Archive for ‘Asia’

13/04/2025

Palestine: Between Siege and Survival: The Unheard Struggles of Mothers in the West Bank

Human Wrongs Watch

By the United Nations Population Fund*

THE WEST BANK, Occupied Palestinian Territory, 11 April 2025 – “I suffered from postpartum fever, but reaching the hospital was nearly impossible because of the siege on medical services,” said 26-year-old Sara*, from the Nur Shams refugee camp near the Palestinian city of Tulkarm. 

A woman dressed in black stands in the rubble of her home.
A woman stands amid the rubble of her home following a raid by the Israel forces in Jenin, in Palestine’s West Bank. ©UNFPA Palestine/Media Clinic

She gave birth a little over two months ago, just as the Israeli forces began renewed and intense incursions into multiple areas of the West Bank, where pregnant women and new mothers grapple daily with displacement and the denial of healthcare. 

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12/04/2025

Bombardment, Deprivation and Displacement Continue to Take a Devastating Toll on the Population in Gaza

Human Wrongs Watch

(UN News)* — Hostilities across the Gaza Strip continue to take a devastating toll on the population, with daily reports of Israeli strikes killing and injuring many civilians, UN aid coordination office OCHA said on Thursday . 

Families in Gaza continue to be displaced. (fle)
© UNRWA | Families in Gaza continue to be displaced. (fle)
 
OCHA said dozens of people, including at least eight children, were killed in Gaza City on Wednesday 9 April 2025 after an Israeli strike hit a residential building.

Many others are still missing under the rubble.

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12/04/2025

Myanmar: UN Seeks Additional $240 Million to Bolster Earthquake Relief

Human Wrongs Watch

By Vibhu Mishra

(UN News)* — The United Nations is ramping up its response to Myanmar’s devastating earthquake, calling for increased funding and an immediate ceasefire to ensure more aid reaches those in desperate need.

Millions have lost their homes and livelihoods due to the earthquakes that struck Myanmar in late March.
© WFP/Arete | Millions have lost their homes and livelihoods due to the earthquakes that struck Myanmar in late March.

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11/04/2025

US Tariffs Threaten to Undermine World Trade Organization

Human Wrongs Watch

UNITED NATIONS, Apr 11 2025 (IPS)* As the Trump administration’s hostility towards the United Nations and other international organizations keeps growing, a New York Times columnist last week proposed what he frivolously described as “something a little incendiary”.
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Credit: John Birch Society

Maybe Trump could follow up on his non-appointment of Elise Stefanik as US Ambassador to the United Nations—who has been virulently anti-UN—by withdrawing the US from the United Nations entirely.

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11/04/2025

Spare Developing Countries from New US Tariffs: UN Trade Chief

Human Wrongs Watch

By Conor Lennon

()* — As governments and global markets struggle to deal with the deep concerns and disruptions caused by volatility over trade tariffs, Rebeca Grynspan, the head of the UN trade and development agency (UNCTAD), told UN News on Thursday that the poorest countries – whose activities have a negligible effect on trade deficits – should be exempt.

Workers sew fabric at a factory in West Africa (file)
© IMF/Andrew Caballero-Reynolds | Workers sew fabric at a factory in West Africa (file)

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11/04/2025

Yemen: ‘US Abrupt and Irresponsible Aid Cuts Compound Humanitarian Crisis and Put Millions at Risk’   

 

Human Wrongs Watch

The United States government’s abrupt and irresponsible termination of foreign assistance is putting the health and human rights of millions of people in Yemen who depend on humanitarian aid at risk, Amnesty International on said.  

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10/04/2025

Fear and Uncertainty Are Daily Staples Faced by Those about to Give Birth in Devastated Gaza

Human Wrongs Watch

(UN News)* — In Gaza, ongoing Israeli military operations and the aid blockade have continued to add to daily fears and hardships being faced by those about to give birth in the devastated enclave.

A nine months pregnant woman is treated at a hospital in Gaza (file).
© UNFPA/Bisan Ouda | A nine months pregnant woman is treated at a hospital in Gaza (file).

That’s the message from the UN World Health Organization, WHO, which said on Wednesday that mothers are going into labour amid dire conditions, putting their health and their babies’ lives at risk.

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09/04/2025

The Hands That Help Migrants Walk Again

Human Wrongs Watch

By Rami Ibrahim, Senior Audiovisual and Communication Assistant, IOM Yemen*

7 April 2925 (IOM)*– Sana’a, Yemen – Each morning, sunlight washes over Sana’a, bringing the city to life. The call to prayer rises above the rooftops, shopkeepers open their stalls, and the streets fill with people. But beneath the daily bustle, Yemen’s conflict lingers.

For many, survival is an ongoing struggle. Among them are thousands of migrants who arrive hoping to pass through, only to find themselves stranded.

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08/04/2025

German Proposal to Strip Citizenship Endangers Human Rights

Human Wrongs Watch

By Almaz Teffera, Researcher, Racism in Europe Human Rights Watch*

A leaked paper reveals that Germany’s conservative political parties, the Christian Democratic Union and Christian Social Union (CDU/CSU), want to add a clause to Germany’s Nationality Law to allow the country to revoke German nationality from dual nationals if they are deemed “supporters of terrorism, antisemites and extremists.”

A citizen shows their German and Turkish passports in support of legal recognition for dual citizenship, Berlin, Germany, June 27, 2024.
A citizen shows their German and Azerbaijani passports in support of legal recognition for dual citizenship, Berlin, Germany, June 27, 2024. © 2024 Jens Kalaene/picture-alliance/dpa/AP Photo

The proposal does not define who would be considered an “antisemite,” a “terrorist supporter,” or an “extremist.”

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08/04/2025

‘World Must Act with Urgency to Save Palestinians in Gaza’

Human Wrongs Watch

Statement by heads of  OCHA, UNICEF, UNOPS, UNRWA, WFP and WHO

A child and his father walk past the rubble of buildings.
 
UNICEF/UNI448939/Eyad El BabaA child and his father as they pass through the rubble of buildings in Gaza.

NEW YORK, AMMAN, COPENHAGEN, GENEVA, ROME, 7 April 2025 (UNICEF)* –For over a month, no commercial or humanitarian supplies have entered Gaza. 

“More than 2.1 million people are trapped, bombed and starved again, while, at crossing points, food, medicine, fuel and shelter supplies are piling up, and vital equipment is stuck. 

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