This is a vital moment for an Arab voice to take a leading role at the UN. As a disastrous war develops in Sudan and countries in the Middle East wrestle with a rapidly changing diplomatic picture, the UAE today assumes the presidency of the Security Council.
Although the role is one that is shared on a rotating basis, it provides an opportunity for the Emirati delegation in New York to apply the country’s foreign policy principles to an array of challenges in the Middle East and beyond. This can be seen in the agenda for the UAE’s month-long presidency.
Next week, Emirati diplomats will host an event to develop closer ties between the Arab League and the UN. On June 13, Mariam Al Mheiri, Minister of Climate Change and Environment, and Minister of State for Food Security will host a debate on the links between climate change and security challenges, particularly in parts of the Middle East and Africa. The UAE’s consistent work against extremism will be the backdrop to an event it will host the following day that will focus on the fight against hate speech and intolerance.
However, the Security Council’s focus, sadly, is often focused on armed conflicts. In Sudan, an important part of the Arab world and Africa, six weeks of fighting has displaced nearly 1.4 million people, including more than 350,000 who have fled to neighbouring countries. Yesterday, another internationally brokered truce collapsed almost immediately and reports said Sudan's military suspended ceasefire talks in Jeddah with its opponents in the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces.
Meanwhile, looting has become widespread and aid agencies are unable to get essential supplies to millions of desperate Sudanese because of the fighting.
Worryingly, Sudan’s war appears to be turning into a drawn-out, medium intensity conflict. This is partly because of the proliferation of armed groups involved and the difficulty in controlling them. Then there is the ongoing militarisation of the civilian population. Sudan’s army is calling up reservists and able-bodied retired soldiers, and there are reports that the Defence Ministry has said that men who wished to defend themselves, their families and property should go to the nearest military base for weapons. The Governor of Darfur – a province with a bleak history of serious bloodletting – has called on residents to arm themselves to fend off attackers and looters. In a country of more than 500 ethnic groups, the potential for more violence is worrying in the extreme.
There is a danger that if the war does become a protracted one, the international community – already beset by other global challenges – will gradually lose interest in working towards a ceasefire and a political settlement. Here, the role of Arab nations such as the UAE becomes critical both in terms of keeping the conflict high on the international agenda and in encouraging mediation between the rival factions. Thus the UAE’s leading role on the Security Council, far from being merely procedural, will be of real consequence.
Last week The National ran an exclusive interview with the EU’s special representative for the Horn of Africa, Annette Weber, during a visit to Abu Dhabi. Ms Weber rightly identified the need for international involvement, particularly from the African Union, to end the conflict. She added that the EU fully supported the idea of a “task force that encompasses the League of Arab States, the EU, the Quad [the US, UK, Saudi Arabia and the UAE]".
The UAE has already made clear its concern about the Sudan conflict and the effect it is having on the country’s civilians. For the next month, the Emirates will be in the spotlight when it comes to UN Security Council issues. Unfortunately, given current events, the need for a high-level voice championing stability and conflict resolution is more important than ever.
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Sole survivors
- Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
- George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
- Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
- Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.
RESULTS
6.30pm Handicap (TB) $68,000 (Dirt) 1,200m
Winner Canvassed, Par Dobbs (jockey), Doug Watson (trainer)
7.05pm Meydan Cup – Listed Handicap (TB) $88,000 (Turf) 2,810m
Winner Dubai Future, Frankie Dettori, Saeed bin Suroor
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Winner Topper Bill, Richard Mullen, Satish Seemar
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Winner Man Of Promise, William Buick, Charlie Appleby
Conflict, drought, famine
Estimates of the number of deaths caused by the famine range from 400,000 to 1 million, according to a document prepared for the UK House of Lords in 2024.
It has been claimed that the policies of the Ethiopian government, which took control after deposing Emperor Haile Selassie in a military-led revolution in 1974, contributed to the scale of the famine.
Dr Miriam Bradley, senior lecturer in humanitarian studies at the University of Manchester, has argued that, by the early 1980s, “several government policies combined to cause, rather than prevent, a famine which lasted from 1983 to 1985. Mengistu’s government imposed Stalinist-model agricultural policies involving forced collectivisation and villagisation [relocation of communities into planned villages].
The West became aware of the catastrophe through a series of BBC News reports by journalist Michael Buerk in October 1984 describing a “biblical famine” and containing graphic images of thousands of people, including children, facing starvation.
Band Aid
Bob Geldof, singer with the Irish rock group The Boomtown Rats, formed Band Aid in response to the horrific images shown in the news broadcasts.
With Midge Ure of the band Ultravox, he wrote the hit charity single Do They Know it’s Christmas in December 1984, featuring a string of high-profile musicians.
Following the single’s success, the idea to stage a rock concert evolved.
Live Aid was a series of simultaneous concerts that took place at Wembley Stadium in London, John F Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia, the US, and at various other venues across the world.
The combined event was broadcast to an estimated worldwide audience of 1.5 billion.
Temple numbers
Expected completion: 2022
Height: 24 meters
Ground floor banquet hall: 370 square metres to accommodate about 750 people
Ground floor multipurpose hall: 92 square metres for up to 200 people
First floor main Prayer Hall: 465 square metres to hold 1,500 people at a time
First floor terrace areas: 2,30 square metres
Temple will be spread over 6,900 square metres
Structure includes two basements, ground and first floor
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ELIO
Starring: Yonas Kibreab, Zoe Saldana, Brad Garrett
Directors: Madeline Sharafian, Domee Shi, Adrian Molina
Rating: 4/5
Tips to stay safe during hot weather
- Stay hydrated: Drink plenty of fluids, especially water. Avoid alcohol and caffeine, which can increase dehydration.
- Seek cool environments: Use air conditioning, fans, or visit community spaces with climate control.
- Limit outdoor activities: Avoid strenuous activity during peak heat. If outside, seek shade and wear a wide-brimmed hat.
- Dress appropriately: Wear lightweight, loose and light-coloured clothing to facilitate heat loss.
- Check on vulnerable people: Regularly check in on elderly neighbours, young children and those with health conditions.
- Home adaptations: Use blinds or curtains to block sunlight, avoid using ovens or stoves, and ventilate living spaces during cooler hours.
- Recognise heat illness: Learn the signs of heat exhaustion and heat stroke (dizziness, confusion, rapid pulse, nausea), and seek medical attention if symptoms occur.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
