Absent US looms large over Human Rights Council
24/2/2025: US President Donald Trump has severed ties with the UN Human Rights Council, in stark contrast with former president Joe Biden’s efforts to re-engage the US in multilateral diplomacy. Last year, the US was the Human Rights Office’s largest donor, accounting for 13 per cent of voluntary donations.
Source: Geneva Solutions
Court says thousands of USAID staff can be put on leave
22/2/2025: A US federal judge has reversed a recent court order block on the Trump administration’s efforts to cut USAID’s staff. Over the last month, the agency’s 10,000 staff members have faced wave after wave of furloughs, terminations, and suspensions. Now it seems that these will continue.
Source: Devex
After US retreat, countries clash over support for Green Climate Fund
21/2/2025: The loss of US funding puts at risk the capacity of the Global Climate Fund to help developing countries adopt clean energy and adapt to climate change. Pressure may grow on China and the Gulf States to contribute towards the new UN climate finance goal agreed at COP29 last November.
Source: Climate Home News
The right to seek asylum does not exist at US-Mexico border
20/2/2025: Amnesty International has found that the right to seek asylum in the US is non-existent at the US-Mexico border, in violation of US human rights national and international obligations. These findings stem from the Trump administration’s executive actions and the increased militarization of the border by the Mexican government.
Source: Amnesty International
How will Trump freeze on USAID affect millions around the world?
20/2/2022: Within hours of taking office on 20 January, the US president, Donald Trump, announced an immediate 90-day freeze on $40bn for international projects coming from the US Agency for International Development. The Guardian explains the far-reaching consequences.
Source: The Guardian
IRC cutting thousands of staff after US aid freeze
19/2/2025: The International Rescue Committee is cutting thousands of staff, in another sign of turmoil as the US aid funding freeze continues. Layoffs and furloughs have hit many international NGOs and UN agencies are beginning cuts, particularly for resettlement-related programmes.
Source: The New Humanitarian
Trump’s proposed Gaza takeover denounced as ethnic cleansing
19/2/2025: President Trump has threatened to “seize Gaza,” turn it into a “Riviera of the Middle East,” and move Palestinians to Egypt and Jordan. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has condemned Trump’s plan, stating that: “ethnic cleansing is not acceptable in our world.”
Source: Inter Press Service
Global Fund launches $18 billion replenishment in tough environment
18/2/2025: The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria is seeking $18 billion to continue its lifesaving work, claiming a return of $19 in health and economic benefit for every dollar invested. The Global Fund has been dependent on the US for about 30% of its funding.
Source: Devex
How Zambia seeks to cash in on the global drive for EVs
18/2/2025: Intense Chinese and Western interest in Zambia’s copper resources brings the potential to lift people out of poverty, free the country from debt and meet its development goals. Ensuring local people benefit requires the nation to address its large informal mining economy.
Source: Climate Home News
EU pressed to act on Rwanda-backed atrocities in Eastern DR Congo
17/2/2025: The European Parliament is calling on European Union executives to take action on the Rwanda-backed M23 armed group which is accused of mass displacement, indiscriminate shelling and killings and widespread sexual violence in the conflict in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Source: Human Rights Watch