Since the Taliban returned to power in Afghanistan in 2021, the continuing presence of terrorist groups as well as rights violations against women and girls are a growing concern as the Security Council met Wednesday to hear latest developments, including from a civil society representative who said being born as a woman in the country “is a crime”. Follow full coverage here.

Three weeks after the devastating flash floods in Nepal, about 17,000 children require urgent mental health and psychosocial support in the country, the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) said on Tuesday.

Nepal’s call for financial compensation following recent deadly floods underlines the need to help countries that contribute the least to climate change – but are increasingly grappling with its most lethal consequences, the top UN official in the country said on Wednesday.

Since the Taliban returned to power in 2021, the plight of Afghans has only deteriorated, with millions impoverished while authorities violate basic human rights daily. 

The UN and its humanitarian partners launched a $49.6 million flash appeal on Friday to deliver emergency assistance to more than 84,000 people affected by last week’s catastrophic floods in Nepal.

More than a week after flash floods struck the Bhotekoshi-Trishuli river basin in Nepal, at least 22,000 children urgently need safe drinking water, sanitation and hygiene support, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) said on Thursday. 

As rescue efforts continue in Nepal, humanitarians are focused on how the recent deadly flash floods have impacted women and girls, as well as access to healthcare.

The confirmed death toll from Nepal’s catastrophic floods has surged to 903, with more than 4,200 still missing as rescue crews and humanitarian workers battle blocked highways to reach the hardest-hit areas, UN Spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric said on Monday.

A day before a wall of ice, rock and muddy water tore through Himalayan valleys along the Nepal-China border, Dipesh Chapagain was discussing with a colleague just how devastating such a disaster could be.

The impact of the deadly flood in Nepal has been described as “immense” as the authorities there confirm that 538 bodies have been recovered from the disaster-stricken area.

Severe flooding in the Tibet autonomous region of China and Nepal caused widespread destruction and mounting death tolls, UN agencies reported on Wednesday as aid efforts deployed to help provide emergency assistance.

Some 3.7 million children in Afghanistan are suffering from wasting, one of the most dangerous forms of malnutrition, with around one million currently battling the most severe, life-threatening form of the condition.

Members of the minority ethnic Rohingya Muslim group in Myanmar are “suffering, misery, and cruelty on multiple levels and across the country that is heartbreaking,” according to the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights.

Independent UN Human Rights Council-appointed experts on Tuesday condemned the execution of at least 16 people in Singapore for drug-related offences this year and urged the country to end its “continued and unlawful use of capital punishment.”

Five years after the Taliban seized power, women and girls in Afghanistan have been systematically stripped of their rights, UN agencies said on Wednesday. De facto authorities have issued more than 100 decrees curbing education, work and freedom of movement – restrictions now compounded by deep cuts to aid on the ground.

Myanmar's military has carried out a sustained campaign of deliberate attacks on civilians – including airstrikes on homes, schools and camps for displaced people, alongside arbitrary detention, torture and sexual violence – according to Human Rights Council-appointed investigators.

Five years into Taliban rule, Afghans still have almost no way of knowing whether soldiers, police and morality officers who abuse their power ever face consequences – and that secrecy is corroding trust in the State, the UN said Monday.

Afghans returning from neighbouring countries are facing growing risks of human trafficking and exploitation as overlapping humanitarian and economic crises leave many struggling to survive, the UN warned on Thursday.

A woman is stopped for buying groceries alone. The shopkeeper who served her is slapped and hauled in for questioning. A teacher is turned away from her own classroom for wearing the wrong cloak.  

A job advert can hide a criminal network, and a single click can lead to a nightmare. Hundreds of thousands of people are trafficked every year on the promise of legitimate work abroad, only to be held captive and forced into online scam operations.