Author Archives: Arun Kumar N

About Arun Kumar N

Arun has been associated with India International Times since 2018 and he has been a key reporter in covering science and space related stories. He can be reached at arunKnn@indiainternationaltimes.com.

UN warns civilians remain at risk as airstrikes continue across Gaza

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UN Spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric told journalists at the regular news briefing in New York that the UN aid coordination office, OCHA, had received additional reports of airstrikes, bombing, shelling – including from at sea – and shootings in residential areas.

The violence, he said, “puts civilians in danger and adds to the immense hardship they have endured over the past 28 months.”

He added that civilians are protected under international humanitarian law wherever they are, “even if they cross military demarcation lines or are near them…civilians must always be protected and during military operations and constant care must be taken to spare them.”

Health centre reopens

Amid the ongoing hostilities, UN agencies reported limited but important progress in restoring essential services.

The UN ‘s Palestine refugee relief agency (UNRWA) said it has reopened the Bureij Health Centre in Deir al Balah after months of closure. The facility is now providing primary healthcare, maternal health services, laboratory testing and dental care.

However, thousands of patients remain without access to treatment and recovery, as critical services are still unavailable in Gaza.

“Their top priority is to scale up local services, including by rehabilitating damaged facilities and expanding critical care. This requires more medical supplies, including items that are not easily approved for entry by Israeli authorities, such as X-ray machines and laboratory equipment,” Mr. Dujarric said.

Shelter, protection needs remain acute

UN shelter partners said that by last week they had provided more than 5,600 families with emergency shelter assistance in just over one week, including nearly 5,000 tarpaulins and more than 12,000 bedding items.

Last month alone, similar assistance – including nearly 8,000 tents – reached more than 85,000 families. However, durable solutions are urgently needed, which requires permission from Israeli authorities to bring in machinery and construction materials to repair damaged structures, partner organizations said.

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In Bahrain; work, dignity and the quiet rise of home-grown enterprise

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Their experiences underline a broader message: inclusive economic growth depends on opening space for those too often excluded, including people with disabilities, youth and home-based innovators.

Entrepreneur by necessity

For Shaymaa Saeed, a young Egyptian crochet designer and handicrafts artist with a disability, entrepreneurship was not a lifestyle choice but a necessity. Health challenges prevented her from securing formal work, pushing her to rethink how she could earn a living.

“I started my project from home in 2018 due to health challenges, after I was unable to secure a job,” she told UN News. 

Instead of giving up, I turned my hobby into a source of income

What began as a personal coping strategy gradually became a viable business. Ms. Saeed went on to take part in some of Egypt’s largest handicrafts exhibitions, building confidence and visibility along the way. 

Recently, she presented her work outside her home country for the first time, marking a significant milestone in her journey.

Stepping on stage

“My participation marks my first step onto the international stage,” she said, pointing to the role of entrepreneurship training and institutional backing. “The support I received helped me grow personally and professionally, with greater confidence.”

UN News/Abdul Monem Makki

Shaymaa Saeed, a young Egyptian entrepreneur who’s attending WEIF in Bahrain.

All the issues raised by Ms. Saeed’s experiences are up for discussion during this week’s Sixth World Entrepreneurs Investment Forum (WEIF), in the Bahraini capital, Manama, where a parallel exhibition on home-based entrepreneurship is showcasing how targeted support can turn personal challenges into economic opportunity. 

Organised by the UN Industrial Development Organization’s (UNIDO) International Technology and Innovation Promotion Office in Bahrain, the gathering is bringing together entrepreneurs, policymakers and investors from dozens of countries.

Big dreams

Ms. Saeed’s enterprise remains entirely home-based and online, but her ambitions extend well beyond that. “I do not yet have a physical store, but I dream of having my own space to showcase and sell my work, and of reaching markets across the world as a successful small business.”

Ms. Saeed is candid about the realities of building a business from scratch. “Success does not come overnight,” she said. “It is a continuous journey of effort, learning and development.”

I dream of having my own space to showcase and sell my work, and of reaching markets across the world

Similar themes are emerging from other women using art and entrepreneurship as vehicles for agency and expression. 

Bahraini visual artist and art teacher Mariam Sayed Anwar, who also lives with a disability, described creativity as both discipline and emotional release.

“My work moves between still life, portraits, charcoal, pencil and acrylic,” she explained, stressing the importance of experimentation. “I never limit myself to just one medium.”

For her, art communicates what language sometimes cannot. “Through paint and brushes, I can express what is in my heart and soul more than writing ever could. Art is my language; when words fall silent, my work speaks for me.”

UN News/Abdul Monem Makki

A woman speaker takes the stage at the World Entrepreneurs Investment Forum 2026 in Manama, Bahrain.

International exposure

Beyond individual stories, entrepreneurs from Africa gathering in Bahrain are highlighting the structural conditions that shape success or failure. 

Zimbabwean entrepreneur Dr. Roselyn Musaruru-Wacharewa said exposure to international networks had reshaped her understanding of what is possible – not  just for individual women, but for entire regions.

UN News/Abdul Monem Makki

From Zimbabwe, entrepreneur Dr. Roselyn Musaruru-Wacharewa describes how exposure to international platforms in Bahrain has reshaped her outlook.

“In many African countries, governments tax entrepreneurs so heavily that it feels like they want you out of business,” she said, contrasting this with environments where policy actively encourages enterprise. 

Her appeal was blunt: African women entrepreneurs are ready, but governments must “change the narrative and give them real access and recognition”.

Guterres underlines private sector role

The importance of creating such enabling conditions was echoed by UN leaders and national officials, though the emphasis remained on outcomes rather than rhetoric. 

In his message delivered in Bahrain on Tuesday, UN Secretary-General António Guterres underlined the private sector’s role as an engine of jobs, innovation and investment, particularly through micro, small and medium-sized enterprises, which account for roughly two-thirds of global employment. 

He stressed that growth must go hand in hand with respect for human rights and labour standards, and with expanding opportunities for those left behind.

UNIDO officials highlighted youth and women as central drivers of innovation, while Bahraini authorities pointed to national initiatives supporting young and women entrepreneurs, alongside strategies embracing artificial intelligence and new technologies.

Lived experience

Yet the strongest arguments for inclusive growth came not from policy statements, but from lived experience. 

From home-based businesses run entirely online, to art that speaks where words fail, entrepreneurs like Shaymaa Saeed illustrate what becomes possible when talent meets opportunity – and what is lost when barriers remain.

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Violence surges in South Sudan leaving civilians at risk and peacekeepers stretched thin

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Briefing ambassadors in the Security Council on Tuesday, UN peacekeeping chief Jean-Pierre Lacroix said instability had risen sharply in recent weeks, driven by political deadlock among signatories to the 2018 Revitalised Peace Agreement and a dangerous escalation in armed confrontations.

Fighting has intensified most dramatically in Jonglei state, where clashes between Government forces and opposition elements displaced more than 280,000 people, according to government sources.

Reports of aerial bombardments, inflammatory rhetoric and severe restrictions on humanitarian access have raised fears of a return to the widespread violence seen in 2013 and 2016.

Communities, Mr. Lacroix said, are once again “on the move,” fleeing areas where fighting has erupted and basic services have collapsed.

Click here to read a summary of threats to South Sudan’s peace process and the converging political, security and humanitarian crises, and their impact on civilians.

Humanitarian statistics for South Sudan as of December 2025.

Crisis unravelling

In late January, Government forces instructed civilians, UN personnel and humanitarian workers to temporarily relocate from several counties in Jonglei, including from the UN Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) base in Akobo, citing an anticipated military operation.

Although the Government later denied issuing such a directive and reiterated its cooperation with humanitarian partners, the episode underscored the volatility of the situation.

