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	More than 3 years of war and suffering for the people of Ukraine by OCHA, UN News, OHCHR, IFRC, agencies   28 Aug. 2023 (UN News)   Russia’s latest deadly attacks on Ukrainian cities overnight including the capital, Kyiv, left four children dead and dozens injured, UN aid agencies reported on Thursday.   The youngest victim of the bombing raid was two-and-a-half years old, according to the UN Children’s Fund, UNICEF, which released video footage showing smoke billowing from a Kyiv apartment block with a massive hole where its roof had been.   Leading condemnation of the attacks, the UN Secretary-General said that targeting civilians and civilian infrastructure violated international humanitarian law. They are “unacceptable and must end immediately".   According to authorities, at least 15 people were killed and 40 injured in the attacks. UNICEF Representative, Munir Mammadzade, insisted that nowhere in Ukraine is safe today. The air-raid alert in Kyiv lasted almost 12 hours, he noted.   The senior UN official condemned the “continuous attacks” involving ballistic missiles and drones by Russia, which launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.   “I’m just back from one of the sites that were impacted, severely… and still, the search and rescue operation is continuing,” he said, adding that clothes, toys and shoes lay strewn across the pavement of the impacted residential area in the capital’s Darnytskyi suburb. “Across the city, there were four kids confirmed killed and more than 10 injured; most likely these numbers will go up,” he added.   Authorities report that the strikes destroyed a five-storey building and damaged over 100 residential buildings, a kindergarten, a shopping centre, media offices, the premises of humanitarian organizations, and the offices of the EU Delegation and the British Council. The Ukrainian Railway Company also reported damage to their facilities and intercity trains.   The Humanitarian Coordinator for Ukraine, Matthias Schmale, condemned the attacks, stressing that they highlight the constant danger facing civilians in Kyiv and across the country.   Hostilities in front-line regions continue. Local authorities report that six people were killed and dozens injured yesterday and today. Damage to civilian infrastructure was also reported in the regions of Kherson, Donetsk, Chernihiv, Kharkiv, Zaporizhzhia and Dnipro. In Sloviansk, in the Donetsk region, nearly 40 residential houses were damaged.   In the region of Vinnytsia, authorities reported that strikes on energy infrastructure left some 60,000 households without electricity across 30 towns and villages. This follows earlier attacks on energy facilities in six regions, heightening concerns ahead of winter.   18 Aug. 2025 (UN News)   Russian drone strikes on Ukraine overnight including in the cities of Kharkiv and Zaporizhzhia killed at least 14 people – including three children.   UNICEF calls for end to attacks   “More young lives lost and devastated in brutal attacks in Ukraine,” UN children’s agency, UNICEF, said condemning the attacks. “End attacks on populated areas. Protect children.”   Footage released by the Ukrainian authorities showed an apartment complex in Kharkiv with a massive hole in the shattered roof and upper floors, where fires had been extinguished.   Kharkiv is located in the northeast of the country and just 30 kilometres (18.6 miles) from the Russian border. Ukraine’s second city has suffered heavy destruction and repeated shelling since Russia’s full-scale invasion began on 24 February 2022.   Meanwhile, a separate Russian attack on the southern city of Zaporizhzhia left three dead and approximately 20 injured, according to the Ukrainian authorities, who said they had shot down 88 drones and missiles launched overnight.   A recent update from UN human rights monitors in Ukraine noted that July saw the highest number of civilian casualties in the country since May 2022, with 286 killed and 1,388 injured.   “Aerial bombs caused the biggest rise and short-range drones made up 24 per cent of casualties,” said the Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine (HRMMU).   The increase in the number of civilian casualties between June and July 2025 mainly took place in areas controlled by the Ukrainian Government along frontlines. This indicated the “intensive military efforts by Russian armed forces to capture territory”, the UN monitors explained.   And although long-range missile strikes and other munitions caused about 20 per cent fewer casualties in July compared with June, they were responsible for almost 40 per cent of all non-combatant deaths and injuries, including in the cities of Dnipro, Kharkiv and Kyiv.   Short-range drones were the second leading cause of civilian casualties, accounting for nearly one in four death and injuries (64 killed and 337 injured), said HRMMU.   