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Worst Crimes Against Humanity Happening Right Now
A sober, sourced snapshot beyond headlines: Sudan, Myanmar, Tigray, Gaza, Ukraine, Yemen. Covering key abuses, responsible actors, and who is investigating.
Photo by Kuzzat Altay
Agendas will determine what mainstream media companies devote the most coverage to. However, there are many tragedies ongoing in the world. This is only a snapshot of the injustice in the world, many being deeply complex issues but warrant your attention and further discussion.
Sudan / Darfur
The U.S. formally determined that the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) have committed genocide in Darfur. Multiple international bodies and human rights groups have also documented widespread crimes against humanity, including ethnic massacres, sexual violence, and starvation sieges.
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Myanmar
Since the 2021 coup, there have been systematic attacks on civilians, including indiscriminate airstrikes and shelling, mass arrests, torture, extrajudicial killings, village burnings, and forced displacement. Rakhine State, where most Rohingya live, has suffered greatly since 2017. Investigations are being led by the UN’s Independent Investigative Mechanism for Myanmar (IIMM) and Special Rapporteur.
Ethiopia: Tigray legacy abuses
There has been extensive documentation of war crimes, including mass killings, sexual violence, and starvation tactics. In 2024–2025, rights groups also reported ongoing abuses in Amhara and Oromia, including extrajudicial killings, arbitrary detentions, airstrikes on populated areas, and the continued presence of Eritrean forces in parts of Tigray. Investigations are conducted by UN/OHCHR mechanisms (with the International Commission of Human Rights Experts on Ethiopia, ICHREE, having ended in 2023), the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights (ACHPR), the Ethiopian Human Rights Commission (EHRC), and independent NGOs such as Human Rights Watch (HRW) and Amnesty International.
Gaza (Israel/Occupied Palestinian Territory, OPT)
A United Nations (UN) Commission of Inquiry states Israel has committed genocide and crimes against humanity against the people of Gaza. These include indiscriminate airstrikes and shelling, starvation, obstructing aid, targeting journalists, and forced displacement. Israel rejects this and highlights abuses Palestinians have suffered under Hamas, which has claimed responsibility for multiple attacks on civilians. Rights groups have also documented abuses by Palestinian authorities, including Hamas, such as arbitrary detention and torture.
Ukraine (Russian forces in occupied/attacked areas)
UN and other monitors cite enforced disappearances, unlawful confinement, attacks on civilians, and the unlawful transfer/deportation of children. The International Criminal Court (ICC) has active proceedings, while UN monitors continue to document these abuses. Both Ukraine and Russia have been accused of violating the Geneva Conventions.
Yemen
Houthis and government/Southern Transitional Council (STC) units have been accused of indiscriminate shelling and airstrikes, landmines, arbitrary detention, torture, and enforced disappearances. This has caused mass displacement, aid obstruction and starvation tactics, and attacks on journalists and aid workers. Investigations are being led by the UN Security Council’s Panel of Experts on Yemen, alongside NGOs such as Mwatana for Human Rights, Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International, and other bodies.
Armenia / Nagorno-Karabakh
Azerbaijan’s 2023 offensive and prior Lachin Corridor blockade triggered the flight of an estimated 100,000 ethnic Armenians from Nagorno-Karabakh. This has been widely characterized as ethnic cleansing and alleged crimes against humanity, with International Court of Justice (ICJ) provisional measures in place and ongoing peace moves in 2025. However, ICC proceedings are currently focused on crimes committed in Ukraine (not Nagorno-Karabakh).
Uyghurs in Xinjiang
In China’s Xinjiang region, Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities have faced mass arbitrary detention and coercive “re-education,” pervasive surveillance, forced labor programs, family separation and birth-prevention policies. Furthermore, the Uyghurs in Xinjiang have been subject to suppression of religious and cultural life. These abuses are documented by the UN human rights office (OHCHR) and NGOs like Human Rights Watch and Amnesty. Although the United States and several parliaments have labeled it a genocide, China denies the allegations.
War crimes and atrocities in other conflict zones under investigation
Some crises are less fully documented or legally established, but alleged crimes against humanity are being pursued by different bodies.
For example, alleged crimes are before the ICC in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Ukraine, while UN mechanisms address others. These include such instances as the OHCHR’s Xinjiang assessment (Uyghurs) and the UN Commission of Inquiry/IIIM on Syria. Alongside UN special rapporteurs and rights groups monitoring anti-Christian persecution in Nigeria and Iran, systematic persecution of women and girls in Afghanistan (widely described as ‘gender apartheid’ by UN experts), and anti-LGBT persecution in Iran.
Editor's note: There are countless other instances of suffering going on in this world not included on this list. That does not lessen the severity or urgency of the matter. This article is meant to spark conversation, and encourage research by you, the reader, to form your own opinions. Once equipped with the truth, we ask you to call on your representatives to place partisan politics aside, and find ethical ways to help those in need.
