Will those responsible for atrocities in Syria finally face justice?
18/1/2025: Mandated by the UN, the International Impartial and Independent Mechanism has been amassing evidence of atrocities in Syria over recent years. Hopes are rising that the architects of the brutal former regime of Bashar al Assad will eventually be held accountable for their crimes.
Source: UN News
OECD nations continue to raid aid budgets for refugees
17/1/2025: Country members of OECD’s Development Assistance Committee (DAC) are allowed to classify costs relating to asylum seekers within their own borders as foreign aid. In 2023 14.6% of all DAC foreign aid was spent on domestic refugee costs, despite calls to limit this offset.
Source: Devex
UNRWA chief welcomes Gaza ceasefire
17/1/2025: Philippe Lazzarini, Commissioner-General of the UN Agency for Palestine refugees (UNRWA) has warned that the Gaza ceasefire and hostage deal is only the first step in addressing the region’s overwhelming humanitarian challenges. He is concerned about the dire consequences of Israeli legislation that would terminate UNRWA’s operations in the Occupied Palestinian Territory.
Source: UN News
Ceasefire between Israel and Hamas has shaky foundation
16/1/2025: The power dynamics between Israel and Hamas are highly asymmetrical., given that Israel has the far superior military strength. However, from the first day of the agreement, large quantities of humanitarian aid, relief materials and fuel will be allowed to enter Gaza.
Source: The Conversation
African countries adopt new 10-year agriculture strategy
15/1/2025: The Kampala Declaration, a 10-year strategy adopted by the African Union, commits to increasing the continent’s agricultural output by 45% and tripling intra-African trade in agrifood products by 2035.
Source: Devex
Ceasefire will not repair lives shattered by Israel’s genocide in Gaza
15/1/2025: Reacting to the potential ceasefire agreement, Amnesty International regrets that the international community has failed to persuade Israel to comply with its legal obligations - and calls for immediate lifesaving supplies to reach all parts of the occupied Gaza Strip.
Source: Amnesty International
Call for European Commission to resist US sanctions on the ICC
15/1/2025: The inauguration of a new Trump Administration raises the possibility of US sanctions against the International Criminal Court, its officials, and those cooperating with it. Human Rights Watch is calling on the European Commission to defend and protect the Court, at a critical juncture for the rules-based international order.
Source: Human Rights Watch
What Trump’s second term means for climate action
15/1/2025: The new US president is expected to exit the Paris Agreement, slash climate finance and wage war on science. Trump’s team is also reportedly mulling a more audacious attempt to pull the US out of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), the instrument underpinning global climate action.
Source: Climate Home News
Security Council reform: when and how it can be done
14/1/2025: At the Summit of the Future in September 2024, world leaders made a commitment to consider reforming the Security Council. Five key issues will be explored in negotiations: the size of an enlarged Security Council, membership categories, regional representation, veto-related questions and the relationship between the Security Council and the General Assembly.
Source: PassBlue
Journalist jailings near record high in 2024
16/1/2025: A total of 361 journalists were behind bars towards the end of 2024, the second-highest number on record, according to a new report released by the Committee to Protect Journalists. China, Israel, and Myanmar were the leading jailers of reporters, followed by Belarus and Russia.
Source: Committee to Protect Journalists