As in June, nearly all civilian casualties (98 per cent) occurred in areas controlled by the Ukrainian authorities. Civilian casualties were recorded across 18 regions of Ukraine and the city of Kyiv.   In villages and towns near the frontline, civilians are finding it increasingly difficult to access basic services.   “In many frontline villages, older persons and people with disabilities are living without medicine, electricity, or even clean water,” said Danielle Bell, Head of HRMMU. “Intensifying short-range drone attacks and the coming winter are compounding fear and hardship, disproportionately affecting those most vulnerable.”   With the frontline edging closer, many cities and villages, such as Bilozerske and Dobropillia in Donetsk region, have experienced intense attacks over the past two weeks. In Bilozerske, the local hospital closed down last week, along with pharmacies and banks. Only non-potable water is available, and the electricity supply is frequently interrupted.   Most of those remaining in frontline villages are older persons who face disproportionately high risks of being killed or injured.   HRMMU documented that people aged 60 years and above accounted for over 43 percent of the civilians killed in frontline areas in 2025, despite representing only 25 percent of Ukraine’s general population.   http://news.un.org/en/story/2025/08/1165668 http://news.un.org/en/tags/ukraine   14 July 2025 (OCHA)   The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) says that a wave of deadly missile and drone attacks were reported across Ukraine over the weekend – with at least 27 civilians killed and 128 injured, including children, according to authorities.   The strikes hit urban centres in western Ukraine, including Chernivtsi, Lviv and Lutsk. Hostilities also intensified in the north and east – notably in the Sumy and Donetsk regions – and continued in the south, particularly in the Kherson region.   Authorities report that multiple houses and education facilities were damaged, and critical services were interrupted. In Chernivtsi, which had previously been less affected by hostilities, two people were killed and 26 were injured. More than 100 apartments, a kindergarten, a social services building and several shops were also damaged.   Following the attacks, aid workers rapidly mobilized to provide emergency medical and psychological support to those affected and to distribute shelter materials to repair damage caused by the strikes.   OCHA’s latest reporting indicates that humanitarian access for aid organizations remained challenging in Ukraine’s front-line communities in May and June due to intense hostilities in the most-affected regions – Dnipro, Donetsk, Kharkiv, Kherson, Sumy, and Zaporizhzhia – with long-range strikes posing threats to aid workers. Increased attacks further from the front line are also increasing risks and driving humanitarian needs across the country.   http://www.unocha.org/news/todays-top-news-occupied-palestinian-territory-sudan-ukraine-7 http://www.unocha.org/ukraine http://reliefweb.int/country/ukr http://www.unicef.org/press-releases/70-cent-children-ukraine-lack-access-basic-goods-and-services-material-deprivation http://www.ohchr.org/en/press-briefing-notes/2025/07/ukraine-impact-civilians-wave-russian-attacks-underscores-need http://ukraine.un.org/en/297777-civilian-casualties-ukraine-reach-three-year-high-june-un-human-rights-monitors-say http://ukraine.un.org/en/297154-un-human-rights-report-warns-worsening-violations-and-mounting-civilian-casualties   http://news.un.org/en/story/2025/05/1163781 http://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2025/05/un-commission-concludes-russian-armed-forces-drone-attacks-against-civilians http://www.ohchr.org/en/hr-bodies/hrc/iicihr-ukraine/index http://ukraine.un.org/en/296381-kyiv-suffers-deadliest-attack-almost-year-un-human-rights-monitors-say http://reliefweb.int/report/ukraine/people-ukraine-should-not-have-take-cover-shelters-night-after-night-enruuk http://news.un.org/en/story/2025/06/1164486   http://dppa.un.org/en/msg-sc-9924-usg-dicarlo-ukraine-29-may-2025 http://www.unocha.org/news/bombs-do-not-stop-trauma-does-not-subside-ukraine-ocha-tells-security-council http://plan-international.org/news/2025/05/28/not-a-target-children-in-ukraine-must-be-protected-from-attacks/ http://www.unicef.org/press-releases/horrific-strikes-ukraine-reportedly-kill-three-children-injure-least-13 http://www.savethechildren.net/news/ukraine-air-raid-sirens-halted-one-every-five-lessons-school-year http://www.msf.org/relentless-and-indiscriminate-bombing-ukraine-must-cease   Apr. 2025   Briefing to the UN Security Council on the humanitarian situation in Ukraine, 8 April 2025, by Mr. Tom Fletcher, UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator:   "Since we briefed the Security Council on Ukraine two weeks ago, Russian Federation air strikes have continued to kill and maim civilians, including children, and destroy civilian infrastructure.   