The team heard first-hand accounts of past and present human rights violations. These include a significant number of murders, enforced disappearances, arbitrary detentions and deportations of detainees to Iraq, according to the UN human rights office, OHCHR.
Spokeswoman Thameen Al-Kheetan also described growing concerns for the protection of people in southern Syria, due to “expanding operations by Israeli forces occupying these areas” that are putting lives at risk.
Reports intensify
“We have received reports of increased harassment and intimidation, arrests, interrogations, house searches and movement restrictions,” he said.
“In Quneitra Governorate, Israeli forces reportedly erected checkpoints, searched residential properties, and arrested and detained civilians.”
Mr. Al-Kheetan noted “another worrying development” as the Israeli government approved a project to expand illegal settlements in the occupied Syrian Golan.
The human rights spokesman also noted that the opening of a trial in Damascus against former Syrian president Bashar Al-Assad and figures from his regime – mostly in absentia – is “an important first step.”
He stressed that “justice and reparation must be achieved for the hundreds of thousands of victims, in accordance with international human rights standards.”
He added that the arrest of former Syrian regime official Amjad Youssef, allegedly responsible for orchestrating a “horrible massacre” in the Tadamon neighborhood of Damascus in 2013, is also significant.
Call to intensify aid efforts to Cuba
The International Federation of the Red Cross (IFRC) has stressed the need to support ongoing relief efforts in Cuba six months after Hurricane Melissa hit the island nation, affecting more than two million people.
Cristian Torres Bermeo, deputy regional director of the International Federation for the Americas, made the call on Tuesday during the biweekly humanitarian briefing at the UN Office in Geneva.
Hurricane Melissa caused widespread damage in Cuba, with hundreds of thousands of homes destroyed, more than 700 health centers affected, and water systems severely affected. Entire communities were left without access to reliable electricity, clean water and basic services.
Hurricane Melissa hit Cuba in late October 2025, causing massive devastation across the island nation (file)
Fuel shortages affect recovery
He recalled that the response came amid a prolonged epidemic of mosquito-borne diseases – which put additional pressure on the already strained health system – and recently, under severe energy constraints following the United States’ near-total restrictions on oil imports.
“Across the country, fuel shortages and instability in the electrical grid have been disrupting transportation, water systems, waste collection and the delivery of health services,” he said, speaking from Panama City.
The International Federation launched an emergency appeal immediately after the hurricane to help 100,000 people over two years. Despite being underfunded, it has helped the Cuban Red Cross assist almost 45,000 people with essential services, psychosocial support and relief items such as mosquito nets and shelter materials.
Human rights expert calls for global action to end impunity in Myanmar
The international community must take stronger action against Myanmar’s military rulers, the independent UN human rights expert monitoring the country said in his final report on Tuesday.
Special Rapporteur Tom Andrews said decades of impunity have led Myanmar to what he described as “a human rights catastrophe.”
He said that “ending the crisis will require not only dismantling the military’s ability to attack and oppress the people of Myanmar, but also holding accountable those responsible for serious human rights violations.”
He noted that “the international community has done very little to support those seeking justice and accountability.”
Frustration and anger
Andrews warned that the people of Myanmar are frustrated and angry that a decades-long cycle of violence and oppression continues unabated and not a single senior military officer has been held accountable.
For decades, the military has attacked civilians, persecuted ethnic minorities and committed widespread sexual violence, among other serious human rights violations, he said.
However, despite extensive evidence collected by civil society and international researchers, “accountability remains elusive.”
Although some cases have been brought before international courts, he said these efforts are limited in scope and insufficient to dismantle impunity.
The rights expert added that the UN Security Council’s failure to refer the situation in Myanmar to the International Criminal Court was “an abdication of responsibility and an indictment of the world’s commitment to justice.”
Its report also outlines the work being done by activists, lawyers, human rights defenders and others seeking justice for abuses.
Special rapporteurs receive their mandates from the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva. They are not UN staff and are not paid for their work.