Category: United Nations

30 July 2026 Peace and Security

Since the country’s general election in January, reports of enforced disappearances, torture, arbitrary arrests and other human rights violations have increased against people perceived to oppose the Government.

According to OHCHR, at least 50 opposition leaders and supporters, five human rights defenders and five journalists have reportedly been subjected to abuses in recent months.

The UN also said authorities have relied on legal provisions that do not comply with international human rights law to detain critics, further contributing to an atmosphere of intimidation and fear.

Civil society under pressure

The crackdown has also extended to civil society. Ten leading organisations have been suspended this year, while others have faced heightened scrutiny and harassment, further shrinking civic space and limiting independent voices.

“The actions of the authorities are creating a climate of fear that is increasing self-censorship, further stifling public debate and deepening polarization,” said UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk.

His office warned that increasing military involvement in civilian institutions, combined with restrictions on freedom of expression, peaceful assembly and association, is eroding the rule of law and encouraging widespread self-censorship. 

As civic space continues to shrink, many people are becoming increasingly reluctant to speak out for fear of reprisals.

Call for action

“I call on the Government to abide by its obligations under international human rights law, the African Charter and the Ugandan Constitution to ensure a vibrant civil society where everyone can freely express their views and participate in public affairs” Mr. Türk added.

The UN also called on the authorities to address the country’s broader economic and social challenges through a human rights-based approach that promotes inclusion, accountability and equal opportunities for all Ugandans.

By Daniel Dickinson

30 July 2026 Climate and Environment

The story from a human perspective

A farmer in Zambia who hasn’t seen a maize harvest. 

A mother in Somalia carrying her sick children through floodwater. 

A baby in Malawi, crying because she’s starving.

These aren’t isolated stories. They’re what happens when El Niño arrives.

El Niño made simple

El Niño is a natural climate pattern, a periodic warming of the Pacific Ocean that shifts weather around the world. 

It’s not new, and it’s not caused by climate change, although climate change can worsen its impact. 

Forecasters expect El Niño to intensify in coming months and to possibly stretch into early 2027.

For millions of people in southern and eastern Africa, that’s not a weather forecast. It’s a stark warning.

Where the threat lands and how

El Niño doesn’t hit everywhere the same way.

In eastern Africa, from Somali to Tanzania, it tends to mean too much rain. Flash floods, rivers bursting their banks, landslides, homes underwater, roads washed out, clinics and schools cut off.

In southern Africa, from Zambia to South Africa and from Namibia to Mozambique, it usually means the opposite; not enough rain which means crops failing, water sources drying up, and pastures disappearing.

Different weather, but the same outcome; the most vulnerable people lose the safety nets that keep them alive.

Esnart Chongani is a farmer in Zambia. She said the 2024 drought meant her family harvested no maize at all.

 “I cannot remember anything like this,” she said. People are so hungry. The generosity of our community has disappeared because everyone is struggling.” 

Martha Kalumbi in Malawi, whose baby was hospitalised for malnutrition said a failed harvest left her family and everyone around her, with nothing.

“My child was always crying. Doctors told me she was starving and getting malnourished,” she said. “I was afraid that my baby might die. The situation was painful.”

And it’s not just hunger. Floods contaminate water supplies, which fuels outbreaks of cholera and other waterborne disease. 

Standing water breeds mosquitoes, driving up malaria. 

People lose homes and get displaced, sometimes for good. 

In Somalia, a mother of nine named Asha Mohamed was pushed from her home by the 2023 floods.

“Life became challenging after the floods,” she said. “My children fell sick, and I had no money to buy medicine or take them to a proper health facility.” 

How the UN is getting ahead of El Niño

The good news: El Niño can be forecast months in advance. That gives humanitarian agencies a rare head start, and they’re using it.