A massive strike in the densely populated city of Kryvyi Rih in the Dnipro region last Friday resulted in multiple civilian casualties – the second fatal attack on the city in a week.   According to the authorities, 18 civilians were killed, including nine children, and 75 others injured when a children’s playground and nearby residential area were hit. The Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) in Ukraine, which verified many of the casualties, reported this was the single deadliest strike harming children since February 2022.   In recent weeks, drone attacks have continued to strike cities and cause civilian casualties. Civilian infrastructure – including healthcare facilities, apartment blocks, schools and children’s playgrounds – have suffered extensive damage. This brutal pattern of civilian death and destruction in populated areas must stop.   Hostilities have also continued in the front-line regions of Kherson, Kharkiv, Donetsk and in the border areas of Sumy, causing extensive damage. More than 90 civilian casualties were recorded in those regions last week, according to authorities.   I saw the impact of these types of attacks first-hand when I visited Ukraine earlier this year. From the families I met in front-line areas near Pokrovsk in the Donetsk region to Kupiansk town in the Kharkiv region, they displayed courage, resilience and determination to rebuild their lives and homes. But also, understandable exhaustion, anger and despair that these attacks continue.   They are right to be angry. Because civilians are paying a devastating price for this horrendous war. OHCHR has now verified the killing of at least 12,910 civilians, including 682 children, and the injury of almost 30,700 across Ukraine from 24 February 2022 to 31 March 2025. The true toll is likely far greater.   Nearly 3.7 million people remain internally displaced, with new waves of displacement in the country’s north-east due to hostilities. Children and their caregivers are being evacuated from several front-line towns. There are almost 7 million refugees from Ukraine recorded globally, mainly in Europe.   Media reports also indicate civilian casualties and damage to civilian infrastructure in the Kursk, Belgorod and Bryansk regions of the Russian Federation.   And we remain unable to reach an estimated 1.5 million civilians requiring assistance in parts of Donetsk, Kherson, Luhansk and Zaporizhzhia regions under occupation by the Russian Federation.   International humanitarian law demands that the parties facilitate the rapid, unimpeded access of humanitarian relief for civilians in need. Wherever they are.   Yesterday marked World Health Day, a moment to reflect on the urgent need to safeguard maternal and reproductive health, especially in crisis settings. A new report released by WHO, UNFPA and UNICEF highlights the state of maternal mortality worldwide, including the devastating toll of conflict on women’s health.   In Ukraine, women and girls are facing a special crisis. Since February 2022, pre-term births have made up nearly 50 per cent of all deliveries, putting both mothers and newborns at high risk.   Intimate partner violence, including other forms of gender-based violence, has surged 36 per cent during this period. Displaced women, especially refugees, are among those facing the most severe mental health challenges, with limited access to protection and care.   Almost 13 million people across Ukraine need humanitarian support. The majority are women, children, older people and people with disabilities.   In the first two months of 2025, 290 humanitarian organizations – mainly national NGOs – reached 1.7 million people with vital aid and services, including emergency support following strikes. Thanks to the generosity of donors, 17 per cent of the US$2.6 billion needed for the 2025 Ukraine Humanitarian Needs and Response Plan that I launched with [UN High Commissioner for Refugees] Filippo Grandi in January in Kyiv has been secured – but far more is needed.   Of course, now, we are having to scale back critical programmes. As part of our wider humanitarian reset in response to funding cuts, we and partners are now focusing limited resources on just four strategic, urgent priorities: supporting front-line communities, emergency response, facilitating evacuations and helping the displaced. Increased financial support is vital to ensure humanitarian operations can continue reaching those most in need. Every contribution makes a difference.   We welcome the announcement of a ceasefire focused on energy infrastructure, as well as negotiations to ensure safe navigation in the Black Sea. Ultimately, the best protection of civilians is that this war ends. Until it does, the negotiating priority – whether as part of a temporary pause or lasting agreement – must start from the protection and needs of civilians.   