Brief world news: violations of Russian rights in Ukraine, US does not show up for rights review, Orlando Blooms highlights the plight of the Rohingya

During their mission from November 2 to 6, the three members of the Council for Human Rights-mandated Commission of Inquiry met with survivors, families of victims and human rights organizations in Kiev.

“People spoke of unimaginable suffering – homes destroyed, loved ones murdered and lives turned upside down,” said chairman Erik Møse.

The investigators – who are not UN staff and do not receive salaries for their work – said they have documented ongoing violations of international human rights and humanitarian law, mostly committed by Russian forces and officials, including indiscriminate attacks, torture, deportations and sexual violence.

They concluded that these amounted to war crimes and crimes against humanity.

The team also investigated abuses by Ukrainian forces, such as arbitrary detention and mistreatment of people accused of collaboration, although limited access prevented a full investigation.

Justice must prevail

After hearing the victims’ testimonies, investigators renewed their calls for accountability and reparations. “Justice must honor those whose lives were deliberately cut short,” they said, emphasizing the need for mental health and psychosocial support for survivors.

The visit follows the the researchers’ latest report to the UN General Assembly, describing Russia’s coordinated actions to expel Ukrainian civilians from occupied territories and forcibly transfer them elsewhere.

UN rights body regrets US withdrawal from human rights review

The UN Human Rights Council has expressed his regret on the United States’ decision not to participate in a major review of its human rights record, which will take place in Geneva this week.

The review, known as the Universal Periodic Review (UPR), is a process by which all UN member states have their human rights performance examined by their peers.

The US was scheduled to appear before the Council’s working group on Friday but declined to do so – the first time the country has refused to participate in its own review.

Postponed

Council members urged Washington to resume cooperation with the UPR and said they would move the review to 2026, although it could come sooner if the US reengages.

The decision follows the Trump administration’s recent withdrawal from the Human Rights Council itself, although all UN member states not among the Council’s 47 members will remain observers and can represent themselves during the proceedings.

The previous US withdrawal, in 2018 under the first Trump administration, did not prevent the country from participating in the 2020 UPR – making this year’s absence unprecedented.

Documents collected for the planned review, including reports from UN experts and civil society groups, remain available online. The US did not submit its own national report by the deadline.

The council said it would continue its efforts to convince the US to return to the process, stressing that the UPR system depends on equal participation from all 193 UN member states.

Orlando Bloom highlights the plight of the Rohingya in Myanmar

UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador Orlando Bloom visited Bangladesh this week to see the impact of severe cuts in aid to children living in camps in Cox’s Bazar.

The star actor met some of the 500,000 children in the huge camp, along with their families.

They are “100 percent dependent on aid,” but that is shrinking, he warned.

The cuts threaten education, health care, protection and survival for people in the camps, mainly ethnic Rohingya, who fled persecution in neighboring Myanmar – most of them after a systematic military operation in August 2017.

“It’s a very temporary environment, there are so many people coming and going,” noted the veteran British actor and UNICEF champion.

Precarious and unstable

“We met a mother who has just arrived and who still feels like you had to flee the conflict. It felt very unstable and unsafe. So this is really a lifeline for these families in these communities and without their support they have nothing.”

In June, UNICEF had to temporarily close most schools in Cox’s Bazar due to funding shortfalls; almost 150,000 children were affected.

And while young people of all ages recently returned to the classroom following a fundraising campaign, the threat of a looming funding shortfall threatens to close all schools again in early 2026, potentially affecting more than 300,000 children.