Archive for ‘Middle East’

10/12/2025

US: Close Fort Bliss Immigration Detention Site

Human Wrongs Watch

By Human Rights Watch*

Allegations of Inhumane Conditions, Sexual Abuse, Deportation Threats

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Protesters opposing mass deportations by ICE hold signs during a protest held at Fort Bliss, the US Army base where a large new ICE detention facility is being built, in El Paso, Texas, August 17, 2025. © 2025 REUTERS/Paul Ratje

(Washington, DC) – Human rights groups on 8 December 2025 urged US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to end immigration detention at Camp East Montana, a massive tent camp at the Fort Bliss military base in El Paso, Texas.

In their letter, advocates summarized accounts of horrific conditions, including beatings and sexual abuse by officers against detained immigrants, beatings and coercive threats to compel deportation to third countries, medical neglect, hunger and insufficient food, and denial of meaningful access to counsel, among other rights violations.

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10/12/2025

Gaza’s Babies ‘Scarred by War Before First Breath’ by Malnutrition

Human Wrongs Watch

(UN News)* — Mothers whove been left starving in Gaza are now giving birth to underweight or premature babies who die in intensive care units or struggle to survive as they endure acute malnutrition, the UN Childrens Fund (UNICEF) warned on Tuesday [].

 
A newborn at Al Shifa hospital in Gaza City. Aid agencies say that Israeli aid restrictions have depleted hospitals and "starved and stressed" mothers.
© UNFPA/Bisan Ouda | A newborn at Al Shifa hospital in Gaza City. Aid agencies say that Israeli aid restrictions have depleted hospitals and “starved and stressed” mothers.

Speaking from the shattered enclave, UNICEF Communication Manager Tess Ingram said that at least 165 children are reported to have died “painful, preventable deaths” related to malnutrition during the war between Hamas fighters and Israel.

A lesser-known scourge is acute hunger among pregnant and breastfeeding women and “the devastating domino effect” of this lack of a healthy diet on thousands of newborns.

 

 

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10/12/2025

‘All we want for Sudan is peace’ Say Children Fleeing Violence

Human Wrongs Watch

(UN News)* — Nahed was visiting Sudan’s capital Khartoum with her family to celebrate Eid, a major Islamic holiday, when the war broke out between the rival armies vying for control of her homeland.
 
A woman walks through a camp for people who fled violence in North Darfur.
© UNICEF/Mohammed Jamal | A woman walks through a camp for people who fled violence in North Darfur.

Only 16 at the time, she saw armed men attacking her village and killing people – her grandfather and uncle among them. Girls were raped or taken.

“Nahed managed to escape but said it was terrifying,” said UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell who described Nahed’s story on Tuesday [].

“The chilling memories remain.”

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09/12/2025

Global Atrocity Risks Rising, Warns New United Nations Adviser on Genocide Prevention

Human Wrongs Watch

(UN News)* — The world is witnessing an alarming erosion of respect for international law, with conflicts increasingly targeting civilians and heightening the risk of atrocity crimes, warns the United Nations’ newly appointed Special Adviser on the Prevention of Genocide.

Chaloka Beyani (at podium), Special Adviser on the Prevention of Genocide, addresses the dedication of the "Flower of Srebrenica" Memorial at UN Headquarters honouring the victims of the 1995 genocide in Srebrenica.
UN Photo/Ariana Lindquist | Chaloka Beyani (at podium), Special Adviser on the Prevention of Genocide, addresses the dedication of the “Flower of Srebrenica” Memorial at UN Headquarters honouring the victims of the 1995 genocide in Srebrenica.

In his first interview since assuming the post in August, Chaloka Beyani reflected on the origins of his mandate, created by the UN Security Council in the wake of the genocides in Rwanda and Srebrenica, and drew sobering parallels with the crises unfolding today. 

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09/12/2025

UN Strongly Condemns Israel’s Unauthorised Entry of UNRWA Compound in East Jerusalem

Human Wrongs Watch

(UN News)* — The UN agency that assists Palestine refugees, UNRWA, said that Israeli police raided its compound in East Jerusalem early on Monday [], representing “a new challenge to international law.”

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

Israeli police accompanied by municipal officials forcibly entered the facility, UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini wrote on the social media platform X.

Police motorcycles, trucks and forklifts were brought in and all communications were cut, he said, while furniture, IT equipment and other property were seized.

The UN flag was pulled down and replaced with an Israeli flag.

