International Humanitarian Law

The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) is warning that the situation for civilians in Sudan’s volatile Darfur region is worsening as fighting between the country’s two rival armed groups escalates and intercommunal tensions rise. OCHA reported Friday that renewed clashes between the Sudan Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in Darfur “have killed dozens of civilians and wounded many more; thousands have been displaced and civilian property has been destroyed or damaged.”

The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) says thousands have been displaced after clashes broke out Friday morning between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in the outskirts of the Sudanese town of Wad Madani. As of Sunday, the fighting in the capital of Al-Jazirah State, located some 136 km southeast of Sudan’s national capital Khartoum, is ongoing.

As the war in Yemen entered its tenth year this week, millions of Yemenis continue to suffer the long-term consequences of the devastating ongoing conflict. Nine years after Saudi Arabia launched its military offensive, Yemen remains one of the world's worst humanitarian crises. More than half of the country's population - an estimated 18.2 million people - are in need of humanitarian assistance this year. Among them are 9.8 million children.

The UN's International Organization for Migration (IOM) reports that more than 216,000 people were forcibly returned to Haiti in 2023, despite the ongoing humanitarian and security crisis, and despite repeated calls that Haitians should not be forcibly returned to the Caribbean nation. According to an IOM report released Monday, most of the Haitians were returned from the neighboring Dominican Republic - 96 percent - but also from the United States, Cuba, the Bahamas, Turkey, and Jamaica as well as Turks and Caicos.

Protracted conflict, serious human rights violations and flagrant violations of international humanitarian law are causing grave suffering for internally displaced persons (IDPs) in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and Congolese refugees, the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) warns. The warning follows a humanitarian assessment visit to the DRC, including the capital Kinshasa and the eastern provinces, by the agency's top refugee protection official.

Hours before the first anniversary of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, 141 of 193 United Nations member states have passed a resolution calling for an immediate Russian troop withdrawal and a “comprehensive, just and lasting peace” in Ukraine. Seven states voted Thursday against the resolution text at a special session of the UN General Assembly (UN-GA): Belarus, North Korea, Eritrea, Mali, Nicaragua, Syria and Russia. 32 countries abstained, including China, India, South Africa and Iran.

Fifteen months into Israel's war on Gaza, more than 46,000 Palestinians have been killed, most of them women and children, according to the territory's health ministry. The horror of the situation in Gaza shows no signs of abating as the world looks the other way. Meanwhile, Israeli officials continue to systematically deny the delivery of life-saving aid in flagrant violation of international law.

In a new report released Wednesday, the United Nations Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine (HRMMU) paints a bleak picture of the human rights situation in the country. With Russia’s invasion well into its 20th month, Ukraine’s civilians continue to pay a horrendous price with nearly 10,000 dead and tens of thousands injured, the report said, noting that over the past six months, the war has claimed, on average, six civilian lives a day. 

The United Nations and the United States government signed a memorandum of understanding on Monday, in which the US committed a meager US$2 billion to UN-managed humanitarian funds in 2026. It comes after the United States slashed its contribution to global humanitarian aid by more than $10 billion in 2025, leaving millions without lifesaving aid and dismantling the world's largest government aid agency.

One year after a ceasefire agreement between Israel and Lebanon — with the support of the Lebanese Hezbollah movement — came into effect, communities across Lebanon continue to endure near-daily attacks and live in constant fear. The fragile truce, which was intended to stop months of intense fighting, has been repeatedly violated by Israeli forces. They have killed and injured civilians, leaving the population vulnerable and hindering reconstruction efforts.

More than 100 international non-governmental organizations (NGOs) joined forces on Wednesday to demand an end to Israel’s weaponization of aid, which exacerbates the appalling suffering of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip. While famine unfolds in the territory, with people dying daily due to malnutrition and starvation, the Israeli government's threat to ban major aid organizations from operating in Gaza worsens the ongoing humanitarian catastrophe even further.

The United Nations humanitarian chief, Tom Fletcher, and the Humanitarian Coordinator for Sudan, Clementine Nkweta-Salami, on Thursday welcomed the news that the crucial Adre crossing between eastern Chad and the western region of Darfur in Sudan will remain open for the movement of humanitarian personnel and life-saving supplies. Since its reopening eight months ago, the Adre crossing has been a vital lifeline for millions of people in dire need in the region.

Three years of war in Sudan have created the world’s largest humanitarian and displacement crisis. Tens of thousands of children, women and men have been killed, starved, and maimed. With no signs of the humanitarian catastrophe in Sudan and its regional impacts abating, United Nations leaders expressed alarm on Wednesday at the insufficient funding and diplomatic attention being given to the conflict and its consequences.

Death, injury and permanent family separation are among the traumatic events that have upended the lives of Ukraine's children in the three years since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of the country, according to a report by the United Nations Human Rights Office (OHCHR) released on Friday, as a high-level independent inquiry into the invasion also delivered its latest mandated report to the UN Human Rights Council (HRC) on Wednesday.

26 non-governmental organizations (NGOs) operating in Yemen have expressed grave concern Tuesday over the humanitarian impacts of the recent military escalation in Yemen and the Red Sea. While the humanitarian crisis in Yemen remains one of the largest in the world, the NGOs warn escalation will only worsen the situation for vulnerable civilians and hinder the ability of aid organizations to deliver critical services. 

The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) warns that deadly hostilities in the Suweida Governorate of Syria continue to endanger civilians, with ongoing reports of significant displacement and damage to critical infrastructure, including water, electricity, and telecommunications networks. According to media reports, the hostilities have claimed hundreds of lives.

While negotiations for a comprehensive cease-fire and hostage deal in the Gaza Strip are reportedly underway between Israel and the Palestinian armed group Hamas, a US-led proposal has not been officially accepted by either side. At the same time, the carnage and humanitarian catastrophe on the ground continues as the war entered its ninth month, with people dying across Gaza from Israeli attacks, starvation, or lack of basic resources.

The United Nations has warned that the delivery of life-saving aid to millions of people in Afghanistan could be "severely impeded" as donors have only provided 7 percent of the humanitarian funding appeal for 2024. More than half of Afghanistan's population, 23.7 million - including 12.4 million children - are estimated to be in need of humanitarian assistance, but aid agencies will only be able to reach a fraction of them due to a severe lack of funds.