Armed Conflicts

‘AI-powered Weapons Depersonalise the Violence, Making It Easier for the Military to Approve More Destruction’

By CIVICUS

 
CIVICUS discusses the dangers arising from military uses of artificial intelligence (AI) with Sophia Goodfriend, Post-Doctoral Fellow at Harvard Kennedy School’s Middle East Initiative.

International Criminal Court Issues Arrest Warrant for Netanyahu

By Oritro Karim
On November 21, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, as well as the former defense minister Yoav Gallant. In a statement released by the ICC, both Netanyahu and Gallant are wanted for crimes against humanity and war crimes that spanned from at earliest October 8 2023 through May 20 2024. This coincides with Israel’s respective wars with Lebanon and Palestine, for which there have been extensive damage on civilian infrastructure, thousands of civilian casualties, and repeated blockages of humanitarian aid.

Doctors Without Borders Halts Operations in Haiti Amid Threats from

By Oritro Karim
Doctors Without Borders, the medical humanitarian organization, which has served in Haiti for over 30 years, announced on Wednesday that it would suspend its activities in Port-au-Prince, Haiti’s capital amid repeated threats from local law enforcement. This announcement indicates the precariousness of the situation in Haiti where humanitarian groups on the ground face security issues from even members of law enforcement.

Born Innocent, Raised Violent: The Fate of a Billion Children

By Baher Kamal
Did you know that hundreds of millions of children around the world are currently suffering from physical, sexual, and psychological violence, including child labour, child marriage, female genital mutilation, gender-based violence, war, trafficking, bullying, and cyberbullying?

Contingent Mission in Haiti Exacerbates Gang Offensives

By Oritro Karim
Over the past week, the deployment of the Multinational Security Support Mission (MSS) in Haiti and extended efforts by the Haitian National Police has led to local gangs ramping up their offensives in order to hold onto their territories. Humanitarian organizations fear that displacement will skyrocket without more efficient security controls and relief responses.

Genocide: The Wheels of Justice Must Keep Turning

By Alice Wairimu Nderitu and Romeo Dallaire
Last April, we commemorated the 30th anniversary of the genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda. At the Rwandan capital, Kigali, at United Nations Headquarters, in New York, and across the world, we remembered the immense suffering this genocide caused on so many innocent civilians, who were targeted because of their identity, because of who they were.

‘The International Community Must Stop Turning a Blind Eye to the Suffering of Sudanese Women’

By CIVICUS

 
CIVICUS discusses Sudan’s civil war and its impact on women with Sulaima Elkhalifa, a Sudanese human rights defender and expert on gender-based violence.

Governments Must Ease Pressure on Families to Stop Children Slipping Through the Cracks

By Dereje Wordofa
From the cost-of-living crisis to the impacts of war, cuts to social protection and even climate change, families worldwide are facing a combination of pressures that test their capacity to cope and care for children.

Human Rights Watch Condemns Israel’s “Deliberate” Military Offensives in Gaza

By Oritro Karim
A new report from Human Rights Watch (HRW) postulates that Israeli military practices in the Gaza Strip constitutes as war crimes. Released on November 14, the new report details the scale of destruction in the Gaza Strip over a 13-month period, during which time the Israeli Defense Forces’ (IDF) undertook a campaign to enact “deliberate, controlled demolitions of homes and civilian infrastructure” that were conducted to drive millions of Gazans out of their homes and inflict as much damage as possible.

Peace Talks—Delegates Turn To Climate Summit for Insights Into What Really Makes People Safe

By Joyce Chimbi
At a time when the COP29 summit is primarily focused on climate finance as a tool to cool catastrophically high global temperatures and reverse consequences for all life on earth, delegates—alarmed and concerned by the state of world peace and stability—are seeking ways to enhance safety.

Children’s Needs Due to Climate Change, Conflict Often Ignored in Negotiations

By Tanka Dhakal
As the world grapples with ongoing armed conflicts, from Ukraine to Gaza, advocacy for a more proactive approach to understanding and effectively responding to the needs of children affected by both armed conflict and climate-induced crises is growing.