While talks continue, the fighting rages on, civilians continue to suffer, and the humanitarian crisis deepens by the day.   My two asks today of the Security Council and, indeed, the wider international community go beyond Ukraine alone. Firstly, I must reiterate that under the international humanitarian law that this Council is here to defend, parties to conflicts must protect civilians and civilian infrastructure.   Indiscriminate attacks on them are strictly prohibited: There must be limits to how war is waged. At its best, this Council, and the Member States here, have upheld that idea – even wars have rules. Is that not why we are here?   And yet, on my visits from Ukraine to Gaza to Sudan to Lebanon to Myanmar – from where I returned yesterday – I am seeing the opposite: that not only are we not standing robustly for international law, but in some cases we are supporting its debasement. That's the common thread that links these conflicts. And if your principles apply only to your opponents, they are not humanitarian principles.   The world is getting more dangerous for civilians, on our watch. Please, you can do more to ensure that this era of increasingly belligerent, transactional, self-defeating nationalism is not also remembered as one of callous impunity and brutal indifference, in which the rights of civilians are discarded again and again with a shrug.   If we do not make our stand on this point, consistently and unequivocally, then what do we stand for anymore? And how can we expect anyone to listen to us, or hope that others will make better choices in the future?   My second ask, Mr. President, is the funding to save lives in an increasingly dangerous environment, and this era of savage cuts. If you cannot stop the attacks on civilians – in Ukraine and elsewhere – please, at least give us the security and resources to save as many survivors as we can.   http://www.unocha.org/publications/report/ukraine/mr-tom-fletcher-under-secretary-general-humanitarian-affairs-and-emergency-relief-coordinator-briefing-security-council-humanitarian-situation-ukraine-8-april-2025 http://www.unocha.org/news/security-council-un-deputy-relief-chief-warns-growing-civilian-suffering-ukraine http://reliefweb.int/report/ukraine/ukraine-protection-civilians-armed-conflict-april-2025 http://reliefweb.int/report/ukraine/friday-was-one-deadliest-days-civilians-year-enuk http://www.unhcr.org/news/press-releases/news-comment-unhcr-s-grandi-urges-world-remember-ukraine-s-displaced-and-war http://www.unhcr.org/news/stories/people-still-being-forced-flee-war-ukraine-continues http://www.unhcr.org/news/briefing-notes/unhcr-after-three-years-war-ukrainians-need-peace-and-aid http://www.ifrc.org/document/tipping-point-how-financial-strains-are-driving-ukrainians-abroad-back-home   http://www.unicef.org/press-releases/70-cent-children-ukraine-lack-access-basic-goods-and-services-material-deprivation http://www.unicef.org/ukraine/en/press-releases/incessant-attacks-devastating-young-lives http://www.unicef.org/ukraine/en/documents/ukraine-humanitarian-situation-report-47 http://reliefweb.int/report/ukraine/ukraine-humanitarian-needs-and-response-plan-2025-january-2025-enuk http://www.wfp.org/news/three-years-ukraine-war-one-third-population-frontline-regions-struggle-find-enough-eat http://www.nrc.no/news/2025/february/ukraine-three-years-on-sharp-increase-in-basic-needs-along-the-frontline http://www.msf.org/medical-humanitarian-needs-ukraine-remain-urgent-ever http://www.ifrc.org/article/ukraine-ifrc-president-kate-forbes-reflects-scars-conflict-and-long-road-recovery http://www.actionagainsthunger.org/press-releases/suspension-of-us-international-aid-has-serious-consequences-as-ukraine-marks-three-years-of-war/ http://unocha.exposure.co/ukraine-three-years-of-fullscale-war   http://www.savethechildren.net/news/ukraine-i-fear-i-wont-be-able-help-my-child-75-people-struggling-make-ends-meet-after-3-years http://reliefweb.int/report/ukraine/three-years-loss-and-fear-war-ukraine-shatters-childrens-lives http://reliefweb.int/report/ukraine/i-have-force-smile-children-continue-bear-brunt-war-ukraine-after-three-years-conflict http://reliefweb.int/report/ukraine/advocacy-brief-three-years-full-scale-war-ukraine-enuk http://www.caritas.org/2025/02/three-years-of-full-scale-war-in-ukraine/ http://www.unwomen.org/en/articles/in-focus/women-leading-humanitarian-aid-and-economic-resilience-after-three-years-of-war-in-ukraine http://www.unfpa.org/ukraine http://reliefweb.int/report/ukraine/ukrainian-women-and-girls-voices-must-be-central-conflict-resolution-three-years-full-scale-war-leave-millions-ukrainians-uprooted   http://reliefweb.int/country/ukr http://www.acaps.org/en/countries/ukraine http://ukraine.ohchr.org/en/Human-rights-3-years-into-Russias-full-scale-invasion-of-Ukraine http://ukraine.ohchr.org/en/UN-report-details-devastating-impact-of-hostilities-on-children-in-Ukraine http://phr.org/news/1762-attacks-on-health-care-over-three-years-as-russia-escalates-its-war-on-ukraines-doctors-and-hospitals-phr/ http://ukraine.un.org/en/289667-civilian-harm-and-human-rights-abuses-persist-ukraine-war-enters-fourth-year http://ukraine.un.org/en/289062-ukraine-short-range-drones-become-most-dangerous-weapon-civilians-un-human-rights-monitors http://news.un.org/en/focus/ukraine http://www.osce.org/chairpersonship/586044 http://www.osce.org/odihr/586050 http://www.hrw.org/news/2025/02/21/what-policymakers-should-prioritize-ukraine http://acleddata.com/2025/02/21/bombing-into-submission-russian-targeting-of-civilians-and-infrastructure-in-ukraine/
