02/02/2026

Parents and Teachers in Nigeria: We Are Scared Our Children Could Be Kidnapped and Killed

Human Wrongs Watch

Text: Samuel Jegede and Kristine Grønhaug
Photo: Samuel Jegede

Violent attacks. The Boko Haram crisis. Fighting over land. Economic insecurity. There are many dangers facing the people of Nigeria. What is it like for parents, teachers and children to live with these threats?

“We don’t have peace of mind. We never know what could happen, whether we’re at home or on our farm or elsewhere. You can be attacked anywhere nowadays,” said Aishatu Musa, mother of four (pictured above).

Here you will hear from some of them.

02/02/2026

Can Workers Compete with Machines and Stay Relevant in the AI Era?

Human Wrongs Watch

(UN News)* — AI looks set to be transformative for us all, but it also brings a real risk of job losses and widening social and economic divides. UN experts are focusing on how to manage that transition, to ensure the benefits of the technology outweigh the threats.

A metallic, liquid-like human brain set against a futuristic circuit board background, symbolizing the fusion of human cognition and artificial intelligence.
© Unsplash/Ecliptic Graphic | Brain-computer interfaces will play a central role in defining how human intelligence and artificial intelligence fit together.

Whether you are a “doomer” or a “boomer” on the subject, it’s impossible to ignore AI, which is seeping into every corner of our personal and professional lives.

The UN has been banging the drum for a “people-first” approach to the subject for years now.

UN Secretary-General António Guterres warned the Security Council back in 2024 that the fate of humanity “must never be left to the ‘black box’ of an algorithm,” and that people must always retain oversight and control over AI decision-making to ensure that human rights are upheld.
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01/02/2026

Greek Immigration Bill Demonizes Civil Society

Human Wrongs Watch

Human Rights Watch*

Halt Passage of Bill to Remove All Abusive Articles

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A group of newly-arrived migrants board a ferry in Souda, on the island of Crete, Greece, July 11, 2025. © 2025 Nicolas Economou/Reuters

The Greek government has introduced an immigration bill with measures that explicitly link nongovernmental groups and humanitarian workers with criminal conduct, when in reality they are helping people in distress trying to reach Greece.

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01/02/2026

The UN Is Being Underminded by the ‘Law of the Junglre’

Human Wrongs Watch

UNITED NATIONS, Jan 30 2026 (IPS)* – UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres was dead on target when he told the Security Council last week that the rule of law worldwide is being replaced by the law of the jungle.
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UN Secretary-General António Guterres (seated at right) speaks to reporters at a press conference at UN Headquarters, in New York. UN Photo/Mark Garten

“We see flagrant violations of international law and brazen disregard for the UN Charter. From Gaza to Ukraine, and around the world, the rule of law is being treated as an à la carte menu,” he pointed out, as mass killings continue.

“The New York Times on January 28 quoted a recent study pointing out the four-year war between Russia and Ukraine has resulted in over “two million killed, wounded or missing.” Continue reading

01/02/2026

Greenland Isn’t the Scandal – The System Is

Human Wrongs Watch

By Raïs Neza Boneza – TRANSCEND Media Service*

20 Jan 2026 – Europe woke up in 2026 with a hangover and a revelation: Wait… we’re a colony?Apparently, watching Nicolás Maduro paraded in Nike gear like a petty criminal was funny—until Europeans realized they, too, are potential Maduros. Same script, better tailoring.

Cue France, Britain or Germany sending troops to do “symbolic” military exercises with Denmark, to “discourage” Donald Trump from annexing Greenland. Symbolic being the key word.

Because let’s be serious for half a second—just half. Europe is already under American military occupation. The main army stationed on European soil is not French, not German, not Danish.

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28/01/2026

Is the US Board of Peace Aimed at Undermining the UN?

Human Wrongs Watch

UNITED NATIONS, Jan 26 2026 (IPS)* – Judging by the mixed signals coming out of the White House, is the Board of Peace, a creation of President Donald Trump, eventually aimed at replacing the UN Security Council or the United Nations itself?
Htet Myat Phone Naing. Credit: Elizabeth Haines/IPS

At a ceremony in Davos, Switzerland last week, Trump formally ratified the Charter of the Board — establishing it as “an official international organization”.

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28/01/2026

Independent Human Rights Experts Alarmed by Child Rights Violations in US Immigration Procedures

Human Wrongs Watch

(UN News)* — UN-appointed independent human rights experts have raised alarm over violations of children’s rights during US immigration procedures, nearly a year after federal funding for legal representation for unaccompanied minors was terminated.
 
The United States Capitol Building, Washington, DC.
© Unsplash/Harold Mendoza | The United States Capitol Building, Washington, DC.

Thousands of children remain in custody without access to legal counsel; a situation the experts warn is forcing minors to navigate complex immigration proceedings alone and undermining their fundamental rights.  

