Atrocity Alert is a weekly publication by the Global Centre for the Responsibility to Protect highlighting situations where populations are at risk of, or are enduring, mass atrocity crimes.

ISRAEL ONCE AGAIN STOPS LIFE-SAVING SUPPLIES INTO GAZA

On 2 March – hours after the first phase of the Gaza ceasefire agreement concluded – Israel announced that it would once again block the entry of all goods and supplies into Gaza. The move comes after Israel refused to advance to the scheduled second phase of the ceasefire agreement, and Hamas rejected a proposal from the United States and Israel to override the original agreement and extend the first phase. Israel’s decision to reinstate a total siege of Gaza flagrantly violates international law, as well as the legally binding provisional measures ordered by the International Court of Justice for Israel to prevent the commission of genocide.

UN officials and countless aid organizations have denounced Israel’s latest weaponization of humanitarian aid. Philippe Lazzarini, Commissioner-General of the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees, stressed, “The decision of Israel to stop aid into Gaza threatens the lives of civilians exhausted by 16 months of brutal war… The vast majority of the people in Gaza rely on aid for their sheer survival.” Attempts by Israel to obstruct the entry and provision of life-saving aid constitutes the continued deliberate starvation of a civilian population as a method of warfare, a war crime for which the International Criminal Court has already issued an arrest warrant against Israel’s Prime Minister.

Despite the ceasefire and subsequent increase in aid, the entire population of Gaza continues to face severe food insecurity. Israel’s decision risks returning an already devastated population back to the brink of famine and reflects ongoing efforts to inflict conditions of life calculated to bring about the physical destruction of Palestinians in Gaza, in what the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Occupied Palestinian Territory has referred to as “an escalation of Israel’s genocidal campaign against the Palestinians.”

Israel’s closure of border crossings and suspension of Palestinian’s access to food, fuel and other supplies necessary for their survival marks the latest in a list of reported violations of the ceasefire agreement. This includes the failure to begin the withdrawal of Israeli troops from the Philadelphi corridor along the Gaza-Egypt border on 1 March, obstructing the delivery of humanitarian relief – such as mobile homes and tents – and killing dozens of Palestinians. As members of the Arab League adopted a reconstruction plan for Gaza in Cairo this week, Palestinians are still enduring atrocity crimes.

Under international law, Israel as the occupying power has an obligation to facilitate aid – ceasefire or not. The international community must hold Israeli authorities accountable and resolutely condemn Israel for using aid as a bargaining chip to impose changes to the terms of the ceasefire agreement. Governments with influence must urge the Israeli government to reverse course, guaranteeing the delivery of aid and restoring water and fuel to Gaza.

NICARAGUA INCREASINGLY ISOLATED AS UN EXPERTS WARN OF CRIMES AGAINST HUMANITY

On 26 February the Group of Human Rights Experts on Nicaragua (GHREN) – an investigative mechanism mandated by the UN Human Rights Council (HRC) – warned that since late 2024, the government of Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega has “dismantled the last remaining checks on its power, systematically executing a strategy to cement total control of the country through severe human rights violations,” including crimes against humanity.

The GHREN’s new report was released one week after the final approval of constitutional reforms that grant President Ortega de-facto control over Nicaragua’s legislature, judiciary and electoral institutions. These provisions further empower the government to arbitrarily revoke citizenship and facilitate state-led media censorship – both of which are already widely used to repress dissent.

Over the past seven years, the Nicaraguan government has rapidly descended into authoritarianism. This has been marked by systematic repression of independent voices, including human rights defenders, women’s rights groups, journalists, community, peasant movement and religious leaders, students and academics, business owners and political opponents. The GHREN has previously warned that murder, imprisonment, torture, sexual violence, deportation and politically motivated persecution against actual or alleged opponents may amount to crimes against humanity and are committed within a context of pervasive impunity. According to the GHREN, as targeted persecution has become more sophisticated, President Ortega and his wife, Vice President Rosario Murillo, “are now acting as ‘the eyes and ears’ that allow [the Nicaraguan government] to obtain and maintain total control over people.”