• Moving money before the crisis, not after. Between 2023 and 2025, early “anticipatory action” funding reached over three million people across southern Africa and 5.5 million across eastern Africa; cash and support delivered before disaster struck, not during it.
• Getting farmers ready to survive a bad season. In Madagascar, families who received cash transfers and drought-resistant seeds ahead of time ate noticeably better than those who didn’t.
• Building better early-warning systems. In Zambia, the Government and international partners are investing in stronger weather-monitoring infrastructure to catch risks sooner.
• Launching a joint appeal to protect the most exposed. The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and World Food Programme (WFP) are aiming to reach 8.8 million people across 22 high-risk countries with cash aid, flood- and drought-resistant farming support, and livestock protection.

As UN Emergency Relief Coordinator Tom Fletcher put it: “The choice is clear: we can wait for disaster, or we can invest in resilience.”

For communities that have already lived through this once, that head start could make all the difference.

31 July 2026 Climate and Environment

As large fires burn out of control across parts of Europe and North America this summer, the smoke they generate travels further – across countries and even continents – exposing millions to harmful air pollution. 

WHO warns that climate change, prolonged heatwaves, drought and changing land management practices are increasing the frequency and intensity of wildfires, making smoke exposure a growing public health concern.

Although many wildfires are caused by human activity, climate change is creating hotter, drier conditions that allow fires to ignite more easily and spread more rapidly. Because smoke can travel vast distances, poor air quality can affect communities far from an active wildfire for days or even weeks.

Harmful effects

Wildfire smoke is a complex mixture of gases and fine particles released when vegetation, buildings and other materials burn. Fires that spread into urban or industrial areas can release additional toxic pollutants.

One of the greatest concerns is fine particulate matter (PM2.5), which can penetrate deep into the lungs and enter the bloodstream.

Exposure can cause coughing, eye and throat irritation, headaches, wheezing and shortness of breath, while worsening asthma and other chronic conditions.

Infants and young children – whose lungs are still developing – older people, pregnant women, people with disabilities and those living in poorly insulated homes are among the most vulnerable to smoke exposure.

Emergency responders and outdoor workers also face heightened risks because of prolonged exposure. Wildfires also take a psychological toll, contributing to stress, anxiety and trauma during and after emergencies.

Reducing exposure

WHO is urging people to monitor air quality alerts and follow official advice, even if fires are not nearby.

“When wildfires are present in your area, even if some distance away, follow instructions from your local authorities, who will have the most up to date, on-the-ground information,” said Dorota Jarosinska of WHO’s European Centre for Environment, Climate Change and Health.

“If you can smell smoke, it’s present in the air you’re breathing, and you should protect yourself by reducing your exposure, especially if you are in an at-risk group. 

“Even if you can’t smell smoke, you may experience symptoms, and wildfires can change direction suddenly if winds shift, so stay alert for updates.”

During periods of heavy smoke, you should stay indoors with doors and windows closed – unless you are advised to evacuate. 

If going outside is unavoidable, a well-fitting FFP2 or N95 mask can help reduce exposure.

Those with heart or lung conditions, pregnant women and anyone experiencing breathing difficulties should seek medical advice promptly.

Growing risks

WHO says protecting communities requires more than firefighting alone. Early warning systems, timely public health advice, access to medical care and clean-air shelters for vulnerable people are all essential.

The agency is working with countries across the European Region to strengthen preparedness for wildfires and heatwaves, helping health systems respond as fire seasons become longer, more frequent and increasingly severe.

31 July 2026 Climate and Environment

Why it matters

• A strong El Niño is developing and expected to strengthen during August through October, bringing powerful weather events around the world, according to WMO’s latest monthly global seasonal climate update
• Above-normal temperatures expected worldwide
• Wetter conditions expected in some regions while drought risk increases in others
• Tropical Atlantic sea surface temperatures projected to remain warmer than average
• Forecasts provide a window for early action and support decision making

Scorching heat domes, record hot seas

Multi-model forecasts indicate expected anomalies related to seasonal-average sea-surface temperature to exceed 2.9°C in key monitoring regions, according to WMO.

