UN Commission finds that Israel has committed genocide in Gaza
17/9/2025: The UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory has found that Israel is responsible for committing genocide in Gaza, citing deliberate efforts to destroy Palestinian life. Israeli officials have dismissed the Commission’s findings, accusing it of bias and refusing to cooperate with its investigations.
Source: Inter Press Service
North Korea: ‘lost decade’ of rights abuses
16/9/2025: A new UN report finds that the North Korean government has increased the use of surveillance, forced labor, and severe punishments over the past decade, maintaining “total control” over its population. The majority of the 19 recommendations made by a Commission of Inquiry in 2014 have not been implemented.
Source: Human Rights Watch
Thousands of Afghans return under adverse circumstances from Pakistan
12/9/2025: As Pakistan resumes implementation of its “Illegal Foreigners Repatriation Plan,” nearly 100,000 Afghans crossed back from Pakistan in the first week of September alone. Many are arriving in areas where local communities are struggling to recover from a devastating earthquake.
Source: UN Refugee Agency
UN General Assembly endorses two-State solution for Israel and Palestine
12/9/2025: 142 member countries have voted in favour of the New York Declaration, a document setting out a solution to the conflict in Gaza. The roadmap involves an immediate ceasefire, release of all hostages held there, and the establishment of a Palestinian State that is both viable and sovereign, and which excludes Hamas from any governance role.
Source: UN News
Democracy weakened as press freedom hits 50-year low
11/9/2025: The Global State of Democracy report for 2025 reveals a global trend of democracy under threat, with 54 per cent of countries falling in at least one key indicator in 2024. Freedom of the press suffered its most far-reaching fall in 50 years.
Source: International IDEA
Risk averse investors undermine Africa’s clean energy goals
10/9/2025: The World Bank estimates that around 600 million people in sub-Saharan Africa lack access to electricity. Ambitious targets for new renewable energy capacity by 2030 are struggling over lack of investment capital.
Source: Climate Home News
Global military spending undermines development goals, says UN Secretary General
10/9/2025: Global military spending has been on the rise for more than 20 years, and in 2024 it surged across all five global regions to reach a record high. A new report by the UN Secretary-General encourages countries to prioritize diplomacy and multilateralism to protect global security - and avoid diversion of financial resources away from the Sustainable Development Goals.
Source: Inter Press Service
Trends noted at the 2025 Africa Food Systems Forum
10/9/2025: The first gathering of African food systems experts since the US government withdrew most of its foreign aid funding ended with promising indications that the continent is trying to stimulate its own agricultural production with locally sourced financing
Source: Devex
UN human rights chief denounces “glorification of violence”
10/9/2025: Mr Volker Turk, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, has warned that the long-established rules of war “are being shredded”, with virtually no accountability, coupled with a troubling erosion of international law. He reaffirmed that human rights are a beacon of hope in the search for a better world.
Source: Third World Network
Uganda welcomes refugees despite diminishing funds
9/9/2025: Since the start of 2025, an average of 600 people, mostly from Sudan, South Sudan, and the Democratic Republic of Congo, have been arriving in Uganda each day. The East African country currently hosts nearly 2 million refugees, over half of them children. Resources are stretched with crowded schools, inadequate shelter, and limited access to food and health care.
Source: UN Refugee Agency