“Nowhere is safe in Ukraine,” said Miroslav Jenča, Assistant Secretary-General for Europe at the UN Department of Political Affairs. Citing figures from the UN human rights office, OHCHR, he said civilian casualties reached a three-year high in June, with 6,754 civilians killed or injured in the first half of 2025...
These abuses include threats, cases of torture, mistreatment and arbitrary arrest and detention, according to the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) and the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR). The report said these violations were committed against Afghans “based on their profile” and targeted women,...
In the first half of 2025, only 17,000 births were recorded, according to Gazan health authorities, representing a 41 per cent decline in Gaza’s birth rate over the past three years, the agency said. “Every mother and child deserves the right to a safe birth and a healthy start to...
Across the Gaza Strip, as people desperately search for food, mass casualty incidents are reported almost daily, UN Spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric, told reporters at his regular briefing in New York. Hospitals, already under immense strain, are struggling to cope and lack of essential supplies – including fuel and medicines –...
At Tuesday’s regular briefing at the UN Headquarters, in New York, Spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric relayed warnings from the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian affairs (OCHA), citing urgent concerns across the country. “Across Sudan, we continue to be deeply concerned about the humanitarian impact of the ongoing fighting, which...
The situation is particularly dire in El Fasher, the capital of North Darfur province, which has witnessed some of the worst episodes of the ongoing conflict between rival militaries. Those remaining in El Fasher are facing “extreme shortages” of food and clean water, with markets repeatedly disrupted, UN Spokesperson Stéphane...
Alarmingly, 110 million children in the region live in countries affected by war, with homes, schools and health facilities damaged or destroyed in fighting. “A child’s life is being turned upside down the equivalent of every five seconds due to the conflicts in the region,” said Edouard Beigbeder, UNICEF Regional...
In a statement issued by his spokesperson, António Guterres expressed alarm over the dangerous escalation and the rising toll on civilians. He reiterated that attacks against civilians and critical infrastructure are prohibited under international law and called for an immediate and unconditional ceasefire. “These strikes disrupted the power supply to...
Roza Otunbayeva, the Secretary-General’s Special Representative and head of the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA), said the ongoing missile attacks between Iran and Israel are already having a tangible impact. “This conflict is already having an effect in Afghanistan, disrupting trade and increasing the prices of basic goods and...
Speaking to journalists in Deir al Balah on Saturday, Jonathan Whittall, who heads the UN humanitarian coordination office (OCHA) in Gaza and the West Bank, said: “The attempt to survive is being met with a death sentence.” Since Israel eased its total blockade last month, more than 400 people are...
At least 48,384 individuals – mostly civilians – were killed in 2024, based on casualties recorded by OHCHR. “Behind every statistic is a story. Behind every data point, a person,” said UN rights chief Volker Türk. This alarming rise in civilian deaths exposes major failures to protect some of the most...
But hunger has followed them. Over 57 per cent of the population in the world’s youngest country to the south is already facing high levels of acute food insecurity. Sudan and South Sudan are among five global hunger hotspots of “highest concern”, trapped in a worsening cycle of conflict, climate...