The United States did not send a representative to attend a United Nations review of its human rights record, becoming the second country in history to snub the mandatory procedure.
The meeting, part of the Universal Periodic Review, which takes place every four to five years, was held on Friday without the United States in attendance.
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“We were supposed to meet today in order to proceed with the review of the United States,” said Jurg Lauber, president of the UN Human Rights Council. “Nevertheless, I note that the delegation of the United States is not present in this room.”
The US said in August it would not attend the meeting, joining ally Israel as the only other country to skip the process in which all 193 UN member states undergo scrutiny of their human rights records. Topics such as LGBTQ, immigrant rights, and the death penalty had been on the agenda for discussion at the meeting.
China’s representative at the meeting said that Washington was showing a “lack of respect for the UPR mechanism”, while Cuba accused the US of being afraid of what greater oversight of its human rights record might bring.
“As a founding member of the United Nations and primary champion of individual liberties, we will not be lectured about our human rights record by the likes of HRC (Human Rights Council) members such as Venezuela, China or Sudan,” the US Department of State said in a statement.
While the United States has a long record of chafing at oversight by international institutions over its human rights practices, the nationalist administration of President Donald Trump has been notably hostile to international frameworks that could place restraints on the use of US power at home and abroad.
The US has also sought to pressure international institutions critical of allies such as Israel, sanctioning UN officials and the International Criminal Court (ICC) for their scrutiny of severe abuses by Israeli forces in Gaza and the occupied Palestinian territory.
For Gaza resident Yassir Shaheen, nights were the hardest part of living through Israel’s devastating two-year war on the enclave.
“Many nights, we lay awake, our lips dry, our hearts pounding in fear, feeling as though the sky itself was collapsing on us,” he told Al Jazeera.
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The Strip lies in tatters – its economy destroyed, infrastructure in ruins, and its people displaced, as a fragile US-brokered truce barely holds. More than 68,000 Palestinians have been confirmed killed, with some 10,000 still buried under the rubble, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry.
As world leaders in the Qatari capital Doha pledged this week to “leave no one behind” at the United Nations Second World Summit for Social Development (WSSD), the commitments stood in stark contrast to the reality in Gaza, where access to basic needs remains a luxury.
“Even bread can feel out of reach,” Shaheen, the team lead for the charity Humanity First UK in Gaza, revealed.
Food distribution by Humanity First UK in Gaza [Courtesy of Humanity First UK]
While prices have fallen compared with the worst periods of the war, they are still six to 10 times higher, Shaheen said.
On Thursday, Gaza’s Government Media Office said Israel has only allowed 4,453 trucks to enter, barely a quarter of what was supposed to enter daily according to the ceasefire agreement that came into effect on October 10.
Meanwhile, infrastructure in the enclave has been almost completely destroyed, Shaheen lamented, with only rubble remaining “where streets and buildings once stood”.
According to UN estimates, 92 percent of all residential buildings in Gaza have been damaged or destroyed since Israel’s war on the enclave began on October 7, 2023, producing between 55-60 million tonnes of rubble.
“Schools, clinics, shops, homes … everything that allowed life to function has been reduced to dust,” he said
Development ‘impossible’ amid lack of rights
At the WSSD this week, which concluded on Thursday, member states repledged commitments made at the 1995 summit in Copenhagen, including the eradication of poverty, providing “decent” work, social integration, education and healthcare to the world’s most vulnerable populations.
The resulting Doha Political Declaration, adopted at the end of the summit, was a “booster shot for development”, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said.
Nevertheless, global declarations such as the WSSD do little in the face of the dire situation in Gaza, according to Rohan Talbot, director of advocacy at the UK-based Medical Aid for Palestinians.
“Despite the ceasefire, the situation in the health sector remains catastrophic, with severe shortages of medical equipment and medicines, and hundreds of healthcare workers killed or still detained,” he told Al Jazeera.
“Development is impossible while Palestinians are denied the most basic rights to safety, movement, and dignity.”
Echoing Talbot, the head of Humanity First UK, Aziz Hafiz, said “no declaration, however eloquent, can substitute for the fundamental right to freedom and security”.
“Development cannot flourish in isolation from justice and peace,” he told Al Jazeera. However, he asserted that does not mean “we wait for peace to act.”
“Every vocational programme, school rehabilitation, or psychosocial initiative becomes an act of resistance to despair,” he said. “While permanent peace remains the ultimate enabler of prosperity, maintaining human dignity in the present moment is equally critical.”
MAP’s Talbot asserted that for any “meaningful development”, the international community must ensure that humanitarian law is upheld.
“There must be genuine pressure on the Israeli government, as the occupying power, to enforce a permanent ceasefire, open the crossings, and allow the unrestricted entry of aid and medical supplies for thousands of injured Palestinians,” he said.