Regional bodies, including the African Union (AU) and the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), have voiced alarm at the escalation, stressing that there is no military solution and that the peace agreement remains the only viable framework for stability.

Political deadlock deepens

Mr. Lacroix warned that unilateral initiatives to amend the peace agreement risk undermining its primacy, particularly proposals to defer key transitional tasks such as constitution-making until after elections scheduled for December 2026.

The Sudan People’s Liberation Movement/Army-in-Opposition (SPLM-IO) has said it cannot engage in political dialogue while its leader, First Vice-President Riek Machar, remains subject to ongoing legal proceedings, further complicating efforts to break the stalemate.

Mr. Machar, once an ally of President Salva Kiir, has been under house arrest since March 2025 and reportedly faces charges of murder and treason – which he denies.

The UN Security Council meets on the situation in South Sudan.

Humanitarian crisis worsens

The deteriorating security situation is compounding what Mr. Lacroix described as one of the world’s most dangerous environments for aid workers.

In 2025 alone, 350 attacks on humanitarian personnel and facilities were recorded, a sharp increase from the previous year, as the country grapples with its worst cholera outbreak on record.

Since September 2024, more than 98,000 cholera cases have been reported nationwide, with a resurgence now underway in Jonglei. Flight restrictions and blocked movements are delaying medical evacuations and the delivery of lifesaving supplies.

Recent incidents include an airstrike on a hospital in Lankien on 3 February, which destroyed critical medical stocks and injured staff, and the looting of a health facility in Pieri the same day. Violence has also forced the closure of 24 nutrition sites in Jonglei, cutting off care for nearly 8,000 children, including more than 2,600 suffering from severe acute malnutrition.

Peacekeepers stretched thin

Against this backdrop, UNMISS is grappling with significant funding-driven capacity reductions.

Mr. Lacroix said cost-cutting measures have already reduced protection patrols by up to 40 per cent in some areas and by as much as 70 per cent where bases have closed. Human rights monitoring missions have been cancelled, and tensions have increased in areas left without a UN presence.

At the same time, the Mission has been forced to redeploy forces to hotspots such as Akobo and establish temporary operating bases to deter violence and protect civilians.

“The trends we are currently observing are clear,” Mr. Lacroix said, urging the Security Council and international partners to ensure sustained political and financial support.

“The presence of UNMISS continues to matter a lot. It matters to the people that we protect, it matters to our humanitarian partners that we assist, and it matters to the peace process that we actively support and engage in.”

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Fresh report warns fish fraud extends to one fifth of global catch

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While there is no official estimate of how prevalent fraud is in the $195 billion global fisheries and aquaculture sector, empirical studies suggest that 20 per cent of the trade may be subject to some type of fraud, according to FAO.

Menu of misinformation

Some studies suggest that up to 30 per cent of seafood products may be mislabelled in restaurants, with the report citing cases from around the world, from ceviche stands in Latin America and seafood eateries in China to canned tuna products in the European Union.

While as much as one third of aquatic products sold in the United States may not conform to package descriptions, less than one per cent of imports are tested, the report warned.

What drives fish fraud?

Economic incentives are the most widespread driver of fish fraud.

Selling Atlantic salmon, almost all of which is farmed, as Pacific salmon, most of which is wild caught, delivers a nearly $10 benefit per kilogramme.

Some fraud occurs to mask the geographic provenance of a product or to suppress evidence of above-quota landings, which may pose risks to the sustainability of fishery stocks.

Finding fraud

Fish fraud is defined in the report as “a deliberate practice intended to deceive others” and can pose risks to biodiversity, human health or economic systems, according to Food fraud in the fisheries and aquaculture sector, produced by FAO through cooperation between its Fisheries and Aquaculture Division and the Joint FAO/IAEA Centre of Nuclear Techniques in Food and Agriculture.

The main categories of fish fraud are:

  • adding water to unprocessed fishery products to bolster weight and price
  • adulteration (adding colouring to make tuna look fresher)
  • counterfeiting (imitation shrimp made from starch-based compounds)
  • simulation (packaging surimi to seem like crab meat)
  • diversion (distributing legitimate products outside of their intended markets)
  • misbranding (such as incorrect claims about sustainability)
  • overrun (involving overfishing)
  • species substitution (selling tilapia as red snapper)
  • tampering and mislabelling (involving origins and even expiry dates)
  • plain theft

Meanwhile, the human welfare risks of some seafood fraud are evident as some fish pose risks when eaten raw, while re-freezing seafood increases the risk of bacterial growth.

Catching fishy business

The global scale of fish consumption – targeting over 12,000 seafood species – the diversity of fraud type and the lack of standardised regulatory or legal definitions, make global estimates difficult to assess, but there are novel ways to tackle the scourge.

Advanced laboratory tests can be effective in identifying substances, but access to these methods is limited.

Meanwhile, the report shows that portable X-ray fluorescence and machine-learning models are innovations that could help cut fraud and make regulations more enforceable.

To quash fish fraud, the new report advocates for:

  • harmonised labelling requirements
  • mandatory inclusion of scientific names where possible
  • better traceability systems

Adding science to the tacklebox

Given its complexity, identifying the crime is not straightforward, but the report goes into considerable detail about how advances in science can contribute to tackling fraud, including:

  • A standard method to determine whether and how many times a seafood product has been frozen has so far proven elusive, but differences in the fatty-acid composition of wild and farmed fish may be used to detect fraud
  • Carbon and nitrogen ratios to determine the geographical origin of major commercial fish species

Netting offenders

Prevention and enforcement are critical to reduce and eventually eliminate fish and all food fraud, according to the report, which reviewed concerted efforts to tackle cases in Argentina, Italy and the United States.

An investigation using DNA-barcoding to assess the scale of mislabelling in Los Angeles, California, found that while it is quite low in processing plants, it is moderate among grocers and particularly prevalent in sushi restaurants.

A local initiative by local academia, industry, government stakeholders – together with an education campaign coupled with ongoing blind tests, reduced seafood mislabelling in the focus area by two thirds over 10 years.

What the UN’s doing

Part of UN ongoing efforts include:

  • FAO and the Codex Alimentarius Commission – the international food standards body – are working on toughening international standards to combat food fraud
  • through the Joint FAO/IAEA Centre, FAO offers technical support to members that need to bolster their testing capacities.

Find out more about what FAO is doing here.

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General Assembly President urges Europeans to ‘stand up’ for the UN

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In a key address to the European Parliament in Strasbourg, France, Annalena Baerbock repeated her call to uphold multilateralism amid “trying times” globally. 

She noted that just 40 days into 2026, the world has already seen crises around Venezuela, Iran and Greenland, on top of continuing devastation in Ukraine, Gaza, Sudan and elsewhere.

International order ‘under attack’ 

“The international order is not only under pressure, it is under attack,” she told lawmakers.  

“And we face a new and more troubling kind of crisis: conflicts waged not even under the pretence of self-defence or respect for international law but often carried out in open defiance of it.” 

She warned that at precisely the moment the world most needs cooperation and the UN, “powers – even those who have a special responsibility to protect peace and security – are pulling away from it or even outright attacking it.”  

Protect the UN Charter 

Ms. Baerbock recalled that four years ago, when she was Germany’s Foreign Minister, she addressed the General Assembly and called for the UN to stand up for Europe’s peace as Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine. 

“Today, I’m coming as President of the General Assembly to Europe, calling for Europe to stand up for the United Nations because the world needs the UN. But right now, the UN and its principles as enshrined in the Charter, needs the world too,” she said, referring to all continents. 

“It needs you to form a cross-regional alliance to protect, defend and champion the Charter and the international rules-based system that benefits us all individually and collectively.” 

Defend the truth 

First and foremost, the EU must defend the truth in a world where “fake news, falsities, mis- and disinformation” are everywhere.  

