A group of Sudanese rights and professional bodies has accused both warring parties in Sudan of committing atrocities that could be prosecuted as war crimes and crimes against humanity. In a petition addressed to United Nations Secretary-General AntĂłnio Guterres, the coalition called for an investigation by the International Criminal Court (ICC).
July 2023
The World Health Organization (WHO) has warned on Thursday that health threats are surging as the war in Sudan escalates and millions of people, many sick and wounded, flee for safety within Sudan and across borders to neighboring countries where health services are fragile and hard to reach. The war, which erupted more than three months ago between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), is not contained within the country but has profound regional implications.
The world is facing an existential threat - the climate crisis. The effects of climate change are already evident and have far-reaching consequences for our environment, ecosystems, societies, and people. But the climate crisis goes beyond mere environmental protection. It is closely linked to the increase and intensification of humanitarian crises affecting many millions of people worldwide and posing immense challenges to the world.
According to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), humanitarian operations in Niger are currently on hold following the attempted coup in the country. The United Nations, the United States, the West African economic bloc ECOWAS, the African Union and the European Union have called for the release of Niger’s president, Mohamed Bazoum, after a group of soldiers claimed to have removed him from power Wednesday. President Bazoum has urged democratic forces in the country to resist the power grab.
United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres said Thursday that it is not too late to “stop the worst” of the climate crisis, but only with “dramatic, immediate” action. Guterres made the comments as the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) announced today that the first three weeks of July have been the warmest three-week period on record and the month is on track to be the hottest July and the hottest month on record.
The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) says a funding shortfall has forced it to cut by one-half food rations for more than 50,000 people in Malawi at the country's only refugee camp. The food cuts come at a time when refugees at the Dzaleka camp, who are mainly from the Great Lakes region, are already facing deteriorating food security.
The international human rights organization Human Rights Watch (HRW) said in a statement Monday that Mali’s armed forces and “apparently” the Wagner Group mercenaries “have summarily executed and forcibly disappeared several dozen civilians in Mali’s central region since December 2022.” Malian forces and the Wagner Group have also “destroyed and looted civilian property and allegedly tortured detainees in an army camp,” according to HRW.
Monday marks another grim milestone in the conflict in Sudan. Since the fighting started 100 days ago, thousands of civilians have been killed and injured, and millions displaced as a result of the nightmarish violence that broke out. UN agencies and international humanitarian organizations around the world today called attention to the plight of the people of Sudan and demanded action to end the war and improve the humanitarian response to the crisis.
Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF, Doctors Without Borders) warned Friday that it may end operations in Sudan at a hospital in the capital, Khartoum, after 18 of its workers were “aggressively assaulted,” as the conflict entered its fourth month this week. MSF said the incident happened while the team was moving medical supplies from the organization’s warehouse to the Turkish Hospital in the Sudanese capital.
The International Rescue Committee (IRC) has called for international attention to the humanitarian crisis in Burkina Faso, where almost 5 million people currently require humanitarian assistance. In a statement Thursday, the non-governmental organization (NGO) said that over 800,000 women, men, and children live in 26 cities under blockade with limited or no access to basic necessities which has led to an unprecedented food crisis.
As global warming intensifies and deadly heatwaves spread across the world, becoming the “new normal,” the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) is calling on governments to adopt heat action plans to protect “hundreds of thousands of people dying from preventable heat-related causes each year.” Meteorologists forecast temperatures in North America, Asia, across North Africa and the Mediterranean will rise above 40 degrees Celsius for a prolonged number of days this week.
The climate crisis - one of the greatest challenges of our time - is already having a devastating impact on people and ecosystems and fueling hunger and conflict in the world's worst crisis hotspots. The effects of climate change will intensify in the coming years, leading to a further increase in humanitarian emergencies.
The Russian government’s decision to suspend participation in an agreement that allowed Ukrainian grain to be shipped through the Black Sea will significantly harm efforts to provide food to millions of people around the world facing food insecurity, activist groups warned on Monday. The agreement has ensured the safe passage of over 32 million metric tons of food commodities from Ukrainian ports.
The "Illegal Migration Bill", which has now been passed by Parliament in the United Kingdom (UK), is “at variance with the country’s obligations under international human rights and refugee law” and will have profound consequences for people in need of international protection, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk and UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi warned today. In order for the Bill to come into force, it requires the approval – royal assent - of King Charles III.
The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) announced today it has been forced to cut the number of people receiving emergency food assistance in Haiti by 25 percent in July, compared to the previous month, due to dwindling funding levels. This means 100,000 of the most vulnerable Haitians are forced to get by without any support by the UN agency this month amid a deteriorating humanitarian situation.
The United Nations children’s agency (UNICEF) said Friday that in the first six months of this year, approximately 11,600 children are believed to have made the dangerous journey across the Central Mediterranean Sea to reach Europe and nearly 300 have died. Both figures are double those from the same time last year.
