Archive for ‘Middle East’

10/04/2025

South Sudan: Conflict and Hunger Push Millions to the Brink

Human Wrongs Watch

By Vibhu Mishr

(UN News)* — Hunger in South Sudan’s northeast has reached a critical tipping point, with nearly 7.7 million people facing severe food insecurity as conflict escalates, the UN’s emergency food relief agency warned on Wednesday .

A girl walks to a water collection point in Renk town in South Sudan's strife-ridden Upper Nile state. (file)
© UNICEF/Mark Naftali | A girl walks to a water collection point in Renk town in South Sudan’s strife-ridden Upper Nile state. (file)

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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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08/04/2025

With Aid Blockade into Its Second Month, Misery Deepens for Gazans

Human Wrongs Watch

(UN News)* — Amid the ongoing Israeli aid blockade and bombardment of Gaza, aid teams on warned that civilians trapped there face multiple daily challenges as relief supplies run critically low.

A man stands on the rubble of a former home in Gaza.
© UNFPA | A man stands on the rubble of a former home in Gaza.

In a joint statement, the heads of the UN’s aid agencies warned that “we are witnessing acts of war in Gaza that show an utter disregard for human life,” with Israeli displacement orders forcing hundreds of thousands to flee – with nowhere safe to go.

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07/04/2025

Unprecedented Aid Cuts Threaten to Roll Back Progress in Ending Maternal Mortality

Human Wrongs Watch

(UN News)* — Unprecedented aid cuts are putting global progress to end maternal deaths at risk, three UN agencies warned in a new report that calls for greater investment in midwives and other health workers.

A woman in Udaipur, India, heads to a clinic with her son for an antenatal check-up. (file)
© UNICEF/Ruhani Kaur | A woman in Udaipur, India, heads to a clinic with her son for an antenatal check-up. (file)

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05/04/2025

Make America Great Again? Not by This Administration

Human Wrongs Watch

PORTLAND, USA, Apr 2 2025 (IPS)* For most voters, to make America great again, as the 47th president has repeatedly pledged, meant to make the United States markedly superior globally.
While the United States leads in military power and GNP, the US global ranking falls behind many advanced nations in life expectancy, infant mortality, healthcare, poverty, crime, family stability, education, human rights, gender equality, maternal mortality, and overall happiness

The US administration’s actions, policies, program cuts and employee firings will not improve but likely only worsen America’s mediocre standing on virtually every major measure of societal wellbeing and development. Credit: Shutterstock.

However, the administration’s actions, policies and program cuts will not improve but only worsen the US’s mediocre standing among advanced countries.

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05/04/2025

UN Human Rights Office Calls for End to Israel’s ‘Illegal Presence’ in the Occupied Palestinian Territory

Human Wrongs Watch

(UN News)* — Amid reports of escalating settler violence in the West Bank, the UN rights office, OHCHR, briefed the Palestinian rights committee at UN Headquarters in New York, which also featured a screening of the Oscar winning documentary No Other Land.

Basel Adra (left), Palestinian film director, delivers testimony during a meeting of the Committee on the Exercise of Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People.
UN Photo/Loey Felipe | Basel Adra (left), Palestinian film director, delivers testimony during a meeting of the Committee on the Exercise of Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People.\
 
The Palestinian co-director of the documentary, Basel Adra, delivered remarks to the UN Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People.
 
Ambassador Riyad Mansour of the Observer State of Palestine and Israeli Human Rights lawyer Netta Amar Schiff – who joined via videolink – also took part.

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04/04/2025

Artificial Intelligence’s $4.8 Trillion Future: UN Warns of Widening Digital Divide without Urgent Action

Human Wrongs Watch

(UN News)* — Artificial Intelligence (AI) is on course to become a $4.8 trillion global market by 2033 – roughly the size of Germany’s economy – but unless urgent action is taken, its benefits may remain in the hands of a privileged few, a new UN report warns.  

Visualization of Artificial Intelligence combining a human brain schematic with a circuit board.
Public Domain | Visualization of Artificial Intelligence combining a human brain schematic with a circuit board.

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