“Defending the truth means we cannot negotiate the facts; we cannot ‘go along to get along’ in the hope that it will avoid a tariff,” she said.  

Ms. Baerbock acknowledged that defending the truth “is easier said than done, especially when you’re faced with blackmail or coercion, or threats and intimidation.”   

European unity over Ukraine 

She stressed, however, that “no one can do it alone”, highlighting European Union (EU) collective action in this regard. 

“Four years ago, Europe watched as 100,000 troops amassed on Ukraine’s borders, shocked into paralysis. Nobody could have imagined the EU, which has been described as ‘too slow and too bureaucratic, too divided’ would unite over a weekend,” she said. 

The invasion began on a Thursday and by that Monday morning “the EU collectively passed one of the largest sanctions packages ever recorded because it responded as one, with conviction and purpose.” 

‘The world is calling’ 

But Europe did not act alone as she pointed to late-night calls and pleas made to other countries around the world.  

“Today dear colleagues, the world is calling. It’s not only about Greenland, it’s also about Latin America, about Africa. Once again, it’s about the international peace order, once again it’s about the UN Charter,” she said. 

“The UN needs Europe and I count on your answer to be a clear and resounding: yes, we will be there for our peace, for the international peace order, for the United Nations.” 

Support UN reform 

The Assembly President said the UN also needs Europe “to reform it, to make it better, to make it more effective and efficient.”  While the 80-year-old Organization is not perfect, she insisted that the world would not be better off without it. 

“Imperfection is an opportunity to strengthen and refine, not to cut down and demolish,” said Ms. Baerbock. 

“We cannot allow those who would weaponize failings or setbacks to use existing inefficiencies or duplications as justification to unravel all that we have built, nor allow exclusive clubs to hold responsibilities for world peace.”  

Lead by example 

The UN is also “dealing with an existential liquidity crisis,” with some Member States not paying their assessed contributions – whether late, or not at all, for years. 

She noted that UN financial rules further require any “unspent” budgeted money to be returned to Member States, even if it was never received in the first place. 

“If the EU wants to preserve and strengthen the UN, then the EU should lead by example,” she said.  This includes paying dues on time and in full and proposing ways “to overhaul this Kafkaesque financial rule of reimbursing funds never received”. 

Similarly, the EU should step up when it comes to the selection of the next Secretary-General “as one might wonder how in 80 years the UN has never selected a woman to serve its highest office, despite there being four billion potential candidates on Earth.” 

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In Sudan, sick and starving children ‘wasting away’

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As heavy fighting continues between former allies the Sudanese Armed Forces and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces and their allies, the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF), said that in parts of North Darfur more than half of all children are acutely malnourished.

The warning follows the release of new data from the IPC, a UN-backed global food security monitoring system, from three localities there – Um Baru and Kernoi and At Tine – indicating “catastrophic” malnutrition rates.

“Extreme hunger and malnutrition come for children first, the youngest, the smallest, the most vulnerable,” said UNICEF spokesperson Ricardo Pires. “In Sudan, it’s spreading… These are children between six months and five years old, and they are running out of time.” 

Starvation spreading

The UN agency stressed that famine thresholds have been surpassed in locations not previously considered at risk, such as Um Baru and Kernoi. 

Conflict, mass displacement, the collapse of services and blocked access which have sparked starvation alerts for these localities exist “across vast swathes of Sudan”, Mr. Pires insisted. 

“If famine is looming there, it can take hold anywhere,” he warned.

Mr. Pires also warned of the prevalence of disease as a further threat to children’s survival: 

“These children are not just hungry; nearly half of all children in At Tine had been sick in the previous two weeks. Fever, diarrhoea, respiratory infections, low vaccination coverage, unsafe water and a collapsing health system are turning treatable illnesses into death sentences for already malnourished children.”

He called on the world to “stop looking away” from Sudan’s children, warning that more than half of the youngsters in North Darfur’s Um Baru are “wasting away while we watch”. 

“That is not a statistic. Those are children with names and a future that are being stolen,” the UNICEF spokesperson said.

Nearly three years since war erupted between the once-allied Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), 13.6 million people have fled their homes, including 9.1 million displaced within the country. 

Healthcare under attack

Dr Shible Sahbani, the UN World Health Organization (WHO)’s representative in Sudan, told reporters that while the displaced require “urgent” care, the health system has been “ravaged by attacks, loss and damage of equipment and supplies, a shortage of health workforce and operational funds”. 

Since the start of the war in April 2023, WHO has verified 205 attacks on health care that have led to 1,924 deaths and 529 injuries, Dr Sahbani said.

“Such attacks deprive communities of care for years to come, instilling terror in patients and health workers and creating unsurmountable barriers to life-saving treatment,” he added. Meanwhile, the country faces multiple disease outbreaks, including cholera, malaria, dengue and measles.

While WHO and partners are supporting the response to these outbreaks, Dr. Sahbani insisted on the need for greater access and protection of health workers and facilities, in line with international humanitarian law.

“Patients and healthcare workers should not risk death while seeking and providing care,” he said. “Above all, we call for peace…Peace is long due for Sudan.”

His call echoed that of UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk, who on Monday once again sounded the alarm over the deadly conflict in Sudan, briefing the Human Rights Council in Geneva on the “preventable human rights catastrophe” that took place in North Darfur’s capital El Fasher in October last year. 

Thousands of people were killed there in a matter of days after an 18-month-long siege of the city, multiple testimonies gathered by Mr. Türk’s office have indicated.

Kordofans could be next

The new danger is a possible repeat of these abuses in the Kordofan region, he said.

Responding to journalists’ questions in Geneva about the involvement of other countries in the conflict, the High Commissioner’s spokesperson, Ravina Shamdasani underscored his concerns – “whether they’re directly involved, whether there are mercenaries on the ground from different countries, whether they’re providing arms, intelligence, funding or other support, whether they’re involved in the political economy of the conflict in Sudan”.

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Ethiopia: Türk fears new crisis in Tigray amid renewed fighting

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“The situation remains highly volatile and we fear it will further deteriorate, worsening the region’s already precarious human rights and humanitarian situation,” Mr. Türk said, following clashes in recent days between the Ethiopian army and regional forces.

The development comes against a backdrop of deadly conflict in Tigray from 2020 to 2022 between Government troops and separatist Tigray forces, following rising tensions between national and regional authorities.

That conflict – in which Eritrean soldiers reportedly participated – is believed to have killed tens of thousands and uprooted more than two million civilians, of whom one million remain internally displaced today.

Intensifying fighting  

According to the UN human rights office (OHCHR), the latest escalation saw clashes between the Ethiopian National Defence Forces (ENDF) and the regional Tigray Security Forces (TSF) intensify on 26 January, close to the Amhara border. The TSF withdrew from the Tselemti area on 1 February, OHCHR said.

“Drones, artillery and other powerful weapons were used by both sides,” Mr. Türk said in a statement. “Civilians are once again caught between escalating tensions, with both TSF and ENDF reportedly carrying out arrests for perceived affiliation with the opposing side. This must stop,” he insisted.

Meanwhile, in Tigray’s south and southeast near the Afar border, clashes between the TSF and the “Tigray Peace Forces”, a rival faction, continue unabated, the High Commissioner noted.

“Both sides must step back from the brink and work to resolve their differences through political means,” he said. “Alleged serious violations or abuses must be promptly and independently investigated, irrespective of the perpetrators.”

Dire consequences

Briefing journalists in Geneva, the High Commissioner’s spokesperson, Ravina Shamdasani warned that new clashes could erupt “at any point” with dire consequences for civilians. She highlighted his call to all parties to recommit to the Pretoria Agreement calling for an end to hostilities, signed in 2022. 

The hostile parties should also ensure the return of internally displaced people to their homes, among other confidence-building measures, Ms. Shamdasani continued.

