubles player. 

The United Nations insisted on a fully transparent investigation into the claims made by Peng against Communist Party grandee Zhang Gaoli. 

Tennis stars, sports bodies, governments and human rights defenders also spoke up for Peng, 35, and demanded information. 

The head of the Women's Tennis Association (WTA) said he was prepared to cut lucrative business ties with China if Peng remains unaccounted for and her sexual assault allegations are not probed. 

Serena Williams, Novak Djokovic and Naomi Osaka have also voiced their concerns for one of China's greatest ever players. 

"It would be important to have proof of her whereabouts and well-being," Liz Throssell, a spokeswoman for the UN Human Rights Office, told reporters in Geneva. 

"According to available information, Peng, a former world doubles number one, hasn't been heard from publicly since she alleged on social media that she had been sexually assaulted. 

"We are calling for an investigation with full transparency into her allegation of sexual assault." 

WTA threatens China pull-out 

Peng alleged on the Chinese social media site Weibo earlier this month that Zhang, now in his 70s, had "forced" her into sex during a long-term on-off relationship. 

The claims were quickly scrubbed from the Twitter-like platform and she has not been seen since. 

The WTA, the top world body for women's tennis, has called for proof that Peng is safe. 

Its boss Steve Simon said he is willing to lose hundreds of millions of dollars worth of Chinese business in one of the WTA's biggest markets to ensure Peng's safety. 

"We're definitely willing to pull our business and deal with all the complications that come with it," Simon told CNN. 

"Women need to be respected and not censored," he added. 

Tennis legend Serena Williams also demanded an investigation. 

"I am devastated and shocked to hear about the news of my peer, Peng Shuai," the former singles world number one wrote on Twitter. 

"This must be investigated and we must not stay silent." 

Peng represented China in the Beijing, London and Rio de Janeiro Olympics and won gold for China at the 2010 Asian Games. 

She is a former Wimbledon and French Open doubles champion. 

France said the international community and sports bodies were worried for Peng's situation. 

"We are concerned about the lack of information," the French foreign ministry said. 

"We call on the Chinese authorities to implement their commitments in the fight against violence against women." 

The Lawn Tennis Association, the sport's governing body in Britain, offered its assistance to the WTA in its efforts to establish Peng's safety. 

Email doubts 

Peng's claims brought the #MeToo movement into the highest echelons of China's ruling Communist Party for the first time. 

"The Chinese government has systematically silenced the country's #MeToo movement," said Amnesty International's China researcher Doriane Lau. 

"Given that it also has a zero-tolerance approach to criticism, it is deeply concerning that Peng Shuai appears to be missing," she said. 

China has repeatedly refused to comment on her fate or the case. 

But Hu Xijin, the outspoken editor of the Communist Party-owned Global Times, tweeted on Friday that he didn't believe that "Peng Shuai has received retaliation and repression speculated by foreign media for the thing people talked about". 

Earlier this week, state-run CGTN published a screenshot on Twitter of what it said was an email written by Peng to Simon and other WTA officials. 

In the email, Peng claims that her earlier accusations are "not true" and says she is "resting at home and everything is fine". 

But doubts were quickly flagged about the awkward language used in the purported email and the cursor visible in the screenshot. 

Simon said that he was struggling to believe the email was authentic. 

"I don't think there's any validity in it and we won't be comfortable until we have a chance to speak with her," he said. 

Amnesty's Lau said: "China's state media has a track record of forcing statements out of individuals under duress, or else simply fabricating them."

US, EU call for 'full commitment' from WHO to prevent sexual violence

Yahoo – AFP, Tedros Adhanom, October 1, 2021 

The abuses were committed by local and international WHO personnel in the
country to fight the 2018-20 Ebola outbreak (AFP/Fabrice COFFRINI) 

Washington and Brussels joined with other Western capitals on Friday to call for "full commitment" from the World Health Organization to reform, after a damning report detailed rape and sexual abuse by its workers sent to fight Ebola in DR Congo. 

"The governments of Australia, Canada, the European Union and its member states, New Zealand, Norway, the United Kingdom and the United States of America... expect full commitment from the WHO to prevent and address such acts, including through fundamental reforms to the WHO," the governments said in a joint statement. 

Calling it a "dark day for WHO", the UN body's chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus had on Tuesday told victims he was "sorry" and that it was "top priority that the perpetrators are not excused but held to account". 

