Argentina on Oct. 13 submitted a request to the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea, seeking an order for provisional measures against the United Kingdom to halt British exploitation of hydrocarbon resources on the continental shelf to the north of the disputed archipelago known to the UK as the Falkland Islands and to Argentina as the Malvinas. 

UN experts on Oct. 14 welcomed a recent ruling by Colombia's Special Jurisdiction for Peace (JEP) relating to Macro-Case 08, recognizing the responsibility of a director of parastatal oil company Ecopetrol and several state agents for war crimes, crimes against humanity, and serious human rights violations. The ruling concerns abuses committed during the armed conflict in and around the refinery city of Barrancabermeja in the late 1990s that saw several people abducted and presumably killed by right-wing paramilitaries. 

More than 300 US troops arrived in Colombia Oct. 27 to take part in a series of joint military operations known as "Southern Vanguard." The exercises, which are set to last through Nov. 11, will focus on tackling drug trafficking and illegal mining, as well as training in medical aid. The operations, which will in large part be carried out at the Tolemaida airbase, have stirred controversy in the country given the possibility that US troops could conduct joint strikes on Colombian soil, after the new right-wing government of President Abelardo de la Espriella agreed to such an arrangement. The left opposition argues that the presence of foreign troops needs congressional approval. Senator and former presidential candidate Iván Cepeda sued the government in September after a US military helicopter flew over the southern port of Tumaco.

A new report from the UN Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territories finds that Israel has continued to commit "genocidal acts" in the Gaza Strip since the signing of a ceasefire with Hamas last October, and continues to carry out war crimes and crimes against humanity throughout the occupied territories.

The UN World Meteorological Organization (WMO) warned Oct. 27 that atmospheric levels of carbon dioxide (CO2) and other greenhouse gases reached record highs in 2025—another portent of global warming, which increases the frequency of extreme weather events and associated risks to societies and economies.

Amnesty International on Oct. 13 stated that Iran's execution of five individuals in one week was based on unfair trials, and called on the international community to respond. Between Sept. 30 and Oct. 5, Iran executed five men—Majid Nikandish, Ali Hemmati Sistanian, Siavash Jamshidi Kheirabadi, Alireza Raisi and Alireza Sepahi—convicted in connection with anti-government protests, prompting renewed scrutiny from human rights organizations over the use of capital punishment in protest-related cases.

Human Rights Watch on Oct. 14 reported that at least 31 people have been executed in Libya after unjust military trials since late August. Bassam Khawaja, HRW's deputy Middle East and North Africa director, decried the executions, saying:

Thousands of Colombians peacefully rallied across the country Oct. 14 against the far-right policies of President Abelardo de la Espriella, little more than two months after he took office. They criticized his proposed social spending cuts, his alignment with Trump, and his hardline military approach to decades of armed-group violence. Earlier this month, de la Espriella announced a "counterterrorism statute" that many fear could restrict democratic rights. (TNH)