In response to the latest findings by the GHREN, Nicaragua announced on 27 February that it would withdraw from the HRC, just four weeks after United States President Donald Trump signed an executive order making a similar decision. Although neither country was one of the 47 rotating members at the time of withdrawal, and Nicaragua had previously refused to cooperate with the HRC, these actions can be seen as part of a broader strategy to undermine the credibility and legitimacy of the UN human rights system.

As Nicaragua has fully isolated itself from international scrutiny, investigations and public reporting by the GHREN remain crucial for shedding light on victims’ suffering and ensuring that their pain is documented and acknowledged. During the ongoing 58^th session of the HRC, UN member states should renew the mandate of the GHREN in full. Cross-regional governments should further explore concrete and immediate follow-up action to implement the recommendations issued by the GHREN, including by significantly expanding targeted sanctions regimes and rapidly expanding financial support to Nicaraguan civil society and independent media documenting ongoing atrocity crimes.

UPPER NILE STATE FACES RISING CONFLICT AMID DELAYS IN SOUTH SUDAN’S PEACE PROCESS

South Sudan’s Upper Nile State has experienced heightened instability following clashes between the national army – the South Sudan People’s Defense Forces (SSPDF) – and armed civilians. On 14 February the SSPDF allegedly attacked civilians at a market in Nasir County. The attack triggered violent confrontations, with local youth using heaving weaponry, resulting in at least five deaths and the displacement of thousands of people. Reports indicate that armed groups in Nasir and Ulang counties are mobilizing to confront advancing government forces in Baliet County.

For years, the SSPDF has maintained forces in Nasir as part of the government’s efforts to control the region and suppress armed opposition. The area has seen frequent clashes between the SSPDF and local armed youth militias, who often mobilize in response to government troop movements. Under the 2018 Revitalized Agreement on the Resolution of the Conflict in South Sudan (R-ARCSS), SSPDF forces were supposed to be gradually integrated into the National Unified Forces (NUF) and replaced by a neutral security force. However, the government has failed to fully unify and deploy the NUF. Since last year, communities in Nasir have called for the deployment of a unified force, rather than SSPDF troops that include allied ethnic militias not part of the formal unification process. The recent deployment of new SSPDF troops to Nasir has raised concerns among civilians, who fear the incoming forces may target them or enforce forced disarmament.

The clashes in Upper Nile State are part of a broader pattern of violence across South Sudan, where populations have endured widespread atrocities, instability and escalating localized fighting for over six years. Much of this unrest stems from delays in implementing the R-ARCSS, which formally ended a civil war that took place between December 2013 and August 2015. The Transitional Government of National Unity (TGoNU) has struggled to implement critical provisions of the R-ARCSS, such as security sector reforms and the unification of armed forces, leaving many security forces aligned with different factions and lacking a unified command or professional training. In a joint statement on 27 February, the African Union Mission in South Sudan, Intergovernmental Authority on Development, UN Mission in South Sudan and Reconstituted Joint Monitoring and Evaluation Commission stressed, “we once again underscore the need to progress the full and rapid unification and urgent deployment of the Necessary Unified Forces [NUF] to boost public faith and trust in the RTGoNU’s [TGoNU] commitment to lasting peace and stability.”

The recent clashes in Upper Nile State highlight the urgent need for South Sudanese authorities to take concrete steps to prevent further violence and restore stability. The TGoNU must urgently implement security sector reforms and ensure that military and police forces are unified, representative, professionally trained and abide by international human rights standards. To build public trust, the TGoNU must take meaningful steps to address past atrocities, including conducting independent investigations into alleged human rights violations by security forces and armed groups and ensuring that all perpetrators are held accountable through fair and transparent judicial processes.