The three Special Rapporteurs, appointed by the UN Human Rights Council, said they are in contact with the US Government on the issue.

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23/01/2026

For Every $1 Spent Protecting Nature, $30 Goes to Destroying It

Human Wrongs Watch

(UN News)* — The world spends billions to protect nature, but trillions are being invested in business activities that harm the environment.

Storm approaching Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
© Unsplash/Nahil Naseer | Storm approaching Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

The UN on Thursday [] issued a call for widespread financial reform as the most powerful way to shift global markets towards realising a better world, for people and the planet.

For every dollar invested in protecting nature, 30 dollars are spent on destroying it – that’s the central finding of the State of Finance for Nature 2026 report, which calls for a major policy shift towards scaling up solutions that help the natural world – and support the economy at the same time.

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18/01/2026

Roots of Evil: Ethnic Cleansing in Europe and the U.S.

Human Wrongs Watch

STOCKHOLM, Sweden, Jan 13 2026 (IPS)* At the moment, ICE’s advancement in the U.S. is apparently dividing the nation’s population into desired and undesirable elements.
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Refugees by Honoré Daumier (1808-1879)

The Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) was born after the September 11, 2001 attacks on the Twin Towers and intended to be a response to terrorism.

However, with Donald Trump’s return to the White House, federal immigration agents have become the president’s praetorian guard, implementing his immigration politics. Continue reading

18/01/2026

Gaza Humanitarian Crisis ‘Far from Being Over’

Human Wrongs Watch

(UN News)* — Three months into the ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, the UN and partners have delivered tonnes of assistance items and carried out critical repairs, but this is only a temporary “Band-Aid” solution, a veteran aid worker warned.

Many Palestinian families are living in poorly equipped shelters that are highly vulnerable to flooding, leaving people inevitably exposed to harsh, stormy weather..
UN News | Many Palestinian families are living in poorly equipped shelters that are highly vulnerable to flooding, leaving people inevitably exposed to harsh, stormy weather.

“The humanitarian situation and crisis in Gaza is far from being over,” Olga Cherevko from the UN aid coordination office OCHA said on Friday [] in an update to journalists in Jerusalem.

“For the Palestinians in Gaza, their lives continue to be defined by displacement, trauma, uncertainty, and deprivation.”

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15/01/2026

Gaza: Physicians Call For Unimpeded Aid To Restore Reproductive Healthcare

Human Wrongs Watch

BRATISLAVA, Jan 14 2026 (IPS)* Israel must lift all restrictions on medicine, food and aid coming into Gaza, rights groups have demanded, as two reports released today (Jan 14) document how maternal and reproductive healthcare have been all but destroyed in the country.
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Cardiologist Dr. Marwan Sultan, then Director of the Indonesian Hospital in north Gaza, in February 2025 showing damage to hospital equipment following an Israeli attack on the facility a few months prior. In July 2025, Dr. Sultan was killed in an Israeli strike on the apartment where he was sheltering with his family. Credit: PHR/GHRC

Cardiologist Dr. Marwan Sultan, then Director of the Indonesian Hospital in north Gaza, in February 2025 showing damage to hospital equipment following an Israeli attack on the facility a few months prior. In July 2025, Dr. Sultan was killed in an Israeli strike on the apartment where he was sheltering with his family. Credit: PHR/GHRC
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15/01/2026

East Jerusalem: Forced Shutdown of UN Clinic Signals Escalating Disregard for International Law

Human Wrongs Watch

(UN News)* — The temporary closure of a UN-run health centre in East Jerusalem is the latest phase in “a pattern of deliberate disregard” for international law, the head of the UN agency that assists Palestine refugees, UNRWA, said on Wednesday [].

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UNRWA Headquarters in East Jerusalem
UNRWA | UNRWA Headquarters in East Jerusalem

Israeli forces stormed the UNRWA-operated health centre on Monday and ordered it to close for 30 days.  They also demanded the removal of UN signage.

Furthermore, water and electricity supply to multiple UNRWA facilities are scheduled to be cut off in the coming weeks, affecting schools, health centres and other critical buildings.

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15/01/2026

Saudi Arabia: Record Number of Executions in 2025

Human Wrongs Watch

By Human Rights Watch*

356 Executions Break Prior Record Second Year in a Row

8f2fe911-a3f1-489d-9a3e-e7f47e4c8270Al-Safat Square, a location where public executions used to take place, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, August 18, 2022. © 2022 Johannes Sadek/dpa/picture alliance via Getty Images

(Beirut) – Saudi authorities executed at least 356 people in 2025, setting a new record in the country for the highest number of executions in one year since monitoring began, Human Rights Watch on 13 January 2026 said.

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15/01/2026

Iran: ‘The Killing of Peaceful Demonstrators Must Stop’ – UN Human Rights Chief

Human Wrongs Watch

(UN News)* — As anti-government demonstrations continue across Iran, the UN human rights chief said on Tuesday [] that he was horrified at the mounting violence directed by security forces against protestors, with reports of hundreds killed and thousands arrested.