	Hope peace agreement between the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and Rwanda holds by UN News, NRC, WFP, UNHCR, agencies   6 Aug. 2025   Ceasefire in doubt as Rwanda-backed rebels kill hundreds in eastern DR Congo. (UN News/OHCHR)   Hopes for peace in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) have been shaken by a surge in brutal attacks on civilians by armed groups, including the Rwandan-backed M23 militia, in the country’s troubled eastern region.   The UN human rights office (OHCHR) said it had received first-hand accounts indicating that at least 319 civilians were killed by M23 fighters, aided by members of the Rwanda Defence Force, between 9 and 21 July in North Kivu province.   Most of the victims, including at least 48 women and 19 children, were local farmers camping in their fields during the planting season.   Volker Turk, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, condemned the “surge of deadly violence”.   “I am appalled by the attacks on civilians by the M23 and other armed groups in eastern DRC amid continued fighting, despite the ceasefire that was recently signed in Doha,” he said.   “All attacks against civilians must stop immediately and all those responsible must be held to account.”   The latest massacre marks one of the highest civilian death tolls documented since the M23 – a group largely composed of Congolese Tutsi fighters established over 15 years ago – re-emerged as a major military threat in 2022.   The spike in violence comes just weeks after two high-level peace initiatives appeared to offer a path forward. On 27 June, Rwanda and the DRC signed a bilateral peace agreement in Washington, followed by the so-called Doha Declaration between the DRC Government and M23 rebel leaders on 19 July, which committed both sides to a ceasefire and further negotiations.   However, humanitarian NGOs say little has changed on the ground.   “I urge the signatories and facilitators of both the Doha and Washington agreements to ensure that they rapidly translate into safety, security and real progress for civilians,” Mr. Turk said.   Meanwhile, other armed groups continue to terrorise civilians across eastern Congo. In July alone, the UN documented deadly attacks by the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), Cooperative pour le developpement du Congo (CODECO) and Raia Mutomboki/Wazalendo militias in Ituri, South Kivu and North Kivu.   On 27 July, ADF fighters attacked a Christian congregation in Ituri’s Komanda village, killing at least 40 worshippers – including 13 children – and torching homes, shops and vehicles. Earlier in the month the same group killed at least 70 civilians in a single attack on Pikamaibo village. Women and girls are also enduring systematic sexual violence as a weapon of war.   The growing insecurity is fuelling what humanitarians describe as one of the world’s most acute humanitarian crises. According to UN figures, over 7.8 million people are now internally displaced (IDPs) in eastern DRC – the highest figure on record – while 28 million people are facing food insecurity, including nearly four million at emergency levels.   The World Food Programme (WFP) has warned that funding shortfalls may soon force it to suspend lifesaving assistance to hundreds of thousands.   Health services are also collapsing under pressure. In the first half of 2025, 33 attacks were recorded on health workers and facilities – a 276 per cent increase from the previous six months, according to the UN reproductive health agency, UNFPA.   http://news.un.org/en/story/2025/08/1165586 http://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2025/08/drc-turk-appalled-attacks-against-civilians-rwandan-backed-m23-and-other   24 July 2025   Six months into Congo’s war, cholera is killing more than four people every day   Six months since the renewed war in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), a full-blown public health emergency is accelerating, Oxfam warned today.   Since January, more than 35,000 suspected cholera cases and at least 852 related deaths have been reported – an average of more than four deaths every day and a 62 percent increase compared to 2024.   