Collated by Peter Hulm
December 2025
Swiss Senate opposes drastic cuts proposed by House to 2026 CHF300m funding earmarked for NGOs in International Geneva (LINK) 10 December 2025
Geneva-based Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights has cut 300 posts (LINK) 10 December 2025
— "Essential work has had to be eliminated, particularly in Colombia, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Burma, Tunisia and other countries."
Heather Cox Richardson: the U.S. government did not recognize Human Rights Day this year. (LINK) 10 December 2025
UN environment report 'hijacked' over fossil fuels, its co-chair says: United States and other countries were unwilling to go along with the scientific findings in the Global Environment Outlook, the result of six years' work (LINK) 9 December 2025
— BBC: At a meeting with government representatives to agree the findings, the US and allies said they could not go along with a summary of the report's conclusions. As the scientists were unwilling to water down or change their findings, the report has now been published without the summary and without the support of governments, weakening its impact.
A sustainable future requires new thinking: UNEP environment report (LINK) 9 December 2025
— The agency calls the report the most comprehensive assessment of the global environment ever undertaken, with input from 287 multi-disciplinary scientists from 82 countries — stretching to well over 1,000 pages. It calls for a transition to circular economy models; a rapid decarbonisation of the energy system; a shift towards sustainable diets, reduced waste and improved agricultural practices; and expanding protected areas and restoring degraded ecosystems — all backed by behavioural, social and cultural shifts that include Indigenous and local knowledge.
UN aid coordination agency UNOCHA cuts appeal for 2026 to $33B after lowest annual support in a decade ($15bn) (LINK) 8 December 2025
UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination urges Britain and Mauritius not to ratify Chagos deal (LINK) 8 December 2025
— "It risks perpetuating long-standing violations of Chagossians' rights." The deal, struck in May after years of talks, passes sovereignty of the islands to Mauritius while allowing Britain to retain control of the US-UK air base on the largest island, Diego Garcia, under a long-term lease. Up to 2,000 Chagossians were forcibly removed from the archipelago in the 1960s and 1970s. Many ended up in Britain, and some have sought the right to return. Committee said it was concerned that the deal "explicitly prevents the return of the Chagossian people to their ancestral lands in Diego Garcia Island".
Police raid East Jerusalem UNRWA offices, apparently over unpaid debts, raise Israeli flag over compound (LINK) 8 December 2025
Susan Ferguson, the special representative of the UN's women's agency in Afghanistan, calls on Taliban to lift ban on Afghan women in its offices (LINK) — ground.news: 67 media reports (LINK) 7 December 2025
— The statement did not say how many staff were affected, but UN sources indicated that several hundred women were facing the ban. Staff have been working remotely for the past three months, notably providing assistance to the victims of deadly earthquakes and to Afghan migrants deported from neighbouring Pakistan and Iran.
Most countries make progress towards universal health coverage, but major challenges remain, WHO–World Bank report finds: the share of people experiencing financial hardship due to large and impoverishing out-of-pocket (OOP) health payments declined from 34% to 26% between 2000 and 2022. (LINK) 5 December 2025
— The report cautions that the poorest populations continue to bear the greatest burden of unaffordable health costs, with 1.6 billion people further pushed into poverty. Overall, an estimated 4.6 billion people worldwide still lack access to essential health services and 2.1 billion people experience financial hardship to access health care, including the 1.6 billion people living in poverty or pushed deeper into it due to health expenses.
UN: International Volunteer Day — "Every Contribution Matters": marks the official global launch of the International Year of Volunteers for Sustainable Development (LINK) 5 December 2025
IAEA says Chornobyl nuclear plant’s protective shield damaged (LINK) 5 December 2025
IAEA launches expert mission to Ukraine as Russia ramps up attacks on energy infrastructure: mission is in Ukraine to "assess the status of electrical substations critical for nuclear safety and security", including at the Chornobyl site (LINK) 5 December 2025
Chernobyl radiation shield has stopped working after Russian drone strikes in February, IAEA warns (LINK) 5 December 2025
— The so-called new safe confinement was built as part of a €1.5 billion Europe-led initiative in 2019 to replace the reactor destroyed in the plant's 1986 meltdown, in which over 30 people died. But the large steel structure "lost its primary safety functions, including the confinement capability" when its outer cladding was set ablaze after being struck by Russian drones, according to a new report by the International Atomic Energy Agency. IAEA Director-General's statement (LINK): "Timely and comprehensive restoration remains essential to prevent further degradation and ensure long-term nuclear safety."
UN report sounds alarm over Maori rights in New Zealand: UN committee raised concerns over government policies including scrapping the Maori Health Authority and funding cuts for Indigenous services (LINK) 5 December 2025 — UN committee for the convention on the elimination of all forms of racial discrimination (CERD) report — (LINK)
To counter climate denial, UN scientists must be 'clear' about human role in change: IPCC chief (LINK) 4 December 2025
WMO: Arab region pushed to limits by climate extremes as 2024 smashes heat records (LINK) 4 December 2025
Namibia loses bid to overturn ban on rhino horn trade at CITES conference in Samarkand (LINK) 4 December 2025
Major win at CITES CoP20: protections for iconic elephants, giraffes & rhinos upheld (LINK) 3 December 2025
WHO launches new, unified plan for countries to manage coronaviruses: COVID-19 and beyond (LINK) 3 December 2025
— To strengthen global coronavirus monitoring, WHO has also expanded its Coronavirus Network (CoViNet), a network of disease surveillance programmes and reference laboratories for SARS-CoV-2, MERS-CoV, and emerging coronaviruses of public health significance.
Libya war crimes suspect makes first appearance at ICC (LINK) — ground.news: 31 media reports (LINK) 3 December 2025
— Judges believe a significant number of detainees experienced torture, sexual violence, and other abuses during Khaled Mohamed Ali El Hishri's command from February 2015 to early 2020.
CITES: countries take steps at Uzbekistan conference to protect wildlife in legal trade (LINK) 2 December 2025
— There have already been some conservation wins, including stronger protections for fish, snakes and mammals.
UNDP: AI may widen inequality between countries (LINK) 2 December 2025
— Artificial Intelligence has reached 1.2 billion users in only 3 years, with nearly 70% of them in developing countries. In some high-income economies 2 in 3 people already use AI tools, while in many low-income countries usage remains close to 5%.
UN will cut 2026 budget by $577m by slashing workforce: plans to cut nearly a fifth of its staff positions as unpaid member dues climb to $1.59 trillion (LINK) 1 December 2025
— The UN chief announced next year's budget on Monday, which he set at $3.24bn — a reduction of $577m from 2025.
WHO unveils guidelines for GLP-1 weight-loss drugs: calls for a worldwide obesity treatment “ecosystem” to ensure that drugs are used fairly (LINK) 1 December 2025
For the first time since 1988, the U.S. is not officially commemorating World AIDS Day (LINK) 1 December 2025
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