Tehran, Iran's capital city.
© Unsplash/Kamran Gholami | Tehran, Iran’s capital city.

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14/01/2026

‘A Torture that Never Stops’: Sri Lanka Failing Survivors of Conflict Sexual Violence – UN

Human Wrongs Watch

By Vibhu Mishra

(UN News)* — Conflict-related sexual violence in Sri Lanka remains largely unaddressed more than 15 years after the end of the civil war, with survivors still denied justice, recognition and reparations, according to a new report by the UN human rights office, OHCHR, on Tuesday [].

 
A 2007 photograph showing a long shot of a man standing in a damaged, roofless structure in Jaffna District, Northern Province, Sri Lanka, amid conflict and displacement following the 2006 ceasefire collapse.
© UNICEF/Ron Haviv | A 2007 photograph of a standing in a from a damaged, roofless structure in Sri Lanka’s Jaffna district, which saw some of the most brutal fighting during the civil war.

It concludes that a legacy of impunity for wartime abuses continues to shape the lives of survivors, many of whom suffer long-term physical injuries, psychological trauma and social exclusion.  

Titled We lost everything – even hope for justice, the report draws on more than a decade of UN monitoring and consultations with survivors, civil society and experts.

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14/01/2026

UN World Court Begins Landmark Hearings on Rohingya Genocide Case against Myanmar

Human Wrongs Watch

By Vibhu Mishra

(UN News)* — Public hearings opened on Monday [] at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in a landmark case brought by the Gambia against Myanmar, alleging violations of the Genocide Convention over the military’s treatment of the Rohingya minority.

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Newly arrived Rohingya refugees, mostly women and children, walk ashore at Shamlapur beach in Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh, after a 5-hour boat journey from Myanmar.
© UNICEF/Patrick Brown | In this September 2017 photograph, a Rohingya man carrying his two children wades ashore in Cox’s Bazar district, Bangladesh, after fleeing Rakhine state on a rickety boat across the Bay of Bengal.
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The proceedings, held at the Peace Palace in The Hague, mark the start of the merits phase in the case, after years of preliminary legal arguments.

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14/01/2026

Gaza: A Ceasefire that Still Kills Children Is Not Enough: UNICEF

Human Wrongs Watch

By Dominika Tomaszewska-Mortimer

(UN News)* — Airstrikes, drone attacks and hypothermia continue in Gaza despite the ceasefire, with more than 100 youngsters killed since early October, the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) said on Tuesday [].

Workers of a WFP-supported hot meals kitchen distribute food in Khan Younis, Gaza. The kitchen prepares over 11,000 daily meals for families affected by the war, continuing to serve the community.
© WFP/Maxime Le Lijour | Children receiving a hot meal at a UN World Food Programme-supported kitchen in Khan Younis, Gaza.

“These children are killed from airstrikes, drone strikes, including suicide drones,” he said, speaking from Gaza City. “They’re killed from tank shelling, they’re killed from live ammunition, they’re killed from [remote-controlled] quadcopters.”

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14/01/2026

Gaza: ‘Ongoing Rainstorms Are Damaging and Destroying Fragile Shelters, Leaving Large Numbers of Displaced People Exposed to the Cold’

Human Wrongs Watch

(UN News)* — The humanitarian crisis across the Gaza Strip remains extremely serious, with harsh winter weather threatening to reverse recent gains in aid delivery, the United Nations said on Monday [].

A young boy stands in a muddy displaced persons camp in Jabalya, North Gaza, holding a bucket. Tents are visible in the background under a cloudy sky.
© UNOCHA | A young boy walks near tents in Jabalya, northern Gaza.

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14/01/2026

Is the US Moving Towards the UN’s Exit Door?

Human Wrongs Watch

UNITED NATIONS, Jan 13 2026 (IPS)* Judging by the mass US withdrawal from 66 UN entities, including UN conventions and international treaties, is it remotely possible that the unpredictable Trump administration may one day decide to pull out of the UN, and force the Secretariat out of New York– despite the 1947 UN-US headquarters agreement?
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Credit: United Nations

Besides the 66, the withdrawals also include the pullouts from the Human Rights Council, the WHO, UNRWA and UNESCO– while imposing drastic reductions in funding for the remaining UN entities the US has not yet formally exited.

So, will the United Nations, which has come under heavy fire, be far behind? Continue reading

11/01/2026

5 Crises to Watch Out For in 2026

Human Wrongs Watch

Occupied Palestinian territory

Displaced Palestinians make their way back to their homes in northern Gaza. Photo: Amjad al Fayoumi/NRC

A fragile ceasefire came into effect in Gaza in October, yet civilians remain in urgent need of food, medicine, shelter, clean water and other essential items and services.

