UN News Today 24 September 2026 |

Yemen’s people have suffered enough, warns UN human rights office

Amid ongoing fighting in Yemen between Government forces and Houthi rebels on Thursday, the UN human rights office, OHCHR, highlighted the “appalling” civilian toll.

In a statement urging all sides to halt the violence, the Office noted that around 125,000 people have been uprooted from their homes, with many forced to flee for their lives.

Here’s OHCHR spokesperson Jeremy Laurence:

“We urge all parties to step back from further escalation, respect and protect civilians and civilian infrastructure, and ensure that humanitarian assistance reaches all those who need it. The people of Yemen cannot withstand another full-scale conflict.”

Since the start of August, the UN Office has documented the killings of 32 civilians, including 15 children and three women.

The emergency follows the Iran-backed Houthi fighters’ rapid advance down Yemen’s western coast to the Bab el-Mandeb Strait with clashes with Saudi-backed Yemeni Government forces.

International human rights law prohibits the targeting of civilians, and their protection must be the overriding priority, OHCHR said, in a statement.

Gaza’s economic collapse has wiped out decades of development

War in Gaza has hollowed out the economy to such an extent that people earn just 58 cents per day, UN Trade and Development agency, UNCTAD, said on Thursday.

In an annual report on the situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, the agency said that 92 per cent of Gaza businesses are now damaged or destroyed. 

Hundreds of thousands of jobs have been lost since 2023 and unemployment today is “unprecedented”, with more than nine in 10 adults of working age unemployed.

With more, here’s Mutasim Elagraa, UN Trade and Development Coordinator, speaking in Geneva:

“In Gaza, the military operation has gutted out nearly every business. That means productive capacity is wiped out, while the entire population is displaced and condemned to multi-dimensional poverty. By multi-dimensional poverty, I mean not just income poverty. It’s also a lack of proper shelter, a lack of access to basic services like health and education and sanitation.”

The UN report underscores that housing in Gaza has sustained more damage than any other sector, as a result of the war sparked by Hamas-led terror attacks in Israel in October 2023. Rebuilding homes will cost an estimated $19 billion alone, Mr. Elagraa noted.

According to President Trump’s Board of Peace, about $71 billion will be needed over the next decade to rebuild Gaza.

Colombia’s new laws to combat drug-trafficking in spotlight at Human Rights Council 

Colombia’s renewed efforts to combat drug traffickers risk reinforcing systemic racism against people of African descent, independent rights experts reporting to the UN Human Rights Council said on Thursday.

The warning follows the announcement by the Colombian Government that it intended to take a more forceful response to armed groups and drug gangs, with more arrests and law enforcement operations. 

After taking office in August, the Government also announced renewed efforts to eradicate illegal crops, including by spraying herbicide from airplanes.

It is 10 years since the Government and the FARC-EP armed opposition reached a UN-backed peace deal aimed at ending decades of conflict. Clashes continue to be reported however between security forces and drug gangs across Colombia.

In their report, the UN International Independent Expert Mechanism to Advance Racial Justice and Equality in Law Enforcement warned that “predominantly punitive, militarized…approaches have failed to restore peace”.

Security-led programmes have also had a “disproportionate impact on Afro-Colombian communities, particularly in territories affected by armed violence, illicit economies and limited State presence”, the independent experts stressed.

After visiting Colombia earlier this year in line with their mandate, the rights experts maintained that people of African descent continue to suffer from “deeply rooted” systemic racism in law enforcement and criminal justice institutions.

Racial stereotypes that link people of African descent with criminality continue to influence police encounters, criminal or disciplinary sanctions, access to justice and effective remedy, noted the rights experts, who work in an independent capacity and are not UN staff.

Daniel Johnson, UN News

And that’s the bulletin…and as world leaders continue to gather at the UN General Assembly in New York, if you want to know all the latest developments, go to our website, at news.un.org. Or follow us online, search for UN News.