Tag Archives: rights

UN Rights Chief Criticises US Immigration Raids, Warns Of Rising Abuse Against Migrants

Posted on by
Reply

 

The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights has raised serious concerns over the treatment of migrants and refugees in the United States, warning that aggressive immigration enforcement operations are leading to widespread fear, family separations and potential violations of fundamental rights.

In a statement released on Friday, UN human rights chief Volker Türk said individuals suspected of being undocumented migrants are increasingly being targeted in large-scale federal enforcement actions carried out in everyday locations.

Raids Reported In Hospitals, Schools And Homes

According to the UN rights office, surveillance, arrests and detentions have been reported in a wide range of public and private settings, including hospitals, schools, courthouses, markets, places of worship and private homes.

Türk said some of the operations have involved the use of force, leaving many communities feeling intimidated and vulnerable.

“I am astounded by the now-routine abuse and denigration of migrants and refugees,” he said.

The climate of fear created by such enforcement actions is affecting families and children in particular. In some cases, children have reportedly missed school or medical appointments because parents fear they may be detained during routine activities.

Concerns Over Arbitrary Arrests

The UN rights chief warned that several migration policies currently being implemented could result in arbitrary or unlawful arrests and detentions.

He also raised concerns that immigration enforcement decisions may be made without sufficient individual assessments of each person’s situation.

In the United States, immigration enforcement is primarily handled by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), a federal agency responsible for identifying, arresting and deporting individuals believed to be in violation of immigration laws.

Türk acknowledged that governments have the right to regulate migration and enforce national laws. However, he stressed that such powers must be exercised in accordance with legal standards and due process.

“Failure to respect due process risks eroding public trust, weakening institutional legitimacy and violating individuals’ rights,” he said.

Deadly Incident Raises Alarm

Türk also criticised the increasing use of large-scale enforcement operations, warning that force used in such actions may sometimes be unnecessary or disproportionate.

He referred to an incident on January 7, 2026, when a woman was fatally shot during a federal enforcement operation in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Under international law, the UN official noted, lethal force should only be used as a last resort when there is an imminent threat to life.

Families Separated By Detention Practices

The High Commissioner highlighted the human impact of current immigration practices, particularly on families.

He cited cases in which parents were detained or transferred between detention facilities without relatives being informed of their whereabouts. In some instances, families reportedly struggled to maintain contact or obtain legal representation.

“I call on the administration to end practices that are tearing apart families,” Türk said.

He also urged US authorities to conduct independent and transparent investigations into deaths reported in immigration detention facilities.

At least 30 deaths were recorded in Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody last year, with six additional deaths reported so far this year.

Warning Over Anti-Migrant Rhetoric

Beyond enforcement actions, Türk expressed concern about what he described as increasingly hostile language directed at migrants and refugees in political discourse.

He warned that such rhetoric risks fueling xenophobia and violence against immigrant communities.

“I call on leaders at all levels in the US to halt the use of scapegoating tactics that seek to distract and divide,” he said.

According to the UN official, portraying migrants collectively as criminals or threats based solely on nationality or immigration status undermines fundamental human rights principles.

Migrants’ Contributions Highlighted

Despite his criticism, Türk also acknowledged the efforts of public officials, civil society organisations and community groups across the United States who are working to protect the rights and dignity of migrants.

He emphasised that the country’s history has been profoundly shaped by migration and the contributions of people from around the world.

“Demonising migrants and refugees collectively as criminals, threats or burdens on society is inhuman and wrong,” he said, adding that such narratives run counter to the values on which the nation was built.

How climate change is threatening human rights

Posted on by
Reply

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk echoed this message in Geneva earlier this year and posed a question before the Human Rights Council:

“Are we taking the steps needed to protect people from climate chaos, safeguard their futures and manage natural resources in ways that respect human rights and the environment?”

His answer was very simple: we are not doing nearly enough.

In this regard, the impacts of climate change must be understood not only as a climate emergency, but also as a violation of human rights, Professor Joyeeta Gupta told UN News recently

She is the co-chair of the international scientific advisory body Earth Commission and one of the United Nations’ high-level representatives for science, technology, and innovation for the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Who suffers the most?

Professor Gupta said that the 1992 climate convention never quantified human harm. 

She noted that when the Paris Agreement was adopted in 2015, the global consensus settled on limiting warming to 2° Celsius, later acknowledging 1.5° Celsius as a safer goal. 

But for small island States, even that was a compromise forced by power imbalance, and “for them, two degrees was not survivable,” said Professor Gupta.

“Rising seas, saltwater intrusion, and extreme storms threaten to erase entire nations. When wealthy countries demanded scientific proof, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) was tasked with studying the difference between 1.5° Celsius and 2° Celsius,” she continued.

She said that the results were clear that 1.5° Celsius is significantly less destructive but still dangerous.

In her own research published in Nature, she argues that one degree Celsius is the just boundary, because beyond that point, the impacts of climate change violate the rights of more than one per cent of the global population, around 100 million people.

The tragedy, she noted, is that the world crossed one degree in 2017, and it is likely to breach 1.5° Celsius by 2030. 

She underscored that the promises of cooling later in the century ignore irreversible damage, including melting glaciers, collapsing ecosystems, and lost lives.

“If Himalayan glaciers melt,” she said, “they won’t come back. We will be living with the consequences forever.”

A man helps a woman after her car is stranded in waist-deep water. Globally rains are being more extreme due to impacts of climate change.

A question of responsibility 

Climate justice and development go hand in hand. Every basic right – from water and food to housing, mobility, and electricity – requires energy.

“There is a belief that we can meet the Sustainable Development Goals without changing how rich people live. That doesn’t work mathematically or ethically,” Professor Gupta explained. 

Her research shows that meeting basic human needs has a significant emissions footprint. 

The research also highlights that since the planet has already crossed safe limits, wealthy societies must reduce emissions far more aggressively, not only to protect the climate, but to create carbon space for others to realise their rights.

“Failing to do so turns inequality into injustice.” she underlined.

Climate change and displacement

Displacement is one of the most obvious effects of climate injustice. Yet international law still does not recognise ‘climate refugees.’

Professor Gupta explains the progression clearly. 

“Climate change first forces adaptation for example, shifting from water-intensive rice to drought-resistant crops. When adaptation fails, people absorb losses: land, livelihoods, security. When survival itself becomes impossible, displacement begins,” she said.

“If land becomes too dry to grow crops and there is no drinking water,” she said, “people are forced to leave.”

She added that the most climate displacement today occurs within countries or regions, not across continents. 

“Moving is expensive, dangerous, and often unwanted. The legal challenge lies in proving causation: Did people leave because of climate change, or because of other factors like poor governance or market failures?

“This is where attribution science becomes crucial. New studies now compare decades of data to show when and how climate change alters rainfall, heat, health outcomes, and extreme events. As this science advances, it may become possible to integrate climate displacement into international refugee law,” she noted.

“That,” she said, “will be the next step.”

Children in Africa are among the most at risk of the impacts of climate change.

A broken legal framework

Professor Gupta said that climate harms have been quite difficult to address through human rights law due to the fragmented architecture of international law.

“This fragmentation allows States to compartmentalise responsibility…They can say, “I agreed to this here, but not there,” she said. 

“Environmental treaties, human rights conventions, trade agreements, and investment regimes operate in parallel worlds. Countries may sign climate agreements without being bound by human rights treaties, or protect investors while ignoring environmental destruction,” she added.

She asserted that this is why invoking climate change as a human rights violation at the global level has been so difficult. Until recently, climate harm was discussed in technical terms – parts per million of carbon dioxide, temperature targets, emission pathways – without explicitly asking: What does this do to people?

