395 million people across 23 countries exposed to protection risks by Protection Cluster, High Commissioner for Refugees   Global Protection Update: October 2025   As of October 2025, Protection Clusters estimate that 395 million people across 23 countries are exposed to protection risks. These risks include direct threats to life from violence, coercion, and deliberate deprivation.   Across operations, the main protection risks reported are attacks on civilians, abductions and movement restrictions, alongside gender-based violence, denial of services, lack of legal identity, and psychosocial distress.   The convergence of these risks, coupled with the erosion of protective environments, has created an unprecedented global protection crisis, challenging both humanitarian response and political accountability.   Countries such as the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Myanmar, the occupied Palestinian territory (oPt - Gaza & West Bank), Sudan, and Ukraine face the most extreme situations, where populations experience overlapping patterns of violence, exclusion, and deprivation.   Since January 2025, conflict dynamics have intensified as a major driver of protection risks. In Gaza, the humanitarian crisis deepened, culminating in a famine declaration, while in the DRC, violence escalated across North and South Kivu, displacing over a million people in just weeks, adding to nearly 6.4 million IDPs. Sudan continues to face severe threats, particularly in El Fasher and the Zamzam IDP camp, where civilians are exposed to ongoing attacks, siege and displacement.   Rising violence in Mozambique (Cabo Delgado), Haiti, and Colombia (Catatumbo) has further exacerbated vulnerabilities, while fragile institutions and economic collapse compound risks in protracted and forgotten crises in Cameroon, Chad, and the Sahel.   Climate shocks exacerbate the effects of protection risks on people’s life and continue to aggravate protection needs, with earthquakes in Myanmar and Afghanistan displacing communities and heightening vulnerability, and floods in Nigeria and Venezuela disrupting access to essential services. Displacement, family separation, and loss of property are widespread, leaving communities highly exposed to harm.   The situational analysis, presented in this report, conducted at sub-national level is essential to identify specific geographic areas where violence, coercion and deliberate deprivation are not only acute and harmful but also at high risk of further escalation. Prioritizing these hotspots is critical to prevent further deterioration, curb the emergence of new protection risks, and respond to the compounding humanitarian needs they generate.   While most humanitarian crises are fundamentally protection crises, driven by violations of international law and patterns of abuse and violence, the current humanitarian response is constrained by increasing funding restrictions and access limitations, driving to significant service gaps and limited capacity to meet urgent needs across sectors.   Protection operations have been severely disrupted, with the scaling back or suspension of critical protection services, community-led interventions and early-warning/prevention mechanisms.   In June 2025, OCHA launched a hyper-prioritized humanitarian response plan to address the most urgent, life-saving needs in acute crises. Thanks to robust advocacy at country and global level, protection was integrated into these hyper-prioritized response plans, alongside the delivery of life-saving assistance.   Through this process, the Protection Cluster identified 24.7 million people as most urgently in need of assistance and protection. Yet, this represents just 14,7% of the 168 million people in need of protection globally – leaving 143,3 million people unassisted.   Meeting the prioritized protection needs alone requires US $1,2 billion. As of 31 August 2025, however, the Protection Cluster is only funded at 23% out of the initial US $3.2 billion requested, leaving a severe funding gap at a time of escalating risks and needs.   In this context, it is essential to position protection as a central pillar of humanitarian action, ensuring that violations are addressed, risks are mitigated, and life-saving assistance is delivered in ways that preserve the safety and dignity of affected populations.   http://globalprotectioncluster.org/index.php/publications/2347/reports/global-protection-update/global-protection-update-protection-prioritised http://reliefweb.int/report/world/global-protection-update-protection-prioritised-humanitarian-response-october-2025   676 million women live within 50 kilometers of deadly conflict. (UN Women)   The world is experiencing the highest number of active conflicts since 1946, creating unprecedented risks and suffering for women and girls.   The 2025 UN Secretary-General’s report on Women, Peace and Security warns that 676 million women now live within 50 kilometers of deadly conflict, the highest level since the 1990s. Civilian casualties among women and children quadrupled compared to the previous two-year period, and conflict-related sexual violence increased by 87 per cent in two years.   Issued on the 25th anniversary of Security Council resolution 1325, which committed the international community to women’s full participation and protection in peace and security, the report warns that two decades of progress are unraveling.   “Women and girls are being killed in record numbers, shut out of peace tables, and left unprotected as wars multiply. Women do not need more promises, they need power, protection, and equal participation”, said Sima Bahous, UN Women Executive Director.   Despite overwhelming evidence that women’s participation makes peace more durable, women remain largely excluded from decision-making. While an increasing number of countries have developed national action plans to implement resolution 1325, this has not always resulted in tangible change for women. In 2024, 9 out of 10 peace processes had no women negotiators, with women making up just 7 per cent of negotiators and 14 per cent of mediators globally.   The report also exposes a dangerous imbalance: while global military spending surpassed USD 2.7 trillion in 2024, women’s organizations in conflict zones received only 0.4 per cent of aid. Many front-line women’s groups are facing imminent closure due to financial constraints.   “These are not isolated data points, they are symptoms of a world that is choosing to invest in war instead of peace, and one that continues to exclude women from shaping solutions”, continued Bahous.   The report underscores the urgent need for a gender data revolution. Without disaggregated data, women’s realities in war zones remain invisible and unaccounted for. Closing these gaps is vital for accountability and for placing women’s experiences at the centre of decision-making.   “UN Women is calling for concrete, measurable results: conflicts resolved through inclusive political solutions, more women leading security reforms and recovery efforts, and greater accountability for violations, including access to justice and reparations for survivors”, concluded Bahous.   http://www.unwomen.org/en/news-stories/press-release/2025/10/wars-on-women-escalate-as-global-conflicts-reach-record-highs   Conflict plunged 63 million children into hunger in 2025. (Save the Children)   Of the around 118 million children plunged into hunger so far in 2025, around 63 million – over half - were forced into this situation by conflict as opposed to drought or environmental or economic pressures, according to a new data analysis by Save the Children on World Food Day.   Save the Children analysed data from the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC), the world’s leading authority on hunger monitoring, and found that conflict was a driving cause for the more severe forms of hunger in children in 2025.   Of the 18 million children pushed into emergency levels of hunger in over 35 crises (IPC level 4+), 11 million, or over six in ten (61%), were in countries where conflict is the main driver of hunger, highlighting the role of violence and war in the world’s worst food crises.   Globally, one in six children live in an area affected by conflict – compared to around 10% a decade ago. Conflict remains the main driver of hunger worldwide and has a devastating impact on people’s ability to grow or buy food, forces families from their homes and destroys farmland and infrastructure. In some of the worst cases, starvation is used as a method of warfare.   In Sudan and Gaza, conflict - coupled with severely restricted access and denials of aid - triggered famine classifications in 2024 and 2025 respectively, forcing children into the most extreme forms of hunger. Over half a million people in Gaza, and 638,000 people in Sudan - half of which are children in both places - face catastrophic hunger and a heightened risk of death, while around half a million more children in Gaza and 3.8 million in Sudan were found to be just one step away from catastrophe.   Hannah Stephenson, Save the Children’s head of advocacy for hunger and nutrition said:   “2025 has been a devastating year for the children living in the world’s worst conflict zones, with conflict pushing over 60 million children into hunger, including over 11 million who face emergency levels of hunger that necessitate desperate survival measures to stave off the risk of death.   “In the twenty-first century, famine is manmade and preventable. No child should die because of hunger or malnutrition today. Without enough food or the right nutrition. The international community has the power to stop hunger crises by seeking an end to the conflicts that drive them, fiercely protecting and investing in the first 1,000 days of life where action can make all the difference, and building more resilient food and health systems. Ending hunger requires urgent political solutions to resolve these conflicts and guarantee unrestricted humanitarian access.”   http://www.savethechildren.net/news/conflict-plunged-63-million-children-hunger-2025   The Center for Civilians in Conflict (CIVIC) has released the Protection of Civilians Trends Report and Civilian Protection Index, which documents the experiences of civilians living through conflict and extreme violence in 2024. The report reveals a continued and alarming deterioration in the global protection environment.   “By nearly every measure or issue we considered, civilians fared worse in 2024 than 2023,” said Lauren Spink, CIVIC’s Senior Research Advisor and lead on the project. “Civilian casualties, sexual violence, forced displacement, attacks on children and healthcare all increased in 2024, leaving civilians in many countries in desperate situations.”   