“This is something that was part of the agreement, but it hasn’t proceeded as smoothly as it should,” she noted.

The High Commissioner also warned that recent tensions between Ethiopia and neighbouring Eritrea risked worsening the already serious human rights and humanitarian challenges in both countries and across the wider Horn of Africa.

“There have been reports regarding the presence of Eritrean troops and heightened tensions between those two countries,” Ms. Shamdasani said, pointing to “disagreements…particularly regarding the situation in Tigray”. 

She added: “We’re calling for these disagreements to be resolved through political dialogue and not resort to violence. We all saw what happened in 2020, 2021, when there was a full-blown conflict in the Tigray region, which led to we still don’t know how many deaths…We cannot afford a return to that.”

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Proposed amnesty law offers political prisoners in Venezuela an ‘opportunity’

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The amnesty is aimed at promoting peace, democratic coexistence and national reconciliation as the South American country enters a new era following the seizure of former President Nicolas Maduro by the United States. 

It passed unanimously on 5 February by Venezuelan legislators in the first of two readings.

The amnesty “offers an opportunity to provide justice and alleviate the suffering of the many people who have been unlawfully detained for political reasons in Venezuela,” said Alex Neve, a member of the UN Independent International Fact-Finding Mission for Venezuela.

“This law has the potential to contribute to restoring rights and repairing Venezuela’s social fabric, but the voices of the countless Venezuelans whose rights have been violated in the country’s prisons, as well as the civil society organizations who have assisted and defended them, must be at the centre of this process,” Mr. Neve said.

The broader picture 

Following years of political violence in Venezuela, many politicians, activists and journalists have been charged with crimes such as terrorism or treason – according to human rights groups. 

According to media reports over 300 political prisoners have been released since 8 January but many political prisoners remain in detention. 

Transparency essential

The UN human rights experts have raised concerns about how the amnesty will be enacted, stating that its “legitimacy and impact depend on a transparent and inclusive process that is fully grounded in international human rights law.” 

In a statement released by the United Nations Human Rights Council, the investigators warned of the “absence of informed, inclusive, and safe public consultations” and emphasised the need for ‘a transparent process, with meaningful participation from victims, their families and civil society.” 

Calls for participation 

Fact-Finding Mission expert Maria Quintero, stated that it was “advisable for the judicial verification procedure to include the participation of victims and their families, their representatives, and human rights organizations, in order to prevent the law from being instrumentalized or applied in a manner incompatible with international standards.” 

She added, “we must not forget accountability.”

Whilst the draft legislation is debated within Venezuela’s government, UN experts have reiterated their call for the “unconditional” release of all political prisoners, stating that “it is critical that the process of releasing prisoners, already underway, continues without interruption.” 

The Human Rights Council-appointed Independent International Fact-Finding Mission was established to assess alleged human rights violations committed since 2014. 

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World News in Brief: Floods in Syria, relief operations in Cuba at risk, ending child labour

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According to the relief coordination office, OCHA, rainfall since Saturday caused widespread flooding across parts of Idleb and northern Latakia, damaging around 1,800 tents and destroying at least 150 in camps housing displaced families.

A local hospital was also forced to suspend operations, with patients having been evacuated and mobile medical teams deployed. Authorities have opened shelters and prepared additional housing for families in need.

Humanitarian partners are relocating displaced families, repairing damaged shelters and delivering emergency assistance, including food and non-food items, OCHA said.

In a separate incident linked to the response, a Syrian Arab Red Crescent staff member was killed and five others injured when their vehicle crashed while assisting flood-affected communities.

Displacement still widespread

The flooding comes as displacement persists in other parts of the country.

While fighting has subsided in the governorates of Aleppo, Al-Hasakeh and Ar-Raqqa following a 30 January accord, nearly 160,000 people remain displaced as of 3 February.

Humanitarian access has improved in some areas, but major challenges remain. Electricity outages continue to disrupt water systems, telecommunications are intermittent, food supplies are limited, explosive ordnance is still a threat and schools remain suspended.

Hurricane Melissa struck Cuba in late October 2025, causing massive devastation across the island nation.

Cuba: UN urges funding as fuel shortages strain essential services

The United Nations is calling for urgent funding to support humanitarian operations in Cuba, where fuel shortages following the suspension of supplies from Venezuela are disrupting essential services and hampering recovery efforts following last year’s Hurricane Melissa.

“The UN continues to monitor the situation in the country and is working with the Government to provide more support, including food, water and sanitation, and healthcare,” UN Spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric said at a regular news briefing in New York.

“We are concerned about the growing fuel shortages and their impact on people,” he added, noting that disruptions to the delivery of clean water, medical care, food and other critical aid.

UN action plan

In November 2025, the UN in Cuba launched a Plan of Action to support the national response to Hurricane Melissa, which affected more than two million people – roughly one in five residents nationwide.

The plan focuses on helping families recover and restoring essential services, while supporting longer-term recovery efforts led by national authorities.

The Plan of Action seeks $74 million but is currently only 23 per cent funded.

Global conference seeks renewed push to end child labour

An international effort to accelerate the elimination of child labour will get underway later this week in Morocco, as governments and partners meet to confront a crisis still affecting 138 million children worldwide.

From 11 to 13 February, Morocco will host the sixth Global Conference on the Elimination of Child Labour, led by the UN International Labour Organization (ILO) and bringing together governments, employers’ and workers’ organizations, civil society, the private sector and international partners.

The meeting comes at a critical moment.

According to UN estimates, 138 million children remain in child labour globally, including around 54 million engaged in hazardous work that threatens their health, safety and development. Africa accounts for 87 million of those children.

Agriculture remains the largest driver, accounting for 61 per cent of child labour globally, particularly in smallholder farming.

Child’s place is in school

ILO Director-General Gilbert Houngbo underscored the link between decent work and child protection, saying: “Children belong in school, not in labour. Parents must themselves be supported and have access to decent work so that they can afford to ensure that their children are in classrooms.”

While progress has been made – child labour has nearly halved since 2000 and declined by more than 20 million since 2020 – the world missed the Sustainable Development Goal target to eliminate child labour in all its forms by 2025.

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West Bank: New Israeli measures further erode prospects for two-State solution

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The measures would make it easier for Jewish settlers to take over Palestinian land, thus expanding Israel’s power in the territory, according to media reports. 

The UN chief warned that the current trajectory on the ground – including this decision – is eroding the prospect for the two-State solution, according to a statement issued by his Spokesperson. 

Settlements are illegal 

He reiterated that all Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and their associated regime and infrastructure, have no legal validity and constitute a flagrant violation of international law, including relevant UN resolutions. 

“Such actions, including Israel’s continued presence in the Occupied Palestinian Territory are not only destabilizing but – as recalled by the International Court of Justice – unlawful,” the statement said. 

 The Secretary-General called on Israel to reverse the measures. 

He also urged all parties “to preserve the only path to lasting peace, a negotiated two-State solution, in line with relevant Security Council resolutions and international law.” 

Heading off course 

UN Spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric was asked about the statement during his regular briefing to journalists in New York. 

“These decisions are not moving us in the right direction,” he said. 

“They are driving us further and further away from a two-State solution and from the ability of the Palestinian authority and the Palestinian people to control their own destiny.” 

Ongoing aid efforts in Gaza 

Meanwhile, humanitarians in the Gaza Strip continue to respond to the immense needs of the population despite impediments and a challenging operating environment. 

The UN and partners are serving hundreds of thousands of meals each day, in addition to providing digital cash and monthly rations, Mr. Dujarric said. 

Colleagues report that Gaza City continues to face a severe shortage of drinking and domestic water despite the recent re-opening of the valve on the Mekorot supply line there that connects Israel to Gaza for fresh water.  

