SANTIAGO, Chile, Sep 12 2025 (IPS)** – At eighty, the United Nations is bogged down by structural limitations and political divisions that render it powerless to act decisively – nowhere more clearly than in the Gaza genocide.
There is only one treaty in the world that, despite its limitations, binds nations together: the United Nations Charter. Representatives of fifty nations wrote and ratified the UN Charter in 1945, with others joining in the years that followed.
The charter itself only sets the terms for the behaviour of nations. It does not and cannot create a new world. It depends on individual nations to either live by the charter or die without it.
AMMAN, 12 September 2025 (UNICEF)* – “The escalating military offensive in Gaza City is having devastating consequences for over 450,000 children, already traumatized and exhausted by nearly two years of unrelenting war. They are teetering on the edge of survival as both famine and deadly violence spread.
UNICEF/UNI767014/Nateel2 year old Alma. Gaza City, Al-Rimal, Omar Al-Mukhtar Street March 2025
“UNICEF is warning of an impending catastrophe as the military operation expands. With limited or nonexistent shelter and services, the ongoing escalation is already resulting in disproportionate civilian casualties and driving the near total collapse of the remaining lifelines children need to survive.
(UN News)* — Applause rang out in the UN General Assembly Hall on Friday [] as countries endorsed a declaration on the peaceful settlement of the question of Palestine and implementation of the two-State solution with Israel.
UN Photo/Loey Felipe | The UN General Assembly votes on whether to back the “New York Declaration,” a resolution that seeks to breathe new life into the two-state solution between Israel and the Palestinians.
The New York Declaration is the outcome of an international conference held in July at UN Headquarters, organized by France and Saudi Arabia, which resumes later this month.
The General Assembly comprises all 193 UN Member States and 142 countries voted in favour of a resolution backing the document.
Israel voted against it, alongside nine other countries – Argentina, Hungary, Micronesia, Nauru, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Paraguay, Tonga and the United States – while 12 nations abstained.
(UN News)* — A high-level independent rights probe into the brutal war in Sudan condemned the many grave crimes committed by all combatants, citing evidence indicating that civilians have been “deliberately targeted, displaced and starved”.
Shortly after presenting a mandated report to the Human Rights Council in Geneva on Tuesday [], chair of the Fact-Finding Mission on Sudan, Mohamed Chande Othman, insisted that both the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and Rapid Support Forces (RSF) militia had carried out atrocity crimes.
Among the testimonies gathered for the report, survivors from RSF detention sites described the locations as “slaughterhouses”.
(UN News)* — UN rights chief Volker Türk on Monday [] condemned what he called a worldwide “glorification of violence” which is underway, as well as “coordinated efforts” to undermine fundamental birthrights. “It is time for States to wake up and to act,” he insisted.
Dakar –In sub-Saharan Africa, approximately three out of four working women (76 percent) are employed in agrifood systems, and women make up 49 percent of the agrifood systems workforce.
Within agrifood systems, women’s employment in off-farm segments – such as production, processing, distribution, consumption and packaging – is increasing across the region, rising to 29 percent in 2022 from 21 percent in 2005.
UNITED NATIONS, Sep 8 2025 (IPS) –– When the high-level meeting of over 150 world leaders takes place at the United Nations, September 22-30, one of the political highlights would be the announcement by at least 10 Western nations to recognize Palestine as a sovereign nation state.
Protesters demonstrate outside the Columbia University campus in New York City. October 2024. Credit: UN Photo/Evan Schneider
The 10 countries– some already announcing their recognition ahead of the UN meeting — include UK, France, Canada, Australia, Portugal, Malta, Belgium, Spain, Ireland and Norway– proving the longstanding support for Israel is gradually diminishing in the Western world.
SRINAGAR & KISTIWAR, India, Sep 4 2025 (IPS)* ––The relentless rain that battered the mountains and valleys of Jammu and Kashmir this August shattered lives and records.
The Kishtwar cloudburst on August 26 buried Chesoti village beneath a torrent of mud and boulders, killing at least 65 people, with several still missing. Credit: Umar Manzoor Shah/IPS
Frosty morning in Pingjum Friesland, The Netherlands.
PHOTO:WMO Photostream/Anna Zuidema
Air pollution is the biggest environmental health risk of our time. It also exacerbates climate change, causes economic losses, and reduces agricultural productivity.
It knows no borders – everyone has a responsibility to protect our atmosphere and ensure healthy air for all.
By collaborating across borders, sectors, and silos, we can reduce air pollution through collective investments of time, resources and efforts.
Naminaue, Mozambique, 3 September 2025 – “This water is sweet,” says Merina, watching clear water flow from a newly rehabilitated borehole in Naminaue, northern Mozambique.
For the past five years she has lived in this displacement site, and for her, the taste of clean water brings back a rare sense of normalcy after years of conflict and loss.
Before displacement, Merina’s life in Litamanda village in Macomia District was steady. Her family farmed maize, rice, and sweet potatoes, slept on proper beds, and even watched Brazilian soap operas on television.
That ended the day armed groups attacked. Merina lost her husband in the violence and fled with nothing.
Merina scoops fresh water from the newly rehabilitated borehole – the first safe source in years. Photo: IOM 2025/Amanda Nero
©FAO
HUMAN WRONGS WATCH 