After M23 fighters seized Goma in January civilians were ordered to return to their villages within 72 hours. More than 3.16 million people have since returned back only to find their homes reduced to rubble, and aid system on the verge of collapse.   Water networks, including storage facilities have been obliterated, leaving families to drink from contaminated streams and stagnant lakes. Basic health services have crumbled, with hospitals out of medicine and sanitation systems in ruins. In some of the hardest-hit areas, like Sake and Minova, 500 people are now sharing a single water tap.   Dr. Manenji Mangundu, Oxfam’s Director in DRC said: “This is a full-blown public health emergency. Families are returning to ruins—no shelters, no toilets, no clean water. In many areas, latrines have been flooded or stripped for firewood, forcing people to defecate in the open and contaminate the only water available. The air reeks of sewage. Hospitals are out of medicine, and we can’t reach cut-off communities with even the most basic aid.”   In South Kivu’s Uvira region, cholera is surging with 100 new cases being reported each day. Floodwaters from Lake Tanganyika routinely inundate homes and latrines overflow into the lake, even as families are forced to drink lake water.   The forced closure and destruction of more than 20 displacement sites in Goma alone has left 700,000 people without safe shelter, clean water or basic sanitation In Rusayo, Lushagal, and Bhimba —where Oxfam had been supporting over 100,000 people—entire sites have been razed or abandoned.   Despite a US-brokered ceasefire, insecurity, roadblocks, and ongoing clashes have severed vital supply routes, cutting off communities from lifesaving food, clean water, and medicine.   Aid agencies like Oxfam are now being forced to detour through Rwanda, severely hampering relief efforts. Cross-border access through Burundi has been entirely blocked, while illegal taxes and bureaucratic obstruction are further choking humanitarian deliveries.   Deep aid cuts since the start of 2025 have pushed the humanitarian response to the brink of failure. Only a fraction of the $2.54 billion needed this year as humanitarian aid in DRC has been received to date—forcing agencies like Oxfam to scale back or suspend life-saving operations. Even a UN investigation into possible war crimes has been frozen for lack of funding.   “People are suffering because we cannot reach them,” said Balume Loutre, Oxfam’s Public Health Engineering Team Leader in Eastern DRC. “They’re drinking from contaminated water sources, and we lack the resources to deliver even basic aid. In some villages, 15,000 families need help, but we can only support 500. We’re forced to make impossible choices, leaving thousands behind.”   The situation is particularly alarming for women and girls. Since the cuts to USAID funding, more than 8,200 people living with HIV have lost access to antiretroviral treatment. Emergency post-rape care kits are vanishing, even as a child is reported raped every half an hour in eastern DRC, according to UNICEF.   Despite the collapse of the aid system, Oxfam and its partners continue to try and deliver lifesaving assistance – constructing water systems, building latrines and distributing soap and hygiene kits, food and seed. But urgent funding is needed to reach 400,000 people in high-risk cholera zones.   “We need an immediate injection of funds, and all warring parties to commit to a permanent ceasefire and allow aid to flow freely. After six months of chaos, people need dignity and respite from relentless violence. The world cannot look away,” said Mangundu.   http://www.oxfam.org/en/press-releases/six-months-congos-war-cholera-killing-more-four-people-every-day http://www.acaps.org/en/countries/archives/detail/drc-cholera-outbreak-in-the-eastern-province http://www.msf.org/women-eastern-drc-nowhere-safe-sexual-violence http://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2025/08/drc-warring-factions-in-eastern-drc-commit-horrific-abuses-including-gang-rapes-summary-executions-and-abductions/   27 June 2025   UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has welcomed the peace agreement between the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and Rwanda signed on Friday in the United States capital, Washington, DC.   The accord is “a significant step towards de-escalation, peace and stability in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo and the Great Lakes region,” he said in a statement that evening.   Since the 1990s, eastern DRC has been plagued by dozens of armed groups who have terrorized the population. The Government has long accused Rwanda of supporting the M23 rebel group. Earlier this year, M23 launched an offensive in North and South Kivu provinces, capturing cities and villages, including provincial capitals Goma and Bukavu.   Thousands of civilians were killed, hundreds of thousands more were displaced, and serious human rights violations were committed.   