Syria has announced Thursday it would allow the United Nations the temporary use of Bab al-Hawa crossing with Turkey for six months to reach millions of Syrians living in areas outside the government's control in the country’s northwest. The United Nations says it is studying the Syrian offer and, as of Friday, had not moved any aid through the crossing.
The bodies of at least 87 ethnic Masalit and others allegedly killed last month by Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and their allied militia in Sudan’s West Darfur state have been buried in a mass grave outside the capital El-Geneina, the UN Human Rights Office (OHCHR) said Thursday. Volker Türk, the High Commissioner for Human Rights, has called on the RSF leadership immediately and unequivocally to condemn and stop the killing of people, and to end violence and hate speech against people on the basis of their ethnicity.
Over 735 million people were facing hunger in the world in 2022, according to the latest State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World (SOFI) report published Wednesday jointly by five United Nations agencies. The new estimates indicate hunger is no longer on the rise at the global level, but is still far above pre-pandemic levels and far off track to achieve Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) of Zero Hunger by 2030.
United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres has condemned the air strike in the Sudanese city of Omdurman on Saturday, which reportedly killed at least 22 people, and left dozens injured. Guterres “remains deeply concerned that the ongoing war between the armed forces has pushed Sudan to the brink of a full-scale civil war, potentially destabilizing the entire region”, according to his spokesman.
The world is currently witnessing an unprecedented number of humanitarian crises, with 362 million of people around the globe in dire need of immediate assistance. From conflict and displacement to natural disasters and epidemics, the need for humanitarian aid has never been greater. Everyone possesses the power to make a difference in the lives of those affected by these crises.
A non-governmental organization (NGO) is a non-profit organization that operates independently from government entities and is driven by a mission to address a particular social, humanitarian, environmental, or developmental issue. NGOs are typically established by individuals or groups of individuals who come together to work towards a common cause and are governed by their own internal structures and regulations.
A humanitarian cluster, also known as a cluster system or cluster approach, is a coordination mechanism used in humanitarian action to ensure a well-coordinated and effective response to a humanitarian crisis or emergency. The cluster approach was established by the United Nations (UN) in 2005 as part of the humanitarian reform process to improve the coordination and delivery of humanitarian assistance.
Famine refers to an extreme and widespread scarcity of food and nutrition that leads to severe hunger, malnutrition, and high mortality rates among a large population. It is the most severe form of food insecurity and is characterized by a combination of factors, including a significant decline in food production, limited access to food, and inadequate humanitarian response.
A non-state armed group (NSAG) is an armed entity that operates independently of state governments and engages in armed conflict or insurgency. These groups are often referred to as non-state actors or non-state armed actors. NSAGs can take various forms, ranging from rebel groups, militias, and insurgent factions to terrorist organizations and paramilitary forces.
The European Union (EU) says it is gravely concerned by the deteriorating security and humanitarian situation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DR Congo, DRC), which recently led to an immediate system-wide scale-up by the United Nations of humanitarian operations in the eastern part of the country. In a statement Friday by its High Representative for Foreign Affairs, Josep Borrell, the EU also expressed outrage at the levels of violence and atrocities that continue to be perpetrated by armed groups with impunity against civilians.
The United Nations Friday deplored the horrendous civilian cost of the war in Ukraine, as the country marked 500 days since the beginning of Russia’s large-scale invasion. The UN’s Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine (HRMMU) said it was able to confirm that more than 9,000 civilians, including over 500 children, have been killed since Russia’s February 24, 2022 attack.
Funding constraints mean that the World Food Programme (WFP) has been forced to limit emergency aid to only 6.2 million of the most vulnerable people in need across West Africa, scaling back from an initial target of assisting 11.6 million, the United Nations agency said on Wednesday. Millions in the Sahel will be stranded without aid as the lean season sets in and hunger starts to peak.
Senior United Nations officials today voiced shock and condemnation at increasing reports of gender-based violence (GBV) in Sudan – including conflict-related sexual violence against internally displaced and refugee women and girls – since clashes erupted in the country in mid-April. Fighting in Sudan has now entered its 12th week, with no end in sight after multiple failed ceasefire attempts.
El Niño conditions have developed in the tropical Pacific for the first time in seven years, setting the stage for a likely surge in global temperatures and disruptive weather and climate patterns this year and in 2024. The naturally occurring major climate phenomenon may aggravate current humanitarian crises around the world and may lead to new emergencies related to the ongoing climate crisis.
According to a new United Nations report published Friday, Myanmar’s overall humanitarian and human rights situation has deteriorated to alarming levels, exacerbated by the military’s strategy to prevent life-saving humanitarian aid from reaching those who desperately need it, including in the aftermath of Tropical Cyclone Mocha in May. The report by the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights says intentional obstruction or denial of humanitarian assistance may amount to gross violations of international human rights law, and international humanitarian law.