‘Ending impunity for violations of Palestinians’ rights would strengthen global norms that protect all humanity’

By CIVICUS

 
CIVICUS discusses the gender dimensions of genocide in Gaza with Kifaya Khraim, International Advocacy Coordinator at the Women’s Centre for Legal Aid and Counselling (WCLAC). Founded in 1991, WCLAC is a feminist organisation that documents Israeli violations against Palestinian women and uses this evidence for international advocacy.

Bombardments in Lebanon Threaten Civilian Safety, Destroy UNESCO Cultural Heritage Sites

By Oritro Karim
As winter approaches, the ongoing airstrikes and bombardments on Lebanon has threatened the lives and livelihoods of civilians across the country and neighboring regions, which has resulted in skyrocketing death tolls and levels of displacement. Since hostilities escalated in September, Lebanon has seen the destruction of a significant amount of critical infrastructure, including historical sites that are integral to Lebanese history.

Sudan Faces Esclations in Famine, Humanitarian Law Violations

By Oritro Karim
After 19 months of conflict, the ongoing Sudanese Civil War continues to deteriorate living conditions for millions of Sudanese people. Intensive conflicts between the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) have greatly exacerbated nationwide levels of famine. Numerous civilians have been caught in the crossfire, leading to a rising death toll. Sexual violence and rape have been used as weapons of war, with thousands of cases going unreported due to a pervasive state of fear. Sudan has seen record numbers in displacement, becoming one of the biggest displacement crises in the world.

Middle East: Ceasefires are the Only Answer

By Jan Egeland
“The shockwaves from Israel’s ongoing and indiscriminate warfare on Gaza and Lebanon are reverberating across this entire region. Neither the horrific assault on Israeli civilians on 7 October 2023, nor the indiscriminate missiles launched by militant groups from Lebanon, can justify the degree of destruction on civilian lives and infrastructure in the region that I have witnessed in recent days.

Haiti’s Transition of Power Predicted to Worsen Gang Violence

By Oritro Karim
Gang violence has ravaged Haiti, causing thousands of civilian deaths, displacements, and violations of international humanitarian law. Turmoil is expected to escalate following the removal of Haitian Prime Minister Garry Conille from office on November 11.

Israel Alienating Allies and Acquiring Adversaries 

By Joseph Chamie
As a result of its policies and actions in response to the 7 October attack, the Israeli government has not only alienated its allies and acquired adversaries but also found itself isolated diplomatically. The consequences of those developments and realignments have occurred across countries, organizations and groups worldwide.

Growing Death and Displacement Devastate Lebanon

By Oritro Karim
The ongoing, escalating violence in Lebanon forces millions of Lebanese civilians to face daily bombardment, repeated orders of evacuation, routine destruction of critical infrastructure, and limited access to basic services. With the death toll and rates of displacement on the rise, humanitarian organizations fear that the upcoming winter season is expected to exacerbate these harsh conditions, making Lebanon almost uninhabitable.

Scorched Earth Colonizing of Gaza is a Horrible Idea

By James E. Jennings
For religious, humanitarian, and scientific reasons, Israel’s increasingly apparent plan for the de facto colonization of the Northern Gaza Strip is a bad idea. When that program was rejected recently by Israel’s own Defense Minister Yoav Galant, he was summarily fired by Prime Minister Netanyahu.

Polio Vaccination Campaign in Gaza Misses Thousands of Children

By Oritro Karim
On November 6, the World Health Organization (WHO) announced that the second round of polio vaccinations in the Gaza Strip has been completed. A total of 556,744 children under ten years of age received the mOPV2 vaccine along with a dose of vitamin A to ensure immunization. However, due to rampant hostilities from the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF), the campaign has not been entirely successful, leading to humanitarian organizations fearing that herd immunity has not been achieved.

UN Arms Embargo on Israel: Dead on Arrival

By Thalif Deen
When the United Nations imposes sanctions or penalizes a member state – be it the General Assembly or the Human Rights Council – the resolutions are “non-binding” and often remain unimplemented. But the Security Council resolutions are “binding” – and still openly violated by countries such as North Korea—because all these UN bodies have no means of implementing these resolutions, nor a standing army to forcibly enforce them. But they only carry moral weight.
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