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08/12/2025

USD 4.7 Billion Urgently Needed to Assist 41 Million People on the Move in 2026

Human Wrongs Watch

By the International Organization for Migration*

Geneva, 8 December 2025 – The International Organization for Migration (IOM) has launched its 2026 Global Appeal, requesting USD 4.7 billion to assist 41 million people on the move and to reinforce the systems that make migration safe, orderly, and regular.

Every year, more than 200,000 migrants take the perilous journey from Djibouti’s coast. Photo credit IOM 2024/ Andi Pratiwi

The Appeal highlights a simple yet urgent reality: people move in search of protection, opportunity and stability, and these needs require sustained, principled support.

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07/12/2025

United Nations Sounds Alarm as Landmine Deaths Rise amid Deep Funding Cuts

Human Wrongs Watch

(UN News)* — The deadly legacy of conflicts old and new – from Gaza to Sudan and beyond – continues to kill and maim civilians on a near-daily basis, mine action workers said on 3 December 2025, as they appealed for greater support for their lifesaving work in the face of deep funding cuts.

Ukraine is now the most mined country in the world following Russia's full-scale invasion.
© UNDP Ukraine | Ukraine is now the most mined country in the world following Russia’s full-scale invasion.
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Speaking on the sidelines of a key international meeting in support of landmine action taking place at UN Geneva, experts in the field explained how shrinking resources in Afghanistan and Nigeria have exposed civilians to unexploded ordnance.

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07/12/2025

Israeli Raids and Settler Attacks Deepen Humanitarian Crisis in West Bank

Human Wrongs Watch

(UN News)* — A spike in Israeli military raids and settler violence across the occupied West Bank is driving new displacement, shutting schools and disrupting essential services for tens of thousands of Palestinians, the UN relief coordination office, OCHA, said in its latest humanitarian update Friday [].

A mother and her children go through their belongings after a room in their home was burned in a settler attack in southern Hebron, West Bank. (July 2025)
© UNICEF/Rawan Eleyan | A mother and her children go through their belongings after a room in their home was burned in a settler attack in southern Hebron, West Bank. (July 2025)
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Between 25 November and 1 December, four Palestinians, including one child, were killed by Israeli forces, bringing the total number of Palestinians killed in the West Bank so far this year to 227. Nearly half of all fatalities in 2025 were recorded in the Jenin and Nablus governorates.
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Large-scale operations in Jenin and Tubas governorates alone affected more than 95,000 Palestinians last week.

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07/12/2025

A Fragile Peace, a Harsh Winter: Gaza’s Families Struggle to Rebuild

Human Wrongs Watch

By Rayya Almuheisen, IOM Gaza

(UN News)* — Nearly two months after the latest ceasefire in the Gaza Strip on 10 October, a fragile calm has brought much-needed relief to families who have endured unimaginable suffering and repeated displacement.

Ensuring full humanitarian access is essential for Gaza’s fragile ceasefire to lead to meaningful recovery.
© IOM | Ensuring full humanitarian access is essential for Gaza’s fragile ceasefire to lead to meaningful recovery.
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For months on end, thousands of families remain without a roof over their heads, laying beneath the open sky — the stars above offering both solace and a haunting reminder of everything they have lost.

Sabah, her husband Ahmad, and their seven children spent weeks sleeping in the open after losing their home.

“We fled from Shuja’iya to Rimal, then to the south – Rafah, Deir al-Balah, Nuseirat – and then back to Shuja’iya,” Ahmad explains.

“Every time we move, we lose more of what little we have.”

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07/12/2025

Lebanon: UN Peacekeepers Warn of ‘Clear Violations’ Following Latest Israeli Airstrikes

Human Wrongs Watch

(UN News)* — Israeli airstrikes took place within the UN peacekeeping force in Lebanon’s (UNIFIL) area of operations, the mission said in a statement issued on Friday [].

 Indian peacekeepers on deployment with the UN patrol along the Blue Line in southern Lebanon. (file)
© UNIFIL/Pasqual Gorriz | Indian peacekeepers on deployment with the UN patrol along the Blue Line in southern Lebanon. (file)

The strikes come as the Lebanese Armed Forces continue operations to control unauthorised weapons and infrastructure in south Lebanon a year after a cessation of hostilities was announced in the country.
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“We urge the Israel Defense Forces to avail of the liaison and coordination mechanisms available to them,” UNIFIL said. “We caution Lebanese actors against any reaction that could aggravate the situation further.”

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