Water and hygiene support 

Currently, only 6,000 cubic metres of water are reaching people in Gaza City every day, with significant losses in hard-to-reach areas.  

“To mitigate this shortfall, we and our partners have increased water production and trucked deliveries from groundwater wells and private sector desalination plants,” he said. 

Aid partners have distributed over 100,000 water jerry cans across the Gaza Strip since late January, he added. 

They have also provided over 700,000 bars of soap, over 25,000 hygiene kits, over 400 household latrines, and 250 anti-lice kits 

Explosive ordnance threat 

Since Wednesday, humanitarians working in mine action have conducted over 200 assessments of potential explosive hazards in support of the removal of debris. 

They reached over 10,000 children and adults last week with education warning them of the risks of explosive ordnance which remains a major threat.  

Thirty-three explosive ordnance incidents have been reported since the ceasefire came into effect last October, resulting in nine deaths and 65 injuries.  

Restrictions and limitations 

UN aid coordination office, OCHA, noted that humanitarians continue to be hampered by restrictions, including limitations on the entry of so-called “dual use” items and those listed as non-humanitarian in nature. 

This includes spare parts and certain shelter materials.  

Humanitarian operations are also being undermined by Israel’s de-registration of some international non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and restrictions imposed on the UN agency that assists Palestine refugees – UNRWA – and sister agencies. 

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DR Congo: UN vows orderly peacekeeping transition as South Africa withdraws troops

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In a statement issued on Sunday, President Cyril Ramaphosa said he informed UN Secretary-General António Guterres on 12 January about the decision, which “is influenced by the need to consolidate and realign the resources of the South African National Defence Force, following 27 years of South Africa’s support to UN peacekeeping efforts in the DRC.” 

He noted that South Africa is among the top 10 countries contributing troops to MONUSCO, with over 700 soldiers.  

‘Steadfast commitment’ praised 

In response, MONUSCO, expressed deep gratitude to the Government and people of South Africa “for their steadfast commitment over several decades to United Nations peacekeeping, as well as for the dedication demonstrated by South African peacekeepers in support of the Mission’s mandate.” 

The Mission “looks forward to continuing to engage with the Republic of South Africa on broader peacekeeping issues, including lessons learned and continued support to efforts aimed at advancing peace and stability.” 

It also will work closely with the UN Secretariat and relevant stakeholders to ensure that any transition related to the withdrawal “is managed in a safe, orderly, and responsible manner, in line with United Nations standards and operational requirements.” 

The UN Secretary-General also expressed thanks to South Africa for its longtime commitment and sacrifice, his Spokesman, Stéphane Dujarric, told journalists in New York on Monday.  

Service and sacrifice 

MONUSCO has been in the DRC since July 2010, taking over from an earlier UN peacekeeping operation that supervised implementation of a ceasefire agreement following conflict in the east stemming from the 1994 genocide in neighbouring Rwanda. 

Several regional countries and armed groups were involved in the fighting, also known as the Great War of Africa. 

MONUSCO’s mandate includes protecting civilians and helping the DRC to stabilize and consolidate peace. 

More than 12,400 personnel were serving at the Mission as of October 2025, including some 9,177 troops and 926 police officers from over 50 countries. Since inception, 304 fatalities have been recorded. 

MONUSCO paid tribute “to South African peacekeepers who lost their lives under the United Nations flag in the service of peace in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and honours their sacrifice.” 

Peacekeeping chief’s visit 

The head of UN Peace Operations, Jean‑Pierre Lacroix, is currently in the DRC where on Monday he met with President Félix Tshisekedi, Prime Minister Judith Suminwa Tuluka, key members of the Government, and relevant stakeholders. 

Discussions centred around implementation of the MONUSCO mandate, including support to a permanent ceasefire.   

Mr. Lacroix will then go to Beni in North Kivu province, eastern DRC, where he will assess recent developments and meet with provincial authorities as well as peacekeepers deployed in the area.

Later this week, he will head to Ethiopia for the annual African Union summit, taking place in the capital, Addis Ababa. 

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Sudan: UN rights chief says worse is to come without international action

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“We can only expect worse to come” unless action is taken to halt the bloodshed, Mr. Türk told Member States at the Human Rights Council in Geneva, as he reiterated his call for the extension of an arms embargo from Darfur to include all of Sudan.

Rival militaries from the national army and Rapid Support Forces (RSF) militia have been battling for control of the country for nearly three years.

Something must be done to address the “continuous inflow of weapons”, the High Commissioner for Human Rights insisted, after recounting testimonies of survivors of atrocity crimes in El Fasher, the capital of North Darfur, by paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) who overran the city last October.

Mass killings

“In one horrific example, people who fled to separate locations, thousands of kilometres apart, gave consistent accounts of the mass killing of hundreds of people sheltering at El Fasher University,” he said, describing convincing testimony that some victims were targeted based on their non-Arab ethnicity – in particular, members of the Zaghawa ethnic group. 

“Survivors also spoke of seeing piles of dead bodies along roads leading away from El Fasher, in an apocalyptic scene that one person likened to the Day of Judgment,” the High Commissioner continued, his comments echoing the International Criminal Court’s (ICC) conclusion last month that war crimes and crimes against humanity had taken place in El-Fasher, linked to the RSF’s siege. 

“Our own findings are fully consistent” with that ICC assessment, Mr. Türk told the Human Rights Council, at a meeting held specifically on the Sudan emergency.

Dire warnings

Previously, the UN rights chief noted that his office has warned about previous atrocity crimes such as the RSF offensive to capture Zamzam camp for displaced people in April 2025. 

“Responsibility for these atrocity crimes lies squarely with the RSF and their allies and supporters,” he said.

The war in Sudan erupted in April 2023, after a power-sharing agreement broke down in the resource-rich central African nation between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the RSF. 

The resulting humanitarian emergency has affected more than 30 million people in Sudan; many have faced repeated displacement and others have been impacted by famine and systematic sexual violence, including gang rape.

As the fighting continues away from the Darfurs in the west to the central Kordofans regions, observers fear that further grave abuses are bound to happen, including by “advanced drone weaponry systems used by both sides”, Mr. Türk warned.

Deadly drone war

“In the last two weeks, the SAF and allied Joint Forces broke the sieges on Kadugli and Dilling,” the High Commissioner said. “But drone strikes by both sides continue, resulting in dozens of civilian deaths and injuries. 

Civilians are at risk of summary executions, sexual violence, arbitrary detention, and family separation.”

Mediation measures

In a bid to prevent further bloodshed, the High Commissioner announced a series of measures “to support mediation efforts” and de-escalate violence. 

These include commitments not to target civilians or residential areas with explosive weapons, to enable the unimpeded delivery of humanitarian aid, to end arbitrary detention and cease attacks on civilian infrastructure.

“I witnessed the damage done by RSF attacks on Merowe dam and hydroelectric power station, which once supplied 70 per cent of Sudan’s electricity. Repeated drone strikes have disrupted power and water supplies to huge numbers of people, with a serious impact on healthcare,” he said.

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UN calls for release of Hong Kong publisher Jimmy Lai following 20-year sentence

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High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk deplored the sentence imposed on Mr. Lai, the 78-year-old founder of the now-shuttered pro-democracy newspaper Apple Daily, following his conviction on charges brought under security-related laws in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of China.

On 15 December 2025, the High Court found Mr. Lai guilty of conspiracy to publish seditious material under the Crimes Ordinance, as well as two counts of conspiracy to collude with foreign forces under the National Security Law (NSL).  

Mr. Lai has denied all charges. The court’s decisions are subject to appeal.

Criminalising fundamental freedoms

Mr. Türk’s office, OHCHR, said it had reviewed the verdict and was concerned that it criminalised the exercise of fundamental freedoms, including freedom of expression, media freedom and association.

