Sudan’s people tortured and killed in ‘slaughterhouses’, rights probe says

Sudan’s people tortured and killed in ‘slaughterhouses’, rights probe says

Shortly after presenting a mandated report to the Human Rights Council in Geneva on Tuesday, chair of the Fact-Finding Mission on Sudan, Mohamed Chande Othman, insisted that both the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and Rapid Support Forces (RSF) militia had carried out atrocity crimes. Among the testimonies gathered for the report, survivors from RSF detention […]

Nepal PM resigns after deadly crackdown on youth protests; UN urges calm

Nepal PM resigns after deadly crackdown on youth protests; UN urges calm

The unrest, which began Monday as a self-styled “Gen Z protest” against rampant corruption, nepotism and curbs on social media, quickly escalated after security forces responded with force. Most of the dead and wounded were young demonstrators shot by police. Many remain hospitalised in a critical condition. By Tuesday, demonstrations had spread across the country, […]

Ukraine: Russian strike on village kills over 20, mostly pensioners

Ukraine: Russian strike on village kills over 20, mostly pensioners

The attack on Yarova injured nearly 20 others. Many elderly civilians have decided to stay at home in frontline communities, despite the escalating danger from Russia’s continuing offensive, said Assistant Secretary-General Matthias Schmale, the UN’s top humanitarian official in the country. “This lasting violence continues to tear lives apart. In recent days, the Donetsk region has […]

World News in Brief: UN chief condemns Russian attacks on Ukraine, Gaza crisis continues, protecting civilians in DR Congo

World News in Brief: UN chief condemns Russian attacks on Ukraine, Gaza crisis continues, protecting civilians in DR Congo

Secretary-General António Guterres said it marked a “further escalation” of the conflict. Authorities reported more than 80 civilian casualties, including a national non-governmental organization (NGO) worker and her two-month-old son in Kyiv. Other affected cities included Zaporizhzhia, Odesa, Chernihiv, Kharkiv, Kremenchuk, Kryvyi Rih and Kherson. Energy infrastructure was also hit, causing temporary power and water […]

Guterres strongly condemns terror attack in Jerusalem

Guterres strongly condemns terror attack in Jerusalem

UN Secretary-General António Guterres strongly condemned the terror attack, his Spokesperson said in a statement. “He conveys his heartfelt condolences to the families of the victims and wishes a full and speedy recovery to those who were wounded,” it said. The incident took place at a busy intersection in Ramot, located in the northern outskirts […]

Afghanistan quake: ‘Communities are struggling with basic survival’

Afghanistan quake: ‘Communities are struggling with basic survival’

Briefing correspondents in New York via video link, Shannon O’Hara spoke from Jalalabad on the conditions in Afghanistan just days after the magnitude 6 earthquake and its devastating aftershocks. “We saw families whose lives had been shattered just within a few minutes,” the head of strategy for OCHA in Afghanistan said. Left with nothing “The […]

UN ready to assist Nepal following deadly protests over social media ban

UN ready to assist Nepal following deadly protests over social media ban

Police used tear gas and opened fire on protesters attempting to storm the parliament complex in the capital, Kathmandu, according to media reports.  Curfews have been imposed in parts of the city and in Rupandehi, with restrictions on movement effective in Pokhara. ‘So unlike Nepal’ UN Resident Coordinator Hanaa Fikry Ahmed Singer described the situation […]

UN provides urgent support after ‘massive’ Russian attack across Ukraine

UN provides urgent support after ‘massive’ Russian attack across Ukraine

More than 800 drones were launched in waves designed to overwhelm Ukrainian air defences, according to news reports, and a Government building was hit in the capital Kyiv for the first time. Ukrainian authorities reported that four had been killed, with 44 injured. Air-raid sirens continued for 11 hours straight across the capital and although […]

