(UN News)* —Top UN human rights officials have voiced serious concern over the imposition of sanctions by the United States targeting Francesca Albanese, a UN-appointed independent expert on the Occupied Palestinian Territory.
UN Photo/Mark Garten | Francesca Albanese, Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Palestinian Territory occupied since 1967.
They’re calling for the decision to be reversed, warning it could undermine the wider international human rights system.
The sanctions were announced by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Wednesday under a Presidential Executive Order.
Mr. Rubio alleged that Ms. Albanese had “directly engaged with the International Criminal Court (ICC) in efforts to investigate, arrest, detain, or prosecute nationals of the United States or Israel, without the consent of those two countries,” which he called a “gross infringement” on national sovereignty.
The US and Israel are not parties to the Rome Statute, the international treaty that established the ICC.
On July 9, the US government imposed sanctions on UN Human Rights Council-appointed Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Palestinian Territory occupied since 1967 Francesca Albanese under an executive order issued by President Donald Trump in February 2025.
In response, the following quote can be attributed to Liz Evenson, international justice director at Human Rights Watch:
“The US government’s decision to sanction Albanese for seeking justice through the International Criminal Court is actually all about silencing a UN expert for doing her job, speaking truth about Israeli violations against Palestinians and calling on governments and corporations not to be complicit…
(UN News)* — Following the deaths of several children in an Israeli strike on Palestinians waiting in line for nutritional supplements in central Gaza on Thursday , UN humanitarian officials have once again condemned the killings of people at aid distribution sites in the enclave.
UN Human Rights Office (OHCHR) spokesperson Ravina Shamdasani told reporters in Geneva on Friday that “we’ve raised concerns about atrocity crimes having been committed andthe risk of further atrocity crimes, where people are lining up for essential supplies such as food and medicine and where they are being attacked, where again… they have a choice between being shot or being fed”.
(UN News)* —The head of the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has voiced deep dismay over the “unconscionable” killing of children during an aid distribution in the central Gaza Strip on Thursday .
Catherine Russell said she was appalled by the reported killing of 15 Palestinians, including nine children and four women, who were waiting in line for nutritional supplements provided by Project Hope, a UNICEF partner organization.
But the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA)’s State of World Population report shows the real issue is a lack of reproductive agency—many people, especially youth, are unable to have the children they want.
The World Population Day 2025 [11 July] highlights this challenge, focusing on the largest-ever generation of young people.
The theme, “Empowering young people to create the families they want in a fair and hopeful world,” calls for ensuring youth have the rights, tools, and opportunities to shape their futures.
Young people are already driving change, but face major obstacles: economic insecurity, gender inequality, limited healthcare and education, climate disruption, and conflict.
NAIROBI & BHUBANESWAR, Jul 10 2025 (IPS)* –The global population is aging at a time when heat exposure is rising due to climate change. Extreme heat can be deadly for older populations given their reduced ability to regulate body temperature.
Facing frequent climate hazards, resultantly offsprings having migrated out, this South Sikkimese elder in India battles depression, anxiety and early onset of dementia. Credit: Manipadma Jena/IPS
Already there has been an 85 percent increase since 1990 in annual heat-related deaths of adults aged above 65, driven by both warming trends and fast-growing older populations.
If this were not heartbreakingly disastrous enough, heat-related deaths in older populations are projected to increase by 370 percent annually if global temperatures rise by 2˚ Centigrade mid-century.
PORTLAND, USA, Jun 30 2025 (IPS)* – Approximately 1.3 billion people, or 16% of the world’s population, wish to leave their country permanently, while over a billion people believe that fewer or no immigrants should be allowed into their countries.
The number of people desiring to emigrate permanently exceeds the number of immigrants countries are willing to admit, leading many individuals to migrate without authorization. Credit: Shutterstock.
This demographic struggle between the two sides over international migration is causing significant social, economic, and political repercussions for nations and their citizens.
The 1.3 billion individuals desiring to emigrate to another country is over four times the size of the estimated total number of immigrants worldwide in 2025, which is around 305 million.
UNITED NATIONS, New York – “Do you want kids?” Every day, people around the world ask themselves, and others, this question. But it also begs another: “Do you feel able to have children?”
With over 8 billion people in the world, it’s a question that has become arguably more loaded.
For some, this number is unsustainable, unequally distributed and will cause the planet’s demise. Others worry we’re in a “population collapse” – that societies cannot sustain their ageing, slowing demographics.
(UN News)* — As scores of people – including medical staff and their families – have reportedly been killed in the past week, UN health partners in Gaza continue to provide emergency care despite very limited resources.
Across the Gaza Strip, as people desperately search for food, mass casualty incidents are reported almost daily, UN Spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric, told reporters at his regular briefing in New York.
Hospitals, already under immense strain, are struggling to cope and lack of essential supplies – including fuel and medicines – is placing even greater pressure on overstretched teams.
By Vibhu Mishra, with additional reporting by Elma Okic in Geneva
(UN News)* — The UN’s flagship platform on artificial intelligence opened in Geneva on Tuesday [], launching four days of high-level dialogue, cutting-edge demonstrations and urgent calls for inclusive AI governance. The event comes as autonomous and generative systems evolve faster than regulatory frameworks can keep pace.
The AI for Good Global Summit 2025 brings together governments, tech leaders, academics, civil society and young people to explore how artificial intelligence can be directed toward Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) – and away from growing risks of inequality, disinformation and environmental strain.
HUMAN WRONGS WATCH 