“El Niño is strengthening, adding fuel to a planet already on fire with scorching heat domes, apocalyptic wildfires and record hot seas,” UN Secretary-General António Guterres said.

“El Niño is not just on our doorstep; it is inside the house and turning up the heat, and this is only a warm-up act.”

Flames fanned by fossil fuels

He said fossil fuels are “fanning the flames of this crisis”, and expansion must stop.

“More coal, oil and gas will lead to a more combustible future,” he warned.

 “Unless we act to protect people and tackle the root cause of the crisis, the dangers will become deadlier still. The warm-up act is over. We cannot afford to wait for the main event.”

Mobilising to save lives

The WMO is stepping up coordination, climate information services and early warning to help those affected prepare for potential impacts, including governments, humanitarian agencies, such climate-sensitive sectors as agriculture and health as well as vulnerable communities.

“El Niño is one of the most closely monitored climate phenomena in the world, but forecasts in themselves do not prevent hazards, people do,” said WMO Secretary-General Celeste Saulo.

She said this El Niño is developing against the backdrop of unprecedented ocean heat and rising temperatures, but governments and communities have a window of opportunity to anticipate risks and act before impacts unfold.

“The decisions we make today will shape the impacts we experience tomorrow,” she said, adding that WMO and its members are committed to ensuring that credible and relevant climate information reaches those that need it most.

Learn more about WMO El Niño updates here.

31 July 2026 Peace and Security

What you need to know

• Israeli hostilities and demolitions continued in southern Lebanon, where at least 4,329 deaths and 12,233 injuries were recorded since 2 March, with 349 fatalities and 229 injuries since the latest ceasefire announcement, the UN relief agency, OCHA, reported
• Over the past five months, more than 4,000 children have reportedly been killed or injured across six countries, including 2,500 in Iran as US bombing continues, with 386 killed and 2,117 injured, according to the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF)
• Hamas and US President Donald Trump’s Board of Peace reached agreement on disarmament and full Israeli withdrawal from Gaza as part of plans following the Hamas-Israel October 2025 ceasefire, UN chief António Guterres noted on Friday
• In Gaza, Israel has killed 1,180 Palestinians and injured 3,810 others between the October 2025 ceasefire and 22 July 2026, and this week, continued airstrikes and gunfire, restricted aid entry and made further advances of the so-called “yellow line” marking Israeli’s line of control across multiple areas, the UN relief agency for Palestine refugees, UNRWA, reported
• In the occupied West Bank, Israeli attacks have killed 1,122 Palestinians, at least 246 of them children, between the start of the Israel-Hamas war in October 2023 and 24 July 2026, with 76 killed since the beginning of this year, according to the latest OCHA casualty report 

Youngest victims

As the US and Iran continue to trade strikes and counterstrikes in Iran and neighboring countries, children continue to be killed and maimed in the places where they should be safest – their homes, schools and communities, UNICEF’s acting director for the Middle East and North Africa Abdul Fofana said in a statement.

“Yesterday, in Qeshm Island, off the southern coast of Iran, a two-year-old child was reportedly killed alongside the child’s parents after a strike hit a residential building,” he said, reiterating UNICEF’s call on all parties to comply with obligations under international humanitarian law. “This latest incident is yet another stark reminder that children across the region continue to pay the heaviest price.”

Ceasefires must be respected and “parties to the conflict should not normalise the suffering of children, who remain at the sharpest end of conflicts they did not start and have no power to stop.”

Read the full statement here.

Gaza airstrikes, West Bank violence

Israeli airstrikes and gunfire peppered a deteriorating operating environment in Gaza, with “a significant escalation in hostilities observed in the humanitarian area”, known as the “green zone”, situated west of the so-called “yellow line” of control designated by Israeli forces, UNRWA reported.

Israeli restrictions on goods entering Gaza are also posing challenges.

Fuel, engine oil and spare parts restrictions have made more than half of UNRWA’s fleet unable to operate and have affected 62 water wells.