Only recently has this begun to change.

In a landmark advisory opinion, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) clarified that climate change cannot be assessed in isolation. Courts and governments, the ICJ said, must consider climate obligations together with human rights and other environmental agreements.

For Professor Gupta, this legal shift is long overdue but vital.

“It finally tells governments: you cannot talk about climate without talking about people.”

Climate change is transboundary

Assigning responsibility for climate change is exceptionally complex because its impacts cross borders, she said.

“For instance, a Peruvian farmer sued a German company in a German court for damages caused by climate change. The court acknowledged that foreign plaintiffs can bring such cases, but proving the link between emissions and harm remains a major challenge. This case highlights the difficulties of holding states or companies accountable for transboundary climate-related human rights harms,” she added.

Professor Gupta said that attribution science is making it possible to link emissions to specific harms.

The ICJ has now affirmed that continued fossil fuel use may constitute an internationally wrongful act. States are responsible not only for their emissions, but for regulating companies within their borders.

“Different legal strategies are emerging, from corporate misrepresentation lawsuits in the US to France’s corporate vigilance law,” she added

Vehicle emissions, diesel generators, the burning of biomass and garbage have all contributed to poor air quality in Lagos Lagoon in Nigeria. (file 2016)

Climate stability as a collective human right

Rather than framing climate as an individual entitlement, Professor Gupta argues for recognising a collective right to a stable climate.

She explained that climate stability sustains agriculture, water systems, supply chains, and everyday predictability, and without it, society cannot function.

“Climate works through water,” she said. “And water is central to everything.”

Courts around the world are increasingly recognising that climate instability undermines existing human rights even if climate itself is not yet codified as one.

This thinking is now echoed at the highest levels of the UN.

Erosion of fundamental rights

Speaking at the Human Rights Council in Geneva in June of this year, UN High Commissioner Volker Türk warned that climate change is already eroding fundamental rights, especially for the most vulnerable.

But he also framed climate action as an opportunity.

“Climate change can be a powerful lever for progress,” he said, if the world commits to a just transition away from environmentally destructive systems.

“What we need now,” he stressed, “is a roadmap to rethink our societies, economies and politics in ways that are equitable and sustainable.”

Political will, power, and responsibility

“The erosion of multilateralism symbolised by repeated US withdrawals from the Paris Agreement has weakened global trust. Meanwhile, 70 per cent of new fossil fuel expansion is driven by four wealthy countries: the US, Canada, Norway, and Australia,” said Professor Gupta.

She argues that neoliberal ideology focused on markets, deregulation, and individual freedom cannot solve a collective crisis.

“Climate change is a public good problem,” she said. “It requires rules, cooperation, and strong States.”

Developing countries face a dilemma: wait for climate finance while emissions rise, or act independently and seek justice later. Waiting, she warns, is suicidal.

As the UN High Commissioner concluded in Geneva, a just transition must leave no one behind.

“If we fail to protect lives, health, jobs and futures,” Volker Türk warned, “we will reproduce the very injustices we claim to fight.”

US strikes in Caribbean and Pacific breach international law, says UN rights chief

Posted on by
Reply

More than 60 people have reportedly been killed in the continuing series of attacks since early September “in circumstances that find no justification in international law,” Volker Türk said in a statement.

He urged the US to halt its “unacceptable” operations and take measures to prevent the “extrajudicial killing of people aboard these boats, whatever the criminal conduct alleged against them.”

Beyond the law

The United States has defended the operations as part of its ongoing efforts to combat drug trafficking and terrorism, asserting that they fall within the framework of international humanitarian law.

Mr. Türk rejected that argument, stressing that countering illicit drug trafficking is a law-enforcement matter, governed by careful limits on lethal force set out in international human rights law.

He emphasised that the intentional use of lethal force is lawful only as a last resort when individuals pose an imminent threat to life.

Call for investigations

“Based on the very sparse information provided publicly by the US authorities, none of the individuals on the targeted boats appeared to pose an imminent threat to the lives of others or otherwise justified the use of lethal armed force against them under international law,” Mr. Türk said.

The High Commissioner called for prompt, independent and transparent investigations into the reported attacks.

While acknowledging the serious challenges posed by drug trafficking, Mr. Türk urged the US to ensure that all counter-narcotics operations respect international law, including the treaties to which it is party.

“The United States should investigate and, if necessary, prosecute and punish individuals accused of serious crimes in accordance with the fundamental rule-of-law principles of due process and fair trial, for which the US has long stood,” he concluded.

 

DPR Korea: UN report finds human rights situation still dire, a decade on

Posted on by
Reply

The rights office, OHCHR, interviewed 314 witnesses who left the DPRK – more commonly known as North Korea – and consulted with several organizations and experts to evaluate the human rights conditions there since 2014.

The situation has not improved, and in many cases has worsened, “bringing even more suffering to the population,” said Spokesperson Liz Throssell, briefing journalists in Geneva.

James Heenan, head of the office working on DPRK, highlighted the severity of the human rights violations, where even a minor offence can result in punishment.

Killed for sharing shows online

“We do have credible evidence that individuals have been executed – not  just for watching K-dramas. The crime is for distributing at a certain level, foreign information, foreign media,” he said.

The report found that new laws, policies and practices have been leading to increased surveillance and control over citizens, some of whom have ended up in forced labour camps, as political prisoners.

Working in ‘shock brigades’

In a form of forced labour called “shock brigades,” Authorities in Pyongyang have reportedly used thousands of orphans and street children to work in coal mines and other environments, exposing them to hazardous materials and long working hours, the UN report said.

Mr. Heenan further added that school children are also used to do “backbreaking” work collecting harvests and while they were supposed to be in class.

“The Government says that this is sort of a curriculum to help them learn life skills. But the information we’ve had for many years now is that it meets the qualification of forced labour because the children have no choice,” he said.

The physically demanding and dangerous work of the brigades is also undertaken by people in the military or prison system, as well as by workers from mainly poor families who wish to become party members or improve their social status.

Deaths are reportedly frequent under these conditions but rather than increasing safety measures, the DPRK publicly glorifies deaths as a sacrifice to the leader, according to the report.

Death penalty widely used

In 2014 and 2015, many senior officials were reportedly executed for “anti-State acts,” the report says.

While this trend later decreased, escapees said that from 2020, execution has been used for the distribution of unauthorized media, drugs and economic crimes, prostitution, pornography, trafficking and murder.

Since 2015, there have been six new laws allowing the use of the death penalty for offenses such as a vaguely defined “anti-state” propaganda.

Interviewees said they also witnessed public executions over the last decade. The report explains that the government has organised public trials and executions to instil fear in the population and as a deterrent.

“To block the people’s eyes and ears, they strengthened the crackdowns,” one of the witnesses told OHCHR.

Not enough progress

Escapees expressed that some improvements had been made in the treatment of people in detention facilities. North Korea has also ratified two more human rights treaties, but the report ultimately concludes that it is far from adhering to its obligations under international law.

The DPRK remains more isolated than any other nation, further adding to the difficulty of monitoring and implementing fair human rights standards.

“What we have witnessed is a lost decade,” said UN human rights chief Volker Türk. “And it pains me to say that if DPRK continues on its current trajectory, the population will be subjected to more of the suffering, brutal repression and fear that they have endured for so long.”

Source link

Sudan’s people tortured and killed in ‘slaughterhouses’, rights probe says

Posted on by
Reply

Shortly after presenting a mandated report to the Human Rights Council in Geneva on Tuesday, chair of the Fact-Finding Mission on Sudan, Mohamed Chande Othman, insisted that both the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and Rapid Support Forces (RSF) militia had carried out atrocity crimes.

