Famine stalks Gaza as Israel blocks aid at the border
14/5/2025: The entire population of Gaza, or 2.1 million people, is facing severe and prolonged food shortages, with 1 in 5 now on the brink of starvation, as Israel blocks aid from entering the territory. Gaza already meets the first threshold to trigger a formal declaration of famine, and humanitarian officials warn it is on the edge of the two others.
Source: Devex
Broad backing for UN peacekeeping as global threats mount
14/5/2025: More than 130 countries have pledged military, technical and political support to UN peacekeeping at a high-level ministerial summit in Berlin. Peacekeeping remains one of the UN’s most visible activities, with over 61,000 uniformed personnel from 119 countries currently deployed across 11 missions.
Source: UN News
UN chief outlines ‘painful’ survival plan for world body
12/5/2025: UN Secretary-General António Guterres proposes steep cuts in the agency's spending, staff, and programs, in response to the Trump administration’s campaign to cut up to 87% of its contributions to UN activities. Guterres outlined a series of measures, from layoffs to the relocation of staff to less expensive countries.
Source: Devex
Israel’s Gaza aid plan crosses red lines for UN
9/5/2025: Participating in Israeli plans to enforce a military-controlled aid system in Gaza could implicate the UN in ongoing atrocity crimes, just one of the warnings in an internal UN briefing. The UN and many humanitarian NGOs have refused to participate, but face pressure from the US to get in line.
Source: The New Humanitarian
US toys with membership of World Trade Organization
9/5/2025: The US has not paid its annual contribution to the World Trade Organization, whilst blatantly violating and exploiting the core provisions of its rules. The Trump administration is reviewing US membership of international organizations.
Source: Third World Network
Bill Gates accelerates distribution from Gates Foundation
8/5/2025: Bill Gates has announced that he will make available virtually all his remaining fortune to the Gates Foundation in the next 20 years, rather than extending 20 years after his death. This is his response to cuts in national aid budgets by countries led by the US.
Source: Devex
Human Development progress slows to a 35-year low
6/5/2025: Apart from the Covid years, human development has advanced at its lowest rate since 1990, according to the annual report of the UN Development Programme. For the fourth year in a row inequality between low and very high income countries continues to increase.
Source: UN Development Programme
Israel’s INGO Registration Measures threaten humanitarian operations
6/5/2025: Oxfam, together with 54 organisations operating in Israel and the occupied Palestinian territory call on the international community to resist new Israeli registration rules for international NGOs. These rules appear designed to assert control over humanitarian and peacebuilding operations, and silence advocacy grounded in international human rights law.
Source: Oxfam International
UN concerns mount for Sustainable Development Goals
6/5/2025: In preparation for the June Conference on Financing for Development, the UN Secretary-General has warned that the Sustainable Development Goals are dramatically off track, exacerbated by a massive financing gap. More worrying still is that global collaboration is being actively questioned.
Source: Third World Network
Mali’s return to democracy suffers new blow
5/5/2025: The military junta in Mali has taken steps to retain its leader as President until 2030 and to dissolve all political parties. Since the coup, the junta has carried out a relentless assault against political opposition, civil society groups and the media.
Source: Human Rights Watch