Drawing on data, expert analysis, and civil society perspectives, the report sheds light on the ways civilians have been affected not only by direct attacks, but also the reverberating effects of conflict, such as loss of access to school for children and livelihoods for adults.   “Civilians are facing growing and intersecting threats —from the expanded use of drones and automated weapons systems without adequate safeguards to the spread of disinformation and the effects of climate change,” said Spink. “States and international organizations must act now to adapt their policies and tools to these evolving realities.”   The Civilian Protection Index, developed in collaboration with the Institute for Economics and Peace, assesses protection conditions across 163 countries using 15 indicators. These include measures of direct violence—such as civilian casualties and sexual violence—alongside other elements of a protective environment, such as trust in security forces and the quality of civic space.   CIVIC’s Executive Director, Hichem Khadhraoui, underscored the urgency of the findings: “This report is both a warning and a call to action,” said Khadhraoui.“The data shows civilians are bearing the brunt of today’s conflicts, but it also highlights where change is possible. States, armed actors, and international partners must recommit to protecting civilians—not in words, but through practical, sustained action.”   http://www.civilianprotectiontrends.org/ http://reliefweb.int/report/world/civics-2024-trends-report-finds-global-civilian-protection-sharp-decline Visit the related web page
	Social protection is our most effective tool for eradicating poverty by UN Special Procedure Holders   Oct. 2025   Social protection is our most effective tool for eradicating poverty - UN Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights, Olivier De Schutter.   The rolling back of protections for people living in poverty has created fertile ground for far-right movements across the world, warned the Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights, Olivier De Schutter, in a new report presented to the United Nations General Assembly today.   “Welfare reform in the name of austerity and efficiency has alienated millions of people living in poverty and played into the hands of a far right looking to exploit discontent,” De Schutter said.   “Government restructuring of welfare systems has led to increasingly harsh conditions linked to receiving benefits and the ramping up of digital surveillance. Programmes once designed to provide basic security to all in times of need now shame and punish the very people they are meant to support.”   The report details how, rather than reducing poverty or cutting public expenditure, modern welfare systems stigmatise claimants, forcing them into unsuitable jobs under the threat of sanctions, subjecting them to algorithms that falsely flag fraud, and even penalising families by removing children when poverty is misclassified as ‘neglect’.   “These punitive welfare systems increase economic insecurity, erode trust in public institutions and leave millions feeling humiliated and abandoned by mainstream politics,” the expert said, citing a study that found that a one-point increase in income inequality corresponded almost exactly to a one-point increase in support for populist parties.   “It is in this void that far-right populists thrive, presenting themselves as champions of those left behind by the ‘elite’,” he said. “But their agenda is not to empower people in poverty – it is to further dismantle protections for their own gain. Once in power, they work to maintain the privileges of the very economic elite they denounce in their speeches, slashing food assistance, healthcare and other life-saving services, and further deepening poverty and exclusion.”   The report highlights deep cuts to social spending in countries ranging from Argentina to the United States, depriving millions of basic healthcare or income support, even as tax cuts shift wealth from the poorest households to the richest.   “These are the politics of exclusion: a deliberate decision to cut off lifelines to the poor while rewarding the richest echelons of society, often in the name of protecting public budgets from ‘outsiders’ or the so-called ‘undeserving poor’,” De Schutter said.   The Special Rapporteur called on governments to shift away from narrowly targeted benefit schemes and towards investing in universal, rights-based social protection to counter the rise of the far right. He urged governments to reframe the welfare state not as a cost to be reduced, but as part of a strategy that has been proven to deliver security and wellbeing for all.   “Social protection is our most effective tool for eradicating poverty. It is not charity, nor is it a favour granted under strict conditions; it is a human right that should be provided to all willingly and with respect,” the expert said.   http://www.ohchr.org/en/documents/thematic-reports/a80138-far-right-populism-and-future-social-protection-report-special http://www.srpoverty.org/2025/10/01/far-right-populism-and-the-future-of-social-protection/ http://docs.un.org/en/A/80/138 http://thewire.in/communalism/global-rise-of-right-wing-populism-olivier-de-schutter-un-special-rapporteur   Global aid dismantling poses existential threat to collective action and human solidarity   Attacks on global aid, rising securitisation, and the dismantling of the international aid architecture pose an urgent threat to fundamental freedoms, a UN expert warned today.   “The collapse of global aid greatly endangers the survival of civil society organisations and threatens the entire civil society ecosystem, as well as the future of international solidarity, collective action, and participation in multilateral forums,” said Gina Romero, UN Special Rapporteur on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association in her report to the 80th session of the UN General Assembly.   Romero noted that, since the beginning of 2025, thousands of civil society associations that have been filling critical gaps by providing life-saving services, supporting victims of human rights violations, delivering vital humanitarian responses, and working to fight corruption, protect the environment, and advance peacebuilding, are either disappearing or severely reducing their operations.   The impact has been especially severe for grassroots organisations and those led by women, LGBTQI groups, and marginalised communities.   “What is unfolding is not merely a funding issue, it is a structural crisis in the international solidarity ecosystem,” the Special Rapporteur said. “Civic space globally is suffocating, not only because States are intensifying the scale and gravity of repression, but also because the lifelines that kept it alive are fundamentally challenged.”   The expert stressed that securitisation of the global agenda is driving a shift in funds and political priorities towards strengthening defence and military capabilities at the expense of democratisation and human rights. She noted that States are increasingly misusing national security grounds and discourse to justify the repression civil society and social movements.   “The securitisation and militarisation of State responses to non-violent collective actions, which are increasingly led by youth activists and have resulted in serious violations, are deeply alarming,” Romero said.   The Special Rapporteur called for urgent action to rebuild international solidarity and redesign a strengthened, fairer global aid architecture. “This requires reimagining international aid architecture, through a participatory and transparent process, and ensuring that it is equitable, inclusive, people-centred and rights-based,” she said.   The expert warned that severe restrictions on fundamental freedoms threaten decades of progress on human rights and democratisation, jeopardising the fulfilment of global commitments towards the Sustainable Development Goals, peace and security, inclusion and equality, and climate justice.   “States should implement a human rights-based approach to security, ensuring security policies and decisions are firmly rooted in international human rights standards; enable freedoms; and foster democratic resilience and inclusive governance,” Romero said.   http://www.ohchr.org/en/documents/thematic-reports/a80219-report-special-rapporteur-rights-freedom-peaceful-assembly-and   UN expert deplores continued targeting of health workers and medical facilities   A UN expert today deplored continuing attacks on health care and warned that peace is a fundamental pre-condition for human social and economic development.   “I regret that attacks on healthcare, the destruction of facilities, the killing of health and care workers and large-scale displacement in conflict affected areas continues”, said Tlaleng Mofokeng, the UN Special Rapporteur on the right to health. “A functioning health system, which encompasses the protection of health and care workers is vital to the enjoyment of the right to health.”   In her report to the UN General Assembly, Mofokeng focuses on health and care workers as oath takers and defenders of the right to health and explores the essentiality of the right to health for the realisation of peace, security and sustainable development.   Putting the right to health into practice is essential for a life of dignity, Mofokeng said, highlighting the key role that health and care workers play in making this right a reality.   “Health and care workers have been the target of violence, and perpetrators of these attacks are not held accountable,” the Special Rapporteur said. “The practice of medicine is not a crime.”   Mofokeng said that States must ensure people have access to basic health facilities, goods, and services, especially in areas affected by ongoing or past conflict, constant military presence, or occupation.   “Health facilities, goods and services should be in line with medical ethics, including the principle of medical impartiality in the treatment of the wounded, as mandated by international humanitarian law,” the expert said.   http://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2025/10/un-expert-deplores-continued-targeting-health-workers-and-medical-facilities   Administrative measures to counter terrorism must respect human rights: UN expert   Governments must stop the rampant abuse of administrative counter-terrorism measures, including where they are weaponised to stifle civil society, human rights defenders, journalists and political opponents, a UN expert warned today.   “Administrative measures, from security detention to listing individuals and groups as “terrorist”, are proliferating globally. They profoundly affect many human rights and often have fewer due process and judicial protections than under the criminal law,” said Ben Saul, the Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms while countering terrorism.   “Without essential safeguards, they are ripe for abuse in democratic and authoritarian States alike. Their abuse also counter-productively undermines national security by fuelling grievances and alienation.”   In his report to the General Assembly this week, Saul recommended best practices to protect human rights while using administrative measures.   The report sets out general principles to guide their responsible use before focusing on four common measures: (1) restrictive orders, such as limits on movement, communication and association, (2) listing of individuals and organisations as terrorist, to seize assets or criminalise behaviour, (3) administrative security detention, and (4) compulsory preventive interventions to reform behaviour.   “Given the risks involved, such measures should be only used exceptionally and where strictly necessary to prevent terrorism and proportionate to that aim, and applied on a non-discriminatory basis,” the Special Rapporteur said.   “The grounds for issuing them must be clearly defined in law and based on an underlying definition of terrorism that meets international standards. Measures must also be time limited,” he said.   The report calls for rigorous procedural safeguards, including adequate disclosure of evidence, accessible judicial review, and prompt and effective remedies, including compensation where rights have been violated.   “Administrative measures should not normally substitute for criminal prosecution where feasible or be misused to circumvent the stronger protections of criminal trials,” Saul said.   The Special Rapporteur cautioned against imposing administrative measures based on unreliable risk assessment tools, including those powered by artificial intelligence.   The special needs of vulnerable groups must be taken into account, including persons with disabilities or mental health conditions, victims of terrorist groups and survivors of sexual and gender-based violence. Measures should only be exceptionally applied to children.   “Administrative security detention is particularly dangerous, since it can too easily enable arbitrary detention, enforced disappearances, torture and cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, and arbitrary deprivation of life,” the expert said. “Recent abuses of administrative detention in armed conflicts are testament to these risks.”   http://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2025/10/administrative-measures-counter-terrorism-must-respect-human-rights-un   Repression of climate activists undermines a just transition: UN expert   The climate crisis is a human rights crisis and those calling for their governments to mitigate its impacts must be protected as human rights defenders, a UN expert told the UN General Assembly today, urging States to end the consistent pattern of attacks against those calling for climate action.   “In their struggle to keep control of the narrative around climate action, States are repressing the voices of the exact people they should be working alongside. Journalists, women human rights defenders, indigenous and traditional peoples are at particular risk, including those in the communities feeling the brunt of climate impacts so far,” said Mary Lawlor, UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders.   In her report to the UN General Assembly, Lawlor urged States to take radical action on climate change to avoid a human rights catastrophe. “People all around the world have been calling for climate action for decades. As they have been ignored, and the climate crisis has spiralled, they have found new ways to organise and advocate, including through civil disobedience.”   The expert said that instead of engaging constructively, States have resorted to criminalisation, repressive laws, police violence, and surveillance.   “We are seeing a backlash in every region of the world, with the repression particularly prevalent in historically high-emitting States and places where fossil fuel infrastructure is being expanded,” she said.   The Special Rapporteur highlighted the role human rights defenders play in fighting deforestation and ensuring the transition from the fossil fuel economy does not come at the expense of human rights, particularly the rights of those already most discriminated against in our societies.   She called on States to work for a transition that respects, protects and preserves the possibility of the true realisation of human rights for a   “There will be no ‘just transition’ if the current extractive model of energy production is copied and pasted onto the shift from fossil fuels,” the expert said.   “Human rights defenders are calling for the change we need, a turn towards respect, protection and realisation of all human rights for all,” she said.   Lawlor called for the safe and meaningful participation of human rights defenders in the Conference Of Parties (COP) on climate, detailing the litany of abuses defenders have faced when trying to intervene at the conference in the past, and highlighting the particularly repressive environment in recent years.   “What we are seeing is completely unsustainable,” the Special Rapporteur said. “There must be change, and that change must have human rights and human rights defenders at its core. There is far too much to lose.”   http://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2025/10/repression-climate-activists-undermines-just-transition-un-expert   UN expert calls for model law on neurotechnologies to protect right to privacy.   