After years of conflict, Timor-Leste turns peacemaker
Timor-Leste’s road to peace has not been easy. In 1976, not long after Indonesia became independent it invaded the eastern part of the island of Timor, formerly a Portuguese colony. An unhappy period of occupation, punctuated by violent repression, followed…
DR Congo crisis: Thousands flee clashes in South Kivu
Escalating fighting between M23 rebels and Congolese troops has caused thousands of people to flee, with many heading towards the provincial capital, Bukavu – where UN humanitarian agencies in the east are now located following the fall of Goma. Local…
Sudan: Civilian death toll triples in one week amid escalating hostilities
This figure represents a threefold increase from the previous week, when at least 89 civilians lost their lives amid the ongoing hostilities.The crisis is compounded by intensifying violence in South Kordofan and Blue Nile states, where a humanitarian catastrophe looms,…
DR Congo: Rights chief warns crisis could worsen, without international action
Since 26 January, nearly 3,000 people have been killed and 2,880 injured in attacks by the M23 and their allies “with heavy weapons used in populated areas, and intense fighting against the armed forces of the DRC and their allies”,…
First Person: Bodies of children in Haiti have turned into ‘battlegrounds’
The agency’s spokesperson James Elder has just visited Port-au-Prince, the capital of the embattled Caribbean nation and has been speaking about what he experienced there. Staggering abuse and neglect “There has been a staggering 1,000 per cent rise in sexual…
Palestinians’ rights matter, says UNRWA chief
In a social media post on Friday, Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini said that “people in Gaza have undergone systematic dehumanization” since the war there began. He emphasized that “Palestinians do matter, including those in Gaza. Their rights, lives and futures matter,”…
‘She had a syringe, razor blade, and bandages’: Surviving genital mutilation
Zeinaba Mahr Aouad, a 24-year-old woman from Djibouti, remembers the day when, as a ten-year-old, an unexpected visitor came to her house: “She had a syringe, a razor blade and bandages.” The woman was there to carry out a brutal,…
Sudan: Top aid official warns against escalating violence in two states
Clementine Nkweta-Salami said the latest outbreak of hostilities in South Kordofan’s capital, Kadugli, has reportedly claimed at least 80 civilian lives and left scores more injured. She condemned the reported use of women and children as human shields there, along…
Guterres appeals for mediation to end crisis in eastern DR Congo
António Guterres made the “special appeal for peace” ahead of two major meetings to address the Rwandan-backed M23 rebel group’s brutal offensive across the region. “We are at a pivotal moment and it is time to rally together for peace,”…
Toxic air threatens children’s lives across East Asia and the Pacific, UNICEF warns
The analysis underscores the devastating impact of toxic air on young lives, with air pollution now linked to nearly one in four deaths of under fives in the region. Exposure begins in the womb, increasing risks of premature birth and…