Read UNWRA’s latest humanitarian update here.

UN chief calls for ceasefire in the Gulf

What began as a regional conflict is increasingly becoming a driver of global instability, disrupting trade through the Strait of Hormuz, driving up food and energy prices, straining supply chains and increasing the risk of hunger and poverty worldwide, Secretary-General António Guterres told reporters at UN Headquarters in New York on Friday following his visit to the region.

“Throughout my visits and in my ongoing outreach with leaders, one message is impossible to ignore: the region and the world cannot afford more war,” he said.

“Let me be clear: the fighting must stop. International navigational rights and freedoms in and around the Strait of Hormuz and Bab al-Mandab [off the Yemeni coast at the mouth of the Red Sea] must be fully restored and diplomacy must prevail.”

In the past week, the Iran-backed Houthis which control much of Yemen have blockaded Saudi-linked shipping through the Bab al-Mandab Strait, reportedly striking Saudi tankers. 

Syria’s recovery

Turning to his visit to Syria, Mr. Guterres said stronger support must be shown for the country’s recovery after years of war.

“I saw a country beginning to emerge from years of devastation,” he said.

“The international community must match that hope with action, including the full lifting of sanctions and sustained support for recovery.”

Watch the UN chief’s press conference here:

30 July 2026 Peace and Security

“The humanitarian consequences of the Middle East escalation are worsening by the day,” OCHA said in its latest update.  

Since Wednesday, civilian casualties have been recorded in Iran and Kuwait, while damage or destruction to critical infrastructure has been highlighted in Saudi Arabia and Egypt. 

Civilians at growing risk 

In Iran, a new wave of strikes was reported on Thursday in the provinces of Fars, Hormozgan, Bushehr and Khuzestan, including the country’s main oil-producing region. 

Local sources reported that a strike in Qeshm, Hormozgan province, hit a residential building, killing three civilians, including a two-year-old. Two other children were reportedly injured. 

Iranian health authorities said that as of 27 July, at least 60 people have been killed, and 670 injured, since hostilities escalated a month ago. 

UN agencies and humanitarian partners already operating in Iran continue to support the response to the growing humanitarian needs. 

Critical aid lifelines under pressure 

The disruption is also affecting countries that play a key role in humanitarian operations in the region. Jordan and Egypt remain vital lifelines for aid deliveries and medical evacuations in this regard. 

As fighting intensifies, OCHA said it will continue to monitor the humanitarian impact.  The agency called on all parties to uphold their obligations under international humanitarian law, which includes protecting both civilians and vital infrastructure from harm. 

Five months have passed since the current crisis erupted following the US-Israeli bombing of Iran, and retaliatory strikes by Tehran against Gulf States and Jordan, with impacts felt throughout the region and beyond.  

An agreement signed in June establishing a ceasefire framework collapsed weeks later over control of the Strait of Hormuz, a key shipping corridor for oil, liquified natural gas and fertilisers. 

29 July 2026 Peace and Security

“Statelessness affecting Rohingya refugees and the protracted situation of displacement contributes to serious risks of human trafficking with devastating consequences for victims,” the Human Rights Council-appointed experts said in a statement.

Long denied citizenship in Myanmar and facing brutal attacks from the armed forces and police that escalated in 2017, the UN has described the ethnic minority Rohingya Muslims as “the most persecuted minority in the world.”

In August 2017 alone, more than 750,000 Rohingya fled to neighboring Bangladesh, where they formed the world’s largest refugee camp.

NGO Doctors Without Borders reported 6,700 Rohingya killed in the first month of the 2017 crackdown, and the UN has found that the Myanmar government had “genocidal intent” in its persecution of the Rohingya.

In 2025, more than 900 Rohingya refugees died at sea, mostly in the Andaman Sea and Bay of Bengal. About 66 per cent were women and children, according to the experts.

