Sen. Chris Van Hollen of Maryland is leading a large group on Democrats demanding that President Donald Trump not carry out his announced decision to slash hundreds of millions of dollars in Palestinian aid. More than 30 Democrats sent a letter to the president Sept. 19 warning that going through...
US Ends Palestinian Refugee Agency Funding
WASHINGTON — The United States is ending its decades of funding for the U.N. agency that helps Palestinian refugees, the State Department announced Friday, a week after slashing bilateral U.S. aid for projects in the West Bank and Gaza. The U.S. supplies nearly 30 percent of the total budget of...
UAE, Saudis May Have Committed War Crimes in Yemen
GENEVA — Three experts working for the U.N.'s top human rights body say the governments of Yemen, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia may have been responsible for war crimes including rape, torture, disappearances and "deprivation of the right to life" during 3½ years of battling Yemeni rebels. In...
UN Team: Myanmar Military Chiefs Should Face 'Genocide' Case
GENEVA — Investigators working for the U.N.'s top human rights body said Monday that Myanmar military leaders should be prosecuted for genocide against Rohingya Muslims, taking the unusual step of identifying six by name among those behind deadly, systematic crimes against the ethnic minority. The call, accompanying a first report...
Iran Asks UN's Highest Court to Suspend US Sanctions
THE HAGUE, Netherlands — Iran warned Monday that re-imposed U.S. sanctions would cripple its economy and plunge the volatile Middle East deeper into crisis as it urged the United Nations' highest court to suspend the Trump administration's economic pressure on Tehran. In a written statement about the case at the...
UN Official: Palestinian Refugee Issue Can't Be Wished Away
JERUSALEM — The head of the U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees suggested that the United States slashed his budget early this year to punish the Palestinians for their criticism of the American recognition of Jerusalem as Israel's capital, but he warned that the Palestinian refugee issue will not go away....
A Year Later, Fractured Rohingya Community Sees Little Hope
KUTUPALONG, Bangladesh — Forged over generations in villages in Myanmar, Rohingya communities are now held together in calls over crackling phone lines. "Mummy! Mummy!" 15-year-old Abdullah Razzaq shouted to his mother earlier this week in their once-a-week call, nearly a year after he and his brother, along with more than...
US Exits UN Human Rights Council. Haley Cites 'Bias Against Israel'
WASHINGTON — The United States announced Tuesday it was leaving the United Nations' Human Rights Council, with Ambassador Nikki Haley calling it "an organization that is not worthy of its name." It was the latest withdrawal by the Trump administration from an international institution. Haley, Trump's envoy to the U.N.,...
Israel Faces Diplomatic Fallout After 59 Killed in Gaza
GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip — Israel faced a growing backlash Tuesday and new charges of using excessive force, a day after Israeli troops firing from across a border fence killed 59 Palestinians and wounded more than 2,700 at a mass protest in Gaza. Turkey expelled Israel's ambassador, while Ireland and...
EU’s Refugee Crisis: Which European Countries are Hosting More Asylum Seekers?
In an increasingly interconnected world, the refugee crisis has become a central issue for governments worldwide. Especially after the outbreak of the Syrian crisis, which caused more than one million refugees to cross into Europe in 2015 alone, the debate around forced immigration has started to be addressed by the...