Week in Review

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Week in Review 2 August 2025

Catch up on this week's must-read stories This week, UN-backed food security experts announced that the worst-case scenario of famine is currently playing out in Gaza, where two out of three famine thresholds have been reached. UN Secretary-General António Guterres said the alert by the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) platform "confirms what we have feared: Gaza is on the brink of famine," again calling for more food, water, medicine, and fuel to be allowed into the enclave.  Meanwhile, Palestinians in Gaza continue to lose their lives just to get something to eat.  The UN human rights office reported that at least 1,373 people have been killed since 27 May, most in the vicinity of sites run by the Israel and US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF).  These developments unfolded as countries convened at UN Headquarters in New York for a three-day conference to advance a two-State solution between Israelis and Palestinians. Co-chairs France and Saudi Arabia called on all Member States to support a declaration urging collective action to end the war in Gaza and to achieve a just, peaceful and lasting settlement of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.  In Ukraine, Russia launched a wave of drone and missile attacks on several locations, including the capital Kyiv. Dozens were killed. During a Security Council meeting on Friday, UN Assistant Secretary-General Miroslav Jenča issued a fresh call for an immediate ceasefire and a return to diplomacy. We rounded out the month by observing the World Day Against Trafficking in Persons with a feature about a woman survivor from Venezuela, and celebrating 15 years of UN Women, the agency that supports efforts to achieve gender equality worldwide.  We look ahead to a major conference next week in Turkmenistan to ensure landlocked nations are not locked out of economic opportunities, and to the final round of talks towards an international treaty against plastic pollution.

In Gaza, mounting evidence of famine and widespread starvation "The worst-case scenario of famine is currently playing out in Gaza," UN-backed food security experts said on Tuesday, in a call to action amid unrelenting conflict, mass displacement and the near-total collapse of essential services in the war-battered enclave. Read more Humanitarian Aid UN official decries deadly Ukraine strikes, urges return to diplomacy A senior UN official on Friday warned of mounting civilian casualties and worsening humanitarian conditions in Ukraine, as a wave of Russian missile and drone strikes this week killed dozens and injured scores across multiple regions – including pregnant women and children. Read more Peace and Security Syria: Fragile ceasefire in Sweida 'largely holding' amid volatility A fragile de-escalation in Syria's Sweida region is "largely holding" after weeks of violence displaced 175,000 people, killed hundreds and devastated critical infrastructure – exposing deep fissures in the country's political transition. Read more Peace and Security Angola protests: UN urges restraint, investigations into deaths What began as protests against fuel price hikes in Angola have escalated into deadly unrest across the country, with at least 22 people killed and more than 1,000 detained, prompting calls from the UN for restraint and urgent investigations into possible rights violations by security forces. Read more Human Rights Amid starvation in Gaza, Sudan, Guterres slams hunger 'as a weapon of war' As starvation worsens in war-torn Gaza, UN agencies repeated warnings on Monday that Israel's decision to support a "one-week scale-up" of aid is far from enough to reverse deadly malnutrition rates in the enclave.  Read more Humanitarian Aid Haitians in 'despair' following abrupt suspension of US humanitarian support People in Haiti have expressed "despair" following the "abrupt suspension" of a wide range of humanitarian services, according to the UN aid coordination office, OCHA, in the Caribbean country. Read more Humanitarian Aid UN chief: Israeli-Palestinian conflict at 'breaking point,' urges push for two-State solution UN Secretary-General António Guterres on Monday warned that the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is "at a breaking point" and headed toward a one-State reality marked by perpetual occupation and inequality, unless the international community takes urgent, irreversible steps to implement the two-State solution. Read more Peace and Security With Gaza smouldering, ministers renew push for two-State solution at UN With Gaza in ruins and the two-State solution in jeopardy, ministers convened at the United Nations this week to jumpstart political momentum toward ending the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, a crisis Secretary-General António Guterres warned is "at a breaking point". Read more Peace and Security Sudan gripped by deadly crisis as hunger, disease and heat intensify The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) raised the alarm on Wednesday over the rising toll of hunger, disease and displacement in various conflict-ridden parts of Sudan. Read more Humanitarian Aid 'Delivering better': New ECOSOC president emphasises climate action, food security The Ambassador of Nepal to the United Nations, Lok Bahadur Thapa, was on Thursday elected president of the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) at what he called a "historic moment" for his country and its enduring commitment to multilateralism. Read more UN Affairs UN condemns deadly attack on worshippers in DR Congo The UN peacekeeping mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, MONUSCO, strongly condemned an attack by the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) on civilians during the night of 26 to 27 July.  Read more Peace and Security Russian attack on Ukrainian capital kills at least 11 civilians At least 11 civilians were killed and over 130 injured in Russian strikes overnight in Ukraine's capital Kyiv, the UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in the country, HRMMU, reported on Thursday.  Read more Peace and Security Slight decrease in global hunger as inequalities widen, UN report reveals An interagency group from the UN released the flagship 2025 State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World (SOFI) report on Monday, estimating a global, yet uneven, decline in hunger since 2022. Read more SDGs In Myanmar, conflict and floods collide as UN warns of deepening crisis As Myanmar reels from deadly floods, renewed fighting and widespread displacement, the United Nations warned on Thursday that urgent humanitarian needs are going unmet due to escalating violence and blocked access. Read more Peace and Security Deputy UN chief urges bold action to transform food systems at global summit in Addis Ababa United Nations Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed on Tuesday called on countries to double down on efforts to transform food systems, describing them as "one of the greatest solutions" to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Read more SDGs Lured by hope, trapped by lies: Healing after being trafficked The promise seemed simple: a job, a fresh start, a way out. Instead, Maria* stepped off a boat onto a picture-perfect Trinidadian beach with hope in her heart and into a nightmare that would shadow her for years. On the World Day Against Trafficking in Persons, observed on 30 July, follow the journey of a woman who escaped. Read more Human Rights Once-in-a-decade push for the 'locked out': Global leaders set for landmark UN conference in Turkmenistan In early August, Heads of State, ministers, investors and grassroots leaders will gather in Awaza on Turkmenistan's Caspian coast for once-in-a-decade UN conference aiming to rewire the global system in support of 32 landlocked developing countries whose economies are often "locked out" of opportunity due to their lack of access to the sea. Read more Economic Development UN peace efforts can work in a fractured world if there is political will In an era marked by geopolitical fragmentation and rising global tensions, United Nations peace operations face unprecedented challenges, but senior officials told the Security Council on Tuesday that with renewed political will and strategic adaptation, these missions remain indispensable tools for conflict resolution and protection of civilians worldwide. Read more Peace and Security 'By women, for women': 15 years of the UN agency championing gender equality Fariba, a young Afghan woman, had just begun a university degree in 2021 when the Taliban returned to power and banned women and girls from secondary and higher education.   Read more Women Trade measures critical to ending plastic pollution Trade must be part of the solution to end plastic pollution – a global problem which disproportionately affects developing countries. Read more Climate and Environment Pollution, melting microbes, undamming rivers, risks for elders: 4 key climate issues In a world increasingly shaped by climate extremes, environmental experts are delivering a blunt warning: four rapidly emerging threats could reshape life for millions unless urgent action is taken. Read more Climate and Environment

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