On Friday, the member state governments said that "we will ensure that the WHO leadership’s commitments lead to accountability, increased capability, action, and swift change", calling for an "immediate, thorough and detailed assessment" of what went wrong. 

The report centred on accusations against local and international personnel deployed in the Democratic Republic of Congo to fight an Ebola outbreak from 2018 to 2020. 

It cited "individual negligence that may amount to professional misconduct". 

The authors also said they found "clear structural failures and unpreparedness to manage the risks of incidents of sexual exploitation and abuse" in the poor central African country. 

Among the 83 suspects identified, 21 were employed by the WHO. 

Four have had their contracts terminated and are banned from future employment at the WHO, while two senior staff have been placed on administrative leave. 

The agency will also refer rape allegations to the Congolese authorities and those of other concerned states, Tedros said.

WTO chief to step down early as global economic crisis rages

Yahoo – AFP, Nina LARSON, May 14, 2020

World Trade Organization (WTO) Director General Roberto Azevedo plans to
step down early (AFP Photo/Fabrice COFFRINI)

Geneva (AFP) - The World Trade Organization chief announced Thursday he will step down on August 31, a year before his term ends, despite the COVID-19 pandemic ravaging the global economy.

Roberto Azevedo said it had been a "personal decision" reached with his family, and stressed that he was not leaving to pursue "political opportunities".

"This is a decision that I do not take lightly," Azevedo told member state representatives, according to a written version of his speech.

Azevedo's early departure will come at a time when the coronavirus pandemic has pushed the global economy and international trade into turmoil, facing downturns not seen since the Great Depression.

Global trade, already hit by political tensions and uncertainties around Brexit, is expected to register "double-digit declines" in volumes in nearly all regions this year, the WTO said last month.

The 164-member organisation was already in crisis before the pandemic hit, dealing with raging trade wars and scathing criticism by United States under President Donald Trump, who has pushed for reforms of the Geneva-based body.

Referring to Azevedo's announcement, Trump told a White House briefing Thursday that "I'm ok with it," adding "The World Trade Organization is horrible".

'New post-COVID realities'

Azevedo meanwhile said he was "convinced that this decision serves the best interests of this organisation."

The 62-year-old Brazilian career diplomat, who became the WTO chief in 2013, suggested that an early change of leadership would help it face "new post-COVID realities".

He also insisted his move would avoid weighing down the WTO's 12th ministerial conference next year with the difficult process of finding his successor.

"My departure in August will give you the time you need to work with my successor -- whoever she or he may be -- to shape the strategic direction for MC12 and the months and years that follow," he said.

He said that the current slowdown in activity due to measures taken to curb the COVID-19 pandemic offered an opportune time to seek his replacement.

EU trade chief Phil Hogan said in a statement that he agreed.

"It is essential that we quickly chart a new path ahead at this critical and uncertain time for trade. It makes sense to proceed now with the succession process rather than wait until next year," he said.

Not everyone agreed the timing was right, however.

Azevedo's expected departure "comes at a very bad moment for the institution, as the trade system has become deeply destabilised," Sebastien Jean, head of CEPII think tank, told AFP.

He pointed to "existing tensions, in particular the scathing criticism from the US president, violations of many agreements, the US-China trade war and the paralysis of the appeals body."

Azevedo, who before his appointment as WTO chief spent five years as Brazil's ambassador to the organisation, has enjoyed a reputation as a consensus-builder.

During his first term he dedicated much energy to trying to unblock long-deadlocked trade agreements.

African candidate

The WTO has for nearly two decades failed to conclude the Doha Round of trade liberalisation talks.

However, on Azevedo's watch, WTO members did conclude their first ever multilateral agreement when they reached a deal in Bali in late 2013 on overhauling global customs procedures.

But since his second term began in 2017, countries have failed to reach further multilateral agreements, and the WTO has struggled to deal with a US administration openly hostile to its multilateral approach.

The WTO was forced to put its dispute settlement appeal system on ice last December after Washington blocked the appointment of new judges, preventing it from reaching a three-judge quorum.

US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer meanwhile hailed Azevedo's service.

"Despite the many shortcomings of the WTO, Roberto has led the institution with grace and a steady hand. He will be difficult to replace," he said in a statement.

Many observers are already betting on a candidate from Africa -- and against a WTO insider.

One diplomatic source told AFP that there appeared to be a clear "consensus" that the next leader should not come from "a big economic power", and certainly not from China or the United States, in light of their trade war.