Joint NGOs call on UN to urge a ceasefire in Gaza
29/2/2024: Leading non-governmental humanitarian agencies have appealed to the UN to demand an immediate ceasefire in Gaza. This move followed a stark warning given to the UN Security Council that at least 576,000 people in the Gaza Strip are facing famine-like conditions.
Source: Oxfam International
Somalia-Turkey pact inflames maritime spat with Ethiopia
26/2/2024: The recent Turkey-Somalia defence and economic cooperation agreement comes amid growing frustration over Ethiopia's maritime deal with Somaliland. The future of maritime security in the Horn of Africa rests on the delicate balance between safeguarding legitimate interests and respecting territorial integrity.
Source: DW
As conflicts spiral, five ideas to bolster the UN’s peace commission
21/2/2024: The UN Peacebuilding Commission is a small agency working with conflict-affected countries to map out solutions to secure sustainable peace. It operates separately from peacekeeping missions, which are mandated by the Security Council. The Commission could play a part in any moves to strengthen the UN peacebuilding architecture.
Source: The New Humanitarian
Why fighting is flaring in eastern DRC, threatening regional stability
20/2/2024: Background notes on the escalating violent clashes between the Democratic Republic of Congo's army and M23 rebels in eastern Congo. The fighting has increased the risk of an all-out conflict between Congo and Rwanda that could suck in neighbours and regional forces including South Africa, Burundi, Uganda, Tanzania and Malawi.
Source: The East African
Myanmar’s military abuses against civilians intensify
30/1/2024: Governments that provide arms or materiel to the military junta in Myanmar risk being complicit in war crimes, according to Human Rights Watch. The campaign group says that sanctions have been inconsistent and that governments in the region have turned a blind eye to the junta's rights violations.
Source: Human Rights Watch
Mali’s peace deal ends
26/1/2024: In recent months there has been a surge in attacks by armed Islamist groups across Mali. Meanwhile, UN peacekeepers, deployed since 2013, are withdrawing at the request of the junta. With the end of a 2015 peace agreement, the threat to civilians across Mali remains grave.
Source: Human Rights Watch
The ICJ ruling is a repudiation of Israel and its western backers
26/1/2024: Kenneth Roth, former executive director of Human Rights Watch, observes that enormous damage to the ‘rules-based order’ will be done if the US and UK fail to call on Israel to comply with the order of the International Court of Justice.
Source: The Guardian
UN world court calls for prevention of genocidal acts in Gaza
26/1/2024: The International Court of Justice has ruled that Israel should prevent acts of genocide and allow the entry of humanitarian aid into Gaza. The UN Secretary-General has called on all parties to comply with the Court order.
Source: UN News
US and UK: give peace a chance in Yemen
17/1/2024: Recent military airstrikes by the US and Britain against the Houthis for their naval blockade in the Red Sea could undermine the peace process for the longstanding conflict within Yemen. Saudi Arabia and the Houthis, the main parties to the peace talks, have been edging towards a peace deal.
Source: PassBlue
African Union urges restraint over Ethiopia-Somaliland deal
18/1/2024: The African Union's Peace and Security Council has urged representatives of Ethiopia and Somalia to pursue "meaningful dialogue" after landlocked Ethiopia signed a surprise maritime accord with Somalia's breakaway region of Somaliland. Somalia has vowed to defend its territory by "all legal means."
Source: The East African