‘Rebuilding feels like a dream’
After two years of relentless Israeli attacks and destruction, Shaheen said what Palestinians most want in Gaza is to “rebuild [their homes] with their own hands, and to regain a piece of normal life again”.
“Living in the displacement camps is one of the hardest things people are going through now,” he pointed out.
“Most people have no real shelter, only thin, flimsy tents that barely stand against the wind. There’s no space, no privacy, no comfort. When it rains or when the sun burns, there is nowhere to escape.”
However, Shaheen says the scale of devastation raises painful questions about what rebuilding looks like.
“How long will it take just to remove the rubble? We hear that it could take years. And if clearing the debris takes that long, then how long will it take before rebuilding can even begin?” he said.
A view of the heavily damaged Jabalia neighbourhood in northern Gaza [File: Anas Zeyad Fteha/Anadolu Agency]
But more importantly, for Shaheen, rebuilding is not just about “concrete and walls”.
“It is about rebuilding their lives, their sense of safety, and their dignity. They do not just want buildings to rise again, but life to return.”
Israel has violated the ceasefire at least 80 times, according to the Gaza Government Media Office. More than 240 Palestinians, including dozens of children, have been killed by the Israeli army since the ceasefire began.
MAP’s director of advocacy Talbot said the only path to sustainable peace and development in the Strip were “justice and accountability” for the atrocities committed.
“Declarations and summits will remain hollow exercises unless they are matched with political will to end the root causes of Gaza’s suffering, including Israel’s ongoing military occupation and blockade,” he said.
A gripping look at journalism’s ultimate sacrifice, told through stories of courage, loss and unwavering conviction.
In a world where truth-telling can often mean life or death, this documentary shines a light on journalists who paid the ultimate price for their work. From war zones to political cover-ups, their courageous reporting exposed critical truths, but also made them targets. Through intimate interviews with their families, friends, and colleagues, the film provides a heartfelt tribute to their legacies while uncovering the dangerous realities of journalism today.
Drawing on rare footage, personal accounts, and expert analysis, the film goes beyond the headlines to explore the human stories behind the statistics. These are not just tales of loss but of bravery, conviction, and an unwavering belief in the public’s right to know. The documentary also reflects on the emotional toll faced by those left behind, who grapple with grief, fear, and often unanswered questions about justice.
As attacks on journalists rise globally, the film exposes how press freedom is under siege in both autocratic regimes and democratic societies. It challenges viewers to consider the value of truth in an age of misinformation and growing, often orchestrated, hostility towards the media.
By exploring the stories of those who gave their lives in pursuit of the truth, this film offers a sobering reminder of the risks journalists take to inform the world. At its core, it is a call to defend press freedom and to remember the individuals who believed that the role of journalism is the protection of the ruled over the ruler.
This is not just a story about journalism, but a testament to human courage and the enduring power and importance of truth.
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban is scheduled to meet United States President Donald Trump at the White House, where he is expected to seek a waiver on US sanctions on the purchase of Russian oil.
In a state radio interview released on Friday, the right-wing nationalist and longtime Trump ally said it was necessary to “achieve results” given Russia’s central role in providing Hungary with oil and gas.
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“Hungary depends very much on Russian oil and gas,” Orban said during a recent interview with the Italian publication La Repubblica. “Without them, energy prices will skyrocket, causing shortages in our reserves.”
The meeting will test whether Orban’s close relationship with Trump will be enough to secure exemptions to expanding US sanctions targeting the Russian energy sector, a form of pressure meant to push Moscow towards negotiating an end to its war in Ukraine.
“President Trump and Prime Minister Orban have a long, positive relationship – they are very friendly with each other,” James Bachik, an analyst at the Atlantic Council’s Europe Center, told Al Jazeera.
“We’ll see what sort of exemptions he might get. Donald Trump does have that personal relationship. He’s even empathised in the past with Hungary’s position on their dependence on Russian energy,” he added. “But the question is, will Hungary bring enough to the table to get that exemption?”
Other countries, including US allies such as India, which had previously bought Russian oil with little protest from Washington, have scrambled to respond to the abrupt change in US policy that threatens to impose punitive sanctions and restrict access to Russian oil.
Among European leaders, Orban is also considered more sympathetic towards Russian President Vladimir Putin, and Hungary has often been an obstacle towards European Union efforts to step up pressure on Russia.
The ideological affinity between Trump and Orban, both far-right leaders who have pushed a hardline vision of immigration restriction and sought to crack down on political opposition, could help Orban secure relief from potential sanctions.
