“There is new momentum towards justice in Libya, and we now turn to the first trial to be held before the Court in this situation,” Nazhat Shameem Khan told the ambassadors.

She said the arrest of suspected war criminal Khaled El Hishri by German authorities in July is “a clear example of the momentum we are building.”

Mr. El Hishri is allegedly responsible for war crimes and crimes against humanity, including murder, torture, rape and sexual violence, committed in Libya’s notorious Mitiga prison from February 2015 until at least early 2020.

He is expected to be transferred to the ICC soon.

A clear message

“For too long, crimes committed in detention centers in western and eastern Libya have been a no-go zone for accountability,” Ms. Khan said.

Mr. El Hishri’s case sends “a clear message: those responsible for the suffering inflicted in Libya are mistaken if they believe they are still beyond the reach of justice.”

In addition, work continues towards the arrest and transfer of other fugitives, including Osama Elmasry Njeem and Saif Suleiman Sneidel, accused of committing war crimes.

Ms. Khan noted that “based on the progress we are currently seeing, I firmly believe there is an opportunity for us to demonstrate collective success based on the partnership between Libya, this Council and the ICC.”

This progress was made “despite the unprecedented headwinds facing the Court.”

She stressed that “coercive measures and acts of intimidation against the ICC, civil society and other justice partners serve no one other than those who wish to benefit from impunity in Libya and in all the situations we address.”

UN humanitarian office condemns latest attacks in Ukraine

The United Nations Aid Coordination Office (OCHA) reported large-scale attacks in the Ukrainian capital and in several regions between Monday and Tuesday morning.

At least seven civilians were killed and 20 injured. Residential buildings, a nursery school and a playground were also damaged.

The attacks have further disrupted electricity, heating and water supplies, which already pose a challenge for Ukraine. Authorities reported that parts of Kharkiv remained without power and water.

More than 50,000 people in Kyiv and Chernihiv regions faced emergency outages. Across the country, more than 100,000 consumers remain without electricity following the latest wave of strikes.

UN spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric told reporters that humanitarian partners continue to scale up their services to combat gender-based violence nationwide. By the end of October, nearly 360,000 women and girls had received support from 100 organizations.

Matthias Schmale, UN humanitarian coordinator for Ukraine sentenced the “continuing pattern of massive civilian damage” caused by the strikes and reiterated that civilians are protected by international humanitarian law.

At least 127 civilians killed in Lebanon since ceasefire agreement

Nearly a year after the ceasefire agreement between Lebanon and Israel, the UN human rights office (OHCHR) continues to face increasing attacks from the Israeli army, spokesperson Thameen Al-Kheetan said Tuesday.

In one of the most recent and deadliest attacks over the past week, at least 13 civilians were killed and at least six injured in the Ein El-Hilweh Palestinian refugee camp.

“All of the deaths we documented following this strike were civilians, raising serious concerns that the Israeli military attack may have violated the principles of international humanitarian law on the conduct of hostilities,” Mr. Al-Kheetan warned before calling for a prompt and impartial investigation into the strike.

Israeli military attacks have led to the deaths of at least 127 civilians in Lebanon since the ceasefire agreement came into force on November 27, 2024.

Thousands of people displaced

The strikes also destroyed civilian infrastructure and hampered reconstruction efforts and attempts by displaced people to return home.

More than 64,000 people, mostly residents of southern Lebanon, remain displaced in other parts of the country.

Israel has started building a wall across Lebanese territory that makes 4,000 square meters inaccessible to the population, thereby affecting people’s right to return to their land, Al-Kheetan said.

“All internally displaced people must be able to return to their homes, and reconstruction must be supported, not hindered. »

At least 402 people, mainly schoolchildren, have been kidnapped in four states in the north-central region – Niger, Kebbi, Kwara and Borno – since November 17, according to the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights. OHCHRsaid Tuesday.

Only 88 of them were released or escaped from captivity.

Call for justice

“We are shocked by the recent surge in mass kidnappings in north-central Nigeria,” said OHCHR spokesperson Thameen Al-Kheetan. said in Geneva.

“We urge Nigerian authorities – at all levels – to take all legal measures to ensure that such despicable attacks end and to hold those responsible to account. »

OHCHR said authorities must ensure the safe return of all those still detained and prevent further kidnappings.

Growing hunger and security threat

The increase in insurgent attacks threatens regional stability and causes a surge in hunger, according to the World Food Program (PAM) added.

The latest analysis reveals that almost 35 million people are expected to face severe food insecurity during the 2026 lean season from June to August – the highest number ever recorded in the country.

Insurgent attacks have intensified this year, the UN agency said.

Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM), an al-Qaeda affiliate, reportedly carried out its first attack in Nigeria last month, while the Islamic State in West Africa Province (ISWAP) insurgent group is said to be seeking to expand into the Sahel region.

“Communities are under severe pressure from repeated attacks and economic tensions,” said David Stevenson, WFP country director and representative in Nigeria.

