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…
Iraq: How the world helped Mosul rise from the rubble of war
Now, with UN support, Mosul has risen from the ashes of war and its historic monuments which had been reduced to rubble, dot the skyline once again. The devastating nine-month-long battle to liberate the city from the terrorist group killed…
Gaza: UN health agency urges rapid scale-up of medevacs as thousands remain in critical condition
Speaking from Gaza, WHO Representative Rik Peeperkorn described a scene of widespread destruction, overwhelmed medical facilities and growing mental health needs, as the population in the enclave gradually returns to what is left of their homes after nearly 16 months…
Syria: Assad’s armed forces must face accountability, says rights probe
The Independent International Commission of Inquiry on Syria’s latest report follows the lightning operation led by mainly Hayat-Tahrir al-Sham fighters that toppled President Bashar al-Assad last December, ending the 13-year war that decimated the country and destabilised the entire region. The…
DR Congo: UN mission offers protection to ‘vulnerable populations’, despite huge challenges
Vivian van de Perre, briefed from the ground in Goma, the regional capital, telling journalists that “the situation is still highly volatile, with persistent risks of escalation”, emphasising that military action alone will not resolve the conflict. The hostilities are…