The new escalation in fighting and insecurity along the Kenya-Somalia border risks increasing the suffering for civilians already devastated by drought and conflict, international agency Oxfam said today, three months since famine was announced in Somalia.

The improvements for Afghan women’s rights gained over the last decade are at risk of slipping away and could be lost in a quick fix bargain for peace, Oxfam warned today.

Diplomats at the United Nations’ talks on the future Arms Trade Treaty have made serious progress this week with a growing number of key countries bringing their support to the process. The week was also marked by pro-ATT statements from global investors’ with over US$ 1.2 trillion in assets.

Southern Sudan will face enormous challenges and will need long-term support from the rest of the world regardless of the outcome of this week’s referendum. The vote could create the world’s newest country, which would also be home to some of the world’s poorest people.

International military forces must take urgent steps to protect civilians caught up in the escalating conflict as they plan for the handover of responsibility for security to the Afghan government, warned leading aid agencies today.

Oxfam condemns Monday’s attack on the aid flotilla that resulted in the killing of a number of passengers and it links the tragedy to the failure of Israel and the international community to lift the three year blockade on the Gaza Strip.

International aid agency Oxfam today warned that the conflict-driven emergency in Yemen could soon ignite into a full-blown humanitarian crisis unless immediate action is taken to stop the fighting between government forces and Houthi rebels in the north of the country.

International aid agency Oxfam today called for “zero-tolerance” toward sexual violence committed by all armed groups in Colombia. Thousands of women have been raped and sexually abused during the armed conflict, but the vast majority of perpetrators are not held to account for their crimes.

Too few ordinary Afghans are benefiting from international aid efforts in their country, with a third of the population at risk of hunger.