“If we fail to feed families and bring food insecurity under control, growing desperation could fuel increased instability as insurgent groups exploit hunger to expand their influence, creating a security threat that extends across West Africa and beyond. »

Millions of people in danger

The WFP noted that northern Nigeria is experiencing the most serious food crisis in a decade and that rural farming communities are the hardest hit.

Nearly six million people are expected to face crisis levels of hunger or worse during the 2026 lean season in Borno, Adamawa and Yobe states. This includes some 15,000 people in Borno State who are expected to face catastrophic famine or near-starvation conditions.

The situation is evolving as WFP continues to face funding shortfalls that forced the agency to scale back its nutrition programs in the northeast in July, affecting more than 300,000 children.

The WFP has warned that resources for emergency food and nutrition assistance will run out in December, meaning millions of people will be left without vital support next year.

Gender-related killings, known as feminicides, are the most brutal and extreme manifestation of violence against women and girls.

The last report of theUnited Nations Office on Drugs and Crime(UNODC) And UN Women published on International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women shows that femicide is on the rise worldwide.

Here’s what you need to know about femicide.

Femicide versus homicide

Femicide is defined as intentional killing motivated by sex. This is different from homicide, where the motivation may not be gender-related.

Femicide is motivated by discrimination against women and girls, unequal power relations, gender stereotypes or harmful social norms.

This can happen at home, in workplaces, in schools or in public spaces and online. It can be caused by domestic violence, sexual harassment and violence, harmful practices and trafficking.

Family and domestic violence

In 2024, approximately 50,000 women and girls worldwide have been killed by their intimate partners or other family members, including fathers, mothers, uncles and brothers; this represents an average of 137 women or girls every day.

Current and former intimate partners are by far the most likely perpetrators of femicide, accounting for an average of 60 percent of all family-related murders.

Beyond family

Gender-related killings take place in many contexts beyond the private sphere.

They may be linked to rape or sexual violence committed by a person unknown to the victim.

Femicide can be linked to harmful practices such as female genital mutilation or so-called honor killings or the result of hate crimes linked to sexual orientation or gender identity.

It is often linked to armed conflict, gangs, human trafficking and other forms of organized crime.

Global problem

Femicide is a global crisis that affects women and girls in every country.

In 2024, Africa recorded the highest number of female intimate partner murders and family-related murders, with an estimated 22,600 victims (3 victims per 100,000).

The Americas and Oceania also recorded high rates of family femicide (1.5 and 1.4 per 100,000, respectively), while rates were significantly lower in Asia and Europe (0.7 and 0.5 per 100,000, respectively).

UN Women calls these figures “alarming”, but warns that the true scale of femicides “is likely much higher” due to under-reporting.

Risk groups

Women in public life, including politicians, journalists, and human rights and environmental advocates, face escalating violence online and offline.

Technology-facilitated violence, such as cyberbullying, coercive control, and image-based abuse, can escalate offline and, in some cases, lead to femicide.

One in four female journalists worldwide and a third of female parliamentarians in the Asia-Pacific region have received death threats online.

The deaths of 81 women environmental defenders and 34 women human rights defenders were reported in 2022.

Indigenous women also face disproportionate risks and transgender women face an increase in targeted killings around the world.

Why are feminicides increasing?

The increase in femicide is driven by persistent gender inequalities, norms of discrimination, and escalating violence in contexts of conflict and displacement.

Limited liability, weak protection systems and online harassment further increase risks.

Crises, economic insecurity and shrinking civic spaces also intensify deadly violence against women and girls.

What is the UN doing to prevent it?

The UN is working to prevent femicide by strengthening legal frameworks, supporting survivor-centered services and improving data collection.

It helps states with prevention strategies, trains law enforcement, monitors violations, and supports public campaigns that challenge harmful norms.

Objective 5 of the global agreement Sustainable Development Goals which concerns gender equality, and Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women(CEDAW), adopted in 1979 by UN member states, are two fundamental international instruments that combat gender-based violence.

Launch of its 2025 World AIDS Day report, Overcoming disruption, transforming the AIDS response, UNAIDS said international aid had fallen sharply, with OECD projections showing external health financing could fall by 30 to 40 percent in 2025 compared to 2023.

The impact was immediate and severe, particularly in low- and middle-income countries heavily affected by HIV.

“The funding crisis has exposed the fragility of the progress we have fought so hard for,” said Winnie Byanyima, executive director of UNAIDS, speaking in Geneva.

“Behind every data point in this report are people…babies missed for HIV testing, young women cut off from prevention support, and communities suddenly left without services and care. We cannot abandon them.”

Prevention services hardest hit

UNAIDS reports widespread disruption to HIV prevention, testing and community programs:

• In 13 countries, the number of people newly started on treatment decreased.
• Stock shortages of HIV testing kits and essential medicines have been reported in Ethiopia and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
• Distribution of preventive drugs has fallen 31 percent in Uganda, 21 percent in Viet NamAnd 64 percent in Burundi.
• 450,000 women in sub-Saharan Africa lost access to “mentor mothers,” trusted community workers who connect them to care.
• Nigeria recorded a 55 percent drop in the distribution of condoms.

