Collated by Peter Hulm
September 2025
UN special rapporteur Mary Lawlor: Gaza's human rights defenders in their own words (LINK) 14 September 2025
U.N. condemns reported massacre in Haiti after gangs killed more than 40 in fishing village on 11 September (LINK) — ground.news: 15 media reports (LINK) 13 September 2025
UN general assembly votes 142-10 to back Hamas-free government for Palestine: compromise plan sees Arab states condemning 7 October attacks in return for clear UN support for a Palestinian state (LINK) 12 September 2025
GEN: Sea-level rise and the role of Geneva: IPCC says "sea-level rise is now unavoidable for centuries" (LINK) 12 September 2025
— "Extreme sea levels that have been historically rare will likely be experienced annually by 2050 in many low-lying cities and small islands, and will become common by 2100 due to projected global mean sea-level rise."
Algorand Foundation releases Aid Trust Portal to track and visualize humanitarian aid payments (LINK) 9 September 2025
— The Aid Trust Portal is already being used by HesabPay to track aid payments made by several of its clients, including multiple UN agencies, who are using the HesabPay wallet to deliver aid in some of the world’s most fragile contexts. "Ensuring the transparent and efficient distribution of aid funds is critical, especially in regions such as Afghanistan and Northeast Syria, where political instability, security concerns, risks of aid diversion, and limited infrastructure can impede aid delivery to the most vulnerable populations. The Aid Trust Portal shows interactive network graph visualizations that analyze the flow of disbursed funds, facilitating transparency for donors, aid organizations, government agencies, compliance teams, and regulators. Such advanced blockchain analytics tools have never before been made available for free to the aid sector with the explicit intent of revolutionizing trust in humanitarian aid payments."
Iran and nuclear watchdog sign agreement seeking path to restart cooperation (LINK) 9 September 2025
Future Investment Conference tackles global shifts in investment, sustainability and technology: concludes with a call to meet the rising demand for sustainable and responsible investment amid technological advances and evolving geopolitical dynamics (LINK) 9 September 2025
Guardian: WHO Foundation accepts increasing amount of dark money from corporate donors (LINK) 9 September 2025
— Through the end of 2023, the last year for which records were available, the foundation had taken about $83m in corporate donations, and concealed the identity of donors for about 60% of the sum, a new report into the issue published in BMJ Global Health states. The level of dark money donations are increasing each year — 80% of the foundation's funding in 2023 came from anonymous sources who made contributions of at least $100,000, up from 15% during the first year, the report's authors found. There is no mechanism for tracking corporate donations.
Who funds the WHO Foundation? A transparency analysis of donation disclosures over the first 3 years of its operation: 23 July 2025 — (LINK)
US visa refusal for Palestinian delegation prompts calls to move UN meeting to Geneva (LINK) 8 September 2025
World Health Organization Director-General says US CDC needs to be protected (LINK) 7 September 2025
— Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said in a post on X: "No institution is perfect and continued improvements are always needed to make sure the latest science and evidence is applied to emerging challenges in real time, but the work of the US CDC has been invaluable and must be protected."
Seven of the world’s 10 most valuable companies are now digital giants — UNCTAD LinkedIn (LINK) 7 September 2025
— UN Trade and Development (UNCTAD) Global Trade Update, released on 8 July: "These firms do not lead in just one area — they span the entire digital economy, from cloud computing and e-commerce to artificial intelligence and advertising. Between 2017 and 2025, the combined share of sales held by the top five digital multinational enterprises more than doubled from 21% to 48%. Their share of total assets also increased from 17% to 35% during the same period."
— "Stronger enforcement of competition rules — paired with infrastructure investment, stronger regulatory systems, skills development and financing opportunities for startups in the digital economy — is essential to ensure the digital economy works for all, not just a few global tech giants," UNCTAD argues.
Postal traffic to US down by over 80% amid tariffs, UPU says: 88 operators worldwide have fully or partially suspended the shipping of parcels to the US (LINK) 6 September 2025
Wildfires producing 'witches brew' of air pollution: WMO (LINK) 5 September 2025
UN body finds US and UAE responsible for Afghan refugee's arbitrary detention for over 2 years (LINK) — ground.news: 9 media reports (LINK) 4 September 2025
— The former police colonel who had worked with US forces and received threats from the Taliban movement , was evacuated by private US operators under former President Joe Biden in 2021 and was supposed to be transferred to the US within 14 days, but was instead held in the Emirates Humanitarian City. In 2023, Human Rights Watch said the EHC complex was "essentially a prison" with as many as 2,700 Afghans held there. The Working Group has asked both states to provide compensation and reparations for violating the 1966 International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.
UN Technology Bank: Building Bridges in Geneva: Advancing STI for the LDCs (LINK) 4 September 2025
At least 21,000 children disabled in Gaza since fighting began: UN committee (LINK) — ground.news: 72 media reports (LINK) 3 September 2025
— Around 40,500 children have suffered "new war-related injuries" in the nearly two years since the war erupted, with more than half of them left disabled, said the UN Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.
US approves $32.5 million in assistance to WFP Nigeria to help address hunger (LINK) — ground.news: 19 media reports (LINK) 3 September 2025
— According to a U.S. statement, the funds will enable the WFP to assist a total of 764,205 beneficiaries in Northeast and Northwest Nigeria. It said the assistance includes complementary nutritional support for 41,569 pregnant and breastfeeding women and girls, as well as 43,235 children, facilitated through electronic food vouchers.
At least 21,000 children disabled in Gaza since fighting began: UN committee (LINK) — ground.news: 72 media reports (LINK) 3 September 2025
— Around 40,500 children have suffered "new war-related injuries" in the nearly two years since the war erupted, with more than half of them left disabled, said the UN Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.
UN raises number of staff detained by Yemen's Houthis to 19: 1 international staffer (LINK) 3 September 2025
Guardian: Five children in Gaza among at least 9 killed by Israeli strike while fetching water: Israel’s military urges people to leave Gaza City (LINK) 2 September 2025
Al Jazeera: At least 105 Palestinians killed, including 32 aid seekers, as Israel pushes ahead with plans to seize Gaza City — (LINK)
U.N. peacekeeping missions struggle, threatening their capacity to safeguard civilians in conflict zones, due to U.S. funding cuts (LINK) 2 September 2025
— President Trump's administration has canceled $4.9 billion in foreign aid, affecting peacekeeping operations crucial for protecting civilians in areas like South Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo. The U.S. contributes 27% of the $5.6-billion U.N. peacekeeping budget. Trump's administration has signaled intentions to end funding entirely by 2026, citing inefficiencies.
WHO sounds alarm as mental health conditions soar past one billion worldwide (LINK) — ground.news: 63 media reports (LINK) 2 September 2025
— Suicide claimed an estimated 727,000 lives in 2021 and is a leading cause of death among young people, with the world likely to fall short of the UN target to reduce suicide deaths by a third by 2030. The reports highlight that women are disproportionately impacted, with 581.5 million women facing mental health disorders as compared to 513.9 million men. "Women who have experienced intimate partner violence or sexual violence are particularly vulnerable to developing a mental health condition," said the World Mental Health Today report.
Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit: Guterres calls for strengthening multilateralism (LINK) 1 September 2025
UNAIDS exhibits posters in Geneva throughout September to dispel myths and misconceptions about HIV (LINK) 2 September 2025
Landslide in the remote Marra Mountains in western Sudan kills at least 1,000 people, rebel group says, appeals for humanitarian assistance from the United Nations and other regional and international organizations (LINK) 1 September 2025
Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit: Guterres calls for strengthening multilateralism (LINK) 1 September 2025
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