Dozens of civilian casualties were reported over the weekend and into Monday, including children injured, according to UN spokesman Stéphane Dujarric.

The hardest hit regions are Dnipro, Donetsk, Kharkiv, Kherson, kyiv, Sumy and Zaporizhzhia.

“Meanwhile, our humanitarian colleagues tell us that civilian evacuations continue from frontline communities in Donetsk region“, Mr. Dujarric told reporters in New York on Monday.

Between October 24 and 26, more than 900 people were evacuated, he added, also noting that the Ukrainian Humanitarian Fund has released $13 million since May to support local and national NGOs in the Kharkiv region, helping nearly 76,000 residents.

About half of those affected are women and girls. Assistance has included cash transfers, shelter, health services, water, sanitation, hygiene support and measures to prevent gender-based violence.

“We don’t see anything”

Winterization – providing lifesaving assistance to vulnerable populations to protect them from cold and harsh conditions – is a major concern, according to the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) warns.

Kenan Madi, Head of Field Operations, UNICEF Ukraine, said UN News that families on the front lines urgently need heating, warm clothing and other essential supplies.

“Attacks on infrastructure impact basic services – from hospitals to water services to district heating. – making daily life extremely difficult for children,” he said.

“I just had a colleague who came back from Chernihiv,” he continued, adding: “The only thing he said to me was, “It’s really dark, you can’t see anything.” » Some rural areas are in a total blackout. This is what children in Ukraine are currently experiencing.»

UN response

Under these conditions, United Nations agencies are continuing their efforts to provide aid to communities. UNICEF provided access to clean water to 300,000 people in September alone and to more than three million people across the country so far this year.

Education remains disrupted: around 350,000 children in frontline regions attend school in person, while more than 400,000 follow a blended schedule and around 280,000 continue their schooling entirely online.

To mitigate these disruptions, the agency supports more than 150 learning centers offering remedial classes, social-emotional support and safe learning spaces. He also has rehabilitated more than 100 schools and kindergartens since 2022with 42 additional installations under repair this year.

Mental health a priority

Mental health services are also a priority. Last month, UNICEF provided psychosocial support to 16,000 children and 25,000 caregivers in frontline areas, and more than 300,000 people received mental health assistance throughout 2025.

Mr Madi highlighted the human toll, referring to the challenges faced by a mother of autistic twins.

“She deserves to get the help she needs, but this is not one person’s story. Many households are struggling with their daily lives. There are a lot of stories on the front line and unfortunately, from year to year the situation becomes more and more difficult for people, especially for children, and this is something very worrying for us.

Speaking in Geneva, she said the world was facing “a decline in respect for human rights and multilateralism”, with conflict, debt and a decline in development aid threatening to wipe out hard-won gains.

The OECD, a 38-member economic cooperation organization, forecasts aid cuts of 9 to 17 percent next year, and up to 25 percent for the bloc of least developed countries, while military spending has reached record levels.

“The results speak for themselves: poverty reduction has stalled and virtually all SDGs are behind schedule,” said Ms Al Nashif, citing the World Bank’s warning of a “lost decade for development”.

The way forward

Despite the bleak outlook, she said the right to development offered a practical way forward – reshaping fiscal policies, strengthening social protection and aligning global finance with human rights principles.

Nearly 40 years after the UN Declaration on the Right to Development, Ms. Al Nashif urged governments to “walk the talk,” noting new momentum through initiatives such as the Seville Commitment and renewed global solidarity expressed at the 80th UN General Assembly.

Independent UN expert: Belarus is not a “paradise” for workers

“Belarus is not a workers’ paradise, despite their proclaimed commitment to economic and social rights,” said Nils Muižnieks, an independent UN expert on human rights in Belarus, addressing the UN General Assembly on Monday.

In his capacity as Human Rights Council-designated expert, Mr. Muižnieks presented his latest reportwhich exposed pervasive politically motivated discrimination and harassment in the Belarusian public and private sectors.

Forced labor

It also found unjustified politically motivated restrictions on access to employment – ​​and the use of forced labor for little or no pay as a form of punishment for those unjustly incarcerated.

The report follows a two-year commitment under the auspices of the International Labor Organization (ILO), which has subjected Belarus to increased surveillance due to violations of trade union rights.

Mr Muižnieks – who is not a UN staff member and receives no salary for his work – recalled that more than 1,100 people continue to be arbitrarily detained in the country and that some of those released have been deported and had their passports confiscated, putting them at risk of statelessness and fear of returning home.

IOM scales up Ebola and Pox preparedness across Africa

The International Organization for Migration (IOM) East scaling its health response across Africa, responding quickly to Ebola in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) last September and supporting mpox preparedness in several African countries.

The agency’s priority is to make all entry and screening points fully operational to prevent disease in areas where there is human movement.