Window to prevent famine spreading in Gaza is ‘closing fast’, UN warns

Window to prevent famine spreading in Gaza is ‘closing fast’, UN warns

Tom Fletcher’s statement amid what he described as “a massive military offensive” by Israeli forces against Palestinians in Gaza City, and the failure of ceasefire negotiations with Hamas militants. By the end of September famine will likely have spread into Deir al Balah and Khan Younis, he said, unless there is a huge influx of […]

How Local Leadership Powers Indonesia’s Climate Ambitions

How Local Leadership Powers Indonesia’s Climate Ambitions

Indonesia’s national climate strategy aims to achieve net-zero emissions by 2060. A key component of this strategy is for forests to absorb 140 million tonnes of CO₂ annually, equivalent to taking 30 million cars off the road. Riau’s contribution to this goal is critical. The province has historically faced some of the highest rates of deforestation […]

UN chief hails ‘remarkable example’ of Papua New Guinea as he concludes historic trip

UN chief hails ‘remarkable example’ of Papua New Guinea as he concludes historic trip

Flanked by the country’s Prime Minister, James Marape, Mr. Guterres echoed comments he made during a speech in the national parliament on Wednesday, in which he described Papua New Guineans as “champions of multilateralism and international solutions.” The Secretary-General noted that, in a world where “we see democratic values being put into question,” the country – […]

A fourth generation nuclear survivor’s push for justice

A fourth generation nuclear survivor’s push for justice

“We are not prepared to inherit a legacy of complacency, nor can we continue to live in the shadow of these weapons,” she told the commemoration inside the gilded UN General Assembly Hall. As the Youth Representative of the Republic of Kiribati, Ms. Johnson is one of the many young people around the world whose […]

UN chief hails ‘remarkable example’ of Papua New Guinea as he concludes historic trip

UN chief hails ‘remarkable example’ of Papua New Guinea as he concludes historic trip

Flanked by the country’s Prime Minister, James Marape, Mr. Guterres echoed comments he made during a speech in the national parliament on Wednesday, in which he described Papua New Guineans as “champions of multilateralism and international solutions.” The Secretary-General noted that, in a world where “we see democratic values being put into question,” the country – […]

‘A war of atrocities’ – UN human rights investigators warn Sudanese civilians are paying the highest price

‘A war of atrocities’ – UN human rights investigators warn Sudanese civilians are paying the highest price

“They burned everything,” said one witness of a shelling attack in the Zamzam displacement camp in war-torn Darfur. “They claimed they only wanted to fight soldiers, but they punished the whole community.” The war crimes and human rights violations perpetrated by all parties to the conflict between the military government and Rapid Support Forces (RSF) […]

Amid escalating attacks in Gaza, UN rights chief calls on US to withdraw sanctions against Palestinian rights groups

Amid escalating attacks in Gaza, UN rights chief calls on US to withdraw sanctions against Palestinian rights groups

The measures announced on Thursday target Al-Haq group, the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (PCHR) and Al-Mezan Center for Human Rights, in relation to their support of the work of the International Criminal Court (ICC) on the situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, following other sanctions imposed by the US Government in June on renowned […]

The missing half: The urgent need for more women’s representation in the media

The missing half: The urgent need for more women’s representation in the media

“When women are missing, democracy is incomplete,” said Kirsi Madi, Assistant Secretary-General and Deputy Executive Director with the UN gender equality agency, UN Women, responding to the latest analysis. Ms. Madi emphasised that the underrepresentation and misrepresentation of women in the media needs to be recognised as a key issue, so that democratic standards are not eroded for future generations. […]

The ‘unthinkable’ is underway in Gaza City, UNICEF warns

The ‘unthinkable’ is underway in Gaza City, UNICEF warns

Tess Ingram, Communication Manager for UNICEF’s Middle East and North Africa Regional Office, recently spent nine days there, describing it as “a city of fear, flight and funerals.”    “The last refuge for families in the northern Gaza Strip is fast becoming a place where childhood cannot survive,” she said, speaking from the enclave to journalists […]