Gaza: ‘Unacceptable’ choice between getting shot or getting fed
11/7/2025: The UN Human Rights Office has serious concerns about respect for essential international humanitarian law in relation to killings of Gazans at or around aid distribution sites operated by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation. Since 27 May, the Office has recorded 798 killings in the vicinity of the Foundation sites.
Source: UN News
US terminates protected status for Afghans
10/7/2025: The Trump administration’s termination of Temporary Protected Status for Afghans leaves over 11,000 Afghans in the US subject to immediate detention and deportation. Women and girls who are returned to Afghanistan will be particularly vulnerable.
Source: Human Rights Watch
US sanctions UN expert Francesca Albanese over Israel criticism
9/7/2025: The US administration has imposed sanctions on the UN special rapporteur on the occupied Palestinian territory over her documentation of Israel’s abuses against Palestinians during its war on Gaza. Albanese appears to dismiss the Trump administration’s economic penalties, calling them ‘mafia-style intimidation techniques’.
Source: Al Jazeera
Europe’s top rights court finds Russia responsible for downing of MH17
9/7/2025: Europe's top human rights court has ruled unanimously that Russia was responsible for the downing of Malaysian Airlines flight MH17 in 2014 and also that Moscow has repeatedly and systematically violated human rights in Ukraine. The court is expected to rule in due course on possible compensation but it has no way of enforcing its rulings.
Source: Reuters
ICC issues warrant for Taliban’s supreme leader for persecution of women
8/7/2025: The International Criminal Court has issued arrest warrants for two senior Taliban leaders, accusing them of crimes against humanity for the persecution of women and girls. A recent UN report highlighted the suspension of a law on violence against women.
Source: The Guardian
When journalism disappears, so does democracy
7/7/2025: The sudden, chaotic, and unpredictable nature of the US cuts in funding for independent journalism abroad has hit hard. In countries like Myanmar, Sudan, and Venezuela, the loss of funding hasn’t just meant fewer headlines – it has meant fewer protections against propaganda, censorship, and state violence.
Source: The New Humanitarian
WFP airdrops food to prevent catastrophe in South Sudan
7/7/2025: The UN's World Food Programme is delivering emergency food assistance to South Sudan’s Upper Nile State, where surging conflict has forced families from their homes. More than one million people across Upper Nile are facing acute hunger, including over 32,000 people already experiencing catastrophic levels of hunger, on the brink of famine.
Source: World Food Programme
UN rights review should call for urgent reform in Vietnam
7/7/2025: As the UN Human Rights Committee approaches its periodic review into civil and political rights in Vietnam, Human Rights Watch alleges that repression in the country has worsened. Rights activists and bloggers who criticize the government face police intimidation. And Vietnam is the world’s third largest jailer of journalists.
Source: Human Rights Watch
Green Climae Fund approves record $1.2 billion for projects
7/7/2025: Despite the Trump administration rescinding $4 billion in pledges, the Green Climate Fund aims to approve at least $3 billion in funding to organizations this year. It has adopted sweeping reforms to accelerate its accreditation system for organizations applying for funds.
Source: Devex
Takeaways from the 4th International Conference on Financing for Development
7/7/2025: The Conference coincided with dark times for global development, as foreign aid budgets are slashed, sovereign debt escalates and the US refiused to participate. Nonetheless, the Sevilla Commitment attempted to map out a way to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals by 2030, while the Sevilla Platform for Action — a string of more than 100 initiatives launched throughout the conference — aimed to bring that map to reality.
Source: Devex