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Our editors’ weekly take on humanitarian news, trends, and developments from around the globe.
On our radar
Recognition of a Palestinian state in New York, continued displacement and death in Gaza
Ten Western states – including the UK, France, Belgium, Australia, Canada, and Portugal – officially recognised the State of Palestine during the UN General Assembly (UNGA) on 21 and 22 September in New York, joining over 140 other countries who had already done so. The move has garnered mixed reactions. For Western leaders, it is a punitive measure showing their growing frustration with Israel’s war in the Gaza Strip. For many Palestinians and other observers, it is, at best, too little, too late. At worst, it is an attempt to find a release valve for public pressure to take concrete action – such as severing trade ties and imposing sanctions – that would impose tangible costs on Israel for what a growing global consensus sees as a genocidal war. As TNH contributor Nour ElAssy& put it: “Recognition is hollow when families are still digging their children out of rubble. Palestine already exists. What we demand is freedom.” On the ground in Gaza, the Israeli assault on the enclave is continuing unabated. Tens of thousands of people continue to be forced out of Gaza City by Israel’s bombing and ground invasion, and the known death toll – likely an undercount – has climbed to over 65,000. Barely any aid is reaching the north of the enclave, where a famine is already taking place. The sliver of southern Gaza that is left for people to flee to is vastly overcrowded. And people continue to be killed trying to obtain food from militarised distribution sites run by the US- and Israeli-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation.
Al-Sharaa and Syria’s remarkable UNGA moment
Syria’s interim president spoke at UNGA, calling for the lifting of all sanctions against his country, but it wasn’t so much what he said as the fact that he said anything at all that made the moment extraordinary. Ahmed al-Sharaa is the first Syrian leader to address the body in nearly six decades, as the regime of former president Bashar al-Assad and his father Hafez had a complicated and mostly chilly relationship with the UN, tending to send their foreign ministers in their stead. Al-Sharaa, who led the rebel group that overthrew al-Assad last December, had a $10 million bounty on his head less than a year ago and is still technically designated as a terrorist by the UN because of the group’s links to al-Qaeda. His transformation from battlefield commander to president has been swift, but it has not always been smooth: While he promised at the podium to bring to justice those involved in recent sectarian violence, a new Human Rights Report says the government has not been transparent about its investigations into March killings of Alawites, including if senior leaders will be held to account – and the wounds suffered by the Druze community this July are still fresh.
As Trump calls climate change a “con job”, China’s new pledge misses the mark
The international process to tackle climate change is still alive – but the vital target of restricting warming to 1.5 degrees above preindustrial levels might not be. More than 100 countries submitted their national climate plans, dubbed NDCs, in New York this week – the country-owned policies are crucial for collective global progress to reduce greenhouse emissions. The fact that officials turned up with documents in hand, in a year fraught with international tension and growing anti-climate narratives (US President Donald Trump this week dismissed climate change as “the greatest con job ever”), is itself notable. But the NDCs, particularly from major polluter China (described as “disappointingly timid” by former Irish president Mary Robinson), are nothing like sufficient to meet the “1.5°C survival limit [and] is a collective failure,” said Romain Ioualalen, global policy lead at Oil Change International. “Not all countries bear equal responsibility for this collective failure,” said Ioualalen. “A handful of wealthy Western countries… have doubled down on oil and gas production for the past decade with no intention of changing course, mocking any notion of justice and equity.” Meanwhile, Kenyan President William Ruto called for $56 billion to help Africa implement its NDCs. “Without affordable finance and without reform of the international financial architecture, the promise of climate action in Africa will remain constrained,” he said.
Sahelian juntas withdraw en masse from the International Criminal Court
Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger have announced their withdrawal from the International Criminal Court (ICC), accusing it of being an instrument of neo-colonial oppression. The three West African Sahel states share borders and are all ruled by military juntas waging brutal counter-insurgency campaigns against jihadist groups, while presenting themselves – somewhat dubiously – as anti-imperialist standard-bearers. Human Rights Watch warned that the withdrawals will deprive people of a vital international avenue for justice and redress. The ICC has long been criticised for focusing on African countries, which formed the bulk of its earlier cases, though many were referred by African states themselves. In recent years, the court has broadened its scope: arrest warrants are currently out for Vladimir Putin and Benjamin Netanyahu; a case is proceeding against Rodrigo Duterte; and investigations are ongoing into Bangladesh/Myanmar, Afghanistan, and Venezuela. The Sahel withdrawals come as the court faces mounting pressure from the US, which is reportedly weighing sanctions against the entire institution in retaliation for the warrant against Netanyahu.
