Families forced to flee their homes in the West Bank. Top stories of the day | Wednesday: Middle East, Bangladesh, migrants UN
Top stories of the day in the UN and around the world: Security Council meeting on the situation in Syria, 13 children killed in the West Bank, human rights violations in Bangladesh, $81 million to help migrants.
The situation in Syria
Syria is going through a critical moment in its political history. After suspending the 2012 constitution and dissolving parliament, the army and security services, the country’s interim president, Ahmed al-Sharaa, has promised to work on creating a new constitution, legislature and forming a transitional government. Geir Pedersen, the UN chief’s special envoy for Syria, briefed the Security Council on the latest developments in Syria on Wednesday. The UN is ready to support the interim authorities, Pedersen stressed.
West Bank
In the first two and a half months of 2025, 13 Palestinian children were killed in the West Bank, said UNICEF Regional Director for the Middle East and North Africa Edward Beigbeder. According to UNICEF, intensive shelling and airstrikes have caused severe damage to basic infrastructure and disrupted water and electricity supplies. In about 100 schools in the West Bank, teachers and students cannot safely attend classes. Many children urgently need mental health and psychosocial support.
Violations in Bangladesh
As a result of the suppression of mass protests in Bangladesh last year, up to 1,400 people were killed in just 46 days – the vast majority of them shot by security forces, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk said on Wednesday. Thousands of people have been injured, according to a report by the UN Human Rights Office (OHCHR). Speaking in Geneva, Türk said some of the worst violations described in the report could constitute international crimes.
Assistance for migrants
The International Organization for Migration and 45 of its humanitarian and development partners have appealed for $81 million to help more than a million migrants and the communities hosting them in Djibouti, Ethiopia, Somalia, Tanzania, Kenya and Yemen. IOM’s migrant assistance efforts are chronically underfunded. The organization called for $112 million in 2024, but has only raised 20 percent of that amount so far.