It noted that the ruling relied extensively on conduct that occurred before the NSL came into force, reiterating concerns it had previously raised about the broad scope of the offence of “collusion with external forces” under the NSL.

“Jimmy Lai is a publisher sentenced to 20 years in prison for exercising rights protected under international law,” Mr. Türk said.

“This outcome highlights how the vague and overly broad provisions of Hong Kong’s national security legislation can lead to being interpreted and enforced in violation of Hong Kong’s international human rights obligations. This verdict needs to be promptly quashed as incompatible with international law.”

Release on humanitarian grounds

High Commissioner Türk also appealed for Mr. Lai’s immediate release on humanitarian grounds, citing his age, health and the impact of the more than four years he has already spent in detention.

OHCHR expressed further concern that the judgment treated engagement by others with the United Nations and UN human rights mechanisms as relevant context in reaching its conclusion of guilt.

Worsening press freedom

Since the introduction of the NSL in 2020 and the Safeguarding National Security Ordinance in 2024, press freedom in Hong Kong has sharply deteriorated, with numerous independent media outlets closed down by the State, dozens of journalists arrested, and foreign reporters facing tighter visa policies and accreditation requirements.

“This is part of a broader repressive trend in Hong Kong, where hundreds have been arrested and prosecuted under these laws,” Mr. Türk said.

Alongside Mr. Lai, six former Apple Daily staff members, an activist and a paralegal were also sentenced on Monday to prison terms ranging from six to 10 years.

From 2020 to 2026, at least 385 individuals have been arrested and 175 convicted under national security-related offences, according to media reports citing official sources.

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53 migrants die in latest shipwreck tragedy off Libya coast

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According to the International Organization for Migration (IOM), the boat overturned in the perishingly cold waters of the central Mediterranean Sea, north of the coastal town of Zuwara last Friday. 

It is just the latest deadly incident involving vulnerable people on the move who are frequently mistreated and trafficked by smuggling gangs that have flourished in Libya since the overthrow of President Muammar Gaddafi in 2011.

IOM said that the Libyan authorities rescued two Nigerian women from last Friday’s shipwreck; one said that her husband had drowned while the other reported that both her babies had died.

The survivors explained that the vessel had been carrying migrants and refugees from several African countries. It had set off from Zawiya at about 11pm on Thursday and began taking on water six hours later, before capsizing.

It is not yet known where the travellers were heading for, but many migrant and refugee boats leaving Libya set sail for the Italian island of Lampedusa, which is around 350 kilometres (220 miles) away from Zawiya. The open rubber dinghies they often sail in are totally unsuitable for such a journey, UN aid teams have often warned.

At least 375 people have been reported dead or missing in January alone in the central Mediterranean, according to IOM, missing migrants database. The UN agency warned that this is just the latest shipwreck to have happened amid severe winter weather, with many more tragedies feared unrecorded.

Smuggling and trafficking networks continue to profit from desperate people by sending them to sea in unseaworthy boats, IOM noted, as it renewed calls for greater international cooperation and safer, legal routes for migration.

So far this year, 781 migrants have been “intercepted and returned” to Libya, the UN agency said, with 244 taken back just last week. This compares with 27,116 last year including 1,314 reported deaths or missing persons.  

Held in detention underground

“IOM does not consider Libya to be a safe port for migrants,” IOM insisted, after highlighting the dangers migrants continue to face following the discovery of more mass graves and detention sites in the east of the country.

“Investigations indicate that the victims had been held in captivity and subjected to torture to coerce ransom payments from their families,” IOM said in a statement, following a raid by the authorities on an illegal detention site in Ajdabiya. 

In Kufra, authorities discovered an underground detention site three metres underground. A total of 221 migrants and refugees were released, including women, children and a one-month-old baby. “Initial information suggests that the migrants had been held for a prolonged period in grossly inhumane conditions,” IOM said.

To help vulnerable people on the move, IOM supports voluntary flights home for foreign nationals. This includes one last week for Pakistani nationals who had reached Tripoli. In late January the agency helped 177 Nigerian migrants return home on another voluntary humanitarian flight

And in a bid to dismantle trafficking networks and support survivors, the UN agency works with national and regional authorities to strengthen cross-border cooperation. 

 

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Guterres condemns escalating violence in South Sudan as aid operations come under fire

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In a statement issued by his Deputy Spokesperson, Farhan Haq on Saturday, the UN chief said nearly 10 million people – “more than two thirds of the population” – now require life-saving humanitarian assistance and “continue to bear the brunt of the conflict”.

He expressed grave concern over fighting, attacks and looting affecting humanitarian and health facilities, as well as movement restrictions and insecurity along key supply routes. 

These conditions, the statement said, are “crippling humanitarian operations and shutting down essential services, placing civilians, including aid workers, at serious risk”.

Healthcare services attacked

Since late December, at least 11 healthcare facilities have been attacked in Jonglei State alone, disrupting critical services for communities already under severe strain. The assaults have also involved the seizure of 12 vehicles, including an ambulance.

“In the past week alone,” the statement noted, incidents have included “repeated attacks on a World Food Programme (WFP) convoy, an airstrike on a hospital run by the leading NGO Médecins Sans Frontières, and the burning of a Save the Children field office and destruction of its health centre”.

The Secretary-General said that “this clear disregard for medical and humanitarian operations is unacceptable and must stop”, stressing that such work “must be facilitated and respected”.

The violence has driven mass displacement, with more than 370,000 people reportedly forced from their homes so far this year, including over 280,000 in Jonglei State, amid a rapidly worsening cholera outbreak.

South Sudan, the world’s youngest nation, gained independence from Khartoum in 2011 but soon descended into a brutal civil conflict marked by political rivalry, ethnic violence and repeated peace deal breakdowns. 

‘Immediate and decisive’ end to fighting needed

Despite a 2018 agreement, insecurity and localised fighting have continued to undermine stability and recovery.

The UN chief called on all parties to “immediately and decisively halt all military operations”, de-escalate tensions through dialogue, uphold international law, protect civilians and ensure safe, sustained humanitarian access, including the security of aid workers and UN peacekeepers.

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From rural margins to media trailblazers: India’s women journalists are rewriting the news

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Khabar Lahariya, literally “news waves”, is an all-women media organisation run since 2002 by rural reporters, many of them Dalit, Adivasi and Muslim, dispatching fresh stories from some of the most marginalised regions.

“We faced challenges at every level,” founder Kavita Devi told UN News. “People would say women can’t be journalists, but we went to villages, persisted and proved that women can not only report but tell stories that others cannot.”

Long before global conversations about diversity entered newsrooms, these women were building their own.

From illiterate to multimedia producer

Villagers initially doubted women could be journalists and educational barriers made recruiting reporters a daunting challenge, Ms. Devi said, recalling the scepticism they encountered.

At the time, female reporters were virtually absent from newsrooms in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. Many of the women who joined Khabar Lahariya had little formal education.

One such journalist, Shyamkali, transformed from being illiterate to becoming a senior reporter.

Khabar Lahariya reports in local languages, including Bundeli, Awadhi and Bhojpuri, rejecting the idea that legitimacy requires elite, urban Hindi or English.

Reporting from the margins

“I didn’t know how to write a resume or handle a camera, but with training and guidance, I was able to learn everything, from interviewing to mobile journalism, and now I report stories that mainstream media ignore,” Shyamkali told UN News.

Khabar Lahariya’s reporting also goes beyond mere representation. Shyamkali recounted a story about a woman who, driven to desperation, acted violently against her abusive husband. 

Mainstream media reported the incident without context, focusing only on the shocking act, she said. But, Shyamkali’s reporting brought the woman’s perspective and underlying social realities to light, demonstrating how women journalists can add nuance, empathy and depth to stories often ignored or misrepresented.