Regulation of neurotechnologies is vital to ensure an ethical approach and protect the right to privacy in an increasingly digital age, a UN expert said today.   In a report to the UN General Assembly, Ana Brian Nougreres, the UN Special Rapporteur on the right to privacy, called for the development of a model law on neurotechnologies and neurodata processing from the perspective of the right to privacy.   “Rapid development of neurotechnology poses challenges to physical and mental integrity and the safeguarding of human rights,” Brian Nougreres said. “The international community needs to develop a set of recommended guidelines for applying the existing human rights framework to the conception, design, development, testing, use and deployment of neurotechnologies.”   The report acknowledges the advances in neurotechnologies and their impact, both positive and negative, on society and identifies key fundamental pillars that are important to consider when developing a regulatory framework, taking into consideration the right to privacy and human dignity.   “A robust national legal framework that guarantees the right to privacy including the principles of informed consent, ethics in design, the precautionary principle and non-discrimination is crucial to ensure a balance between technological innovation and the protection of human rights,” the Special Rapporteur said.   To ensure the proper treatment of neurodata, which is highly sensitive personal information, the expert stressed that there is an urgent need to establish guidelines taking into consideration ethical practices and to oversee such practices, preventing any misuse that could compromise privacy or lead to discrimination.   “We need greater awareness and education on the risks associated with neurotechnologies to enable people to better understand their impact, make informed decisions about their neurodata, and demand respect for their rights in this new technological era,” Brian Nougreres said.   http://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2025/10/un-expert-calls-model-law-neurotechnologies-protect-right-privacy   UN expert demands global action to democratise water governance and protect human rights. (OHCHR)   Governments must abandon market-driven models and embrace democratic, rights-based approaches that recognise water as a common good essential to life, dignity and social cohesion, a UN expert said today.   In a report to the UN General Assembly, Pedro Arrojo Agudo, the UN Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation, called for a “paradigm shift” in global water governance.   “We are not facing a crisis of scarcity that can be resolved with technology alone,” said Arrojo Agudo. “We are facing a democratic crisis. Billions of people are not simply lacking water—they are impoverished and marginalised, living near rivers or polluted aquifers, while powerful interests exploit their water sources.”   The report challenges the commodification and privatisation of water, warning that financialisation strategies, such as public-private partnerships and speculative water markets, undermine human rights and environmental sustainability.   “Managing water through speculative futures markets puts human rights at risk,” Arrojo Agudo said. “Water must be governed as a common good, accessible to all but not appropriable by anyone.”   He said water governance must be rooted in the principles of equality, non-discrimination, participation, accountability, sustainability, and legality. He calls for the recognition of customary and Indigenous water tenure and for the empowerment of communities—especially women—as central actors in water management.   “Democratic governance must be participatory and non-discriminatory,” he said. “It must promote the equal participation of women and respect the knowledge of Indigenous Peoples and peasants.”   The report also addresses the climate emergency, advocating for a “water transition” to complement energy transition strategies. This includes restoring aquatic ecosystems, protecting aquifers and wetlands, and implementing inclusive hydrological and urban planning to reduce vulnerability to droughts and floods.   “Aquifers are the water lungs of nature,” the expert said. “They store 30 times more water than surface flows and are vital for managing the extraordinary droughts that climate change is making increasingly frequent.”   The Special Rapporteur called for targeted public subsidies and soft financing mechanisms to ensure affordability and sustainability, especially in rural and impoverished areas.   “The scarcity of water or public funds does not justify ignoring or relegating the priority of guaranteeing human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation,” he said. “Governments must prioritise these rights in their budgets. The priority for women from the poorest families is bringing water to their homes. Governments should follow their example.”   The expert called on states, multilateral institutions, and civil society to reject the commodification of water and embrace democratic governance models that protect both people and ecosystems.   “The billions of people without guaranteed access to safe drinking water do not represent a business opportunity,” he said. “They represent a global democratic challenge.”   http://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2025/10/un-expert-demands-global-action-democratise-water-governance-and-protect Visit the related web page
	View more stories