Crimes Against Humanity

A senior United Nations official has called Wednesday for a negotiated solution to the conflict in Sudan, saying there is no alternative. Meanwhile, UN agencies warn health conditions are deteriorating in Sudan and neighboring countries as growing numbers of people flee escalating fighting between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF).

The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) warns of a sharp decline in the humanitarian situation in El Fasher, the besieged capital of Sudan’s North Darfur State. OCHA reports that civilians in El Fasher continue to endure relentless attacks, acute hunger, and cholera. The population faces daily threats from shelling, airstrikes, and drone attacks — with fierce clashes reported in north-eastern districts of the state capital in recent weeks.

The heads of more than a dozen United Nations agencies and international humanitarian non-governmental organizations (NGOs) have issued a rare joint statement Sunday calling for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire in the Gaza Strip. Meanwhile, Gaza officials reported today that more than 10,000 Palestinians - including more than 4,100 children - have been killed since October 7 by Israel’s retaliatory attacks against the tiny enclave.

United Nations human rights chief Volker Türk on Friday warned that three and a half years after Russia’s full-scale invasion, the war in Ukraine has entered an even more dangerous and deadly stage for Ukrainian civilians, under relentless bombardment of their schools, hospitals, and other civilian infrastructure. Türk said that the "war needs to end" as the human toll on civilians and soldiers and their families is "staggering and heartbreaking."

As Syrians celebrate the collapse of President Bashar al-Assad's government after more than 50 years of brutal father-son rule, the search continues for tens of thousands of Syrians still missing after being arrested, detained or 'disappeared'. The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said on Friday that it had registered 35,000 cases of people missing in Syria over the past 13 years, and that there was every reason to believe there were many more.

Four months into the war in Sudan, humanitarian leaders are highlighting the devastating impact the brutal conflict has had on millions of people whose lives have been destroyed and whose basic human rights have been violated. In a statement issued Tuesday, they called on the parties to the conflict to end the fighting, protect civilians and give humanitarian organizations unfettered access to all people in need in all areas of the country.

The International Organization for Migration (IOM) expressed deep concern on Wednesday regarding reports that approximately 250 people are feared dead or missing after a boat carrying Rohingya refugees and Bangladeshi nationals capsized in the Andaman Sea. The trawler departed from Teknaf in southern Bangladesh, bound for Malaysia, and reportedly sank last Thursday amid heavy winds, rough seas, and severe overcrowding.

The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) warned that stepped-up fighting between Pakistan and Afghanistan puts civilian lives at risk. In a major escalation on Friday, Pakistan carried out airstrikes and ground attacks on targets inside Afghanistan, aggravating the country's severe humanitarian and human rights crises.

The United Nations says Sudan's warring parties appear headed for major clashes in the North Darfur city of El Fasher, where hundreds of thousands of internally displaced persons (IDPs) have sought refuge. The Rapid Support Forces (RSF) are reportedly encircling El Fasher, suggesting that a coordinated move to attack the city may be imminent. At the same time, the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) appear to be positioning themselves.

Delegates from over 120 countries gathered in Geneva on Monday to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the United Nations Human Rights Council (HRC), amidst escalating global instability and conflict. Recognizing the dizzying geopolitical uncertainty marked by ongoing conflict and war in Gaza, Myanmar, Sudan, Ukraine, and beyond, UN Secretary-General António Guterres urged the HRC members to hold the line on human rights, which he warned were under a "full-scale attack."

February 24, 2025, marks three years since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, which has left more than 42,000 people dead or wounded. Humanitarian needs remain critical across the country, as lives and communities are devastated by attacks on civilian infrastructure. The civilian population continues to be at risk from relentless Russian attacks, particularly on the eastern and southern frontlines.

The United Nations has condemned a Russian attack on the Ukrainian city of Sumy on Sunday that reportedly killed at least 35 people, including two children, and injured at least 117 others, including 15 children. The two missiles hit a busy street in the center of the city in the northeast of the country, damaging residential buildings, an educational institution and civilian vehicles as people were out celebrating Palm Sunday, a major religious holiday in Ukraine.

Addressing the United Nations General Assembly (GA) on Wednesday, Philippe Lazzarini, the Commissioner-General of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), urged UN member states to act to prevent the implementation of Israeli Knesset legislation targeting UNRWA.  He also urged states to maintain funding for UNRWA and not to withhold or divert funds on the assumption that the organization can no longer operate.

As world leaders gather in New York for the 79th United Nations General Assembly and the threat of a wider regional escalation looms, the world's humanitarian leaders are demanding an end to the appalling human suffering and humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza.  "These atrocities must end," they said in a statement signed Monday by the heads of UN agencies and representatives of the world's non-governmental organizations (NGOs).

Amid the humanitarian disaster unfolding in Sudan, the heads of over 50 human rights and humanitarian organizations have sounded the alarm and called for more aid, solidarity and attention to the Sudan Crisis. In an open letter published Wednesday, the leaders of the non-governmental organizations (NGOs) also urged the United Nations Security Council (UN SC) to act. Meanwhile, the UN SC heard briefings on the ongoing atrocities in the country and those responsible for committing them.

The United Nations estimates more than 578,000 people have been displaced due to the clashes and aerial bombardments since the end of October in Myanmar, although communication blackouts are making numbers difficult to verify.  In its latest situation report released Friday, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said more than two thirds of the country are affected by fighting between the Myanmar Armed Forces (MAF) and non-state armed groups, including Ethnic Armed Organizations (EAOs) as well as People's Defense Forces (PDFs).

Diplomats for Afghanistan's ruling Taliban said Wednesday that neighboring Pakistan is implementing a plan for the "imminent" and rapid mass deportation of nearly three million Afghan refugees from its territory. More than 825,000 undocumented Afghans have already been forcibly repatriated from Pakistan since September 2023, as a result of a government crackdown on foreigners living in the country without legal permission or whose visas have expired.

Due to intensifying Israeli airstrikes, the number of Palestinians killed in Gaza has surged to more than 5,000, including more than 2,000 children. As the humanitarian disaster in the narrow strip of land along the Mediterranean Sea further unfolds, UN organizations and humanitarian organizations have repeated their urgent calls for a ceasefire and more aid convoys. There is no electricity, no water, no fuel in Gaza, with food supplies running dangerously low.