Challenges for the Human Rights Council as it turns 20
19/6/2026: It is 20 years since the UN Human Rights Council began its work as the world’s principal forum tasked with promoting and defending fundamental rights everywhere. The current UN-wide funding crisis represents an existential challenge to the Council's human rights investigators who are mandated to monitor situations of concern and encourage action.
Source: UN News
Ebola outbreak accelerates beyond borders of DRC
19/6/2026: The spread of Ebola is accelerating in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, an area where trade, family ties and refugee movements link Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, Tanzania and South Sudan. The UN refugee agency has warned that the risk has become regional.
Source: UN News
World Food Programme welcomes funding by US State Department
17/6/2026: The World Food Programme welcomes the announcement of an $800 million direct contribution by the US State Department. This builds on the existing US funding of pooled funds in support of emergency assistance in 21 countries.
Source: World Food Programme
Worsening hunger puts 13 countries at significant risk
17/6/2026: The latest edition of the Hunger Hotspots report, released twice a year by the UN food agencies, identifies Sudan, South Sudan, Yemen and Palestine as the world's most critical hunger hotspots, with Nigeria and Somalia joining the overall list. Armed conflict and violence remain the primary drivers of acute food insecurity, affecting 12 of the 13 hotspots.
Source: UN Food and Agriculture Organization
UN call to expand refugee resettlement lifeline
16/6/2026: In 2025, approximately 37,000 refugees departed to a new country through the UN's global resettlement programme, down significantly from more than 116,000 in 2024 and only a fraction of over two million refugees seeking a new home. An urgent expansion of refugee resettlement is needed.
Source: UN Refugee Agency
Over 28,000 contacts of Ebola cases aren’t being tracked
16/6/2026: The Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention has warned of major gaps in surveillance of people who have been in contact with the 827 confirmed positive cases of Ebola. In addition to the complex conflict zone where the outbreak is occurring, there are no vaccines or therapeutics for this species of Ebola.
Source: Devex
Global surge in attacks on schools
15/6/2026: At least 8,500 attacks on education took place globally in 2024-2025, a more than 40 percent increase from the previous two-year period, according tothe Global Coalition to Protect Education from Attack. In Ukraine alone, more than 900 attacks on schools were recorded and, by the end of 2025, nearly all schools in Gaza were damaged or destroyed.
Source: Human Rights Watch
Plea for leaders to finalise pandemic agreement
15/6/2026: At the G7 summit in France the Director-General of the World Health Organization, and Brazil’s president, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, issued a joint letter urging world leaders to finalise an agreement on how to deal with future pandemics. The draft treaty is delayed by disagreement on how to share information on pathogens, and what access to vaccines nations should be guaranteed in return.
Source: The Guardian
Aid is being replaced by investment, a dangerous mistake
15/6/2026: The executive director of Oxfam International deplores the deepest cuts in foreign aid on record, precisely as billionaire wealth reaches record highs. Forcing aid to serve the interests of both the donor and recipient country, whilst relying on private finance to fill the gaps. is a flawed strategy.
Source: Devex
Global refugee numbers declined in 2025
11/6/2026: The UN Refugee Agency's annual Global Trends Report shows that global refugee numbers declined in 2025 by 3 per cent to 41.6 million. This is the first reduction in a decade. The largest hosts of refugees and other people in need of international protection in 2025 were Colombia, Germany and Türkiye.
Source: The UN Refugee Agency