Asia’s Gen Z protests show little sign of abating
Asia’s Generation Z has unleashed a wave of protests shaking entrenched political orders across the region and beyond. In Nepal, the government’s suspension of 26 social media platforms on 4 September ignited massive demonstrations fuelled by anger at corruption and economic stagnation. More than 75 people were killed and 1,300 injured before the uprising toppled Prime Minister K.P. Sharma Oli’s government and ushered in the country’s first female prime minister. In India's remote Himalayan region of Ladakh, demonstrations erupted on 24-25 September as young protesters demanding statehood, constitutional protections, and job quotas clashed with security forces. Four people were killed and dozens injured in the bloodiest day, underscoring the volatility of South Asia’s geopolitical hotspots. A curfew was imposed after New Delhi rushed more troops into the region, which borders China. Versions of these movements – which, as we pointed out in last week’s Cheat Sheet, have spread from Indonesia to the Philippines to East Timor – reveal a generational backlash against failing governance, limited opportunity, and creeping authoritarianism. Gen Z’s fluency with digital tools has amplified their reach, enabling them to mobilise quickly and coordinate across borders. But the trend isn’t confined to Asia. In Peru, 20-21 September demonstrations saw protesters flood Lima’s streets over pension reforms but also over mounting Gen Z distrust of President Dina Boluarte’s government, Congress, and the rise of organised crime and corruption.
UN reform: A lot of talk, but little action at UNGA’s high-level week
While leaders’ speeches and escalator mishaps (see below) occupy airtime, the implications of what happens at UNGA high-level weeks are often more muted for the humanitarian sector. UN relief chief Tom Fletcher called this week’s sessions “the most significant high-level week we’ve had”, though rank-and-file humanitarians sometimes struggle to find the relevance amid the politicking and pantomime. Australia and some 100 countries launched a declaration aimed at protecting humanitarian personnel (first floated last year). It comes as the sector approaches another record year of aid workers slaughtered while doing their jobs – the majority in Gaza since October 2023 at the hands of the Israeli military. What’s missing are not statements or declarations, many aid workers say, but consequences for perpetrators. UN reform is a hot topic, with the multilateral system locked in a crisis of trust, legitimacy, and funding. UN Secretary-General António Guterres added some meat to the bones of his UN80 reform plans – but only days before high-level week, meaning member states are still weighing their options. The proposals do have implications for humanitarian response, mirroring Fletcher’s “reset” plans. Guterres is expected to brief the UNGA on UN80 in October. For some ideas on strategies, values, and visions guiding community-driven responses to crises, watch our UNGA sidelines event – Remaking humanitarianism: Dispatches from the future.
Weekend reads
“Art remains our oxygen”: DR Congo’s slam poets refuse to be silenced
As rebels seize their towns, spoken-word artists battle censorship and violence.
Hope and resistance: Slam poets capture the weight of war in DR Congo
“I wrote this text to put down on paper all the pain I cannot bear.”
These powerful new poems examine the escalating crisis in the east.
And finally…
Trump’s trio of UN gripes
President Trump – apparently an unstoppable political force within the United States – may have finally met his match at the United Nations in New York… in the form of an escalator. The malfunctioning machine left Trump and wife Melania stranded for a few moments as they attempted a grand entrance – the UN said the cause was likely a White House photographer tripping a safety mechanism. That didn’t stop Trump launching a furious broadside at the UN on social media: “It’s amazing that Melania and I didn’t fall forward onto the sharp edges of these steel steps, face first. It was only that we were only each holding the handrail tightly or, it (sic) would have been a disaster. This was absolutely sabotage… the people that did it should be arrested!” Trump then fumed over a broken teleprompter and sound issues during his speech, and demanded “an immediate investigation” into the “triple sabotage at the UN”. Launching a probe (unlikely) would not be ideal timing for UN officials currently grasping their way through Trump’s funding cuts, and navigating his political attacks on their institution.
