WHO comments on US announcement of intent to withdraw
21/1/2025: The World Health Organization regrets the announcement that the US intends to withdraw from the Organization. The US was a founding member of WHO in 1948 and has participated in shaping and governing WHO’s work ever since. WHO plays a crucial role in protecting the health and security of the world’s people, including Americans.
Source: World Health Organization
Trump orders US to quit Paris Agreement and pause climate finance
21/1/2025: On his first day in office, US President Donald Trump officially began the one-year process of leaving the 2015 Paris climate agreement. The US provided around $11 billion in 2024 to help developing countries reduce emissions and adapt to climate change.
Source: Climate Home News
Billionaire wealth surges by $2 trillion in 2024
20/1/2025: As business elites gather in Davos for the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum, Oxfam has released data showing that the wealth of the world’s ten richest men grew on average by almost $100 million a day during 2024. Meanwhile, the number of people living in poverty has barely changed since 1990.
Source: Oxfam International
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