Among the testimonies gathered for the report, survivors from RSF detention sites described the locations as “slaughterhouses”.

Tortured, staved, denied medical care

In one notorious RSF facility, dozens of detainees died between June and October this year after being tortured, denied food and medical care, the independent rights expert said.

Equally, in SAF-run detention facilities, “civilians were also subjected to torture, including electric shock, sexualized abuse and they were held in cells so overcrowded that some prisoners had to sleep standing,” he added.

In addition, girls as young as 12 were forced into marriage, “sometimes under the threat of death to their families”, the fact-finding mission chair continued.

“Men and boys were also subjected to sexualized torture and such acts are rooted in racism, prejudice and impunity and they devastate entire communities.”

Highlighting the lack of diplomatic solutions to the conflict which began in April 2023, and its massive impact of the war on civilians, report co-author Mona Rishmawi insisted that “everybody knows you cannot rape, you cannot loot, you cannot destroy property. You cannot starve people…But if there is no accountability, of course they will continue doing it.”

Extermination goal

Asked why the report had decided not to describe what has been happening in Sudan as genocide, Ms. Rishmawi replied that the evidence “basically looks at more or less the same kind of violations as genocide”.

She added: “You kill, [you provide] no food, no water, you don’t allow food production. You don’t allow access to food, to markets…and you don’t allow access to humanitarian aid. What you do want is to kill the population…So, the effect of this is really the crime against humanity…of extermination.”

Hunger crisis

The investigative body created by the Human Rights Council in October 2023 highlighted the devastating humanitarian emergency that has resulted from the war.

“In displacement camps such Zamzam and Abu Shouk, witnesses describe children dying of hunger and dehydration in the streets, including people eating animal food,” said Joy Ngozi Ezeilo, Expert Member of the Fact-Finding Mission.

Addressing the council earlier, fact-finding mission chair Mr. Othman insisted that the war was “destroying not only lives but also the means of survival”, with hospitals, markets, water and electricity systems – and even humanitarian convoys – systematically attacked.

“Markets, the backbone of food access, have been repeatedly bombed,” he said, adding that in October 2024, SAF airstrikes on El Koma market killed at least 45 civilians.

Dying of thirst

“Two months later, Kabkabiya market was struck, killing more than 100. In March this year, SAF bombed Tora market during peak hours, killing and injuring hundreds.”

The mission report underscored how the RSF had also shelled markets, pillaged entire areas and destroyed Zamzam camp’s market.

RSF drone strikes hit the Merowe Dam and water towers, leaving communities without drinking water, while “one mother told us she lost all four of her children to thirst while fleeing”, said Mr. Othman, who like the other members of the panel is an independent human rights expert and not a UN staff member.

Source link

UN rights chief denounces ‘glorification of violence’ and attack on rule of law

Posted on by
Reply

“No one is safe when human rights are under attack,” Mr. Türk told the Human Rights Council, warning that the rules of war “are being shredded”.

“Some States are becoming an extension of their ruler’s personal power,” he insisted.

In his customary address to the UN’s top rights forum at the beginning of a new session in Geneva, the High Commissioner for Human Rights decried that “pro-war propaganda is everywhere”, from military parades to “ramped-up rhetoric” from leaders.

“Sadly, there are no peace parades or ministries of peace, he stressed, while calling for countries to stand firm against the growing “erosion” of international law.

The High Commissioner also defended the importance of standing behind multilateral accords as “the foundation of peace, our global order and our daily lives, from trade rules to the global internet, to our fundamental rights”.

World order at risk

Today, governments “are disregarding, disrespecting and disengaging” the existing rules-based world order that was established after 1945 to prevent another world war, the UN rights chief insisted, in a call for accountability.

The danger is that when States ignore violations of the law, “they become normalised,” Mr. Türk said. “When States apply the law inconsistently, they undermine the legal order everywhere. It is time for States to wake up and to act.”

Condemning the continued illegal detention of United Nations staff in Yemen as a “direct attack on the UN system”, Mr. Türk also called the United States’ withdrawal “from the Paris Agreement and from global bodies, including this Council…deeply regrettable”, noting that other States were following suit.

The High Commissioner also warned of the negative consequences of the decision by Estonia, Finland, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland to leave the Ottowa Treaty on land mines, while identifying the “new trend of disparaging” the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, which all countries had agreed to a decade ago.

An A to Z of rights concerns

As is usual at the start of Council sessions, the High Commissioner highlighted situations of concern around the world, from Afghanistan – where the “erasure” of women and girls from public life “is almost complete” – to Haiti which is “plunging deeper into lawlessness; Nigeria, which is seeing a resurgence of Boko Haram extremism; and Syria – whose transition to peace remains “fragile”.

In Ukraine, following the largest drone assault of the conflict, Russia’s full-scale invasion “has turned even more deadly”.

In Sudan, besieged El Fasher is under constant bombardment and the risk of further atrocities remains, Mr. Türk said, while in Myanmar, four years since the military coup, people remain caught up in “a harrowing human rights calamity”.

Turning to the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, “damning evidence” indicates continued “grave violations and abuses” by all parties to the conflict, the High Commissioner continued, while Gaza is now a “graveyard”, amid Israel’s “mass killing” of Palestinian civilians.

Where are steps to stop Gaza genocide?

“We are failing the people of Gaza…Where are the decisive steps to prevent genocide?” he asked. “Why are countries not doing more to avert atrocity crimes? They must stop the flow to Israel of arms that risk violating the laws of war.”

The Human Rights Council meets in three scheduled sessions every year at UN Geneva. 

Continuing his tour d’horizon of country situations of concern in addition to thematic issues, Mr. Türk maintained that progress sought by his office, OHCHR, to protect the rights of Uyghur and other Muslim minorities in China has “yet to materialise”.

In West Africa, meanwhile, restrictions on LGBTQ+ people are growing in some countries considering criminalising consensual same-sex relations, the High Commissioner said, just as the rights of migrants and refugees are being increasingly violated.

Asylum alert

“Iran and Pakistan have forcibly returned millions of Afghans to their country and India has also deported groups of Rohingya Muslims by land and sea,” he insisted.

Similarly, Germany, Greece, Hungary, and other European countries “have also sought to limit the right to seek asylum”, Mr. Türk insisted. He took note of concerns about the United States’ reported agreement with El Salvador, South Sudan, Eswatini, Rwanda and others, to deport third country nationals, and underlined Kuwait’s decision to revoke citizenship for thousands of people in recent years, “leaving many stateless”. 

Poll appeal

On imminent national elections across Africa, Mr. Türk also cited serious concerns over polling preparations in Cameroon, Côte d’Ivoire, Guinea, Guinea Bissau, Malawi, Tanzania and Uganda.

“In many of these countries, the authorities are resorting to harassment, exclusion or detention of opposition leaders; restrictions on media freedom; bans on peaceful protest; and crackdowns on human rights defenders,” he said.

The UN rights chief also urged the Ethiopian authorities to ensure conditions for free, fair and inclusive elections, amid concerns about arbitrary detentions of journalists.

As part of the UN’s efforts to improve and promote human rights everywhere, Mr. Türk urged all countries to do more so that “every child – whether a future farmer, digital worker, doctor or shopkeeper” understands that human rights “are our birthright”.

He added: “The vast majority of people around the world are crying out for human rights and freedoms…No one is safe when human rights are under attack. Abuses committed against one group are always part of a broader pattern of oppression and lead to the wider erosion of fundamental freedoms”.

