News headlines in December 2024

The World Health Organization (WHO) this week reflected on COVID-19, and ongoing efforts to understand the disease, five years after its emergence.

A new report by the UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine (HRMMU) highlights persistent suffering of civilians and prisoners of war (POWs) while Russia continues to expand its control over occupied territories.

Humanitarians continue to respond to needs in Syria as security and logistical conditions permit, the UN said on Tuesday.

2024 marked the thirty-fifth anniversary of a UN commitment to protect children from being recruited as soldiers. However, armed groups have increased the recruitment and use of children in armed conflict.

The UN refugee agency, UNHCR is deeply alarmed by the ongoing situation in Mozambique, where post-election unrest has forced thousands to flee their homes, including to seek safety in neighbouring countries.

The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk, has expressed deep alarm over Afghanistan’s recent decision to revoke the licenses of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) that continue to employ Afghan women in the country.

Israel’s pattern of deadly attacks on and near hospitals in Gaza, and associated combat, have pushed the healthcare system to the brink of total collapse, with catastrophic effect on Palestinians’ access to health and medical care, the UN Human Rights Office (OHCHR) said on Tuesday.

The head of the UN agency that assists Palestine refugees, UNRWA, issued a fresh call on Tuesday for investigations into the “systematic disregard” for humanitarian workers and humanitarian premises in Gaza.

The decision by members of congress in Colombia to abolish a law allowing marriages from the age of 14 – with parental consent – has been applauded by UN agencies.

Essential services that sustain life - healthcare, emergency aid, and humanitarian access - are being systematically dismantled in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).