Refugees face difficulties in Bangladesh

Bangladesh currently hosts nearly 1.2 million Rohingya refugees, many of whom lack opportunities to access education, employment and safe and regular migration pathways, the experts said. Criminals often exploit the lack of opportunities to deceive refugees in human trafficking schemes.

Children and young people living in refugee camps are especially likely to be trafficked, while women and girls face elevated risks of gender-based violence.

Bahá’í face arbitrary arrest, torture in Iran

Another group of Council-appointed human rights experts expressed concern on Wednesday over allegations of arbitrary arrests, forced disappearances and torture of the Bahá’í religious minority in Iran.

“We are profoundly troubled by reports that Bahá’í individuals are being subjected to incommunicado detention, torture and enforced disappearance,” they said in a statement. “This is a clear violation of international law.”

The rights experts do not work for the UN or receive any salary. They are independent of any government or organization.

Baháʼí is a global universalist religion which believes in the unity of all religions, the unity of humanity and the elimination of all forms of prejudice. Founded in the mid-1800s in modern-day Iran, the World Religion Database estimates there are about 8.5 million Baháʼí around the world today.

Fifty-seven members of the Bahá’í community are currently detained or imprisoned by the Iranian government. Many have been forced to confess under threat of torture or while broadcasted on state media.

Arrests have increased dramatically in Iran more broadly since the start of the war, raising new concerns about the persecution of religious minorities, the experts said.

Iran must uphold commitment to freedom of religion

As a party to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, Iran must uphold the freedom of religion or belief, the prohibition of torture and forced disappearance, ensure due process, and protect minority rights.

“The targeting of religious minority communities through alleged arbitrary detention, enforced disappearance, and coercion constitutes a flagrant violation of the right to freedom of religion or belief,” the experts said.

They urged national authorities to immediately guarantee access to legal counsel and medical care for Bahá’ís and to hold perpetrators of arbitrary detention, forced disappearance, torture and ill-treatment accountable.

More militants disarm in Central African Republic

Between last Friday and Tuesday, 100 members of the armed group Retour, Réclamation et Réhabilitation (3R) voluntarily laid down their weapons in the towns of Besson and Péhouri as part of a UN disarmament, demobilization, reintegration and repatriation (DDRR) programme.

‘Blue helmets’ from the UN peacekeeping mission in CAR (MINUSCA) collected 69 weapons, more than 4,400 rounds of ammunition and 24 rockets from the ex-combatants, allowing them to rejoin their communities.

Second in a month

In another MINUSCA-supported operation earlier this month, 34 members of various armed groups willingly disarmed in the capital, Bangui.

Since signing a fragile 2019 peace agreement with armed groups, the Government has worked to reintegrate some former fighters into government and security roles.

“The Mission continues to work alongside the Central African authorities and national partners in support of peace, security and the implementation of the Peace Agreement,” UN spokesperson Farhan Haq told reporters on Wednesday.

30 July 2026 Law and Crime Prevention

Agencies report that mass returns from Iran and Pakistan, combined with shrinking humanitarian assistance, the collapse of the rural opium-based economy, climate disasters – and ongoing restrictions on the rights of women and girls – are increasing vulnerability to trafficking and abuse.

Economic hardship fuels exploitation

Recent findings from the UN migration agency’s Returnee Resilience Overview paint a stark picture of the challenges facing returnees.

Only 11 per cent of Afghans surveyed by IOM were fully employed or owned a business, while 56 per cent of returnee households said they could not cover their basic living expenses.

Nearly half said they rely on loans or donations to survive, leaving many vulnerable to exploitative labour practices, debt bondage and other forms of abuse.

Crime fighting agency UNODC and IOM warned that victims continue to be subjected to forced labour, sexual exploitation, slavery-like practices and, in some cases, organ removal.

Women, children, returnees and indebted households remain among the groups most at risk. Many are exploited in domestic work, agriculture, mining, brickmaking and carpet weaving, while others are subjected to forced begging, forced marriage, child recruitment and sexual exploitation.