“These measures help prevent the spread of disease and keep travelers and border communities safe,” said Frantz Celestin, IOM Regional Director for East, Horn and Southern Africa.

Border communities face increased risk due to their high mobility and limited access to health services, but thanks to operational testing points, more than 169,000 screenings have been carried out.

Improved mpox response

The agency also supports national responses to mpox in several countries. In Uganda and Ethiopia, health authorities use IOM mobility data for public health planning and epidemic preparedness.

In Malawi and South Sudan, IOM is strengthening surveillance, contact tracing and access to vaccination at key border points.

According to the report of the Commission of Inquiry on Ukraine, the actions of the Russian army constitute two crimes against humanity: first, “killings and forced transfers of population” and second, “deportations and transfers of civilians” from areas occupied by Russian forces, some of whom were tortured.

Systematic and coordinated

The attacks – which hit a wide range of civilian targets in an area stretching more than 300 kilometers along the right bank of the Dnipro River in Dnipropetrovsk, Kherson and Mykolaiv oblasts – are systematically coordinated actions aimed at driving Ukrainians from their homes, the report’s authors say.

They targeted individuals, homes and buildings, humanitarian distribution points and essential energy infrastructure serving civilians.

They also targeted first responders, including ambulances and firefighters, who enjoy special protection under international humanitarian law.

Many attacks hit the same vehicles and infrastructure repeatedly, deliberately setting them on fire, spreading terror among the civilian population and violating their basic human rights.

The UN report Human Rights CouncilThe designated investigation team – created in March 2022 – contains testimonies from residents who have faced criticism, describing their living conditions as unbearable.

“Severe mental pain and suffering”

“We are affected every day, drones fly at all hours – morning, evening, day or night, constantlysaid one man interviewed for the report.

The investigators’ report indicates that Russian authorities coordinated actions to expel or transfer groups of people from areas under occupation. Some were transferred to areas under Ukrainian government control; others were sent to neighboring Georgia.

Detention, torture and confiscation of documents and property are also mentioned – acts which have “inflicted severe mental pain and suffering and constitutes inhumane treatment constituting a war crime and a violation of human rights”, says the report.

On Monday, the commission of inquiry presented the report to the Third Committee of the United Nations General Assembly, which deals with social, humanitarian and cultural issues.

The findings are based on some 500 publicly available crime videos examined – 247 of which were technically verified – and 226 interviews with Ukrainian citizens.

The Commission also examined Russian allegations that Ukrainian armed forces attacked civilian targets in Russian-occupied areas with drones. She was unable to draw any conclusions due to lack of access to the territory, concerns over the safety of witnesses and the lack of response from Russian authorities.

Many families are returning to devastated neighborhoods where unstable buildings and unexploded ordnance pose life-threatening risks.

“Water, food and essential services are still severely lacking“, OCHA said, as humanitarian partners race to meet growing demand amid widespread destruction.

Help is coming

Aid continues to arrive in Gaza, with more than 300 truckloads of supplies collected from the Palestinian side of the Kerem Shalom crossing between Friday and Saturday.

The cargo included thousands of pallets of wheat flour, canned food, rice and provisions for hot meals, as well as medical equipment, tents, tarpaulins and winter clothing.

While data on Sunday’s deliveries is still being compiled, the UN confirmed that hygiene kits, postpartum kits and shelter materials entered the Gaza Strip.

THE United Nations Office for Project Services which provides comprehensive emergency services (UNOPS) also distributed some 329,000 liters of diesel to keep hospitals, telecommunications and food operations running.

Hot dishes and bread

Humanitarian partners, working with 170 community kitchens, have now provided more than a million hot meals, mainly in southern and central Gaza.

In Deir al Balah, Khan Younis and Gaza City, 15 UN-supported bakeries produce tens of thousands of bales of bread daily, distributed free to shelters and communities across hundreds of sites.

Teams are also expanding their work to reduce risks from unexploded ordnance – largely caused by the Israeli offensive – as people begin to return home.

During the weekend, nearly 3,200 people in central and southern Gaza received security briefings. Since October 2023, according to OCHA, 150 incidents linked to explosive munitions have resulted in casualties, particularly among children.

Olive grove attacks: West Bank

In the occupied West Bank, OCHA reported continued violence linked to the olive harvest season, which began on October 9.

More than 85 settler attacks on Palestinian farmers and their land have disrupted harvests, injuring more than 110 people and damaging more than 3,000 trees in 50 villages.

Seventeen attacks were recorded last week, mainly in the Ramallah governorate. “These repeated incidents have devastated livelihoods and heightened fears among farming communities.“, said OCHA.

Despite the influx of aid, the UN warns that Gaza’s humanitarian needs remain overwhelming, with food, water and shelter still woefully inadequate as families risk everything to return home.