Press releases

A coalition of 100 humanitarian and human rights organizations today called on John Holmes, the UN under-secretary-general for humanitarian affairs, to insist that protecting civilians be a top priority of the joint Congolese and Rwandan military operation in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo.

As the UN is launching an appeal for funding to Gaza in Geneva today, aid agency Oxfam International insists that access of goods to the Gaza Strip is equally important as fundraising. Without further delay, Israel must allow for all existing crossings to function at maximum capacity.

At a moment where many look for ways to tackle the global economic crisis, the World Social Forum has set a clear message: “the weight of the crisis cannot fall on the shoulders of the poorest.”

President Obama has the opportunity to chart a new course for US policy in Afghanistan by taking the urgent steps needed to reverse the slide into a major humanitarian crisis.

Oxfam International is participating at the 9th World Social Forum in Belém, Brazil to help tackle the combined effects of the global economic crisis, rising food prices, and the effects of climate change in developing countries.

Europe’s refusal to commit money to help poor people cope with climate change could derail the chances of reaching a fair climate deal in Copenhagen, warned Oxfam International today.

Leaders meeting at the World Economic Forum in Davos this week should seriously consider how the economic crisis can be a catalyst for new models of growth and a new way of doing business.

Europe is trying to shirk its responsibility and pass the burden of dealing with the impacts of climate change onto the world’s poorest countries, Europe’s leading environmental and development groups warned today.

Zimbabwean children and their families are being forced to choose between an education and immediate survival, with cholera adding yet another obstacle to today's scheduled return to school. The disruption could blight the future of millions of children.

Urgent action is needed to prevent hundreds of millions more people slipping into hunger as a result of volatile food prices and increasing energy and water scarcity. Decades of underinvestment in agriculture coupled with the increasing threat of climate change mean the situation could get worse.