“If there has ever been a golden age in Hungarian-American relations, it is now,” Orban said in a recent social media post. “We stand together on the key issues of our time: war and peace, migration, and the protection of family values.”
Prosecutors in Tanzania have charged dozens of people with treason over a wave of deadly protests sparked by a disputed election.
At least 76 people were accused of intending to obstruct the October 29 election, The Associated Press news agency reported on Friday, citing the charge sheet.
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The Reuters news agency reported that at least 145 people were charged with treason for alleged involvement in the protests, citing court documents.
In addition to treason, the suspects also face criminal conspiracy charges, The AP reported.
Specific charges were only outlined against one person, a businesswoman who prosecutors allege encouraged protesters to buy tear-gas masks from her business during the demonstrations.
Human rights activists and the main opposition party Chadema said security forces killed more than 1,000 people during the protests. The government rejects the figure, but has not offered its own death toll.
President Samia Suluhu Hassan, who was sworn in on Monday, won with almost 98 percent of the vote, in an election that the African Union (AU) said failed to adhere to democratic standards.
The AU’s monitoring arm cited ballot stuffing, the government-imposed internet blackout, allegations of excessive military force and politically motivated abductions as actions “compromising election integrity”.
The two leading opposition candidates were controversially barred from competing in the vote, with the Chadema leader Tundu Lissu still in prison on treason charges that were brought in April.
Religious leaders were among those who urged the government to try to reconcile with political opponents and protesters in the wake of the unrest.
Benson Bagonza, a bishop in the country’s Evangelical Lutheran Church in Tanzania, said the charges would likely make tensions worse.
“The only option for the government to keep at least the relative peace now is … to grieve with the people instead of arresting and taking people to court,” he said.
On Friday, the Legal and Human Rights Centre (LHRC) and six other NGOs issued a joint statement condemning the “excessive use of force against unarmed demonstrators, including reprisal killings of civilians, some in their own homes”.
“Families have been left traumatised, and children have witnessed violence against their parents,” it said, adding that hundreds had been detained and that the “extent of human rights abuses is yet to be fully uncovered”.
Chadema party secretary Amos Ntobi believes hundreds were killed in his northern Mwanza region alone.
“We saw people being shot in broad daylight. There were bodies all over the streets — some people were killed instantly, others left badly wounded,” he told the AFP news agency.
Hassan became president in 2021 after her predecessor, John Magufuli, unexpectedly died.
Loud explosions have been heard in Sudan’s army-held capital Khartoum, shortly after the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) said it was ready for a truce after fighting the government-aligned Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) for more than two years of brutal civil war.
The attacks took place early Friday, targeting Omdruman, part of the greater Khartoum area, and army-held Atbara to the north of the capital, and were intercepted by the army’s air defence systems, according to Al Jazeera’s Hiba Morgan.
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The day before, the RSF had responded positively to a ceasefire idea proposed by the Quad, a group comprising international mediators – the United States, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia.
SAF has yet to give an official response to the proposal, which would see a three-month humanitarian pause followed by a permanent ceasefire that would ostensibly pave the way for an eventual political transition to civilian rule.
A Sudanese military official told the news agency The Associated Press on Thursday that the army welcomed the proposal, but would only agree to a truce when the RSF completely withdraws from civilian areas and gives up weapons.
Reporting from Khartoum, Al Jazeera’s Morgan said that it seemed the army would continue fighting until the RSF met its conditions. The RSF, for its part, would also continue fighting until the army agreed to the Quad’s proposal, she said.
Khartoum has seen relative calm since the regular army regained control this year, but the RSF continues to mount attacks in several regions.
Conflict shifts east
On Thursday, the Sudan Tribune newspaper reported diplomatic claims that the US had tried to incentivise army chief General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan to agree to the truce in exchange for lifting sanctions and granting investment opportunities in the mining sector.
The RSF’s announcement that it agreed to the truce comes more than a week after the group seized el-Fasher city, which had been under siege for more than 18 months. It was also the last Sudanese military stronghold in Sudan’s western Darfur region.
That takeover was accompanied by reports of mass killings, sexual violence and looting, triggering international condemnation.
There are now fears of further atrocities as the conflict shifts east towards Khartoum and the oil-rich Kordofan region.
Quad member the United Arab Emirates is accused by the United Nations of supplying arms to the RSF, allegations it has vehemently denied.
Asked on Sunday about the allegations, senior UAE diplomat Anwar Gargash said that the international community made a “critical mistake” in supporting both al-Burhan and rival RSF commander General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, known as “Hemedti”, when they deposed a Western-backed power-sharing government in 2021.
War broke out in 2023 when tensions erupted between al-Burhan and Dagalo, killing at least 40,000 people, according to WHO. Aid groups say the true death toll could be many times higher.