More than 70,000 Palestinians have been killed and 170,000 injured over two years of hostilities, and the death toll continues to rise. 1.9 million people – around 90 per cent of the population – have been forcibly displaced, often multiple times.

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10/01/2026

What the US Withdrawal from UN Bodies Could Mean for Climate, Trade and Development

Human Wrongs Watch

(UN News)* — The United States’ intention to withdraw from a host of UN bodies announced this week targets programmes and initiatives focusing on a wide range of crucial areas, including the climate crisis, trade, gender and development.

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Developing countries, like Iraq (pictured) lack the resources to invest in recovery, climate action and the SDGs.
© WMO/Abbas Raad | Parched earth in Iraq (file)
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When UN Spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric briefed correspondents in New York on Thursday [8 ] following the release of the White House Memorandum, he insisted that the Organization will continue to carry out its mandates from Member States “with determination.”
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Wednesday’s memorandum states that the US administration is “ceasing participation in or funding to those entities to the extent permitted by law.
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Several of the bodies listed in the memo are funded principally or partially by the regular UN budget, implying that voluntary funding will be impacted, although central funding will continue.

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09/01/2026

Skyrocketing Military Spending Undermines Development Aid to World’s Poor

Human Wrongs Watch

UNITED NATIONS, Jan 5 2026 (IPS)* The statistics are staggering: while military spending keeps skyrocketing, Official Development Assistance (ODA)– from the rich to some of the world’s poorer nations– has been declining drastically.
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According to a Fact Sheet released by the UN last week, the $2.7 trillion allocated in just one year (2024) to global military spending amounted to $334 for every person on the planet; the size of the entire Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of all African countries; more than half the GDP of all Latin American countries; 750 times the 2024 UN regular budget; and almost 13 times the amount of ODA provided by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) in 2024. Continue reading

09/01/2026

UN’s ‘Responsibility to Deliver’ Will Not Waver, after US Announces Withdrawal from Dozens of International Organizations

Human Wrongs Watch

By Vibhu Mishra

(UN News)* — UN Secretary-General António Guterres has expressed regret over the decision by the United States to withdraw from a number of UN entities, while underscoring that the system will continue to deliver on all its mandates.

A view of the UN Headquarters, in New York.
UN Photo/Loey Felipe | A view of the UN Headquarters, in New York.
 
“As we have consistently underscored, assessed contributions to the United Nations regular budget and peacekeeping budget, as approved by the General Assembly, are a legal obligation under the UN Charter for all Member States, including the United States,” a statement issued by the UN Spokesperson said on Thursday [].
 
Wednesday night’s presidential memorandum directs US executive departments and agencies to take immediate steps to withdraw from dozens of international organizations, conventions and treaties deemed by Washington to be contrary to US interests.

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09/01/2026

U.S. Withdrawal From International Organizations Triggers Global Alarm

Human Wrongs Watch

UNITED NATIONS, Jan 8 2026 (IPS)* President Donald Trump’s executive order to stop U.S. support for 66 international organizations, including 31 United Nations (UN) groups, has faced strong opposition from these organizations, the global community, humanitarian experts, and climate advocates, who are concerned about the negative effects on global cooperation, sustainable development, and international peace and security.
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Donald Trump, President of the United States of America, addresses the general debate of the General Assembly’s eightieth session in 2025. Credit: UN Photo/Evan Schneider.

Donald Trump, President of the United States of America, addresses the general debate of the General Assembly’s eightieth session in 2025. Credit: UN Photo/Evan Schneider.

This executive order follows earlier U.S. withdrawals from the World Health Organization (WHO), the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC), and the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). The U.S. has recently reduced its funding for foreign aid organizations. Continue reading

08/01/2026

Bombing and Ballots, Myanmar’s Contentious Election

Human Wrongs Watch

YANGON, Myanmar and BANGKOK , Jan 6 2026 (IPS)* With thousands of civilians killed in years of civil war and over 22,000 political prisoners still behind bars, no one was surprised that early results from Myanmar’s first but tightly controlled elections since the 2021 coup show the military’s proxy party speeding to victory.
A man walks past a campaign poster for the military’s proxy party USDP ahead of strictly controlled elections in Myanmar. Credit: Guy Dinmore/IPS

A man walks past a campaign poster for the military’s proxy party USDP ahead of strictly controlled elections in Myanmar. Credit: Guy Dinmore/IPS

“How can you hold elections and bomb civilians at the same time?” asked Khin Ohmar, a civil rights activist outside Myanmar who is monitoring what the resistance forces and a shadow government reject as “sham” polls. Continue reading

08/01/2026

West Bank: UN Report Warns of ‘Systematic Asphyxiation’ of Palestinian Rights

Human Wrongs Watch

(UN News)* — A sweeping UN human rights report released on Wednesday [] concludes that in the occupied West Bank, Israel is violating international law prohibiting racial segregation and apartheid, warning that the discriminatory practices have accelerated dramatically since late 2022 amid growing violence, repression and impunity.

