United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker TĂĽrk on Friday issued an urgent warning about the deepening human rights catastrophe in Haiti, after new figures showed that January was the most violent month in more than two years. Overall, more than 1,100 people were killed, injured, or kidnapped in gang-related violence last month.
The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) is warning that persistent underfunding of the humanitarian response in Haiti - amid growing needs and rising violence - means millions of Haitians are missing out on vital assistance. OCHA said Thursday that stepped-up and sustained funding is needed to stem the deepening humanitarian crisis in the country.
The lives of more than 35 million people in the Sahel region are being affected by a complex and interdependent pattern of crises, exacerbated by deteriorating security, political instability, and the effects of climate change, leaving them in urgent need of humanitarian assistance and protection. UN agencies warn that lives will be at risk if aid organizations are not given the resources they need to respond to these crises and help the region's most vulnerable people.
As United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres welcomed Monday’s Security Council resolution paving the way for a consolidated ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, UN aid teams have expressed cautious optimism that the peace plan will improve the situation on the ground. On Monday, the Council endorsed the United States–backed “Comprehensive Plan to End the Gaza Conflict” and authorized the establishment of a temporary International Stabilization Force (ISF) in Gaza.
Addressing the United Nations Security Council on Friday, Tom Fletcher, the UN relief chief, described South Sudan as a nation in despair. Renewed fighting has forced more than 410,000 people to flee, including 110,000 to neighboring Ethiopia. Hostilities have continued to escalate across parts of Jonglei, Upper Nile and Unity states, with airstrikes and armed clashes reported in the past week.
The UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) warned today of spiraling humanitarian needs for refugees and internally displaced people (IDPs) in Sudan as living costs soar due to the impact of the war in Ukraine, the lingering effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and extreme weather conditions resulting from the climate crisis. Sudan hosts among the largest number of displaced people on the African continent, including over 1.1 million refugees – mostly from South Sudan – and 3.7 million internally displaced Sudanese, mainly in Darfur and Kordofan.
A senior United Nations official warned Wednesday that "immediate action" is needed to stop fighting in El Fasher, the capital of Sudan's North Darfur State, where hundreds of thousands of civilians are at risk. Sudan's brutal war has now lasted 17 months, with no end in sight to the humanitarian catastrophe it has caused.
Millions of Sudanese face acute hunger, increased health risks, and death from recoverable injuries because UN agencies have been forced to suspend lifesaving activities in Sudan, where fighting has it made it too dangerous for them to operate in many regions. Clashes between the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) continued for 15 consecutive days since 15 April, despite the announcement of an extension of the ceasefire for an additional 72 hours from the evening of 27 April.
Amidst the approaching ninth anniversary of the mass displacement of Rohingya refugees from Myanmar, the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR) appealed to the international community on Tuesday not to abandon the 1.2 million refugees currently living in Bangladesh, primarily in makeshift camps in Cox's Bazar. UNHCR warned that significant humanitarian needs persist, and that without continued international solidarity, the situation of Rohingya families will deteriorate.
A sharp deterioration in the political and security situation in South Sudan threatens to undermine the peace gains achieved so far and plunge the country back into war, the head of the United Nations mission in the country warned the UN Security Council on Wednesday, stressing the need for all parties to cease hostilities and respect the 2018 Revitalized Peace Agreement in South Sudan, where three quarters of the population are in need of humanitarian assistance.
Senior UN officials warn that the Democratic Republic of Congo's (DRC) decades-long human rights crisis is on a downward spiral as armed clashes, attacks on schools and hospitals, sexual violence and other forms of abuse escalate. Opening a discussion at the UN Human Rights Council (HRC) in Geneva, UN rights chief Volker TĂĽrk urged the international community to pay more attention to the plight of Congolese civilians.
The United Nations Special Envoy for the Great Lakes Region has told the UN Security Council Wednesday that the fragile ceasefire between the Congolese armed forces (FARDC) and the Mouvement du 23 mars (M23) rebels in North Kivu Province in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC, DR Congo) seems to be holding. Meanwhile, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) says the security situation in neighboring Ituri Province remains extremely concerning due to ongoing attacks against civilians.
The humanitarian situation in Afghanistan has shown initial signs of improvement, with the United Nations reporting a significant reduction in the number of people in need of assistance this year. Afghanistan's economic collapse, triggered by the collapse of the government, the Taliban takeover and the subsequent withdrawal of foreign aid, has left the landlocked country in crisis.
As the war in Yemen entered its tenth year this week, millions of Yemenis continue to suffer the long-term consequences of the devastating ongoing conflict. Nine years after Saudi Arabia launched its military offensive, Yemen remains one of the world's worst humanitarian crises. More than half of the country's population - an estimated 18.2 million people - are in need of humanitarian assistance this year. Among them are 9.8 million children.
The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reports that the UN and its partners are continuing to deliver critical aid across Ukraine, despite the increasing risks to humanitarian workers. On Wednesday, a World Food Programme (WFP) warehouse was damaged in a drone attack on the city of Dnipro.
Two years on from the Hamas-led large-scale attacks that triggered Israel’s war on the Gaza Strip, it is Palestinian civilians who continue to bear the brunt of this conflict, with widespread atrocity crimes being committed by Israeli forces. Following the latest military assault, the situation in the territory, where a man-made famine has been confirmed, has further deteriorated, leaving more than two million people fighting for survival. Meanwhile, talks on a US-driven peace plan continued on Tuesday in Egypt, raising glimmers of hope for an end to the brutal conflict.
The United Nations Security Council adopted a resolution Friday calling for a Ramadan cease-fire in Sudan, where the UN Secretary-General warned this week that the humanitarian crisis has reached "colossal proportions." The resolution also urged the warring parties to seek a sustainable resolution to the war in Sudan through dialogue and to remove any obstructions to the distribution of humanitarian aid.
The International Organization for Migration (IOM) reports that more than 20,000 people have been forced to flee Haiti's capital Port-au-Prince in just four days, including more than 17,000 sheltering in 15 displacement sites, as gang violence escalates. In a statement on Sunday, the UN organization said the current crisis has disrupted critical supply chains and isolated the city as criminal groups in the capital continue to expand and take control of more neighborhoods.
The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) says malnutrition among children is spreading fast and reaching devastating and unprecedented levels in the Gaza Strip due to the wide-reaching impacts of Israel’s war and its ongoing blocking of aid deliveries. At least 31 people - including 27 children - have died of hunger and dehydration in recent weeks. Since October 7, more than 13,450 children have been killed in the tiny territory, according to Gaza officials.
The United Nations relief chief, Martin Griffiths, warns that nearly nine months of war have tipped Sudan into a downward spiral that only grows more ruinous by the day. In a statement issued Thursday, Griffiths said that in 2024, the international community – particularly those with influence on the parties to the conflict in Sudan – must take decisive and immediate action to stop the fighting and safeguard humanitarian operations to help millions of civilians.
