(UN News)* — The UN Special Envoy for Syria on Tuesday [] condemned ongoing Israeli attacks inside Syrian territory and continuing violations in and around the demilitarised zone created as part of a 1974 ceasefire agreement.
UN Photo/Gernot Payer | Polish peacekeepers patrol as part of the UNDOF observer force which supervises the area of separation between Israel and Syria (file).
Geir Pedersen said in a statement that “such actions are unacceptable and risk further destabilising an already fragile situation, heightening regional tension and undermining efforts toward de-escalation and a sustainable political transition.”
(UN News)* — The UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and partners in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) are providing lifesaving clean water supplies to 700,000 people a day – around 364,000 of them children – in the regional capital Goma after breaks in the water supply due to the uptick in fighting.
The intense conflict at the end of January, which saw the city overrun by Rwanda-backed M23 rebels, left many of the city’s two million residents without access to clean water, sanitation or power. A third of them have only recently been displaced.
(UN News)* — Israel’s move to prevent all aid from entering the Gaza Strip after Hamas reportedly refused to accept a plan to continue with phase one of the fragile ceasefire has had an immediate impact, including a 100-fold increase in the price of flour and vegetables.
That’s according to the UN aid coordination office, OCHA, which said on Monday [] that the Kerem Shalom, Erez and Zikim crossing closures means that vital humanitarian assistance, including thousands of tents, can’t be delivered to civilians in need.
(UN News)* —The UN Commission on Human Rights in South Sudan presented its latest report to the Human Rights Council on 28 February 2025 in Geneva, detailing widespread violations, including extrajudicial killings, forced recruitment of children and systematic sexual violence.
Despite South Sudan winning independence over a decade ago and repeated commitments to peace during years of civil war, the Commission found that the same patterns of abuses persist, often implicating high-ranking officials.
(UN News)* — Myanmar is mired in one of the world’s worst human rights crises, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk on said, describing conditions there as “a litany of human suffering.”
Addressing the Human Rights Council on Friday, he detailed the devastating toll of the ongoing conflict and economic collapse on civilians – many of whom have been displaced by the fighting.
Earlier in the day the Council discussed the deteriorating situation in South Sudan, having heard a report from rights investigators serving on the Commission on Human Rights in the country.
ADDIS ABABA, Feb 27 2025 (IPS)* –Renewable energy and climate change activists have challenged African heads of state to take a united stance to safeguard essential mineral resources, particularly in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and other parts of the continent, which are selfishly exploited by foreign miners with disregard for poverty-stricken local communities.
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Dr. Augustine Njamnshi of ACSEA addresses a group of civil society organizations ahead of the AUC Summit in Addis Ababa. Credit: Isaiah Esipisu/IPS
Konaté sits on the step of her home. Photo: OCHA/Ibrahima Koné
At the Sossokoira displacement site in Gao, she sits in a tent with other women from her community. Her face is etched with exhaustion and quiet strength.
Like thousands of other residents of Talataye village, Nana sought refuge in this displacement site on the outskirts of Gao, far from the home she once knew.
KATHMANDU, Nepal, Feb 19 2024 (IPS)* –– Imperialism continues to dominate the world. Globalisation is losing to some of its anti-theses, but imperialism still rules, increasingly by law, albeit in changing even contradictory ways.
Jomo Kwame Sundaram
Hence, we live in challenging times. It is often difficult to see the main challenges we face as there seem to be so many.
Also, the new or the unusual gains far more attention than what appears commonplace.
Power and empire Our histories and cultures are often quite different despite our common, but varied experiences of foreign domination, even rule.
Such power involves varied mixes of socioeconomic and political relations, involving governance and even the rule of law.
Our world has seen empires and imperialism for over two millennia, at least from before the time of Jesus Christ in Palestine, who had to deal with the satraps of the Roman empire then.
PORT SUDAN, Sudan, – Intense fighting in Zamzam camp in Sudan’s North Darfur region has forced the UN World Food Programme (WFP) to temporarily pause the distribution of life-saving food and nutrition assistance in the famine-hit camp for displaced people.
Syria, 28 February 2025 – Around the world, Ramadan is a time to come together as a family. It represents the warmth of home, sharing a good meal and enjoying a variety of food.
As Ramadan arrives, millions of Syrians prepare to once again mark the occasion with the little resources they have. Photo: IOM Türkiye
But for millions of Syrians still displaced 14 years after the conflict began, this Ramadan comes with the heavy burden of poverty and hunger.
© WFP/Eulalia Berlanga | Displaced South Sudanese people arrive at a camp in Upper Nile State. (file)
HUMAN WRONGS WATCH 