A boy carries possessions as his family leaves their home in Nur Shams refugee camp in the northern West Bank.
© UNICEF/Alaa Badarneh | A boy carries possessions as his family leaves their home in Nur Shams refugee camp in the northern West Bank.
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The report by the UN human rights office, OHCHR, documents what it describes as a decades-long system of discrimination that has sharply intensified since at least December 2022.

‘Systematic asphyxiation’ of rights

Volker Türk, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, said the findings reveal “a systematic asphyxiation of the rights of Palestinians in the West Bank.”

Continue reading

07/01/2026

Israel Recognizes “Somaliland” to Expel Palestinians and Control the Red Sea in Tandem with the US

Human Wrongs Watch

By Ann Garrison and Jamal Abdulahi | Sovereign Media – TRANSCEND Media Service*

2 Jan 2026 – Israel has declared its intent to expand into the geostrategic Red Sea Region by recognizing Northern Somalia’s secessionist state, but Somalia and much of the rest of the world are pushing back hard. No other nations followed suit and only the US was supportive.

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There Is No “Somaliland”: Hargeisa Controls Only Half Its Former Territory

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07/01/2026

Winter Storms Upended Thousands in Gaza

Human Wrongs Watch

(UN News)* — Some 65,000 households in the Gaza Strip were affected by the severe winter storms that whipped through the enclave last month, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said on Tuesday [].

“Tents were blown away or damaged, homes collapsed under storm conditions, and personal belongings were soaked,” according to its latest update.

A child plays in a puddle in the Al-Rashid Street area of Gaza.
© UNICEF/Mohammed Nateel | A child plays in a puddle in the Al-Rashid Street area of Gaza.
 
“In several locations, entire displacement sites were flooded due to inadequate drainage and low-lying terrain.
 
The storms also damaged temporary learning spaces and roads used to bring much-needed supplies into Gaza, where humanitarian efforts continue.

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07/01/2026

Sudan: UN Warns of Unprecedented Child Hunger in Darfur as Fighting Fuels Refugee Exodus

Human Wrongs Watch

By Vibhu Mishra

(UN News)* — Sudan’s deepening war is driving unprecedented levels of hunger, child malnutrition and displacement, UN agencies report, as new data from Darfur and a renewed refugee influx into Chad underscore the rapidly deteriorating situation.

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Sudanese refugees displaced by conflict gather in Tiné, Chad, waiting for relocation to a temporary site amid scarce resources and harsh conditions.
© UNICEF/Brice Kevin Da | Sudanese refugees arrive at the Tiné border crossing in eastern Chad after fleeing violence in Sudan’s North Darfur region. (file photo).
 
The war, which erupted in April 2023 between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), has devastated civilian infrastructure, collapsed basic services and triggered one of the world’s largest displacement crises.

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07/01/2026

‘Afghanistan to Remain Major Crisis in 2026’

Human Wrongs Watch

(UN News)* — Afghanistan is expected to remain one of the world’s largest humanitarian crises in 2026, UN agencies and humanitarian partners warned on Tuesday [], launching a $1.7 billion appeal to assist nearly 18 million people in urgent need.

A mother holding a baby and guiding a young child through a field of rubble in Afghanistan, likely after a flood, under a clear blue sky.
© UNICEF/Mark Naftalin | Humanitarian resources to support women and their children are diminishing in Afghanistan.

Years of conflict, compounded by worsening food insecurity, recurrent natural disasters, climate change impacts and large-scale returns of displaced people, have left an estimated 45 per cent of the population – some 21.9 million people – in need of humanitarian assistance next year.

Of those, 17.5 million people – more than three-quarters of them women and children – have been prioritised for support under the coordinated response. Food security and sanitation remain among the most urgent needs.

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06/01/2026

Venezuela: UN Humanitarian Aid Effort Continues amid Political Upheaval

Human Wrongs Watch

Venezuela’s political shock has sharpened global attention on a country already facing one of the world’s largest humanitarian and displacement crises. For the United Nations, the priority remains unchanged: protecting lives, sustaining basic services and supporting Venezuelans at home and across the region.
A 5-year-old Venezuelan refugee boy, Deivid, is held by his mother Enyeli during a UNHCR community health event in Lima, Peru. They are receiving vaccinations and medical care alongside other refugee families.
© UNHCR/Jaime Giménez | A Venezuelan toddler finds comfort at UNHCR-led event in Lima, Peru.

The backdrop

— Venezuela has endured years of economic collapse, political instability, hyperinflation and economic sanctions from Washington, compounded by floods, landslides and other climate shocks.

— According to the UN aid coordination office, OCHA, 7.9 million people — more than a quarter of the population — need urgent humanitarian assistance.

