The United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) released a statement Aug. 14 condemning the idea that the Taliban are "reformed" since the last time they were in power in Afghanistan. The statement, written by multiple human rights experts, drew attention to the gap between the promises made by the Taliban upon its return to power in August 2021 and the reality of "gender apartheid" in Afghanistan.

Human Rights Watch released a report July 31 critiquing the Panamanian government's lax efforts to assist coastal indigenous peoples in the country with relocation as their ancestral homelands are destroyed by climate change. The report focuses on the island of Gardi Sugdub and its Guna indigenous inhabitants. The residents of Gardi Sugdub have been planning an evacuation from the island due to rising sea levels since 2017. However, HRW charges that the Panamanian government's promised support for the evacuation has been slow to come. The report finds that little work has been done at the site residents are being relocated to on the mainland, with the location still lacking sewage, water, garbage removal and health services. Additionally, there may not be enough water supply in wells on site to support Gardi Sugdub residents, even if water service is connected.

Protesters demonstrated in Belém, Brazil, on Aug. 6 during the international Amazon Dialogues summit, against the state oil company Petrobras' proposal to begin offshore drilling at the mouth of the Amazon River.

The proposed project is located in deep waters off the Brazillian state of Amapá. The company's application for a license was rejected by the Brazilian Institute of Environment & Renewable Natural Resources (IBAMA) on May 17 due to "technical inconsistencies." According to Ibama, "The basin at the mouth of the Amazon is considered a region of extreme socio-environmental sensitivity because it houses Conservation Units, Indigenous Lands, mangroves, biogenic formations of organisms such as corals and sponges, in addition to great marine biodiversity with endangered species."

Thousands of indigenous people from the northwestern Argentine province of Jujuy arrived in Buenos Aires on Aug. 2 after marching cross-country to protest a provincial constitutional reform allowing greater lithium extraction from the lands they reside on. The marchers said that increased mining of lithium would exacerbate drought conditions, and cause soil contamination and other environmental damage. The protesters called on the Argentine Supreme Court to strike down the reform, saying indigenous voices were largely left out of the debate that led to its approval. Justice Minister Martín Soria asked the court to declare the reform unconstitutional in June, citing indigenous rights concerns.

Mexican authorities confirmed Aug. 3 that they recovered two bodies from the Rio Grande near the border town of Piedras Negras, Coahuila state. Authorities recovered one of the bodies, a Mexican national, from buoys recently floated by Texas in an effort to impede border crossings from Mexico. The second body, that of a Honduran national, was recovered further upstream, away from the buoys. The incidents have renewed attention on the floating barrier, which is now the subject of a lawsuit between the US Department of Justice (DoJ) and the state of Texas.

Burma state television MRTV reported on July 31 that the ruling junta has postponed an election that it previously promised to hold in August this year. Instead, junta leader Gen. Min Aung Hlaing extended the country's state of emergency period for another six months, starting on Aug. 1. The state of emergency was initially declared in the aftermath of the February 2021 coup.

Bangladesh opposition supporters protested July 29 to demand the resignation of prime minister and the leader of Awami League, Sheikh Hasina. The protests followed a call to action from the Bangladesh National Party (BNP). Protestors blocked several entry points to the capital Dhaka, and some threw rocks at police. The police responded with tear-gas, rubber bullets and batons. The Dhaka metropolitan police admitted to these tactics, saying that officers were injured. BNP leader Abdul Moyeen Khan said that 1,000 supporters have been arrested, two times higher than the 500 figure provided by the police.

Niger's national broadcaster identified Gen. Abdourahamane Tiani as president of the country's new military government on July 28 following a coup that deposed elected President Mohamed Bazoum.