MULTILATERAL: Famine in Gaza & more – 26th Aug 2025

Saluton from BA! This is the Rorshok Multilateral Update from the 26th of August twenty twenty-five. A summary of what's going down in the world's major multilateral institutions.

To kick things off this week, on Friday the 22nd, the Food and Agriculture Organization, the World Food Program, UNICEF, and the World Health Organization jointly confirmed that famine is present in Gaza. Although the hunger crisis has been worsening for months, this is the first time that these organizations have characterized what’s happening as a famine.

Their new analysis shows over half a million people enduring catastrophic hunger and warns the numbers could rise without urgent action. The agencies stressed that more than a million others remain at emergency levels of food insecurity and hundreds of thousands are in a hunger crisis. They emphasized that only an immediate ceasefire and full humanitarian access will allow life-saving aid to reach families and prevent further avoidable deaths.

In a similar story, on the same day, the UN Population Fund warned of the dangers of famine specifically for pregnant and breastfeeding women and their newborns. Over 40% of expectant and nursing mothers are severely malnourished, which is devastating for both mothers and babies. As a result, one in five infants is born prematurely or underweight, and one in seven newborns requires emergency neonatal care due to serious complications.

More broadly, the Fund warned that wars worldwide are targeting systems meant to protect civilians, especially healthcare. Attacks on health facilities killed over 900 health workers in the last two years, and twenty twenty-five is already looking worse.

On Tuesday the 19th, NATO countries announced that they are starting to map out what security guarantees for Ukraine could look like if a peace deal with Russia is reached. Trump has ruled out sending U.S. soldiers but hinted Washington could provide air defense or even enforce a no-fly zone. NATO defense chiefs will meet this week to discuss Ukraine and next steps in the war.

In some economic news, on Thursday the 21st, U.S. and EU officials rolled out a trade deal that puts a 15% tariff on most European exports to the United States, while keeping U.S. cars and other industrial goods duty-free in Europe. The agreement is just a political outline, not legally binding, and it does not address all of the areas of contention between the EU and the US. The EU defended the move as a way to dodge a trade war and avoid Trump’s larger tariffs on EU cars. The deal also includes nonbinding pledges for massive U.S. energy purchases and investment in America.

Recall that during Trump’s second term, US relations with the EU have been tense: After tariff escalations, the two parties reached a trade deal in July on tariffs, and agreed to massive EU energy purchases in the US.

On Friday the 22nd, the UN Security Council slapped sanctions on five individuals tied to ISIS and al-Qaeda who are currently located in Libya, Tunisia, Kuwait, and Tajikistan. These sanctions freeze their assets, ban their travel to other nations, and impose arms embargoes. These measures are all aimed at choking off their financing, recruitment, and support networks fueling extremist operations.

On a similar note, on Wednesday the 20th, the U.S. imposed sanctions on four new International Criminal Court officials, two judges and two prosecutors, as part of its pushback against the Court’s investigations into alleged U.S. and Israeli war crimes. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the court is a national security threat, accusing it of overreach. The penalties freeze their U.S. assets and cut access to the American financial system.

The US has had tense relations with the International Criminal Court since Trump came into office a second time. The US has argued that the court has no authority over non-members, and has continuously taken issue with charges against Israelis over the war in Gaza. Trump’s government has already imposed sanctions on the court’s judges and prosecutors tied to probes of Israel and Afghanistan.

On Friday the 22nd, the International Labor Organization carried out a mission in Turkey’s Black Sea region to push forward efforts to eliminate child labor in seasonal agriculture. Focused mainly on the hazelnut harvest, the mission reviewed progress with government officials, local authorities, and social partners.

Discussions centered on improving monitoring, strengthening policies, and ensuring children have access to education while families receive better support.

The mission reaffirmed the organization’s commitment to work with Turkey to end child labor in farming and promote decent work for adults instead.

Moving to South America, on Tuesday the 19th, the Organization of American States kicked off an Electoral Observation Mission in Guyana ahead of its twenty twenty-five general and regional elections. They’ll assess key areas like voter registration, election technology, campaign funding, electoral justice, and women's participation. After the vote, they’ll issue a preliminary report aimed at helping strengthen Guyana’s democratic process.

On Tuesday the 19th, the UN Environmental Program launched an initiative to phase out toxic firefighting foams at major airports in Egypt, Ethiopia, Kenya, Nigeria, and South Africa. The $82.5 million US dollar initiative includes a $10 million US dollar grant from the Global Environment Facility. It targets the removal of 4,500 tonnes of contaminated material and the disposal of 130 tonnes of toxic foam concentrate.

This effort aims to replace harmful foams with safer alternatives while maintaining airport safety, and sets a new standard for reducing hazardous chemicals in aviation.

On Wednesday the 20th, the World Health Organization released a report detailing how corporal punishment is a serious public health hazard for kids. It shows that such punishment can trigger harmful stress responses and even reshape brain development, undermining growth in both body and mind.

Beyond immediate harm, punitive physical discipline raises the chances of anxiety, depression, low self-esteem, aggression, and trouble later in life.

Corporal punishment is the intentional infliction of physical pain, such as spanking, caning, or flogging, used as a form of discipline or penalty. It is legal and practiced in parts of Africa, South Asia, and Southeast Asia. It is also formally used in some judicial systems, including in countries like Singapore and Malaysia

On Thursday the 19th, the International Organization for Migration and the African Union renewed their strategic partnership to improve migration governance across the continent. The initiative aims to improve and build on safe, orderly, and dignified migration. Key areas include boosting migration data for policy making, improving labor mobility, and strengthening migrant health and safety.

The partnership also builds regional coordination with African economic communities. It underscores a shared vision for migration to drive prosperity and stability in Africa.

Closing this edition, on Friday the 22nd, lab technicians from nineteen Latin American and Caribbean countries, through the Pan American Health Organization, finished a five-day workshop in Rio de Janeiro designed to boost the detection of avian influenza. The training covered advanced diagnostics, including genetic sequencing, and biosafety practices for handling and shipping specimens. The virus can infect birds, mammals, and people, though it mostly travels through animals.

With almost 5,000 animal outbreaks and more than seventy human cases reported across the Americas since twenty twenty-one, this kind of lab strengthening plays a big role in early detection and protecting both animal and human health.

Avian influenza is concerning because certain strains cause very high death rates in humans. The main fear is that the virus could mutate to spread easily between people, potentially triggering a severe global pandemic.

Aaand that’s it for this week! Thank you for joining us!

The new Ramble on Georgian Slang is out now! Check out the hashtag #georgianslang. You can find the episode in the Rorshok Georgia Update on your favorite streaming platform or follow the link in the show notes!

See you next week!