The United Nations envoy to the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC, DR Congo) has warned the Security Council (UN-SC) on Wednesday that the security situation in the eastern part of the country has "deteriorated considerably" in recent months and that the humanitarian situation has become "increasingly dramatic". Following the briefing, the UN-SC adopted a presidential statement, strongly condemning the increase in attacks by the “Mouvement du 23 mars” (M23) rebel group in North Kivu province.
The United Nations Security Council overcame weeks of inaction and bickering Wednesday to issue a call for "extended humanitarian pauses" in the Gaza Strip, especially for the protection of children, only to have the Israeli government immediately reject the measure. Meanwhile, Israeli bombardments from the air, sea, and land continue across Gaza, killing hundreds of civilians every day; the majority of them are children and women.
The United Nations and international aid agencies are warning that the lives of millions of people in Sudan are at risk as the world turns its attention away from the enormous humanitarian needs facing the war-torn country. Today, Sudan entered a year of war that many have called the world's largest human-made crisis, with half the population in need of life-saving assistance, tens of thousands killed and injured, and millions uprooted from their homes.
On August 31, 2025, a devastating 6.0 magnitude earthquake struck eastern Afghanistan. More than 2,200 people have been confirmed dead, at least 3,640 have been injured, and over 6,750 homes have been destroyed. At least 500,000 people have been affected. The 2025 Afghanistan earthquake caused massive devastation. Hundreds of thousands of people in remote areas, already scarred by decades of conflict and displacement, have lost their homes and livelihoods. More help is desperately needed.
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 Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reports that nearly 50,000 people in the Chocó region of western Colombia were under complete movement restrictions during the first week of May. OCHA said on Friday that civilians remain cut off from essential services due to the activities of non-state armed groups (NSAGs).
The United Nations expressed its concern today over the deteriorating human rights situation in some regions of Ethiopia. In Amhara region, following a flare-up in clashes between the Ethiopian military and the regional Fano militia, and the declaration of a state of emergency in early August, the situation has worsened considerably. According to information gathered by the UN Human Rights Office, at least 183 people have been killed in clashes since July.
Killings, kidnappings, and sexual violence by criminal groups in and around Haiti’s capital, Port-au-Prince, have increased dramatically since the start of 2023 with a weak to non-existent state response, the international human rights organization Human Rights Watch (HRW) warned in a report released Monday. HRW said while international security support may be needed, it should be “part of a multi-faceted response with robust human rights safeguards.”
The United Nations and Ethiopia’s Federal Government - in a joint statement Thursday - have called for urgent funding, to respond to food insecurity across northern regions as an estimated 4 million people in Tigray, Afar, Amhara, and parts of the Oromia, Southern and Southwest regions are affected by devastating drought. While the situation in many of these areas is already alarming, there is still an opportunity to avert a serious humanitarian catastrophe, the UN and the Government stressed.
The humanitarian crisis in Somalia has faded from the news this year, after a historic four-year drought ended in 2023 and famine was averted, bringing relief to millions of Somalis. But UN officials and humanitarian agencies warn that needs in the country remain critically high as a lack of humanitarian funding delays recovery from the drought.
The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) is warning that the humanitarian crisis in Haiti continues to worsen, largely due to ongoing violence. According to an OCHA update on Friday, more than 700,000 people are displaced in the country, more than half of whom are children, with the latest violence in the capital, Port-au-Prince, displacing an additional 12,000 people in recent weeks.
The United Nations says Myanmar has passed a "bleak milestone," with more than 3 million civilians now displaced across the country amid intensifying conflict. The number has risen sharply, by 50 percent in just six months, according to the UN's ad interim humanitarian coordinator in Myanmar, Stephen Anderson. The situation is one of the largest humanitarian crises in the world, with nearly 19 million people nationwide in need of humanitarian assistance this year.
The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) has warned that South Sudan is facing a "perfect storm" of ongoing violence, imminent flooding, economic crisis, underfunding of the humanitarian response, and an influx of new arrivals due to the war in neighboring Sudan. The warning comes as 9 million people in the country are in need of humanitarian assistance. Among those in need are 4.9 million children.
The United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR) and its humanitarian partners are urgently preparing to assist up to 150,000 Rohingya refugees who have arrived in Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh, over the past 18 months. Targeted violence and persecution in Myanmar’s Rakhine State, as well as the ongoing war in the neighboring country, have forced thousands of Rohingya to seek protection in Bangladesh.
The Sahel region is experiencing one of the world's worst humanitarian crises, with over 26 million people in need of humanitarian assistance in 2026. At the same time, it is one of the most overlooked regions. The main drivers of the region's unprecedented humanitarian needs are armed conflict, deteriorating security, political instability, and widespread poverty, particularly in the Central Sahel region, which includes Burkina Faso, Mali, and western Niger, as well as the Lake Chad Basin, which covers parts of Cameroon, Chad, Niger, and Nigeria.
Millions of people in Syria remain at risk of death from unexploded ordnance, disease and malnutrition, and urgent assistance is needed, United Nations humanitarian officials said on Friday. Despite some progress, humanitarian needs in Syria remain immense as years of conflict have pushed 90 percent of the population into poverty, with nearly 7.5 million people displaced inside Syria and more than six million living as refugees.
The overall humanitarian situation in Burundi remains tense and serious human rights violations continue. Burundians are facing a humanitarian crisis characterized by food insecurity, extreme weather events and economic decline. The people of Burundi experience a triple burden: high climate risk, widespread poverty and insecurity. Even though the worst of the violence has subsided in 2025, the security situation remains precarious, with an unstable political situation and ongoing displacement outside the country.
According to the international humanitarian organization Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC), the number of people forced to flee their homes in Colombia has doubled since the historic peace agreement between the Colombian government and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) was signed eight years ago. While more than 130,000 people were forced to flee in Colombia in 2016, NRC estimates that the number of newly displaced people will exceed 260,000 in 2024.
United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres is gravely concerned that recent drone attacks in Port Sudan, the main entry point for humanitarian aid into Sudan, threaten to increase humanitarian needs and further complicate aid operations in the war-torn country. In a statement issued by his spokesperson on Wednesday, Guterres warned that this major escalation could lead to large-scale civilian casualties and further destruction of critical infrastructure.
The newly appointed interim Humanitarian Coordinator in Sudan, Kristine Hambrouck, expressed alarm over the recent wave of attacks on civilians and civilian infrastructure, noting that they represent a blatant violation of international humanitarian law. Her statement comes as the situation in Sudan is worsening amid ongoing fighting, mass displacement, and mounting health emergencies.
