International Humanitarian Law

The international rights group Amnesty International (AI) says newly arrived Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh need urgent access to food, shelter and health care after enduring the worst violence against their communities since Myanmar's military-led campaign in 2017. Bangladesh must stop sending Rohingya back to Myanmar, where they face attacks by the Arakan Army (AA) or indiscriminate military airstrikes by the Myanmar Armed Forces (MAF), the rights group urges.

The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) on Wednesday launched a Flash Appeal for more than $2.8 billion to allow UN agencies and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) to respond to the urgent needs of 3.1 million people in Gaza and the West Bank, including East Jerusalem. Meanwhile, Israeli bombardment of much of Gaza continues, resulting in further civilian deaths, displacement and destruction.

Senior United Nations officials today voiced shock and condemnation at increasing reports of gender-based violence (GBV) in Sudan – including conflict-related sexual violence against internally displaced and refugee women and girls – since clashes erupted in the country in mid-April. Fighting in Sudan has now entered its 12th week, with no end in sight after multiple failed ceasefire attempts.

The United Nations has condemned a Russian attack on the Ukrainian city of Sumy on Sunday that reportedly killed at least 35 people, including two children, and injured at least 117 others, including 15 children. The two missiles hit a busy street in the center of the city in the northeast of the country, damaging residential buildings, an educational institution and civilian vehicles as people were out celebrating Palm Sunday, a major religious holiday in Ukraine.

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.

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.

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.

The United Nations reports that intense fighting in Myanmar’s northern Shan providence continues and has now extended to the north-west of the country. Within two weeks, some 90,000 people have been displaced in northern Shan and the region of Sagaing. In its latest situation report released Friday, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said a combination of “active conflict, monsoon floods, and access barriers” is worsening the humanitarian situation facing vulnerable communities nationwide.

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.

Emergency aid efforts for tens of thousands of refugees who have fled to Armenia from the Nagorno-Karabakh enclave in Azerbaijan are gathering speed as the exodus from the disputed region shows few signs of letting up. Since Azerbaijan launched an attack on Nagorno-Karabakh on September 19, some 100,000 refugees have arrived in Armenia, mainly in the country’s southern Syunik region.

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.

A local "humanitarian pause" allowed the launch of the emergency polio immunization campaign, with nearly 87,000 children vaccinated in central Gaza on the first day of the campaign on Sunday. Hundreds of thousands of young Palestinian children are on track to be vaccinated. Despite this, Israeli air and land bombardment continues throughout the Gaza Strip, resulting in further civilian deaths, injuries, maiming, displacement and destruction of civilian infrastructure.

The town of El Fasher, located in Sudan's North Darfur State, once again became the scene of brutal violence over the weekend as the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) continued their assault on civilians. Since Friday evening, at least 60 civilians have been killed in RSF drone attacks. This follows a series of RSF attacks earlier last week that left another 53 civilians dead and many more injured.

United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres has condemned the air strike in the Sudanese city of Omdurman on Saturday, which reportedly killed at least 22 people, and left dozens injured. Guterres “remains deeply concerned that the ongoing war between the armed forces has pushed Sudan to the brink of a full-scale civil war, potentially destabilizing the entire region”, according to his spokesman.

The abrupt suspension of foreign aid by the United States has fueled a global humanitarian catastrophe, according to UN human rights experts. The extreme cuts in funding are expected to cost millions of lives worldwide. On Thursday, the experts said the situation was made worse by the US administration’s failure to publish a mandatory review of contracts and disbursements by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).

The United Nations Human Rights Council (HRC) on Friday overwhelmingly adopted a resolution calling for Israel to be held accountable for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza. Amid the ongoing humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza, the resolution also urges all states “to cease the sale, transfer and diversion of arms, munitions and other military equipment to Israel.”

The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) says it is extremely concerned by the escalation of fighting in Sudan's southwestern Sennar State, which has severely hampered humanitarian aid deliveries in large parts of the country. Meanwhile, the last open border crossing into Darfur from neighboring Chad is inaccessible due to heavy rains and flooding.

The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) says critical aid lifelines to northern Gaza have been cut off, with no food or other essential supplies entering since October 1. The main crossings into the area remain closed, while the more than 400,000 people who remain there are under increasing pressure to flee southwards in response to Israeli evacuation orders.