The United Nations (UN) says ongoing fighting in the East of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC, DR Congo) has forced about 50,000 men, women and children to flee their homes since hostilities resumed on October 20. The estimate includes some 12,000 people who have sought safety in neighboring Uganda. Over the weekend, violent clashes between the Congolese armed forces and the Mouvement du 23 mars (M23) militia in North Kivu province has led to additional internal displacement towards the UN peacekeeping base in Kiwanja.
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.
The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reports limited improvements in the flow of critical supplies into the Gaza Strip. However, needs remain immense, and populations continue to depend heavily on aid. Recent data indicate a 33 percent rise in the volume of supplies that aid agencies brought into Gaza in July compared to June.
Large parts of Burkina Faso are "terrorized by armed groups" and rampant insecurity is "beyond alarming," the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker TĂĽrk, said this week after a brief visit to the country. During his first trip to the country in his new role, TĂĽrk 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 TĂĽrk 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.
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 deadly Ebola outbreak in the eastern part of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) continues to spread, with a spike in child infections becoming increasingly likely in the coming days, according to a warning issued by United Nations agencies on Friday. Since the outbreak was confirmed less than a month ago, more than 670 cases and 130 deaths have been reported.
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.
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 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 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.
United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker TĂĽrk called on all parties on Tuesday to take urgent steps toward de-escalation amid the precarious situation in the Tigray region of Ethiopia. Recent fighting between the Ethiopian army and regional forces has highlighted the risk of a deepening human rights and humanitarian crisis in northern Ethiopia.
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.
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.
July saw the highest number of civilian casualties in Ukraine since October 2022, the United Nations Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine (HRMMU) said on Friday. Coordinated attacks by Russian forces across Ukraine on July 8, which killed dozens of people in a single day, made last month exceptionally deadly.
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.
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.
The United States government this week labelled the actions of Sudan's paramilitary forces as genocide and imposed sanctions on its leader for the "horrific, systematic atrocities" committed by his forces in a war that has gripped Sudan for nearly two years, killing tens of thousands of people and driving more than 12 million from their homes. Yet at the same time, the US administration denies that war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide are being committed in the Gaza Strip.
The United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR) urgently seeks funding to protect over 1.5 million people who have returned or been forced to return to Afghanistan this year, including over 1.2 million from Iran. Separately, the World Health Organization (WHO) in Afghanistan has expressed concern about the health needs of Afghan returnees, particularly women and children.