Scamming operations

The UN also highlights the growing global threat of trafficking for forced criminality, with victims coerced into online scams and fraud operations through deception, violence and intimidation.

“Scamming operations defraud millions of people, generating vast illicit profits for transnational organized crime. Powerful new technologies, including artificial intelligence, are helping the fraudsters spread at an alarming speed,” said Secretary-General António Guterres, marking Thursday’s World Day Against Trafficking in Persons.

Call for stronger protection

“The scale of returns currently taking place is greater than what Afghan communities can absorb without significant international support” said IOM Afghanistan Chief of Mission Mihyung Park.

Without access to livelihoods, housing and basic services, many people may be forced to resort to dangerous migration routes, increasing their exposure to trafficking, exploitation and abuse.

UNODC Country Representative Polleak Ok Serei warned that the convergence of mass returns, aid cuts, natural disasters and the loss of livelihoods highlights the urgent need to strengthen prevention efforts.

The agencies called for stronger regional cooperation to dismantle trafficking networks, expanded support for survivors, greater access to civil documentation and livelihood opportunities, and safer migration pathways.

“Human trafficking in all its forms is a gross violation of human rights. By working together, we can end this exploitation once and for all,” Mr. Guterres said.

30 July 2026 Peace and Security

Reports from the ground point to widespread damage to homes and civilian buildings, with search and rescue teams moving quickly to reach destroyed structures. The strikes killed at least a dozen people and injured more than 100.

“The attacks were getting worse,” said Kyiv resident Maryna, who sought shelter with her children overnight in a metro station with many others after warnings of another attack. 

“I want to be in my own bed, with my own toys,” her six-year-old daughter, Milana, said.

Condemning the strikes, UN Secretary-General António Guterres called for de-escalation and a ceasefire.

“Any attacks against civilians and civilian infrastructure, wherever they occur, are a clear violation of international humanitarian law and must stop immediately,” UN Deputy Spokesperson Farhan Haq said.

Here’s the latest from UN agencies on the ground:

• Increased military activity near the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant further challenges efforts to maintain nuclear safety and security at the site, Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said in its latest situation update
• At least three children were killed in Radushne, Kryvyi Rih and at least seven children injured in Lviv, Kherson region and Kyiv region, the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) reported, adding that “more young lives [are] devastated by war as deadly attacks persist”
• “Once again, families in the Dnipro region, Lviv and Kyiv have lost loved ones or been left without homes,” the UN emergency relief agency, OCHA, said in a social media post

• “Following today’s large-scale Russian attack across Ukraine, residential buildings and other facilities in Lviv were damaged, resulting in civilian casualties,” according to a social media post by the UN refugee agency, UNHCR

Emergency response

Efforts are already underway to help residents, UN agencies said.

As search and rescue efforts continue, the UN agency and partners are on the ground, providing emergency assistance to affected families, UNHCR said.

In a frontline village in the Dnipropetrovsk region, the UN office in Ukraine’s inter-agency convoy delivered 240 solar lamps to support residents and provided information leaflets to help people access guidance on available assistance and evacuation procedures.

In the aftermath of the attacks, UNICEF were on the ground providing urgent support like psychological first aid, case management and cash assistance registration to affected children and families.

What’s the UN doing?

From emergency response to de-mining and debris removal, the newly released UN annual report shows initiatives reaching millions of Ukrainians since Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022.

Here are some highlights of the UN’s work in 2025: 

• Keeping electricity and heating services running for 6.6 million people
• Strengthening water systems serving over 16 million people
• Clearing 600,000 tonnes of debris, enabling reconstruction
• Helping 732,000 people access social protection
• Supporting learning for over 811,700 students
• De-mining Surveying 1.6 million hectares of farmland
• Releasing over 7,600 hectares of mine‑suspected land and teaching 1.3 million children how to stay safe from explosive ordnance

Learn more about ongoing UN efforts in Ukraine here.