Source link

‘A war of atrocities’ – UN human rights investigators warn Sudanese civilians are paying the highest price

Posted on by
Reply

“They burned everything,” said one witness of a shelling attack in the Zamzam displacement camp in war-torn Darfur. “They claimed they only wanted to fight soldiers, but they punished the whole community.”

The war crimes and human rights violations perpetrated by all parties to the conflict between the military government and Rapid Support Forces (RSF) militia are documented in the latest report to the UN Human Rights Council, published by the UN’s investigative body probing violations in Sudan, known as the Independent International Fact-Finding Mission (FFM). 

The report, ‘A War of Atrocities” found that both the Sudanese army (SAF) and the RSF have directed large-scale attacks against civilians and vital infrastructure including medical centres, constituting serious violations of international law.

Systematic human rights abuses

“Our findings leave no room for doubt: civilians are paying the highest price in this war,” said Mohamed Chande Othman, chair of the FFM.

According to the report, civilians are being targeted by both sides for their real or perceived affiliation with the opposing side. Executions, torture, and rape have become a daily horror for many communities in the war-torn country.

The RSF intentionally directed attacks against non-Arab communities in the besieged Darfuri city of El Fasher and the surrounding region, increasing the toll on what the UN refugee agency, UNHCR, calls the world’s fastest-growing displacement crisis.

Around 12.1 million people have fallen victim to forced displacement as of July. More civilians were killed or fled after the SAF targeted the state of Gezira.

Violence against women

Many civilians interviewed for the report said that they had suffered sexual assault. One witness said that she, along with other women and underaged girls, was subjected to rape in an abandoned building.

“Victims – especially women and children, who bear the greatest burden – deserve justice and reparations,” said Joy Ngozi Ezeilo, one of the independent investigators.

For women and girls in Sudan, receiving psychological or medical support is nearly impossible both because of the fear of retaliation from reporting violence and because of regular RSF and SAF attacks on hospitals.

Risk for humanitarian workers

Over 84 Sudanese humanitarian workers were killed, and more were arbitrarily detained between the start of war in April 2023 and April this year after intentional attacks and kidnappings.

The FFM is also conducting an ongoing investigation on a drone attack against a joint World Food Programme and UNICEF convoy in June. Five humanitarian workers died in the attack while several others were injured.

Meanwhile, humanitarian aid continues to be delayed or obstructed.

A ‘roadmap for justice’

“Our report not only exposes atrocities, it also lays out a roadmap for justice,” said FFM expert Mona Rishmawi.

The warring parties, mediators, and civil society can all play a role in ending the conflict, as outlined in the report.

Civil society initiatives, such as the Sudanese youth-led initiative “emergency rooms”, are some of the ways in which local communities can begin to repair the fabric of basic human rights law across Sudan.

The report also calls on the international community to enforce an arms embargo, back the International Criminal Court (ICC), and stop cooperating with any combatants or civilians suspected of war crimes, among other recommendations.

“The international community has the tools to act. Failure to do so would not only betray the Sudanese people – it would betray the very foundations of international law,” said Mr. Othman.

Source link

Amid escalating attacks in Gaza, UN rights chief calls on US to withdraw sanctions against Palestinian rights groups

Posted on by
Reply

The measures announced on Thursday target Al-Haq group, the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (PCHR) and Al-Mezan Center for Human Rights, in relation to their support of the work of the International Criminal Court (ICC) on the situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, following other sanctions imposed by the US Government in June on renowned Palestinian non-governmental organization (NGO) Addameer.

“For decades now, these NGOs have been performing vital human rights work, particularly on accountability for human rights violations,” that is “all the more important when international humanitarian and human rights laws are being violated systematically in Gaza and the West Bank, including East Jerusalem”.

Mr. Türk urged the US to immediately withdraw its sanctions “as well as the ones imposed earlier on the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Palestinian territory occupied since 1967, and on multiple Judges and Prosecutors of the ICC.”

He added that the sanctions will have a “chilling effect” not only on civil society in the Occupied Palestinian Territory and Israel, but potentially worldwide.

Attacks, famine spread across Gaza

The ongoing Israeli offensive to take full control of Gaza City further intensified on Friday, increasing civilian casualties and attacking facilities on which they depend to survive, the UN Spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric said during a press briefing at UN Headquarters.

Earlier on Friday, Israeli forces attacked a high-rise building that they say was used to launch attacks against them, damaging tents sheltering displaced people nearby, according to initial information collected by the UN aid coordination office (OCHA).

“Our humanitarian colleagues tell us that in the north, people are simply exhausted; they can’t afford to move south, not only because displacement sites are overcrowded, but also because transport can cost up to $1,000,” Mr. Dujarric said, announcing that nearly 41,000 people have been displaced from Gaza City since 14 August.

‘Catastrophe Israel could have prevented’: WHO chief

Reminding that the offensive is running alongside the spread of famine, World Health Organization (WHO) chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said it was “a catastrophe that Israel could have prevented and could stop at any time.”

Starvation ‘will not make Israel safer’

“Starvation of civilians as a method of war is a war crime that can never be tolerated. Doing so in one conflict risks legitimising its use in future conflicts.”

Since the conflict began in October 2023, at least 370 people have died from malnutrition in Gaza, including more than 300 just in the past two months, according to the UN health agency, which said the lack of food and clean water and cramped living conditions are leaving people with weakened immune systems.

It’s also exposing the population to more disease, with more than 100 cases of Guillain-Barré Syndrome, including 11 deaths, reported in the last month.

“The most intolerable part of this man-made disaster is that it could be stopped right now,” he said.

“People are starving to death while the food that could save them sits on trucks a short distance away. And for what? The starvation of the people of Gaza will not make Israel safer, nor will it facilitate the release of the hostages.”

While WHO is doing the best it can to alleviate suffering in Gaza, supporting medical evacuations of over 7,640 patients, more than 15,000 others need urgent specialised care, including 3,800 children.

More than 700 people have died while waiting for evacuations, Tedros said, calling for countries to “open their arms to these critically ill patients” and on Israel to allow people to be treated in the nearby West Bank and East Jerusalem.

“Above all, we call on the Government of Israel to end this inhumane war,” he said. “If it will not, I call on its allies to use their influence to stop it.”

UN rights office worried over escalation in Gaza City, annexation plans for West Bank

Posted on by
Reply

Ajith Sunghay, Head of OHCHR’s Office in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT), told UN News that the escalation has caused extensive destruction to residential buildings in southern parts of North Gaza governorate and in northeastern areas of Gaza City.

This has led to further civilian casualties and forced displacement.  Local health authorities reported that 816 Palestinians were killed between 26 August and 1 September – nearly double the number of fatalities compared to the previous week.

Nowhere to go

Roughly one million Palestinians reportedly remain in northern Gaza, and he said they are being pushed into increasingly smaller areas in the west of the enclave.

“Many are unable to relocate – there are no safe areas and movement is dangerous. Others are still trapped in eastern Gaza City, with humanitarian workers unable to reach them,” he said.

Meanwhile, Israeli military attacks on people seeking aid continued across the Gaza Strip, where humanitarians are still struggling to bring in desperately needed supplies.  

OHCHR has recorded over 2,146 deaths in the vicinity of sites run by the US and Israel-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), which began operations in late May, and along convoy routes.

West Bank warning

Mr. Sunghay also pointed to increasing reports of Israeli Government plans to “extend sovereignty” over the occupied West Bank or effectively annex parts of it.

He recalled that last July, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) “very clearly stated” that Israel has already incorporated large parts of the OPT – particularly East Jerusalem and Area C, where most settlements are located – into its territory, concluding that this amounts to annexation.

Israel “has done so, and continues doing so, with the unabated building of settlements and outposts and related infrastructure and with the forcible transfer of thousands of Palestinians from large swathes of the West Bank now controlled by the Israel forces and settlers,” he said.