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06/01/2026

US Imperialism in 2026 and Prayers of Resistance

Human Wrongs Watch

By Maung Zarni – TRANSCEND Media Service*

“We always pray for peace.  But unfortunately, we have gotten into a rocky start for 2026,” Larry C. Johnson, former Central Intelligence Agency analyst told his Norwegian interviewer and International Relations Professor Glen Diesen in Oslo on 4 January.

Maung Zarni

Of course, Johnson was referring to Washington’s most recent brazen act of attacking Venezuela and kidnapping its sitting President Nicolas Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores, former head of the National Assembly in the wee hours of January 3.

To belabour the obvious, US President Donald J. Trump is proving to be yet another aggressor in the White House despite the schizophrenic claims that he has ended eight wars, for which he practically demanded the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize.

For the coveted “peace” prize, the Norwegian Nobel Committee, however, opted for a more suitable candidate, whom the committee gift-wrapped as “a democrat”.  Her qualification? Continue reading

06/01/2026

UN Chief Deeply Concerned over ‘Possible Intensification of Instability’ in Venezuela

Human Wrongs Watch

By Vibhu Mishra

(UN News)* — Invoking the bedrock principle prohibiting the use of force against the territory and independence of any State, the UN Secretary-General told the Security Council on Monday [] there must be “full respect” for the UN Charter, in the face of the United States military intervention in Venezuela and seizure of President Nicolás Maduro.

A wide view of the United Nations Security Council meeting discussing threats to international peace and security, specifically regarding the situation in Venezuela.
UN Photo/Mark Garten | A wide view of the Security Council meeting on the situation in Venezuela.
 
In a statement delivered by Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs Rosemary DiCarlo, António Guterres said the Council was meeting “at a grave time” following the 3 January US military action in Venezuela.

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02/01/2026

Europe Is Paying Libya to Torture Migrants on Its Behalf

Human Wrongs Watch

By Melissa Pawson*

On a rescue ship in the Mediterranean, a survivor tells of their detainment in Libya, which the EU helped to support
 

Migrant people and refugees await rescue by a civilian boat in the Mediterranean after setting sail from Libya | David Ramos/Getty Images

13 December 2025 (openDemocracy)** —The boat took us all by surprise that morning. It was spotted by a crew member on lookout on our top deck, and soon, what had been a pinpoint on the horizon quickly became a distinct wooden boat, tightly packed with people, all waving and shouting. No one was wearing a lifejacket.

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02/01/2026

UN Chief Condemns Israeli Amendments Targeting UNRWA Operations

Human Wrongs Watch

(UN News)* — The UN Secretary-General has condemned amendments adopted by Israel’s Knesset to a law aimed at ceasing the operations of the UN agency assisting Palestine refugees (UNRWA), saying the measures must be immediately repealed.

UNRWA Headquarters in East Jerusalem
UNRWA | UNRWA Headquarters in East Jerusalem. (file)

The amendments, adopted on 29 December, to the Law to Cease UNRWA Operations “seek to further impede UNRWA’s ability to operate and carry out its mandated activities,” said a statement issued by the Spokesperson for Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.

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“The Law and its amendments are inconsistent with the status and international legal framework applicable to UNRWA and must be immediately repealed,” it added.

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02/01/2026

2026: Hundreds of Thousands of Palestinians Remain Uprooted, Many Living in Makeshift Tents Pitched on Bare Ground or Squeezed into Damaged Buildings

Human Wrongs Watch

(UN News)* — As 2026 begins, residents of the Gaza Strip are confronting life in displacement camps and among the ruins of destroyed neighbourhoods – facing deep uncertainty after months of war and devastation.

 
A young Palestinian girl wearing a Santa Claus outfit, standing among the tents of displaced families in northern Gaza City.
UN News | A young Palestinian girl wearing a Santa Claus outfit, stands in front of tents belonging to displaced families in northern Gaza City.
 
Hundreds of thousands of Palestinians remain uprooted, many living in makeshift tents pitched on bare ground or squeezed into damaged buildings without reliable access to water, electricity, healthcare or sanitation. Winter rains have compounded the hardship, flooding shelters and turning camp pathways into heavy mud.
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30/12/2025

Israel Is Acting with Impunity. Is It Overconfident in Trump’s Support?

Human Wrongs Watch

By Paul Rogers*

Horrified by IDF war crimes in Gaza, more Americans are said to support Palestine than Israel for the first time ever
 

Israeli troops now routinely ‘secure’ the Old City of Hebron in the occupied West Bank, severely restricting Palestinians’ movements, to allow Israeli settlers to tour the city | Mosab Shawer / Middle East Images / AFP via Getty Images

11 December 2025 (openDemocracy)** — Two months into Israel and Hamas’s ‘ceasefire’, the name is already proving a misnomer. Violence continues in Gaza, where more than 360 Palestinians, including as many as 70 children, and three Israeli soldiers have been killed since 10 October.

