Humanitarian Emergencies

Displaced Pashtuns Return to Find Homes “Teeming” with Landmines

By Zofeen Ebrahim
"If I'm assured that my home and my village has been de-mined, I'd be the first to return with my family," says 54-year old Mohammad Mumtaz Khan.

Myanmar Unlikely to Resolve Rohingya Problem Without International Help

By Trevor Wilson
The lead-up to the Australia-ASEAN Summit in Sydney on 16-18 March 2018 was characterised by widespread and well-publicised protests in Sydney against human rights abuses occurring in several ASEAN member countries – namely Cambodia, Myanmar and Vietnam.

From Declaration to Action: Improving Immunization in Africa

By Joyce Nganga
Inviolate Akinyi, a 46-year-old grandmother, is certain that her grand-daughter needs to get all her vaccines for her to grow up healthy and strong. She uses a mix of private and public clinics in Kibera, one of the largest informal settlement in Nairobi, to get the 15-month-old the shots she needs.

The Nowhere People: Rohingyas in India

By Neeta Lal
A devastating fire in a shanty at Kalindi Kunj, a New Delhi suburb, that gutted the homes of 226 Rohingya refugees from Myanmar, including 100 women and 50 children, has trained a spotlight on India's ad hoc policy on international migrants.

Middle East: a Threat to World Peace & Security, Warns UN Chief

By António Guterres
The situation in the Middle East is in chaos — to such an extent it has become a threat to international peace and security.The region is facing a true Gordian knot – different fault lines crossing each other and creating a highly volatile situation with risks of escalation, fragmentation and division as far as the eye can see with profound regional and global ramifications.

UN Cracks Down on Peacekeeping Troops over Human Rights Abuses

By Thalif Deen
The United Nations, whose peacekeepers have come under increased scrutiny because of widespread charges of sexual abuse and human rights violations, claims it is now committed to ensuring that all personnel serving with the UN meet the “highest standards of conduct, competence and integrity, including respect for and commitment to human rights.”

UN’s Zero Hunger Goal Remains a Daunting Challenge

By IPS World Desk
The United Nations, which is battling some of the world’s worst humanitarian crises in Asia, the Middle East and Africa, still remains focused on one of its equally daunting undertakings: how to achieve Zero Hunger by 2030.

How Global Emissions Have Changed Since 1850

By Katie Lebling, Mengpin Ge and Johannes Friedrich
Which countries have emitted the most greenhouse gases? The quick answer is, "It depends." A more definitive response is tougher than you may expect. Many factors inform the answer.

“International Solidarity” at Yemen Donor Conference

By Tharanga Yakupitiyage
The international community has pledged over two billion dollars towards urgently needed humanitarian assistance to Yemen during a UN event.

What’s Happening to the World Income Distribution?

By Homi Kharas and Brina Seidel
In 2013, Christoph Lakner and Branko Milanovic published a graph—quickly dubbed the “elephant chart”—that depicts changes in income distribution across the world between 1988 and 2008.

Yemen the World’s Worst Humanitarian Crisis, Says UN Chief

By António Guterres
Thank you all for being here today to show your solidarity with the women, men, girls and boys of Yemen. And I want to thank my co-chairs, the Governments of Sweden and Switzerland, for hosting this conference for the second year and for their continued humanitarian commitment.

Senegalese Returnees from Libya, Niger Face Uncertain Future

By Issa Sikiti da Silva
Bouba Diop looks in delight at his uncle’s newly refurbished food canteen in the poor township of Keur Massar on the outskirts of the Senegalese capital Dakar.

Bridging the Humanitarian Needs with Long-term Resilience in Dominica

By Luca Renda
Six months ago, on 18 September 2017, Category 5 Hurricane Maria struck Dominica wreaking unimaginable disaster. Thirty-one people died, thirty-three more remain missing. Roads, bridges, schools, hospitals and over 40 percent of homes were destroyed or severely damaged.

Chemical Weapons in Syria? Time for Outrage

By Tariq Raheem
US Defense Secretary James Mattis dropped a political bombshell last week when he said the U.S. has no evidence to confirm reports that the Syrian government had used the deadly chemical sarin on its citizens.

A New Low for Security Council as Russia Takes Syrian Human Rights Off the Table

By Sherine Tadros
There is nothing controversial about saying the UN Security Council has failed Syria.Diplomats have openly admitted it, journalists have written about it, human rights organizations have declared it - several times over in the past seven years. But what happened this week was deplorable and unacceptable, even by the very low standards we now have for the Council when it comes to Syria.

High and Dry: Can We Fix the World’s Water Crisis?

By Mxolisi Ncube
April 12 is expected to be the infamous “Day Zero” in South Africa’s second largest city of Cape Town, a tourist hub which attracts millions of visitors every year.

Rohingya Crisis May Be Genocide, UN Officials Say

By Tharanga Yakupitiyage
In the wake of persistent violence against the Rohingya community, UN officials have expressed growing fears that genocide is being incited and committed in Myanmar.

The Politicization of Humanitarian Aid Through Budget Cuts

By Ann-Kathrin Pohlers
Ahead of the pending ‘list of shame,’ the Secretary-General’s Annual Report on Children and Armed Conflicts, child protection actors share concerns about the politicization of humanitarian aid putting child protection capacities at a disadvantage.

Syria’s ‘Human Catastrophe’

By Tharanga Yakupitiyage
Despite calls for a ceasefire, violent clashes have continued and humanitarian access remains limited in Syria’s Eastern Ghouta, leaving the international community extremely concerned.Since the Syrian government intensified its attacks in recent weeks, more than 700 civilians, many of them children, have been killed in Eastern Ghouta.

Fear and Uncertainty Grip Rohingya Women in India

By Stella Paul
In the semi-lit makeshift tent covered with strips of cardboard, five women sit in a huddle. As their young children, covered in specks of mud and soot, move around noisily, the women try to hush them down. Hollow-eyed and visibly malnourished, all the women also appear afraid.

DRC: A Crisis the World Can No Longer Afford to Ignore

By Badylon Kawanda Bakiman
The numbers are hard to fathom. Nearly two million people driven from their homes in 2017 alone. The worst cholera epidemic of the past 15 years, with over 55,000 cases and more than 1,000 deaths. Countless others killed, maimed or sexually assaulted.
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