“It has done so also by reshaping the West Bank with an extensive network of checkpoints, and gates which ensure freedom of action to settlers while segregating Palestinian towns and villages.”

Further expulsion threat

He warned that “any declaration of extension of sovereignty over the West Bank will have further catastrophic consequences on Palestinians” – not only on their right to self-determination but also on daily life. 

It would facilitate a further, massive expansion of settlements and legalization of existing outposts, and allow Israel to take full control of natural resources there without any restrictions.

“Further, Israel’s objectives to formally annex ‘as much as land possible with the least Palestinians in it’ as declared by some of its leaders, would clearly place Palestinians in the annexed areas at imminent risk of expulsion through increased settler violence, deprivation of political rights, expropriation of land and mass home demolitions,” he said.  

Source link

World News in Brief: Pakistan floods, countries lag on climate reporting, concern over attack on peacekeepers in south Lebanon, cuts hit human rights investigations

Posted on by
Reply

In a statement released by his Spokesperson, the UN chief noted that the disaster driven by severe monsoon conditions had been exacerbated by climate change, impacting around 1.5 million people.

Hundreds of thousands of people need humanitarian aid while more than 3,000 homes, over 400 schools and some 40 health facilities have suffered some level of damage.

Solidarity with the people

“The Secretary-General commends Pakistani authorities for relocating more than one million people in Punjab. He expresses his solidarity with the Government and people of Pakistan, extends his heartfelt condolences to the families of those who have lost their lives, and wishes a swift recovery to those who have been injured.”

The UN and other humanitarian organizations are working closely with the Pakistani authorities to assess the full impact of the floods on communities, identify further needs and also address any gaps in the response.

The UN’s Emergency Relief Coordinator, Tom Fletcher, has released $600,000 from the Regional Humanitarian Pooled Fund for relief and recovery efforts, and discussions are underway with the Government on a specific response plan.

Dozens of countries lag on climate reporting, warns UN climate chief

UN Climate Change Executive Secretary Simon Stiell has warned that 37 countries have yet to submit one or more mandatory reports under the Paris Agreement’s transparency framework, stressing that “no country can be left behind.”

Speaking at the Global Transparency Forum in Songdo, Republic of Korea, the UNFCCC chief said the Enhanced Transparency Framework (ETF) is not just technical bookkeeping but “a vital enabling tool” for stronger climate action.

It helps governments attract investment, design more ambitious policies and accelerate progress on clean energy and resilience, he added.

‘Smart investment’

To date, more than 100 nations have submitted their first Biennial Transparency Reports (BTRs), which Mr Stiell called a “smart investment” bringing economic and social benefits.

Over 10,000 experts from 140 developing countries have received training on the ETF, with 1,200 certified reviewers and 1,400 officials now using its tools.

The first global synthesis of BTRs will be published ahead of November’s COP30 climate change conference in Brazil, offering an early snapshot of progress on mitigation, adaptation and support. Mr Stiell said the findings would guide the next Global Stocktake.

“What is measured can be acted upon. What is reported helps build trust. And what is shared becomes a force for change,” he stressed.

Lebanon: UN voices serious concern over Israeli attack on peacekeepers

The UN has expressed serious concern over an Israeli attack on peacekeepers clearing roadblocks in southern Lebanon on Tuesday.

Briefing reporters in New York on Wednesday, UN Spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric said Israeli military drones had dropped grenades in the vicinity of peacekeepers serving with the UN mission, UNIFIL, “who were carrying out mandated tasks in support of implementation of Security Council resolution 1701.”

That’s the resolution which authorises peacekeepers to monitor the cessation of hostilities agreement between Israel and Hezbollah of 2006 and support the Lebanese armed forces as Israel withdrew from southern Lebanon. UNIFIL patrols the Blue Line of separation.

In a statement on social media, UNIFIL described the drone attack as one of the most serious on its personnel since the cessation of hostilities agreement between the two sides last November. The mission stressed that Israeli forces had been informed in advance of the road clearance work.

Drones crossed into Israel

“One grenade impacted within 20 metres and three within approximately 100 metres of UN personnel and vehicles,” said the UN Spokesperson.

“The drones were then observed returning south of the Blue Line. Thankfully, none of our colleagues were injured.”

The Secretary-General stresses that any acts which endanger peacekeepers’ lives are “completely unacceptable”, Mr. Dujarric continued.

UN chief António Guterres is also demanding that the parties uphold their responsibilities “to ensure the safety and security of the peacekeepers and inviolability of UN premises.”

Funding cuts hampering the work of the Human Rights Council, says President

The Human Rights Council is set to meet on Monday in Geneva – an opportunity for UN Member States to discuss action to address conflicts around the world, as well as other issues of global importance, from climate change to disability rights.

Important as this work is, it’s feared that cost-cutting measures that are already affecting UN agencies and bodies like the Council could limit its reach, President Jürg Lauber told journalists on Wednesday.

This includes independent rights investigators known as Special Rapporteurs, he said: “When the Council decides to have an investigative mechanism or a special rapporteur or an issue, they need resources,” he said.

Research, travel impacted

“They need they get support from the Secretariat to do research, to write reports. They need to travel to a country to see the situation. There’s also less money available, which means they don’t get necessarily all the research and assistance they need to do their work,” he continued.

Mr. Lauber said it was “very clear” that dwindling financial resources were impacting meetings during Council sessions and the basic implementations of investigative mandates.

He added that the funding cuts could also prevent people or groups in countries of concern from sharing their testimonies with investigators.

And he noted that reduced funding could also limit how much technical support and advice the Council is able to give to governments seeking to promote and protect human rights.

Source link

Thailand grants work rights to long-term refugees from Myanmar, UN welcomes resolution

Posted on by
Reply

Some 81,000 forcibly displaced people are hosted in temporary shelters along the Thai-Myanmar border where they have been living in the camps for decades.

Nearly half the refugee population were born under canvas, where displaced families have largely depended on humanitarian assistance.

Over a million Rohingya, a mostly-Muslim minority from Myanmar, have fled conflict and persecution in multiple waves of displacement.

Monday marked eight years since the mass exodus of Rohingya from Myanmar’s Rakhine state in Myanmar and the UN on Monday called for greater international solidarity over their plight.

‘Turning point’

UNHCR’s Representative in Thailand, Tammi Sharpe, described the Government’s decision as a major “turning point.”

She said it would not only help refugees support themselves but also benefit local economies and strengthen Thailand’s long-term growth.

“By unlocking the potential of these individuals, Thailand is not only upholding humanitarian principles but also making a strategic investment in its own future,” Ms. Sharpe said.

Although the new resolution covers a limited number, the UN agency said it would continue to advocate for wider refugee inclusion – offering support to the Thai Government in rolling out the new policy.

Aid cuts

The move comes at a time when aid budgets for displaced people worldwide are facing severe cuts.

For the UN agency, Thailand’s move could set a regional precedent for sustainable, rights-based refugee policies – and serve as a model for countries facing similar challenges, UNHCR said.

According to agency, $25.4 million is needed in 2025 to ensure operations covered by the Thailand-based international office is sustained – which also oversees operations in Cambodia, the Lao People’s Democratic Republic and Viet Nam.

Source link

Killing of journalists in Gaza hospital attack ‘should shock the world’: UN rights office

Posted on by
Reply

OHCHR Spokesperson Thameen Al-Kheetan said condemnation of the two strikes by Israeli forces on the Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis now needs to be channelled into a demand for accountability and justice for all those killed.

