UN News Today 06 October 2025 |

We are not powerless in face of atrocities in Gaza, West Bank, Ukraine and beyond, insists UNHCR chief

The head of the UN refugee agency, UNHCR, on Monday took aim at the “deliberate abandonment” of the laws of war today, while rejecting the idea that the international community is powerless in the face of ongoing violations.

Filippo Grandi was addressing the agency’s annual executive body in Geneva for the last time before stepping down in December.

He condemned the approach of some countries for whom “no human cost is too high”:

“The atrocities perpetrated in Gaza and the [occupied] West Bank, in Ukraine, Sudan or Myanmar are evidence of the deliberate abandonment of norms in the name of violent power, conducted with complete impunity by States and non-State entities alike. People killed while waiting in line to receive food. Civilians massacred in camps where they fled for safety. Hospitals and schools destroyed. A record number of aid workers killed.”

Mr. Grandi said that UNHCR’s fundamental mission remains as relevant today as when it was mandated 75 years ago: to provide refuge to those fleeing danger and find solutions to their plight.

But he explained that 122 million people today have been displaced by war and persecution – almost double the number a decade ago.

This in turn has fuelled a debate in Europe about tougher deportation measures and legal changes in the United States that are “not consistent with international law”, the UNHCR chief warned – before encouraging governments to consult with his agency on measures that are lawful.

Human Rights Council investigators to probe Afghanistan violations

Afghanistan news now, and a decision by the UN Human Rights Council on Monday to step up the pressure on the country’s de facto authorities for the increasingly serious violations of international law taking place there.

In a resolution adopted without a vote, the Council’s 47 Member States established a new investigative body of independent experts to gather evidence of the “most serious” crimes committed in Afghanistan under Taliban rule, including against women and girls.

The aim is for the new investigators’ work to be used in national, regional or international courts or tribunals, according to the resolution, which was introduced by Denmark on behalf of the European Union and broadly welcomed by countries including co-sponsor Chile, France, Iceland and Mexico.

Japan also expressed deep concern for the repression faced by the Afghan population and stressed that the rights crisis was not a problem that Afghanistan nor its neighbours could resolve alone.

Gaza’s displaced face deadly threats returning northwards, reports indicate

In Gaza, as indirect US-led ceasefire talks were due to begin in Egypt on Monday between Hamas and Israel, aid teams cited reports indicating that some civilians have been shot while trying to return to the north.

One humanitarian mission travelling to Gaza City – in the north of the enclave – described coming across the bodies of a man and woman lying in Al Rashid Road, the coastal road running the length of the Strip.

Images provided by the aid team indicated that the man’s body had been partially eaten by dogs, while the dead woman could be seen clutching a handkerchief in her right hand, in front of a destroyed cart, mattresses and other belongings strewn around.

Although the bodies of the deceased were recovered to provide a dignified burial, it is understood from other reports that “multiple bodies” remain on the road.

“While in Gaza city, we kept hearing strikes and artillery shelling, as well as multiple drones in the sky,” the aid workers said.

Daniel Johnson, UN News