The Secretary-General commended parties facilitating the mediation process, including The US, Qatar and the African Union Mediator, President Faure Gnassingbe of Togo. He also acknowledged the contributions of the five co-facilitators designated by the East African Community (EAC) and the Southern African Development Community (SADC).   He urged the parties to fully honour their commitments under the peace agreement and in line with UN Security Council resolution 2773 (2025), including the cessation of hostilities and all other agreed measures. The resolution, unanimously adopted in February, condemned the M23 offensive and called for the DRC and Rwanda to return to diplomatic talks.   http://news.un.org/en/story/2025/06/1165071 http://www.unhcr.org/us/news/press-releases/news-comment-unhcr-welcomes-drc-rwanda-peace-agreement-opportunity-end-cycles http://news.un.org/en/story/2025/06/1165056 http://news.un.org/en/story/2025/06/1164981 http://www.unocha.org/democratic-republic-congo http://www.unocha.org/latest/news-and-stories?responses=36 http://reliefweb.int/report/democratic-republic-congo/atrocity-alert-no-447-un-human-rights-council-democratic-republic-congo-and-afghanistan http://news.un.org/en/story/2025/06/1164466 http://www.ohchr.org/en/statements-and-speeches/2025/06/hc-turk-updates-council-situation-north-and-south-kivu-provinces http://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2025/06/democratic-republic-congo-national-ownership-essential-address-internal http://tinyurl.com/5xm3tysc http://www.unocha.org/news/todays-top-news-occupied-palestinian-territory-yemen-democratic-republic-congo-sudan http://www.msf.org/sexual-violence-eastern-drc-persistent-emergency http://www.care.org/media-and-press/emergency-kits-run-out-alongside-hope-for-drc-sexual-violence-survivors/ http://www.crisisgroup.org/africa/great-lakes/democratic-republic-congo-rwanda/dr-congo-rwanda-deal-now-comes-hard-part http://www.concern.net/news/democratic-republic-congo-crisis-explained   23 May 2025   As more people are driven from their homes in Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) food insecurity worsens, creating heightened humanitarian needs regionally. (WFP)   The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) warned today that the sheer scale of people being displaced from their homes in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) due to escalating conflict, is pushing food insecurity to crisis proportions and deepening an already strained humanitarian response both internally and across the region.   WFP is scaling up its efforts to ensure lifesaving aid reaches displaced communities, but assistance is not keeping pace with the growing needs.   Violent clashes between the Congolese Armed Forces (FARDC), M23, and other armed groups have uprooted more than 660,000 people since January in Goma alone, leaving these individuals without reliable access to food.   In the conflict-affected eastern provinces of DRC, (Ituri, North Kivu, South Kivu, and Tanganyika) the number of people facing acute food insecurity (IPC Phase 3 and above) has risen from 6.6 million to 7.9 million. Some 2.3 million of these people are in IPC phase 4.   Food production in North Kivu’s Grand Nord, an important agricultural hub in eastern DRC, is deeply affected by escalating insecurity and mass displacement.   According to the latest assessment, more than 90 percent of households in North and South Kivu are facing acute levels of food insecurity, with many families forced to reduce meal sizes, eat less nutritious food and resort to begging. Local food prices have increased as insecurity disrupts trade routes and market access, leaving families struggling.   The DRC is now home to 28 million acutely food insecure people (IPC 3 and above).   Cross-border displacement is compounding the food crisis. In the first four months of 2025 nearly 140,000 Congolese fled to neighbouring countries, with Burundi and Uganda receiving the largest influxes – 70,000 and 60,000 respectively. People fleeing into neighboring countries have abandoned their farms and many lack access to critical services including food, shelter and healthcare..   WFP is working with humanitarian partners to ensure people receive life-saving assistance, but the needs are soaring, and the resources are not keeping pace. Insecurity and ongoing armed clashes are limiting humanitarian access, making it difficult to reach the most vulnerable communities in eastern DRC.   The shortage of food commodities is significantly impacting WFP’s emergency response, particularly in South Kivu where general food distributions were not possible in April. Goma airport, a key humanitarian hub, remains closed.   WFP urgently requires US$426 million to sustain emergency operations in the DRC through October 2025. Without immediate support, millions risk being cut off from lifesaving assistance, further deepening the humanitarian crisis both at country and regional level.   