At least 20 died, including four health workers and five journalists, later named as Ahed Abu Aziz, Hussam al-Masri, Mariam Dagga, Mohammed Salama and Moaz Abu Taha. They worked for outlets including Middle East Eye, the Associated Press, Al Jazeera and Reuters.

Two strikes

Video taken at the scene shows a second strike apparently targeting rescuers who had arrived at the scene of the initial attack on southern Gaza’s largest medical facility on Monday.

“We know that one of the five journalists appears to have been killed in the first air strike while three others including the women journalist appear to have been killed in the second air strike. This is a shock and this is unacceptable,” said Mr. Al-Kheetan.

“At least 247 Palestinian journalists have been killed in Gaza since the 7th of October 2023,” he continued.

“These journalists are the eyes and the ears of the whole world and they must be protected…This raises many, many questions about the targeting of journalists and all of these incidents must absolutely be investigated and those responsible must be held accountable.

He added that OHCHR was continuing to corroborate the factual details of Monday’s strikes, adding that targeting journalists as well as hospitals is forbidden under international law.

The head of UN cultural agency, UNESCO – which advocates for press freedom and journalists’ safety – also condemned the killings, reiterating her call to respect UN Security Council resolution 2222, unanimously adopted in 2015 on the protection of journalists, media professionals and associated personnel as civilians in situations of conflict.

Audrey Azoulay said UNESCO is providing emergency assistance to journalists in the Gaza Strip, including psychosocial assistance, access to working equipment, and capacity-building

Investigations must ‘yield results’

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu responded to the killings expressing regret, describing the incident as a “tragic mishap”. He said the Israeli military would carry out “a thorough investigation.”

The OHCHR spokesperson told journalists in Geneva that Israeli authorities had carried out investigations in the past, as the occupying power.

“But these investigations need to yield results. There needs to be justice. We haven’t seen results or accountability measures yet,” he said.

More to follow…

Source link

UN rights chief decries ‘relentless intensification’ of US sanctions against International Criminal Court staff

Posted on by
Reply

His call comes a day after four more Court personnel – two judges and two deputy prosecutors – were slapped with sanctions in connection with efforts to investigate alleged war crimes committed by the US and Israel.

This follows sanctions imposed earlier on four other judges and the ICC Prosecutor. Measures imposed could include blocking financial access to property or assets in the US, as well as travel bans.

‘Assault on the rule of law’

“The relentless intensification of US reprisals against international institutions and their personnel must stop,” said Mr. Türk. 

“Sanctioning judges and prosecutors at national, regional or international levels, for fulfilling their mandate in accordance with international law standards, is an assault on the rule of law and corrodes justice.”

The sanctions stem from an executive order signed by US President Donald Trump in February in response to the UN-backed Court issuing arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former defense minister Yoav Gallant for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.

The ICC is also probing war crimes allegedly committed in Afghanistan by all sides during years of conflict, including the US, following the allied invasion of the country in October 2001.

Neither the US nor Israel are party to the Rome Statute, the treaty that established the ICC.

It’s time countries step up

Mr. Türk called for the withdrawal of the sanctions against the ICC personnel and those targeting the Special Rapporteur on the human rights situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territory.

The independent expert, Francesca Albanese, receives her mandate from the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva. For more details, read our story here.

“In the meantime, I call on States to take immediate steps to protect all of them, including by taking measures to encourage corporations operating within their jurisdiction not to implement the sanctions against these individuals,” Mr. Türk said.

“States need to step up to defend the institutions they have created to uphold and defend human rights and the rule of law. Those working to document, investigate and prosecute serious violations of international law should not have to work in fear.”

About the International Criminal Court

The ICC investigates and tries individuals charged with genocide, war crimes, crimes against humanity and the crime of aggression. Read our explainer here.

Some of the cases include situations in Sudan, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Libya. 

In March 2023, the Court issued an arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin in connection with alleged war crimes concerning the deportation and “illegal transfer” of children from occupied Ukraine.

The ICC was established in 2002 and is based in The Hague, in the Netherlands.  

Source link

Amid ongoing Israeli attacks, ‘the systematic destruction of Gaza City is already underway’: UN rights office

Posted on by
Reply

Recent attacks have been particularly devastating in the Az Zaytoun neighbourhood, where airstrikes, artillery shelling and gunfire are continuous and intense, causing a high number of civilian casualties and the large-scale destruction of residential buildings and public facilities, the UN human rights office, OHCHR, in the Occupied Palestinian Territory said in a statement.

Since 8 August, the office has recorded 54 attacks on residential buildings and entire blocks in Gaza City, killing 87 Palestinians, including at least 25 children and entire families.

It also recorded attacks on shelters for internally displaced people, including tents and schools, killing at least 14.

These casualty figures “indicate that the systematic destruction of Gaza City is already underway,” the statement said.

However, OHCHR stressed that these devastating figures are only a portion of the actual toll due to underreporting in such dire circumstances.

Impact of attacks

As a result of recent attacks, hundreds of families have been forced to flee, with nowhere safe to go amid dire humanitarian conditions across the Gaza Strip.

However, those who remain trapped are completely cut off from food, water and medical supplies.

OHCHR emphasised that “Israel’s reported decision to take full control of Gaza City and to forcibly displace its population will lead to mass killings of civilians and destruction of infrastructure vital to the survival of the population.”

The office is seeing the Israeli military repeat means of warfare that caused mass killings, serious injuries, forced displacement, arbitrary detention, starvation and extensive destruction in previous operations in North Gaza and Rafah.

To reportedly prepare for the offensive, the Israeli military has repeatedly called on Palestinians to move to Al Mawasi, west of Khan Younis.

However, Israel has repeatedly struck tents of the displaced in Al Mawasi, where people are struggling to survive with barely any access to food, water and other necessities.

Violations of international law

Under international law, Israel must not destroy civilian property unless it is rendered necessary by military operations. Yet, the widespread destruction of residential buildings in Gaza City is not seen as an imperative military necessity.

Additionally, by forcing the entire population of Gaza City and those remaining in North Gaza into displacement – with no shelter, food or medical provisions and no indication for allowing them to return to their homes in the future – OHCHR is concerned that these are grave breaches of the Fourth Geneva Convention.

Thus, the office is urging States party to the Geneva Conventions to follow their obligation “to exert maximum pressure on Israel to immediately halt this offensive, which risks triggering an unprecedented, life-threatening humanitarian crisis and permanently extinguishing the Palestinian presence in Gaza’s largest urban area.”

Worst-case famine

Meanwhile, the World Food Programme (WFP) welcomed Japan’s life-saving contribution of 500 million yen ($3.3 million) to provide emergency food and nutrition assistance to Palestinians as they face severe food insecurity.

Adding to the assistance, on 4 August, limited commercial truck entries resumed, containing mainly dry food items and a small amount of fresh produce, according to the UN aid coordination office, OCHA.

However, the risk of spoilage and infestation of food supplies has drastically increased due to being stranded for months, heat and impending expiration dates.

Furthermore, cooking gas has not entered Gaza for over five months, and firewood has become increasingly unaffordable, forcing many to use waste and scrap wood as alternative cooking sources, exacerbating health and environmental risks.

Due to such limited aid, WFP underscored that the latest Integrated Food Security Phase Classification report finds that the worst-case scenario of famine is currently occurring in the Gaza Strip.

“I meet families who have lost everything and don’t know where their next meal will come from.” said Antoine Renard, WFP Representative and Country Director in Palestine.

But thanks to this support from Japan, he continued, “WFP can continue procuring life-saving food assistance, but we urgently need a ceasefire and sustained access to reach those most at risk and prevent a full-scale famine.” 

