(Migrants and Refugees) Funding shortfalls are putting the lives of more than 1.9 million displaced people in South Sudan at risk amid rising humanitarian needs, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) said on Wednesday. The warning comes as the world’s youngest nation remains among the top displacement crises, with nearly 10 million people in need of humanitarian assistance including returnees fleeing the war in neighbouring Sudan. IOM requires just over $131 million for operations in South Sudan this year but faces a $29 million funding gap – South Sudan: Funding gaps threaten nearly 2 million displaced people | UN News
(SDGs) Despite global progress in strengthening land tenure and governance, more than a billion people worldwide – nearly one in four adults – fear they could lose the rights to some or all of their land and housing within the next five years. The finding comes in a UN-backed report that underscores the need for stronger political commitment and inclusive policies around land rights amid growing focus on climate change, biodiversity protection, gender equality and rural transformation. Over the past two decades, governments have adopted national and international frameworks on issues such as land policy in Africa and responsible regulation of land, fisheries and forests – resulting in more than 70 countries undertaking efforts towards land reform – Over a billion fear losing land and homes within five years | UN News
(Peace and Security) Fresh from holding the most extensive elections in its history, the Central African Republic (CAR) is entering what the UN’s top envoy in the country describes as a “decisive period” in consolidating fragile peace gains, even as security challenges persist and disarmament efforts continue. Briefing the Security Council on Wednesday, Special Representative Valentine Rugwabiza said the 28 December 2025 polls marked “an important milestone in the consolidation of the peace process and State authority.”. The combined presidential, legislative, regional and municipal elections – including the first municipal polls since 1988 – represented “the most extensive electoral operations ever undertaken in the Central African Republic,” she said. Voting was conducted “in a peaceful and secure manner across most of the country, despite isolated security incidents.”. Incumbent President Faustin-Archange Touadéra secured an outright majority and won a third term in office – Central African Republic enters ‘decisive’ phase after landmark elections | UN News
(Economic Development) The lucrative, illegal trade and trafficking of waste products including many that are toxic could be set to surge across continents, thanks to patchy regulation, savvy criminal groups and corruption, UN experts said on Wednesday. In a new report on the underground global scourge that conservative estimates say generates up to $18 billion in illicit profits annually, the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) highlighted that all regions of the world have been drawn in, although little data is available outside Europe. Globally, legal waste management was worth $1.2 trillion in 2024, up from $410 billion in 2011 – Organized crime and poor regulation to blame for toxic pollution threat | UN News