Women ‘see their own image in the news’

Language plays a critical role in Khabar Lahariya’s mission. Publishing in local dialects like Bundeli, Awadhi and Bhojpuri, ensures that news is accessible, relatable and empowering for rural communities. 

“When we explain issues in their language, people understand better,” Ms. Devi said.

“They see their own image in the news, especially women.”

Game changing digital media

Transitioning from print to digital platforms has been a game changer for Khabar Lahariya, with its staff embracing mobile journalism, learning to anchor, produce and share news on social media platforms like Facebook, YouTube and Instagram.

Technology has empowered us to amplify voices from communities that were always ignored.

“Technology has empowered us to amplify voices from communities that were always ignored,” Shyamkali said, recalling the initial fear and excitement of tackling digital media.

“I never imagined handling a camera or sending live reports from a phone, but now I can.”

This digital expansion not only increases visibility, but enhances women’s agency, confidence and economic independence, proving that technology and training can transform social realities at the grassroots level.

Founded in 2002, Khabar Lahariya is an all-women media organisation run by rural reporters, many of them Dalit, Adivasi and Muslim.

Telling the whole story

Women remain just one in four people seen, heard or read about in the media, according to the 2025 Global Media Monitoring Project (GMMP) report.

When women’s voices are missing, the public is denied half the story.

Kalliopi Mingeirou, chief of UN Women’s section to end violence against women and girls, told UN News “this is not because women lack expertise or leadership” but because media continues to rely on the same narrow set of voices, too often defaulting to men as experts and decision makers.

Indeed, democracy depends on informed debate and inclusive decision making, she said.

“When women’s voices are missing, the public is denied half the story,” she said. “This distorts reality, weakens accountability and narrows the democratic space. In today’s context of backlash against gender equality, the exclusion of women in news is not only a gender issue, it is a democratic deficit.”

‘Radical rethink’ required

Progress on gender representation in media has not only stalled, it is under threat, according to the new report.

“These findings are both a wake-up call and a call to action,” said Kirsi Madi, Deputy Executive Director of UN Women. “When women are missing, democracy is incomplete.”

Despite making up half of the world’s population, women today account for just 26 per cent of news subjects and sources globally, a figure that has barely shifted in the last 15 years, the report found.

“A radical rethink is needed so that media can play its role in advancing equality,” Ms. Madi said. “Without women’s voices, there is no full story, no fair democracy, no lasting security and no shared future.”

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How AI, gaming and virtual worlds are reshaping Holocaust remembrance

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“At the moment, we have an incredibly dispersed and diverse landscape of memory-making, and the more digital we get, the most diverse it gets,” Professor Victoria Grace Richardson-Walden, Director of the Landecker Digital Memory Lab at the University of Sussex, told UN News.

As Holocaust survivors age and first-hand testimony becomes rarer, educators, researchers and designers are increasingly turning to emerging technologies to preserve memory, foster empathy and engage younger generations far beyond museums and classrooms with narrative-driven games and immersive virtual spaces allowing users to not only observe history but interact with it.

© World Jewish Congress/Ohad Kab

Landecker Digital Memory Lab, University of Sussex, participates at a panel discussion: “Technology, Memory, and the Future of Holocaust Remembrance”, at UN Headquarters in New York.

The challenge is no longer whether new technologies should be used, but whether they will be used thoughtfully enough to ensure that memory endures for generations to come as these modern tools open new – and sometimes uncomfortable – questions about interactivity, responsibility and historical truth.

From taboo to tool: ‘Video games and the Holocaust are mainstream’

Long considered the last taboo of Holocaust representation, video games are now increasingly part of the conversation as research-led approaches have seen studios starting to work closely with historians, educators and archives, opening space for designers like Luc Bernard, whose The Light in the Darkness video game follows a Jewish family in Nazi-occupied France.

It doesn’t have a Hollywood ending; I decided to show the real story, which was that most Jews during the Holocaust were murdered.

“It doesn’t have a Hollywood ending; I decided to show the real story, which was that most Jews during the Holocaust were murdered,” said Mr. Bernard, who is currently working on the director’s cut, funded by the Claims Conference and META, which will include the original vision he intended with extra scenes going deeper into the story.

“It’s no longer a taboo subject,” Mr. Bernard said. “Video games and the Holocaust are mainstream.” 

The Light in the Darkness has reached audiences well beyond traditional educational settings, with the average gamer age of 35 among players from countries such as Saudi Arabia that have engaged strongly with the story, he said.

“People relate to the characters, and it’s resonated more with them than even movies around the Holocaust,” he said. “That’s just the power of videogames or any form of art. It depends on how you direct it.”

© World Jewish Congress/Ohad Kab

Luc Bernard, game designer, participates at panel discussion “Technology, Memory, and the Future of Holocaust Remembrance” at UN Headquarters in New York.

Building resilient digital memory

The current landscape requires a fundamental rethink of how Holocaust memory is produced and sustained in the digital age, from interactivity to what it means when users engage with the past in these spaces, said Ms. Richardson-Walden, whose work brings together educators, researchers, policymakers, technology companies and memory institutions worldwide.

Indeed, collaboration is essential, including to ensure Holocaust memory remains resilient as digital formats multiply, she added.

“Without all coming together, we are wasting resources, we are spreading our human resources, our financial resources, our technologies and our time really thinly,” she cautioned, adding that one of the greatest risks lies not in technology itself but in how digital projects are funded.

In addition, short-term initiatives, from apps to virtual exhibitions, are often expensive and quickly become obsolete as software changes causing projects to “break and disappear” alongside the digitised materials, metadata and knowledge behind it, she said. “It’s just all gone.”

Rethinking interactivity and risk: ‘You can’t change the narrative’

Instead, Ms. Richardson-Walden called for investment in shared digital infrastructure. Aligned databases, common standards and permanent digital expertise within institutions would allow memory organizations to adapt quickly as new technologies emerge, whether in gaming, virtual reality or artificial intelligence (AI).

Interactivity is often misunderstood, particularly in discussions about video games, with fears that users might be able to make changes to what happened in the Holocaust, she said.

“But, anyone in the gaming industry understands that is an illusion of agency,” she said. “You can’t change the narrative.”

The Light in the Darkness: Director’s Cut.

AI risks: Catching up with the tech world

At the same time, Ms. Richardson-Walden warned of genuine risks in the current digital environment, especially with the rapid spread of generative AI. Holocaust-related content circulates widely online, making it vulnerable to monetisation without historical understanding or ethical oversight.

“People know the Holocaust performs well online,” she explains. “Holocaust is a well-talked-about subject. People know about it. People want to talk about it, which is great, but also a problem in this sphere because that means it can be monetised.”

Listen to an interview with Professor Victoria Grace Richardson-Wald: 

Pointing to the mass production of AI images on social media, she said “we need to find a way to catch up with the tech world’s speed slightly because otherwise the policy, the discussions we’re having will be so far behind the reality that they’ll become kind of meaningless.”

Catching up with the tech world

Both Mr. Bernard and Ms. Richardson-Walden emphasised that responsibility for digital Holocaust memory extends beyond individual creators, with technology companies, funders and governments working with educators and creatives to develop ethical, sustainable approaches. 

“These conversations used to happen in fringe spaces,” Mrs. Richardson-Walden says, following a panel debate around technology, memory and the future of Holocaust Remembrance at the UN Headquarters in New York.

Connective Holocaust Commemoration Expo 2025 at the University of Sussex, UK.

Now, international forums, including the United Nations, have an important role in turning discussion into coordinated action, 

Watch the Technology, Memory and the Future of Holocaust Remembrance panel discussion at the UN here.

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From shelter to strength: How disaster refuges protect lives in Palau

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Palau’s biodiversity is threatened by rising sea levels.

Climate change, a personal issue

For Techitong, these climate related hazards are deeply personal.

