On January 17, 2026, the Agreement under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) on the Conservation and Sustainable Use of Marine Biological Diversity of Areas beyond National Jurisdiction (“BBNJ Agreement”) entered into force, becoming legally binding for the states that have ratified it.
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On December 6, 2025, Australia imposed financial sanctions and travel bans on senior officials of Afghanistan’s Taliban government in response to the country’s declining human rights situation that has targeted women, girls, and minority groups. The sanctions include travel...
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The Office of the Prosecutor (OTP) of the International Criminal Court (ICC) has introduced a new Policy on Addressing Environmental Damage Through the Rome Statute, in December 2025. Under this Policy, the ICC can investigate and prosecute genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes, and the crime of aggression when these crimes cause or result in serious harm to...
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On December 18, 2025 UN Human Rights Office of the High Commissioner (OHCHR) published a report documenting killings, sexual violence, torture, and abductions of civilians during a three-day assault on the Zamzam internally displaced persons (IDP) camp in North Darfur, Sudan. The attack...
On December 2, 2025, the UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD) adopted a decision under its Early Warning and Urgent Action Procedure concerning the Chagos Archipelago and the rights of the Chagossian people. CERD recalled the forced eviction and displacement of the Chagossian population from the Chagos Archipelago in the 1960s for the establishment of a military base on Diego Garcia.
The decision addresses the bilateral agreement signed on May 22, 2025 between the...
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On December 3, 2025, the Office of the Prosecutor (OTP) of the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued its Policy on Cyber-Enabled Crimes under the Rome Statute. This marks the first major policy response by an international prosecuting authority to the impact of new...
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On December 11, 2025, the World Bank published “World Development Report 2025: Standards for Development.” The Report provides a comprehensive assessment of standards and their role in accelerating economic development. It highlights the growing importance of technical and regulatory...
On January 7, 2026, the U.S. Department of State announced the withdrawal of the United States from 66 international organizations. The action followed Executive Order 14199 (Withdrawing the United States from and Ending Funding to Certain United Nations Organizations and Reviewing United States Support to All International Organizations). The list of organizations from which the United States will withdraw was made public, and reviews of additional bodies remain ongoing.
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The African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights (ACHPR) adopted Resolution 645 regarding the obligations of African states in the context of the externalisation of migration governance and the extra-regional transfer of migrants to Africa. This resolution intervenes in a context of increasing pressure exercised by third states to relocate the management of migration flows towards the African continent. It also follows a growing international recognition that migration management cannot subtract itself from fundamental human rights obligations, which requires cooperation and...
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On November 12, 2025, the United Nations General Assembly and Security Council elected Ms Phoebe Okowa as a Member of the International Court of Justice (ICJ), with immediate effect. Ms Okowa is of Kenyan nationality and succeeds Judge Abdulqawi A. Yusuf, who resigned from the Court effective September 30, 2025. Pursuant to Article 15 of the ICJ Statute, Ms Okowa will serve for the remainder of Judge Yusuf’s term, which is set to expire on February 5, 2027.
The election followed multiple rounds of concurrent but independent voting in...