Humanitarian Crisis

Syria is experiencing a wave of violence not seen since 2020, the UN Commission of Inquiry on Syria warned in a report released Monday. Across multiple fronts, parties to the conflict have attacked civilians and infrastructure in ways that likely amount to war crimes, while an unprecedented humanitarian crisis is plunging Syrians into deepening despair, the Commission said.

An independent rights expert warns that multifaceted crises facing Mali, propelled by increasing attacks from Islamist armed groups, are leading to a rapid deterioration of the country’s security situation and surging human rights violations, with potentially serious effects in the region. The warning comes as Mali is experiencing enormous humanitarian needs, with 30 percent of the population - 7.1 million - in need of assistance this year.

More than ten months into the Gaza war, civilians are crammed into an ever-shrinking space without adequate access to water, food, sanitation or health care. They are repeatedly uprooted by evacuation orders, which also disrupt the aid centers that are supposed to assist them. More than 88 percent of Gaza has been placed under evacuation orders or declared a "no-go zone" by Israeli security forces, confining up to 1.9 million internally displaced people (IDPs) to about 11 percent of the tiny territory.

The international community pledged $1.5 billion Monday toward tackling the massive humanitarian crisis in Sudan, as fighting between forces led by rival generals has only been punctuated by brief truces and no political solution appears close at hand. Meanwhile, the lasted 72-hour truce in Sudan that came into force Sunday morning seems to be holding, at least in the capital Khartoum.

United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres called for an immediate halt to fighting in Sudan on Thursday and appealed for a three-day cease-fire to mark the end of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan to enable trapped civilians to seek safety and supplies. Clashes have entered their seventh day in Sudan on Friday. More than 413 people have been killed due to fighting in the capital Khartoum and several other states, including Darfur. Another 3,551 people have been injured.

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.

While the world’s attention is diverted to Iran following the Israeli government’s launch of another war, Israeli military operations in the Gaza Strip continue unabated, resulting in more deaths, maiming, displacement, and destruction of civilian infrastructure. At the same time, Israel continues to hinder United Nations–coordinated aid based on universal humanitarian principles from reaching those in need by the scale necessary.

Tackling insecurity in Haiti, where gang violence has killed and injured thousands and displaced tens of thousands, must be the utmost priority, a United Nations report released on Friday said, urging Haitian authorities and the international community to do more to protect people and prevent further suffering. The Caribbean nation is facing a worsening humanitarian crisis, with more than 5.5 million people in need of humanitarian assistance.

The second Global Refugee Forum (GRF) closed Friday after three days with a range of pledges to improve the lives of the world’s refugees and the countries and communities that host them. States also pledged to resettle 1 million refugees by 2030, while governments and foundations launched a pledge backed by a new global sponsorship fund to help 3 million refugees access third countries through community sponsorship. 

Large parts of Burkina Faso are "terrorized by armed groups" and rampant insecurity is "beyond alarming," the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk, said this week after a brief visit to the country. During his first trip to the country in his new role, Türk expressed solidarity with the people of Burkina Faso and held high-level talks on the human rights and humanitarian situation in the central Sahel country.

As the number of Palestinians killed in Gaza passed the grim milestone of 40,000, United Nations human rights chief Volker Türk on Thursday called for an end to the killing "once and for all" and the release of all hostages. Meanwhile, international negotiators meet in Qatar on Friday to renew efforts to end the conflict and avert a wider war in the Middle East.

The United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR) has expressed concern over the escalation of armed conflict in South Sudan's Upper Nile state, which has displaced at least 20,000 people since August, some of whom have been forced to flee for their lives up to four times. In a statement Wednesday, the UN agency warned that at least 3,000 people have already fled to neighboring Sudan, further exacerbating the refugee crisis in South Sudan, the largest in Africa.

The United Nations says warring parties in Yemen have agreed on a significant step to end the devastating civil war, following a series of meetings in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia and Muscat, Oman mediated by the UN. In a statement Saturday, the UN Special Envoy for Yemen, Hans Grundberg, welcomed the parties’ commitment to a set of measures, which includes implementing a nationwide ceasefire, improving living conditions in Yemen, and the resumption of an inclusive political process under UN auspices.

The United Nations says more than one million Palestinians have fled the southernmost town of Rafah in the Gaza Strip as Israeli attacks there continue despite a binding order from the International Court of Justice (ICJ) to halt the offensive in Rafah immediately. Meanwhile, the Israeli government is torpedoing its own proposal to achieve a full and complete ceasefire in Gaza as part of a deal that would secure the release of all hostages, offer a roadmap to end the war, and rush desperately needed humanitarian aid throughout Gaza.

Seven years after the historic peace agreement between the Colombian government and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), entire remote communities remain caught in an endless cycle of conflict and confinements. The international humanitarian organization Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) today strongly urged armed groups to cease confinement strategies, allowing people to regain fundamental rights and essential services. 

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.

The United Nations (UN) and the government of Haiti have reiterated their appeal Tuesday for an international force to quickly deploy to the Caribbean island nation to help subdue an unprecedented level of gang violence that has terrorized the population. The move comes as 5.2 million people – nearly half of the Haitian population – are in need of humanitarian aid, including 2.6 million children.

With the current truce agreement between the warring parties in Yemen set to expire on 2 October 2022, more than 40 national and international humanitarian organizations today urged all parties to the conflict to renew and expand the ceasefire. They also reminded the parties that the future of the people of Yemen is in their hands.