South Sudan: UN and rights experts warn against risk of mass violence in Jonglei

UNMISS expressed grave concern following reports that a senior military leader is urging troops to inflict discriminate violence against civilians, with more than 180,000 people fleeing their homes.   “Inflammatory rhetoric calling for violence against civilians, including the most vulnerable, is utterly abhorrent and must stop now,” Graham Maitland, Officer in Charge, said on Sunday.  Ongoing hostilities  South Sudan – the […]

Asia: Lives upended by cyclones, ‘extreme’ rainfall on the rise, warn UN agencies

World Meteorological Organization (WMO) spokesperson Clare Nullis told reporters in Geneva that Indonesia, the Philippines, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Viet Nam are among the countries most affected by what she described as “a combination of monsoon-related rainfall and tropical cyclone activity”. UN Secretary-General António Guterres expressed his deep sadness over the tragic loss of life across the […]

‘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) […]

The descent into ‘a massive famine’ in Gaza has begun, relief agencies warn

The descent into ‘a massive famine’ in Gaza has begun, relief agencies warn

Although the private aid platform run by the US and Israeli-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation continues to receive its own supplies, “we are on a descent into a massive famine”, insisted Jens Laerke, spokesperson for the UN aid coordination office, OCHA, on Friday. Referring to the latest catastrophic assessment of food insecurity in Gaza from the […]

UN agencies warn of rising heat stress risks for workers worldwide

UN agencies warn of rising heat stress risks for workers worldwide

The new joint report, Climate change and workplace heat stress, underscores the mounting risks as climate change fuels longer, more extreme, and more frequent heatwaves. Stressing that workers in agriculture, construction, and fisheries are already suffering the impacts of dangerous temperatures, the report points out that vulnerable groups in developing countries – including children, older adults, […]

UN officials warn of starvation amid ‘gender emergency’ in war-torn Sudan

UN officials warn of starvation amid ‘gender emergency’ in war-torn Sudan

Particularly hard hit is El Fasher, where hunger is growing, with the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) warning of a deteriorating situation that is putting even more civilians’ lives at risk. OCHA’s Director of Operations and Advocacy, Edem Wosornu, who is currently in the country, said the suffering is immense, with people […]

No fuel, no aid, no escape: UN agencies warn of looming collapse in Gaza

No fuel, no aid, no escape: UN agencies warn of looming collapse in Gaza

“Fuel is the backbone of survival in Gaza,” said the statement. “Without fuel, these lifelines will vanish for 2.1 million people.” UN humanitarian workers stressed that fuel powers everything from hospitals and water systems to bakeries and ambulances. Without a steady supply, “maternity, neonatal and intensive care units are failing, and ambulances can no longer […]

Gaza: Families deprived of the means for survival, humanitarians warn

Gaza: Families deprived of the means for survival, humanitarians warn

“As humanitarian assistance and basic services dwindle, people in Gaza have been increasingly deprived of the means for their survival,” UN Spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric told reporters at the UN Headquarters in New York. It has been 17 weeks since any fuel has entered Gaza, according to Mr. Dujarric – a critical shortage that forced the […]

Gaza: As last fuel supplies run out, aid teams warn of catastrophe

Gaza: As last fuel supplies run out, aid teams warn of catastrophe

Speaking from Gaza City in the north of occupied territory, Olga Cherevko from the UN aid coordination office, OCHA, said that water pumps had stopped at one site for displaced people there on Wednesday “because there’s no fuel”. “We are really – unless the situation changes – hours away from a catastrophic decline and a […]

Scam centres are a ‘human rights crisis’, independent experts warn

Scam centres are a ‘human rights crisis’, independent experts warn

It’s believed that hundreds of thousands of trafficked individuals of various nationalities are forced to carry out fraud in the centres located across Cambodia, Myanmar, Laos, the Philippines and Malaysia. “The situation has reached the level of a humanitarian and human rights crisis,” said right experts Tomoya Obokata, Siobhán Mullally and Vitit Muntarbhorn. They stressed […]