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30/12/2025

Gaza: Rainstorms Cause War-Damaged Buildings to Collapse, Flood Tents and Soak People’s Belongings

Human Wrongs Watch

(UN News)* — Severe weather conditions have led to further casualties and heightened health risks in Gaza over the past 24 hours, the UN aid coordination office (OCHA) reported on Monday [].

Health supplies are prepared for delivery in a warehouse in Gaza.
© WHO | Health supplies are prepared for delivery in a warehouse in Gaza.

Heavy seasonal downpours are compounding an already dire humanitarian situation, as rainstorms cause war-damaged buildings to collapse, flood tents and soak people’s belongings, OCHA said.

To respond swiftly to flood alerts, a coordinated system bringing together UN agencies and non-governmental organizations is distributing tents, tarpaulins, warm clothes, blankets and dignity kits across Gaza.

The UN and its partners are also mobilising heavy equipment to pump overflowing sewage – which poses serious health risks – away from residential areas.

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29/12/2025

West Bank: Nearly Two-Thirds of All Agricultural Families Urgently Require Emergency Agricultural Assistance

Human Wrongs Watch

By the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO)*

Nearly nine in ten agricultural West Bank families – or about 100 000 agricultural households – have recently experienced at least one acute “shock”.

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Jerusalem/Cairo More than 72 000 farming and herding families in the West Bank – nearly two-thirds of all agricultural families – urgently require emergency agricultural assistance, according to a new survey published on 24 December 2025 by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO).

The survey shows that about 90 percent of West Bank agricultural families have recently lost income, driven by sharp declines in crop and livestock production and sales

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28/12/2025

Power Shift in the Horn of Africa: Somalia Recognizes SSC-Khaatumo

Human Wrongs Watch

By Ann Garrison | Black Agenda Report – TRANSCEND Media Service*

23 Apr 2025 – Somalia’s recognition of SSC-Khaatumo as its sixth Federal Member State (FMS) has radically shifted the Horn of Africa’s geopolitical dynamics, with implications for Israel, Palestine, and Ansar Allah (“the Houthis”).

The geopolitical dynamics of the Horn of Africa region are always volatile, but more so now than ever.

The world’s attention is most drawn to the region by Ansar Allah’s disruption of crucial maritime routes in the Red Sea in support of Palestine and Donald Trump’s despicable proposal to remove and dump the entire population of Gaza in war-torn Sudan, Somalia, and/or Somaliland, the unrecognized Somali secessionist state.

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28/12/2025

Somalia: In 2026, Humanitarian Conditions Are Expected to Deteriorate Further, Leaving at Least 4.8 Million People, Including 3 Million Children, in Urgent Need of Assistance – UNICEF

Human Wrongs Watch

10 December 2025 (UNICEF)* — UNICEF’s Humanitarian Action for Children appeal helps support the agency’s work as it provides conflict- and disaster-affected children with access to water, sanitation, nutrition, education, health and protection services.

On 3 February 2022 in Somalia, a child feeds on a Ready-to-Use Therapeutic Food (RUTF) packet while his mother holds him waiting to receive assistance at Community Empowerment and Development Action Health Centre in Dolow.
UNICEF/UN0591078/TaxtaOn 3 February 2022 in Somalia, a child feeds on a Ready-to-Use Therapeutic Food (RUTF) packet while his mother holds him waiting to receive assistance at Community Empowerment and Development Action Health Centre in Dolow.

Somalia snapshot

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28/12/2025

Somalia: ‘Brutal Slashes’ to Aid Budgets Hamper Efforts to Assist Millions of People Affected by Drought

Human Wrongs Watch

(UN News)* — Brutal slashes to aid budgets are hampering efforts to assist millions of people in Somalia affected by drought, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said on

Families living in a settlement near Baidoa in Somalia have been driven from their homes by drought and conflict and are trying to rebuild their lives.
© UNICEF/Said Fadhaye | Families living in a settlement near Baidoa in Somalia have been driven from their homes by drought and conflict and are trying to rebuild their lives.

More than 4.6 million people across the country, roughly a quarter of the population, are impacted, according to local authorities.

“Partners indicate that at least 120,000 people were displaced between September and December, as water prices soar, food becomes increasingly scarce, livestock die and livelihoods collapse,” OCHA said in an update.

Additionally, more than 75,000 students nationwide have been forced to drop out of school. 

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27/12/2025

Here’s the Recipe for Fixing the Planet

Human Wrongs Watch

By the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)*

22 December 2025 — When the seventh edition of the Global Environment Outlook (GEO-7) – a sprawling report on the state of the natural world – came out earlier this month its warnings were stark.  

UNEP

Humanity is pushing the Earth to its environmental breaking point, the report’s authors warned, with potentially dire consequences for everything from human health to the global economy.

But GEO-7, produced by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), says it is not too late for humanity to change course.

Within its pages is a recipe for a healthier planet that focuses on transforming five key systems: economic and financial; materials and waste; energy; food; and the environment.

