Humanitarian Crisis

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.

Women and girls are bearing the brunt of an ongoing "dangerous erosion" of human rights in Afghanistan, the United Nations reported Tuesday, attributing the crisis to a deliberate failure by the country's radical Taliban. Since regaining control of Afghanistan in August 2021, Taliban leaders have systematically deprived women and girls of their basic rights, including the right to education, work, and freedoms of movement and expression, as well as the right to live free from violence.

United Nations investigators warn that the humanitarian crisis in Syria is threatening to spiral out of control as violence increases and the collapsing economy keeps the population mired in poverty and hopelessness 13 years after civil war broke out in the country. Across Syria, 16.7 million people - more than 70 percent of the population - are in need of humanitarian assistance and protection, with women and children particularly affected.

The United Nations, together with the Government of Lebanon, on Tuesday launched a US$371.4 million extension of the Lebanon Flash Appeal to provide life-saving assistance to civilians affected by the recent conflict and the ongoing humanitarian crisis. The appeal targets one million Lebanese, Syrians, Palestinian refugees in Lebanon, Palestinian refugees from Syria, and migrants for an additional three months.

The United Nations says the security situation in Haiti continues to deteriorate, as gang violence is growing and major crimes reach record levels. Briefing the UN Security Council (SC) Monday, the UN special envoy to the country, María Isabel Salvador, also stressed the enormous significance of SC resolution 2699, adopted earlier this month, authorizing the establishment and deployment of a Multinational Security Support (MSS) mission.

The Norwegian Government is providing an additional NOK 51 million (4.8 million EUR) to support humanitarian efforts to help the Syrian population, which is in dire need of assistance. According to a statement by the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, released Thursday, the additional allocation will bring Norway’s funding for life-saving assistance in Syria in 2022 to approximately NOK 750 million (71 million EUR).

A new report released Tuesday by the United Nations Human Rights Office (OHCHR) paints a grim picture of the ongoing crisis in Myanmar, particularly in Rakhine State. Civilians there continue to suffer killings, torture, forced displacement, and destruction reminiscent of the 2017 atrocities committed by the military against the Rohingya. The report comes as 21.9 million people in Myanmar require humanitarian assistance, the third-highest number worldwide.

Climate change is fueling hunger in ten of the world's worst climate hotspots, according to a report published today by the non-governmental organization (NGO) Oxfam International. Afghanistan, Burkina Faso, Djibouti, Guatemala, Haiti, Kenya, Madagascar, Niger, Somalia and Zimbabwe are ten of the world’s worst climate hotspots – those with the highest number of UN appeals driven by extreme weather events since 2000.  Oxfam warns in these countries the rate of acute hunger has more than doubled over just the past six years.

Independent investigators appointed by the United Nations have accused Sudan's warring parties of driving the country into a humanitarian abyss by flagrantly disregarding basic human rights and international humanitarian law. The three-member International Fact-Finding Mission for Sudan presented its first oral update to the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva on Tuesday and Wednesday.

United Nations agencies are deeply concerned about the escalating humanitarian crisis in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), particularly in the Masisi territory in the eastern province of North Kivu. Fighting between the Congolese army and the M23 armed group has displaced at least 135,000 people in different areas of the territory in the past two weeks, adding to an already dire situation in North Kivu.

Colombia's Catatumbo region has descended into an acute humanitarian crisis following intensified violent clashes between non-state armed groups (NSAGs), in particular the National Liberation Army (ELN) and splinter groups of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC). With more than 80 people killed in armed violence, President Gustavo Petro Urrego suspended peace talks with the ELN.

As Haiti faces a worsening conflict involving heavily armed gangs, the number of people killed, injured or kidnapped has surged in 2023, according to a new United Nations report. The number of reported homicides last year increased by nearly 120 percent compared with 2022, with 4,789 victims reported during 2023. Haiti now has a homicide rate of 40.9 per 100,000 people, one of the highest in the world.

Despite a temporary lull in fighting, United Nations officials warned the UN Security Council on Wednesday that Yemen remains gripped by escalating regional tensions, that are derailing prospects for a lasting peace, a deepening economic collapse and a worsening humanitarian crisis that continues to devastate civilians, especially children. Half of Yemen's children - some 2.3 million - are malnourished, with 600,000 of them suffering from severe acute malnutrition.

The United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR) today expressed grave concern about the deteriorating humanitarian situation civilians face in the eastern part of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC, DR Congo). UNHCR said intensifying violence and conflict are taking a heavy toll on innocent civilians, including hundreds of thousands who are attempting to seek safety on the fringes of the conflict zones.

The Bundestag, the national parliament of Germany, has approved additional spending of one billion euros to tackle the global food crisis in the coming year. After more than 17 hours of deliberations, the Budget Committee of the Bundestag adopted the federal budget for 2023 early Friday morning.

The United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR) has expressed grave concern for the safety of civilians and internally displaced people (IDPs) in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC, DR Congo) as fighting between the Mouvement du 23 mars (M23) rebel group and the Congolese army further intensifies in South and North Kivu provinces, with the armed group advancing on the North Kivu capital of Goma.