Syria: Violence in Alawite areas may be war crimes, say rights investigators

Posted on by
Reply

Many of the victims were Alawite, a minority community in Syria, which the former ruling Assad family belonged to.  

Some community members are believed to have been killed in March by forces or individuals loyal to the country’s new leadership, the National Transitional Authority, which is headed by interim President Ahmed Al-Sharaa.

In response to the “arrest operation” launched on 6 March, fighters loyal to toppled President Bashar al-Assad responded by capturing, killing and injuring hundreds of interim government forces, the commissioners said.

Looting was also widespread, while homes were set alight, leaving tens of thousands of civilians displaced, the commissioners continued.

In total, approximately 1,400 people were reported killed in the ensuing massacres, predominantly civilians.

“The vast majority were adult men, but victims included approximately 100 women, the elderly and the disabled, as well as children,” the UN Commission of Inquiry on Syria said.

Still a target

It also warned that the Alawite community which formed former Mr. al-Assad’s power base is still being targeted today. Alawites make up about 10 per cent of the majority Sunni country. 

According to the commissioners’ latest report, the victims killed in March were murdered and tortured, while the bodies of the dead were also mutilated.

They added that some acts were filmed and published on social media, along with footage of civilians being abused and humiliated.

Chair of the UN panel, Paulo Pinheiro, condemned the scale and brutality of the violence which reportedly involved Alawite men being identified and singled out before being led away to be shot and killed in multiple majority Alawite villages and neighbourhoods.    

“Bodies were left in the streets for days, with families prevented from conducting burials in accordance with religious rites, while others were buried in mass graves without proper documentation,” the commissioners’ report stated.

Meanwhile, hospitals became overwhelmed “as corpses piled up”.

Eye-witnesses

The Commission’s latest report is based on extensive investigations, including more than 200 interviews with victims and witnesses, including in Latakia and Tartus.  

The investigators also visited three mass grave sites and met senior Syrian government officials.

Today, Alawite communities still live in fear and face ongoing abductions of women, arbitrary arrests, enforced disappearances and looting and occupation of their property, investigators noted.  

Protection must be a priority

They should be protected by the new authorities in charge of Syria, commissioners insisted.  

“The affected communities need to see urgent action to increase their protection. Beyond referral of suspected perpetrators to criminal justice, individuals suspected of involvement in violations during the March events should be immediately removed from active duties pending investigation,” said Commissioner Lynn Welchman.

Additionally, screening processes need to be expanded so that known or suspected perpetrators of grave violations in the past are not recruited into the ranks of the interim government security forces, she maintained.

After 14 years of civil war which ended last December when opposition forces including Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) – led by interim Prsident al-Sharaa – the  swept into Damascus, forcing out Mr. al-Assad, lasting damage has been done to Syria’s unity.

“The extreme violence that occurred has deepened existing rifts between communities, contributing to a climate of fear and insecurity amongst many Syrians throughout the country,” the Commissioners said.

“We call on the interim authorities to continue to pursue accountability for all perpetrators, regardless of affiliation or rank,” Mr. Pinheiro continued. “While dozens of alleged perpetrators of violations have reportedly since been arrested, the scale of the violence documented in our report warrants expanding such efforts.”  

Israeli plan to take complete control of Gaza must stop now, says UN rights chief

Posted on by
Reply

“A complete military takeover of the occupied Gaza Strip must be immediately halted,” insisted Volker Türk, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, after the Israeli security cabinet approved a plan for a full-scale Israeli military takeover in the battered enclave.

The development runs contrary to international law, Mr. Türk continued, referring to a ruling of the International Court of Justice that Israel must end its occupation and achieve a two-State solution giving Palestinians the right to self-determination.

Any further escalation of the conflict between Hamas and Israel that has devastated Gaza and killed tens of thousands “will result in more massive forced displacement, more killing, more unbearable suffering, senseless destruction and atrocity crimes”, the UN rights chief said.

Aid access call

In a short statement, Mr. Türk insisted that rather than intensifying the conflict, “the Israeli Government should put all its efforts into saving the lives of Gaza’s civilians by allowing the full, unfettered flow of humanitarian aid”.

At the same time, all hostages must be immediately and unconditionally released by Palestinian armed groups, he continued, adding that Palestinians arbitrarily detained by Israel must also also be released.

“The war in Gaza must end now. And Israelis and Palestinians must be allowed to live side by side in peace,” the High Commissioner said.

Little change in dire aid situation 

Since war erupted in Gaza after Hamas-led deadly terror attacks in Israel in October 2023, aid agencies have warned repeatedly that Israeli bombardment, mass evacuation orders and relief restrictions have created a humanitarian catastrophe.

Even UN staff who are still working in the enclave report being unable to find enough to eat, according to the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA. Despite Israel’s 27 July announcement of daily military pauses in western Gaza “to improve humanitarian responses”, far too little aid is getting through, humanitarians insist. 

According to the UN human rights office, OHCHR, since 27 May, at least 1,373 Palestinians have been killed while seeking food; 859 in the vicinity of the non-UN aid distribution organization the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF); another 514 victims died along the routes of food convoys.

Echoing widespread concerns for the people of Gaza, the head of the UN World Health Organization (WHO), warned that other Gazans have only limited access to basic services and food, while malnutrition is widespread and hunger-related deaths are rising.

“In July, nearly 12,000 children under five years were identified as suffering from acute malnutrition, the highest monthly figure ever recorded,” said Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.

In comments to journalists on Thursday, the WHO chief said that so far this year, 99 people have died from malnutrition, including 29 children under five, adding that these reported numbers are likely underestimates. 

Source link

Russian attack on Ukrainian prison kills 16: UN rights monitors

Posted on by
Reply

Meanwhile, another attack on Tuesday reportedly killed five civilians and injured three in the Kharkiv region, located in eastern Ukraine.

According to authorities, Russian armed forces dropped several powerful glide bombs on Bilenkivska Penal Colony No. 99 on 28 July. The prison is located about 25 kilometres from the frontline in the Zaporizhzhia region.

All those killed were prisoners, according to HRMMU. The mission plans to visit the site as soon as possible to gather additional information.

Russia has denied responsibility for the attack.

Violation of international law

“Prisoners are civilians, and they must be protected under international humanitarian law,” said Danielle Bell, head of HRMMU.

International humanitarian law stipulates that attacks must only be directed at military objectives, not at civilians or civilian objects. Since a prison is a civilian object, it should not be attacked unless it is being used for military purposes.

Deadly civilian attacks

Also on Monday, Russian forces reportedly struck near a hospital in Kamianske in the Dnipropetrovsk region. The attack damaged the hospital and its maternity ward, killing three and injuring 22, according to authorities.

At least two of the dead were reportedly patients, including a woman who was seven months pregnant.

Source link

In hard-hitting human rights address, Guterres calls for urgent action on Gaza, authoritarianism and climate justice

Posted on by
Reply

Recalling his own experience living under dictatorship in Portugal, Mr. Guterres told participants at the Global Assembly of the international rights charity Amnesty International on Friday that the fight for human rights is “more important than ever”.

He called on States to uphold international law and defend human rights “consistently and universally, even or especially when inconvenient”, urging collective action to restore global trust, dignity and justice.

‘A moral crisis’

Mr. Guterres painted a stark picture of a world in turmoil, citing multiple ongoing crises, foremost among them, the war in Gaza.

While reiterating his condemnation of the 7 October 2023 terror attacks by Hamas and other Palestinian armed groups in Israel, the Secretary-General said that “nothing can justify the explosion of death and destruction since”.

“The scale and scope is beyond anything we have seen in recent times,” he said.

“I cannot explain the level of indifference and inaction we see by too many in the international community. The lack of compassion. The lack of truth. The lack of humanity.”