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27/12/2025

How Climate Change Is Threatening Human Rights

Human Wrongs Watch

By Pooja Yadav

(UN News)* — With rising effects of climate change across the globe, the world has started recognising that climate change is not just an ecological collapse, but also a human rights crisis.

Poverty caused by factors including climate change can make children more vulnerable to Violence.

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk echoed this message in Geneva earlier this year and posed a question before the Human Rights Council:

“Are we taking the steps needed to protect people from climate chaos, safeguard their futures and manage natural resources in ways that respect human rights and the environment?”

His answer was very simple: we are not doing nearly enough.

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26/12/2025

‘From the Moment They Enter Libya, Migrants Risk Being Arbitrarily Arrested, Tortured and Killed’

Human Wrongs Watch

Dec 23 2025 (IPS)** CIVICUS discusses migrants’ rights in Libya with Sarra Zidi, political scientist and researcher for HuMENA, an international civil society organisation (CSO) that advances democracy, human rights and social justice across the Middle East and North Africa.

Sarra Zidi

Libya has fragmented into rival power centres, with large areas controlled by armed groups.

As state institutions have collapsed, there’s no functioning system to protect the rights and safety of migrants and refugees.

Instead, state-linked bodies such as the Directorate for Combating Illegal Immigration (DCIM) and the Libyan Coast Guard (LCG) often work with militias, smugglers and traffickers, with near-total impunity.

In this lawless environment, Sub-Saharan migrants face systematic abuses that the International Criminal Court (ICC) and United Nations bodies warn may amount to crimes against humanity.

Despite this, the European Union (EU) continues to classify Libya as a ‘safe country of return’ and work with it to externalise its migration control. Continue reading

25/12/2025

Midwives Offer a Ray of Hope amid Horror, as Harsh Winter Grips Gaza

Human Wrongs Watch

By the

GAZA, The Occupied Palestinian Territory, 24 December 2025 — When Rana learned she was pregnant, her joy was quickly overshadowed by another feeling – fear.

A young woman still on a hospital bed and attached to a drip holds her newborn and smiles into the camera

For Rana, as for many of the 55,000 pregnant women across Gaza seeking healthcare, the question was not if her baby would be born but where, and whether they would survive the delivery.

“I thought I would have to give birth in a tent,” she recalled.

After two years of relentless attacks, Gaza’s health system has been shattered. Only a fraction of health facilities remain functional, and very few can provide emergency obstetric and newborn care.

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25/12/2025

Sudan War Is Entering a Deadlier Phase: United Nations

Human Wrongs Watch

By Vibhu Mishra

(UN News)* — The war in Sudan is entering a deadlier phase, the United Nations has warned, as intensified fighting in the Kordofan region, mounting civilian casualties from drone strikes and growing risks of regional spillover push the conflict toward the 1,000-day mark.

Children walk between rows of emergency tents at As-Senniya IDP site in Port Sudan, Sudan, where displaced families have sought refuge from violence. UNICEF provides integrated support including education, health, and nutrition services.
© UNICEF/Ahmed Satti | Children walk at a camp for displaced persons in Port Sudan, which is hosting families who fled violence across the country, including Darfur and Kordofan regions.
 
Briefing the Security Council on Monday [], senior UN political and humanitarian officials described a sharply deteriorating security and humanitarian situation marked by indiscriminate attacks, expanding territorial gains by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), and escalating dangers for civilians, aid workers and peacekeepers.

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25/12/2025

DR Congo: Displaced People in South Kivu Close to ‘Utter Desperation’: World Food Programme

Human Wrongs Watch

A line of displaced women in colorful attire waits for token verification to receive emergency food aid from WFP in Sange, Democratic Republic of Congo, on 19 December 2025.
© WFP/Musa Abema | Newly displaced people line up for WFP asssitance in South Kivu Province, DR Congo.

“This hunger crisis risks spiraling without urgent action,” said Cynthia Jones, WFP Country Director for the DRC.

She added that even the families who have provided shelter to those forced to flee are already living at emergency levels of food insecurity, “sharing their last food with displaced neighbors—pushing all of them closer to utter desperation.” 

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24/12/2025

The World’s Right-Handed and Left-Handed Torturers

Human Wrongs Watch

UNITED NATIONS, Dec 23 2025 (IPS)* Jeanne Kirkpatrick, a former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, once made a highly debatable distinction between “friendly” right-wing “authoritarian” regimes (which were mostly U.S. and Western allies) and “unfriendly” left-wing “totalitarian” dictatorships (which the U.S. abhorred).
 

Tercer Piso. Source Amnesty International

Around the same time, successive U.S. administrations were cozying up to a rash of authoritarian regimes, mostly in the Middle East, widely accused of instituting emergency laws, detaining dissidents, cracking down on the press, torturing political prisoners and rigorously imposing death penalties. Continue reading