Before the crisis, adolescent girls and young women were already hard hit. 570 new HIV infections occur every day in young women aged 15 to 24. UNAIDS warns that dismantling prevention programs makes them even more vulnerable.

Community organizations, which form the backbone of HIV awareness, are also under pressure. On 60 percent of organizations led by women say they have had to suspend essential services.

UNAIDS modeling now suggests that failure to restore prevention efforts could lead to a 3.3 million additional new HIV infections between 2025 and 2030.

Human rights reversals compound risks

The funding crisis develops against a backdrop of growing restrictions on civil society and an increase in punitive laws targeting marginalized groups most affected by HIV.

For the first time since UNAIDS began tracking such legislation, the number of countries criminalizing same-sex relations and gender expression increased in 2025. Globally:

• 168 countries criminalize certain aspects of sex work
• 152 criminalize small-scale drug possession
• 64 criminalize homosexual relations
• 14 criminalize transgender people

Restrictions on civil society, including onerous registration rules and limits on obtaining international assistance, further undermine access to services.

Zimbabwe: “People have not stopped needing services – they no longer have access to them”

Speaking from Harare, Dr Byrone Chingombe, technical director of the Center for Sexual Health and HIV/AIDS Research (CeSHHAR), described the real impact of funding cuts in Zimbabwe.

“2025 was a difficult year,” he said. “When funding stopped in January, service providers were laid off overnight. The drugs were on the shelves, but the people delivering them were gone. This disrupted adherence and, more importantly, trust.”

CeSHHAR HIV testing “case finding” rates have fallen by more than 50 percenta decline which he says reflects a loss of access and not a reduction in need. Community-led teams, already overburdened, are trying to fill the void.

He highlighted two areas of hope: community resilience and new long-acting prevention technologies, including injectable lenacapavir, whose approval was recently fast-tracked in Zimbabwe and is now expected to arrive in the country in early 2026.

A call to action

UNAIDS urges world leaders to:

• Reaffirming global solidarity and multilateralismincluding commitments made at the recent G20 leaders summit in South Africa
• Maintain and increase HIV fundingparticularly for countries most dependent on external aid
• Invest in innovationincluding affordable, long-acting prevention
• Defending human rights and empowering communitieswhich remain essential to the success of HIV responses

“It is our time to choose,” Ms. Byanyima said. “We can allow these shocks to undo decades of hard-won progress, or we can unite behind the shared vision of ending AIDS. Millions of lives depend on the choices we make today.”

One day, the anonymous interaction turned into physical harassment. He texted her exactly what she was wearing.

“There is a specific terror in being watched by someone without a face,” Ms. Tesfai told U.N. officials, roving ambassadors and civil society representatives in New York to commemorate the tragedy. International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women.

This unwanted attention quickly escalated into explicit death threats. Ms Tesfai informed the police but they offered no protection.

“Legally, we can’t do anything,” he was told, since everything was digital and the foreigner had no name.

A femicide every 10 minutes

More than 80,000 women and girls were intentionally killed last year, according to a new report on femicide by UN Women and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC).

More than half of these femicides were committed by intimate partners or family members. This means a woman or girl is almost killed by a partner or family member. every 10 minutes. In contrast, only 11 percent of male homicides were perpetrated by intimate partners or family members in the same year.

This year campaign targets digital violence and calls on governments to implement laws ending impunity, tech companies to ensure platforms are secure, and donors to support organizations in eradicating violence.

Read our explainer on femicide here.

Growing digital abuse

“Almost every high-ranking woman in public life I have met in recent years, whether journalists, activists or politicians, is facing escalating digital harassment, sexualized abuse and threats of physical violence,” the UN said. President of the General Assembly Annalena Baerbock.

According to the report, increased access to digital tools has exacerbated existing forms of violence against women and girls while giving rise to new forms of violence such as non-consensual image sharing, doxing and deepfake videos.

Digital violence, which also includes cyberbullying, cyberstalking and sexual harassment, can result in physical, sexual, psychological, social, political or economic harm.

“The goal has always been the same: to intimidate, humiliate and above all to silence,” Ms. Baerbock said.

“With rapid advances in artificial intelligence, the scale and speed of this abuse is beyond anything we have seen before. »

End impunity

“The challenges are formidable,” warned UN Women Executive Director Sima Bahous. “Survivors face disbelief. Attackers enjoy impunity.”

One of the main obstacles to combating digital violence against women and girls is the lack of legal foundations and regulations around the world to ensure safety.

Ms. Bahous proposed three solutions to end impunity. First, digital violence must be recognized as real violence; Second, justice systems need to hold tech companies accountable and, finally, there needs to be more investment in prevention and response.

“Until the law considers digital predation as harm, we are supposed to protect ourselves by becoming invisible,” said Tesfai, recalling the many cases of digital abuse she has encountered.

Echoing the UN’s push for digital violence to be treated as real violence, she added that “we deserve to be protected by laws that protect us while we are still alive.”