“I fear the places I grew up in might be underwater in the next decades,” he said. “I don’t want future generations to only hear stories about what Palau used to be. That’s what drives me.”

Today, he works with the International Organization for Migration (IOM) in Palau alongside the National Emergency Management Office (NEMO), overseeing the strengthening of climate-resilient disaster shelters across the country.

Techitong visits one of the IOM-supported disaster shelters.

Strengthening national resilience

Techitong’s work is part of a broader effort by the United Nations to support Palau’s resilience to the adverse effects of extreme weather events through an integrated, long-term approach.

The UN works alongside the Government of Palau and civil society across four interconnected pillars: People, planet, prosperity, and peace.

Building community resilience to extreme weather events and strengthening disaster risk reduction cuts across all four of these pillars, as resilience is not only environmental, but also social, economic and institutional.

The shelters Techitong oversees put this vision into practice.

Techitong speaks to one of the construction workers building shelters.

The shelters are designed to function as a connected national network of safe spaces accessible to all people during emergencies.

Built to withstand high winds, heavy rainfall and flooding, they will be equipped with typhoon shutters, rainwater catchment systems, solar lighting, generators, and water filtration systems.

Four out of the eight shelters have already been strengthened and handed over to the community in Palau.

“The strengthened shelters consider the needs of persons with disabilities and other vulnerable people, so no one is left behind during emergencies,” said Alex Iyar, a community member involved in the consultations that led to the development of this project.

Beyond infrastructure, the project is strengthening local capacity. Community-based Red Cross Disaster Action Teams are being trained to manage shelters before, during and after emergencies, reinforcing local leadership and ownership.

It gives me hope that my children still be able to enjoy the best parts of Palau that I grew up with.

Addressing displacement risk and protecting social cohesion

Across the Pacific, climate displacement is increasingly common. According to IOM data on global displacement trends, weather-related disasters have triggered hundreds of millions of internal displacements over the past decade.

Disaster events are fundamentally reshaping patterns of mobility worldwide, disproportionately affecting small island States like Palau.

While disaster shelters cannot stop the sea from rising, they can buy time, protect lives and help communities remain rooted for as long as possible.

For Di Maech, a local Palauan conservation worker, this matters deeply. “In Palau, our communities are learning, growing, and finding ways to be resilient in the face of disasters thanks to UN-supported projects.

“It gives me hope that my children still be able to enjoy the best parts of Palau that I grew up with.”

UN Micronesia/Carlota Nunez

Di Maech is a Palauan conservation worker.

Investing in youth leadership

IOM’s Techitong believes the shelters are central to national resilience. “These shelters are not just emergency refuges, they are community hubs that support preparedness, connection and adaptation,” he said.

Techitong still swims in the ocean when he can. The water remains beautiful, powerful and deeply familiar, even as it carries new uncertainty.

“I grew up learning how to move with the waves,” he says. “Now my work is about making sure our communities can do the same. Adapt, protect each other, and keep Palau standing.”

UN Micronesia/Carlota Nunez

Young Palauans play volleyball in Kuabes park, an area that could be underwater in the next 30 years.

Pakistan: Guterres condemns deadly suicide bombing at Islamabad mosque

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In a statement issued by his spokesperson, Secretary-General António Guterres said he condemned the bombing “in the strongest terms.”

Call for accountability

“The Secretary-General reiterates that attacks against civilians and places of worship are unacceptable,” the statement said, stressing that those responsible “must be identified and brought to justice.”

Mr. Guterres extended his condolences to the families of the victims and wished “a full and speedy recovery to those injured.” He also reaffirmed “the solidarity of the United Nations with the Government and people of Pakistan in their efforts to combat terrorism and violent extremism.”

Attack during Friday prayers

According to media reports, at least 31 people were killed and more than 160 injured when a suicide bomber detonated the explosive device at a Shia mosque in the Tarlai area of Islamabad.

Police said the attacker opened fire at the gates of the mosque before triggering the explosion after being confronted by security guards.

A state of emergency has been declared in the capital and hospitals have appealed for blood donations. The attack has been described as the deadliest of its kind in Islamabad in over a decade.

‘Deeply shocked and saddened’

The UN Resident Coordinator in Pakistan, Mo Yahya, said he was “deeply shocked and saddened by the horrifying attack at an Imambargah in Islamabad, where people were gathered for Friday prayers.”

“I extend my deepest sympathies to the victims and their families,” he said, adding: “We should stand together in opposing such senseless violence.”

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Nuclear disarmament at breaking point as mistrust grows – but hope remains

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Yet even as the architecture weakens, signs of progress – including nuclear-weapon-free zones and rising youth engagement – offer grounds for cautious hope, a UN researcher on nuclear non-proliferation has told UN News.

Gaukhar Mukhatzhanova, a fellow with the UN Institute for Disarmament Research (UNIDIR) – an autonomous institute studying disarmament and international security issues – said that decades of arms control built through painstaking negotiations are now at risk of unravelling.

“The situation right now is very difficult,” she added.  

“We are observing the disintegration of the arms control architecture that was built primarily through negotiations between [the then] Soviet Union – and subsequently Russia – and the United States.”

Gaukhar Mukhatzhanova, briefs the Security Council on nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation. (November 2025)

Arms control architecture under strain

That erosion has left the global non-proliferation regime increasingly fragile, with most Cold War-era agreements either abandoned or expired. The 2010 US-Russia New START accord – which capped deployed strategic nuclear warheads – expired this week without a successor in place.

While both American and Russian presidents acknowledged the dangers of a renewed nuclear arms race, no replacement for the New START is currently under negotiation.

This is a troubling backdrop for the next review conference of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT), scheduled for April-May in New York, Ms. Mukhatzhanova said.

Opened for signature in 1968 and extended indefinitely in 1995, the NPT remains the only binding multilateral treaty requiring nuclear-weapon States to pursue disarmament.  

However, the political conditions that once made cooperation possible have deteriorated sharply, added Ms. Mukhatzhanova.

“We are back to a period of severe mistrust between the major actors – arguably worse than during the Cold War,” she said.

We are back to a period of severe mistrust between the major actors – arguably worse than during the Cold War

Challenges and emerging risks

Statements by the US suggesting a possible resumption of certain forms of nuclear testing have raised alarm, even if limited to so-called “subcritical experiments” – highly explosive tests where no chain reaction is involved.

Such moves, Ms. Mukhatzhanova said, risk undermining the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT) and reopening questions many hoped were settled.

“If full-scale explosive testing were to return,” she warned, “we are talking about a really drastic and very negative change – one that would open the door for others to resume nuclear testing.”

New technology, new risks

Hypersonic weapons, autonomous systems and artificial intelligence are accelerating arms competition and increasing the risk of miscalculation.

“The concern is that too much is left to the decision of a machine,” Ms. Mukhatzhanova said, warning that AI-driven early-warning systems could misinterpret data and trigger inadvertent escalation.

She noted recent UN resolutions calling for “meaningful human control” over nuclear-related technologies.

Hiroshima, shortly after a nuclear bomb was dropped on this city in August 1945.

Room for progress remains

Despite the grim outlook, she highlighted areas where progress continues.

Nuclear-weapon-free zones – covering Latin America and the Caribbean, Africa, Southeast Asia, the South Pacific and Central Asia – demonstrate how states can pursue security without nuclear weapons.

“They are a feel-good story,” she said, describing them as practical examples of cooperation even amid global tensions. The Central Asian zone stands out for its strong verification standards and links to broader non-proliferation commitments.

Young people engaging

Ms. Mukhatzhanova also pointed to growing engagement by younger generations, who increasingly question the long-standing narrative that nuclear weapons guarantee security.

“They are ready to challenge that framing,” she said. “That gives me hope.”

While the arms control system may be fraying, she argued that history shows it can be rebuilt.

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