Haiti opens its first state backed safe house for survivors of sexual violence

Haiti has opened its first government supported shelter for survivors of sexual violence, with backing from UN Women. The agency’s representative in Port au Prince, Marie Goretti Nduwayo, said gang violence that was once concentrated in the capital had spread across the country, displacing thousands more people and leaving deep trauma, particularly among women and girls. Sexual violence rose by 163% in 2025 compared with the previous year, affecting roughly 1,670 women and nearly 200 girls, according to UN Women, which called the new shelter an important milestone.

The scramble for critical minerals heats up

A new report from the UN trade body UNCTAD warns that demand for minerals such as lithium, graphite, copper, cobalt and nickel will surge in the coming decades, with lithium demand alone projected to rise by more than 350% by 2040. The trouble, the report says, is not just demand but control of supply: in 2025 the Democratic Republic of Congo produced nearly three quarters of the world’s cobalt, while China dominated graphite production and refining of several other critical minerals. Since 2020 governments have introduced almost 100 export related measures, including taxes, licences and outright bans, in efforts to secure supplies. For mineral rich developing countries, UNCTAD warns, the risk is that they keep exporting raw materials while the more valuable processing happens elsewhere.

A new EU migration pact wins cautious praise

The UN refugee agency (UNHCR) and the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) welcomed the entry into force of the European Union’s Pact on Migration and Asylum, calling it a chance to move beyond crisis driven responses toward a more predictable system. UNHCR’s Barham Salih called the pact “an important step in the right direction”, while IOM’s Amy Pope said the priority now was turning the reforms into practical results. Both agencies highlighted measures such as stronger legal assistance and earlier identification of vulnerable people, while stressing that implementation, not the text itself, will determine whether the reforms prove humane.

Sources: UN Women, UNCTAD, UNHCR/IOM, 12 June 2026.