(UN News)* —The temporary closure of a UN-run health centre in East Jerusalem is the latest phase in “a pattern of deliberate disregard” for international law, the head of the UN agency that assists Palestine refugees, UNRWA, said on Wednesday [].
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UNRWA | UNRWA Headquarters in East Jerusalem
Israeli forces stormed the UNRWA-operated health centre on Monday and ordered it to close for 30 days. They also demanded the removal of UN signage.
Furthermore, water and electricity supply to multiple UNRWA facilities are scheduled to be cut off in the coming weeks, affecting schools, health centres and other critical buildings.
(Beirut) –Saudiauthorities executed at least 356 people in 2025, setting a new record in the country for the highest number of executions in one year since monitoring began, Human Rights Watch on 13 January 2026 said.
(UN News)* — Conflict-related sexual violence in Sri Lanka remains largely unaddressed more than 15 years after the end of the civil war, with survivors still denied justice, recognition and reparations, according to a new report by the UN human rights office, OHCHR, on Tuesday [].
It concludes that a legacy of impunity for wartime abuses continues to shape the lives of survivors, many of whom suffer long-term physical injuries, psychological trauma and social exclusion.
(UN News)* —Public hearings opened on Monday [] at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in a landmark case brought by the Gambia against Myanmar, alleging violations of the Genocide Convention over the military’s treatment of the Rohingya minority.
(UN News)* — Airstrikes, drone attacks and hypothermia continue in Gaza despite the ceasefire, with more than 100 youngsters killed since early October, the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) said on Tuesday [].
“That’s roughly a girl or a boy killed here every day during a ceasefire,”UNICEF spokesperson James Elder told reporters in Geneva.
“These children are killed from airstrikes, drone strikes, including suicide drones,” he said, speaking from Gaza City. “They’re killed from tank shelling, they’re killed from live ammunition, they’re killed from [remote-controlled] quadcopters.”
(UN News)* — The humanitarian crisis across the Gaza Strip remains extremely serious, with harsh winter weather threatening to reverse recent gains in aid delivery, the United Nations said on Monday [].
Briefing correspondents in New York, Spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric reported that ongoing rainstorms are damaging and destroying fragile shelters, leaving large numbers of displaced people exposed to the cold.
“To help address immense shelter needs, during the past week our partners delivered supplies to 28,000 families, including 1,600 tents, 16,000 tarpaulins and 27,000 blankets,” Mr. Dujarric said.
UNITED NATIONS, Jan 13 2026 (IPS)* –Judging by the mass US withdrawal from 66 UN entities, including UN conventions and international treaties, is it remotely possible that the unpredictable Trump administration may one day decide to pull out of the UN, and force the Secretariat out of New York– despite the 1947 UN-US headquarters agreement?
As the world rings in a new year, the need to address ongoing and long-lasting humanitarian crises remains urgent. In 2026, several regions will face challenges that will demand global attention.
Occupied Palestinian territory
Displaced Palestinians make their way back to their homes in northern Gaza. Photo: Amjad al Fayoumi/NRC
A fragile ceasefire came into effect in Gaza in October, yet civilians remain in urgent need of food, medicine, shelter, clean water and other essential items and services.
More than 70,000 Palestinians have been killed and 170,000 injured over two years of hostilities, and the death toll continues to rise. 1.9 million people – around 90 per cent of the population – have been forcibly displaced, often multiple times.
(UN News)* — The United States’ intention to withdraw from a host of UN bodies announced this week targets programmes and initiatives focusing on a wide range of crucial areas, including the climate crisis, trade, gender and development.
When UN Spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric briefed correspondents in New York on Thursday [8 ] following the release of the White House Memorandum, he insisted that the Organization will continue to carry out its mandates from Member States “with determination.”
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Wednesday’s memorandum states that the US administration is “ceasing participation in or funding to those entities to the extent permitted by law.”
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Several of the bodies listed in the memo are funded principally or partially by the regular UN budget, implying that voluntary funding will be impacted, although central funding will continue.
UNITED NATIONS, Jan 5 2026 (IPS)* –The statistics are staggering: while military spending keeps skyrocketing, Official Development Assistance (ODA)– from the rich to some of the world’s poorer nations– has been declining drastically.
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According to a Fact Sheet released by the UN last week, the $2.7 trillion allocated in just one year (2024) to global military spending amounted to $334 for every person on the planet; the size of the entire Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of all African countries; more than half the GDP of all Latin American countries; 750 times the 2024 UN regular budget; and almost 13 times the amount of ODA provided by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) in 2024.
Al-Safat Square, a location where public executions used to take place, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, August 18, 2022. © 2022 Johannes Sadek/dpa/picture alliance via Getty Images 
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