Archive for December, 2025

13/12/2025

European States Double Down on Cruel Immigration Policies

Human Wrongs Watch

By Astrid Massart, Associate, Europe and Central Asia DivisionHuman Rights Watch*

Ministers Endorse Rights-Violating Deportation Measures

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Migrants entering a detention center for processing at the port of Shengjin, northwestern Albania, January 28, 2025. © 2025 Vlasov Sulaj/AP Photo

12 December 2025 — Following a gathering of Council of Europe states on International Human Rights Day, 27 countries called for “migration reform”attacking the European Convention on Human Rights and the European Court of Human Rights for their role in upholding the rights of migrants and asylum seekers.

This latest anti-migrant rhetoric comes at the same time as the EU’s wave of regressive and cruel measures.

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13/12/2025

Deep Concerns for Palestinians amid Intense Israeli Raids in Occupied West Bank

Human Wrongs Watch

(UN News)* — The UN human rights office, OHCHR, has expressed alarm at reports of a so-called “settler road” being built in the occupied West Bank.

Children sit outside a tent in Gaza.
© UNICEF/Mohammed Nateel | Children sit outside a tent in Gaza.

Around 100 hectares of Palestinian land have been reportedly confiscated to make way for the new route.

This would mark another step towards the progressive fragmentation of the West Bank, warned the head of the OHCHR’s Office in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, Ajith Sunghay.

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“We are alarmed to hear that Israel has actually started building a new barrier and a road in the heart of the Jordan Valley,” he said on Friday [].

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12/12/2025

Gaza’s Maternal and Newborn Health System ‘Decimated’, United Nations Warns

Human Wrongs Watch

(UN News)* — Gaza’s health system for mothers and newborns has been “decimated”, the UN said on Thursday [], with Israeli attacks destroying almost all hospitals, cutting off medical supplies and driving sharp rises in maternal deaths, miscarriages and newborn fatalities amid mass displacement and hunger.

Medical equipment destroyed in an attack on a hospital in Gaza.
United Nations | Medical equipment destroyed in an attack on a hospital in Gaza.

According to the UN human rights office (OHCHR), more than 70,000 Palestinians have been killed since 7 October 2023, when Palestinian armed groups attacked communities in southern Israel, triggering Israel’s full-scale military assault on the enclave.

OHCHR said 94 per cent of Gaza’s hospitals have been damaged or destroyed, leaving pregnant women and newborns without essential care.

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12/12/2025

Nearly 795,000 Displaced Palestinians at Flood Risk after Storm Byron Makes Landfall in Gaza

Human Wrongs Watch

By the International Organization for Migration*

Geneva, 12 December 2025 – Storm Byron, a severe storm system that triggered flooding in Greece and Cyprus before reaching Gaza earlier this week, has now made landfall, bringing heavy rainfall that has already flooded multiple displacement sites and placed nearly 795,000* displaced Palestinians at heightened risk.

Flooding in Gaza has damaged shelters and left families exposed to rising risks. Photo: IOM 2025

Rainfall is expected to continue in the hours ahead, further straining conditions for families already living in unsafe shelters.

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12/12/2025

Traditional Medicine Use Is Now a Global Reality: World Health Organization

Human Wrongs Watch

(UN News)* — The vast majority of World Health Organization (WHO) member States say 40 to 90 per cent of their populations now use traditional medicine.

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Communities and families in the Western Pacific Region use traditional and complementary medicine extensively for a variety of health problems, from minor ailments to life-threatening diseases.
© WHO/Yoshi Shimizu | Communities and families in the Western Pacific Region use traditional and complementary medicine extensively for a variety of health problems, from minor ailments to life-threatening diseases.

That’s according to Shyama Kuruvilla, director of WHO’s Global Traditional Medicine Centre, established in 2022 to tap into the potential of these systems for healthcare and well-being.

“With half the world’s population lacking access to essential health services, traditional medicine is often the closest or only care available for many people,” Ms. Kuruvilla told a virtual media briefing on , ahead of this month’s WHO Global Summit on Traditional Medicine.

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12/12/2025

European Union: Ministers Propose Unprecedented Detention, Sanctions, and Stripping of Rights Based on Migration Status

Human Wrongs Watch

By Amnesty International*

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11/12/2025

Age Restrictions Alone Won’t Keep Children Safe Online

Human Wrongs Watch

Statement by UNICEF as countries move to introduce social media bans for children.

Three boys participating in Information technology lesson.
 
UNICEF/UNI448309/Mahari

NEW YORK, 10 December 2025 (UNICEF)* – “Across the globe, governments are debating how young is “too young” to use social media, with some introducing age-related restrictions across platforms.

“These restrictions reflect genuine concern: children are facing bullying, exploitation, and exposure to harmful content online with negative impacts on their mental health and well-being. The status quo is failing children and overwhelming families.

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11/12/2025

Eastern DR Congo Fighting Kills Scores, Cuts Food Aid and Drives Mass Displacement

Human Wrongs Watch

By Vibhu Mishra

(UN News)* — Intensifying fighting in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has claimed more than 70 civilian lives, displaced over 200,000 people and cut thousands off from food assistance, prompting UN warnings of a rapidly expanding humanitarian emergency spilling across borders.

Displaced people in eastern DR Congo. (file photo)
© MONUSCO/Aubin Mukoni | Displaced people in eastern DR Congo. (file photo)

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11/12/2025

World News in Brief: Gaza Winter Storm; $7 Billion UNICEF Appeal, Support for Emergency Response Fund

Human Wrongs Watch

(UN News)* — As another winter storm hits the Gaza Strip, low temperatures and rains are putting the lives of newborns and other vulnerable groups at risk, the UN aid coordination office, OCHA, said on Wednesday []. 

A displaced family stand outside their makeshift tent in Gaza City.
© UNICEF/Mohammed Nateel | A displaced family stand outside their makeshift tent in Gaza City.
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Following two years of war, most of Gaza’s roughly two million residents are living in makeshift shelters.
 
Humanitarians are working to deliver assistance to communities in flood-prone areas, including by scaling up distribution of winter clothes for children from 5,000 kits a day to 8,000.

 

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11/12/2025

Nights Under the Stars Tell Gaza’s Story of Survival

Human Wrongs Watch

By the International Organization for Migration*

Gaza City, 8 December 2025 – One month into the latest ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, a fragile calm has brought long-awaited relief for families who have endured unimaginable suffering and repeated displacement.

For the third time in over two years, after previously collapsed ceasefires, there is a small space for hope – a renewed opportunity for survival, safety, and dignity for nearly 2 million Palestinians.

Thousands of families remain without a roof over their heads. For months on end, many have lain awake beneath the open sky.

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