http://www.wfp.org/news/more-people-are-driven-their-homes-drc-food-insecurity-worsens-creating-heightened http://www.wfp.org/stories/hunger-soars-drc-wfp-regional-chief-urges-joint-action-reverse-course http://www.ipcinfo.org/ipc-country-analysis/details-map/en/c/1159546/?iso3=COD   2. Apr 2025   DR Congo: Millions facing destitution as violence forces people to flee multiple times   The escalation of violent conflict in recent months has pushed hundreds of thousands of people in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) into desperate conditions, warns the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) Secretary General Jan Egeland on a visit this week.   Displaced families sheltering at temporary sites have once again been forced to flee, as fighting and abuse plunge people into life-threatening situations. The explosion of humanitarian needs requires immediate attention from an international community that has turned its back on people in crisis. Parties to the conflict must end the violence facing civilians.   “I am truly shocked by the conditions I have seen in and around the city of Goma. The lives of hundreds of thousands of people here in eastern DRC are hanging by a thread,” said Egeland. “Right across North and South Kivu, people have been repeatedly compelled to flee camps, where essential facilities were often already inadequate. Now, most find themselves in locations that lack shelter, basic sanitation, or drinking water, with diseases such as cholera rapidly increasing as a result.   “Many displaced people I’ve listened to this week have lost everything after years of violence. It is unacceptable that a small number of humanitarian organisations are faced with a vast mountain of needs. It is high time that assistance here matches the vast scale of human suffering. Long term solutions must be enabled, with children quickly allowed to return to school, banks to re-open, and an immediate end to violence and threats of violence against civilians.”   Since the M23 offensive across the region earlier this year, an estimated 1.2 million people have been displaced across North and South Kivu provinces. 1.8 million people have been compelled to return to their places of origin, often to locations which bear deep scars from years of conflict between multiple armed groups. Civilians face threats, gender-based violence, and extreme deprivation. Unexploded munitions continue to prevent many communities from fully cultivating their land.   “Fighting and conflict are still continuing, with thousands of families caught in limbo, without the means to rebuild or cultivate food. The situation facing civilians in eastern DRC has for years been a stain on the international community: now it has become even worse,” said Egeland.   NRC teams are providing displaced people with emergency aid, but there is too little funding available. The United States has for long been the largest donor to emergency relief and development aid in the country, but many US-funded projects have been interrupted or paused due to changes at USAID, just as humanitarian needs in DRC exploded.   DRC has for eight consecutive years been ranked as one of the world’s most neglected displacement crises, due to repeated cycles of conflict, lack of funding for aid and media attention, or effective humanitarian and peace diplomacy. Millions of people have been repeatedly driven from first their homes and then, again, from camps, often multiple times. Families have been pushed into impossible choices just to survive, such as going to dangerous areas to find firewood to sell, exchanging sex for food, or sending young children to beg for money.   “The level of global neglect experienced by civilians in eastern DRC should shame world leaders. Now, at a point of deep insecurity and with many families having returned to their areas of origin, there must be concerted action to finally support the population properly. Humanitarian and development assistance must now take priority: the people of DRC must not be faced with simply more of the same,” said Egeland.   http://www.nrc.no/news/2025/april/dr-congo-millions-facing-destitution-as-violence-forces-people-to-flee-multiple-times http://www.wfp.org/stories/hunger-soars-drc-wfp-regional-chief-urges-joint-action-reverse-course http://www.unicef.org/press-releases/child-reported-raped-every-half-hour-eastern-drc-violence-rages-amid-growing-funding http://reliefweb.int/report/democratic-republic-congo/humanitarian-coordinator-statement-member-states-briefing-humanitarian-situation-drc-geneva-25-march-2025 http://reliefweb.int/report/democratic-republic-congo/reports-sexual-violence-eastern-drc-surge-almost-700-march-armed-conflict-intensifies-actionaid http://www.icrc.org/en/news-release/icrc-president-respect-international-humanitarian-law-key-breaking-vicious-cycle-conflict-eastern-democratic-republic-congo
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