Key takeaways from the address

  • Gaza – “A moral crisis that challenges the global conscience”
  • Ukraine – Call for a “just and lasting peace” based on the UN Charter, international law and resolutions
  • Authoritarianism – A “global contagion”, with political repression, attacks on minorities and shrinking civic space
  • Climate justice – Bold action needed to cut emissions; clean energy transition must uphold human rights
  • Digital threats – Concern over algorithmic spread of hate and falsehoods; manipulation via social media
  • Call to action – “Human rights are the solution, foundation of peace and engine of progress”

UN staff ‘neither dead nor alive’

He described UN staff in Gaza as working in “unimaginable conditions”, many of them so depleted they “say they feel neither dead nor alive”.

Since late May, he noted, more than 1,000 Palestinians have been killed trying to access food – not in combat, but “in desperation – while the entire population starves”.

“This is not just a humanitarian crisis. It is a moral crisis that challenges the global conscience.”

Ready to scale up aid

Mr. Guterres said the UN stands ready to dramatically scale up humanitarian operations “as we successfully did during the previous pause in fighting”, but called for an “immediate and permanent ceasefire”, the unconditional release of all hostages and full humanitarian access.

“At the same time, we need urgent, concrete and irreversible steps towards a two-State solution,” he stressed.

He also spoke about other conflicts, including Sudan as well as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, where he called for a “just and lasting peace” based on the UN Charter, international law and relevant UN resolutions.

Secretary-General Guterres (left) addresses Amnesty International’s Global Assembly via video link.

Rising authoritarianism

The Secretary-General warned that authoritarian tactics are on the rise globally.

“We are witnessing a surge in repressive tactics aiming at corroding respect for human rights,” he said. “And these are contaminating some democracies.”

Political opposition movements are being crushed, accountability mechanisms dismantled, journalists and activists silenced, civic space strangled and minorities scapegoated.

Rights of women and girls in particular are being rolled back, most starkly, he said, in Afghanistan.

“This is not a series of isolated events. It is a global contagion.”

Weaponization of technology

He decried the growing weaponization of digital platforms, saying algorithms are “boosting the worst of humanity, rewarding falsehoods, fuelling racism and misogyny and deepening division”.

He called on governments to uphold the Global Digital Compact adopted by countries at the UN General Assembly last September and to take stronger action to combat online hate and disinformation.

© ICJ-CIJ/Frank van Beek

Activists outside the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague as the Court delivers its advisory opinion on the obligations of States in respect of climate change.

Climate justice is human rights

Turning to climate, Mr. Guterres described the environmental emergency as a “human rights catastrophe”, with the poorest and most vulnerable communities suffering most.

He welcomed the International Court of Justice (ICJ)’s advisory opinion this week, affirming that climate change is a human rights issue and that States have obligations under international law to protect the global climate system.

But, he cautioned against a transition to clean energy that sacrifices human rights.

“We cannot accept a clean energy future built on dirty practices…We cannot accept enormous violations of human rights, many of them against children, in the name of climate progress.”

He called for urgent emissions cuts, a just transition away from fossil fuels and real financing for developing countries to adapt, build resilience and recover from loss and damage.

A legacy of activism

The Secretary-General concluded by praising Amnesty International’s decades of activism, calling its work “indispensable” to the global human rights movement.

“When you stand for human rights, you stand with what is right,” he told delegates.

“Your courage continues to change lives. Your persistence is shifting the course of history. Let’s keep going. Let’s meet this moment with the urgency it demands. And let’s never, ever give up.”

Founded in 1961, Amnesty International is a global human rights movement that campaigns to end abuses and promote justice. The organization has long worked in collaboration with the United Nations, participating actively in the development of international human rights law and mechanisms.

Today’s speech by Mr. Guterres is first-ever address by a UN Secretary-General to Amnesty International’s Global Assembly, the charity’s highest decision-making body. The UN chief spoke via a video link to the event in Prague.

Source link

UN rights chief condemns the killing of scores of civilians in Sudan

Posted on by
Reply

Since 10 July, the UN human rights office, OHCHR, has verified that the Rapid Support Forces

 (RSF) have killed at least 60 civilians in North Kordofan’s Bara locality, while civil society groups have reported that up to 300 were killed.

The Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) also hit two villages in West Kordofan from 10 to 14 July, killing at least 23 civilians and causing more than 30 injuries.

Most recently, on Thursday, an SAF airstrike in Bara killed at least 11 civilians who were all members of a single family.

According to the High Commissioner’s statement, these deaths come amid worrying reports that the RSF is mobilising for an offensive on the capital of North Kordofan state, El Obeid.  

Continued concern for El Fasher  

At another major hotspot in the Sudan conflict, the besieged city of El Fasher in North Darfur state, the RSF has conducted multiple attacks recently. They include a ground attack on 11 and 12 July, which reportedly resulted in civilian casualties.  

The High Commissioner subsequently “expressed continued concern for the safety of civilians in El Fasher.”

“Callous disregard for civilians’ lives and safety”

The statement stressed that the High Commissioner “deplored the killing of dozens of civilians by both parties.”

“It is distressing that more than two years since the conflict began parties to the conflict in Sudan continue to demonstrate callous disregard for civilians’ lives and safety,” he said.  

“An escalation of hostilities in North Darfur and Kordofan will only further aggravate the already severe risks to civilians and the dire humanitarian situation in a conflict that has already wrought untold suffering on the Sudanese people,”  

Mr. Türk urged those with influence to prevent further escalation and ensure parties uphold their obligations under international law, including the protection of civilians.  

The High Commissioner renewed his calls for the warring parties to ensure safe and unimpeded access to humanitarian aid and to prevent violations of international law.  

“All alleged violations must be fully and independently investigated and those responsible brought to justice,” he concluded. 

Source link

We need to value women in sport, UN rights chief says

Posted on by
Reply

“The playing field is still far from level,” Mr. Türk said.  

In the past few years, topflight women’s sporting competitions have achieved increased global prominence with around a billion people watching the FIFA Women’s World Cup in 2023. This visibility and attention have prompted important conversations about stereotypes and power dynamics in women’s sports.

He noted that certain groups face barriers and discrimination in the women’s sporting world — LGBTIQ+ women, women wearing headscarves, women with disabilities and women from marginalized ethnic and racial groups.  

“We need to build up a world of sport in which women and girls, in all their diversity, are equally valuable, visible and paid.”

A ‘stark’ pay gap

While professional male footballers earn, on average, $1.8 million annually at the top clubs, women athletes at top clubs have an average income of $24,000. And the average woman athlete, not at top clubs, earns even less than that, rounding out to approximately $10,900 per year.  

“Without a stable income, women are forced to take other jobs, leaving them with less time and energy to focus on training and improving,” Mr. Türk said.  

The wage gap is made even more unsustainable by a lack of sufficient protections in the workplace – minimal, if any, maternity leave – and few places to​​ turn to for redress when harassment occurs.  

Women are also very underrepresented in leadership of professional clubs and federations. Of the 31 federations, women chaired only three.

Despite such sobering statistics, some federations have begun to institute changes, enshrining maternity and adoption leave and establishing pay equity agreements.  

Driving social change

Mr. Türk called on Member States to institute comprehensive anti-discrimination systems which promote pay equality and ensure that violence and harassment in sports is brought to justice.  

He also said that the media can and should be a “force for good” in portraying women’s success stories in sports and by ensuring that their coverage is accurate and ethical.  

“Sports can drive social change … and inspire and promote fairness, respect and equal opportunities for all. Today let’s champion a sporting world where women and girls can thrive.” 

Source link