“We are concerned by the continued devastating impact of the fighting in Sudan on civilians,” Spokesperson Jeremy Laurence told journalists in Geneva.
The Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and military rival, the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), have been locked in vicious clashes since mid-April.
Hundreds have been killed and some 1.2 million have been displaced. UN agencies and partners have repeatedly warned of the growing humanitarian crisis.
Deadly airstrikes in Khartoum
Mr. Laurence said at least eight people died in an air strike on a busy livestock market in the capital, Khartoum, on Wednesday, allegedly carried out by the SAF. At least three of the victims were from the same family.
A child was reportedly killed in a separate incident that day after a shell struck his home in the Al-Shajraa district, in southern Khartoum.
Refugee and orphan deaths
OHCHR has also received reports of the killings of four other civilians in the capital on Monday, while at least three people from the same family, including a pregnant woman, were reportedly killed on Sunday.
Airstrikes that day near the Sport Complex in southern Khartoum, hit a refugee centre, reportedly killing at least 10 refugees. Furthermore, no fewer than 71 children have died at an orphanage in Khartoum since the fighting started due to lack of humanitarian assistance, including medical supplies.
Sexual violence, online hate
Mr. Laurence said OHCHR is also concerned by reports of conflict-related sexual violence.
“Since the fighting began, our Office has received credible reports of 12 incidents of sexual violence related to the conflict, against at least 37 women – although the number could be higher. In at least three incidents, the victims were young girls. In one case, 18 to 20 women were reportedly raped,” he said.
Growing reports of apparent enforced disappearance and arbitrary detention are another concern, he added, and journalists are also now at greater risk amid a rise in online hate speech and disinformation.
OHCHR has learnt of a list circulating on social media accusing certain journalists of being RSF supporters. Staff have also seen comments on Facebook calling for the killing of those on the list.
Appeal for accountability
“We reiterate the High Commissioner’s call on both parties to the fighting to ensure protection of civilians and respect for international humanitarian law and international human rights law,” he said.
“They must also ensure all violations are effectively and independently investigated and those responsible are held accountable.”
OHCHR said that on 25 May, security forces stormed a peaceful meeting of Baha’is in Sana’a. Seventeen people, including five women, were taken to an unknown location, and all but one, are still being held incommunicado.
The UN rights office urged the de facto Houthi authorities in Sana’a, to immediately release the detainees.
Call for killings
On 2 June, according to OHCHR, Shamseddin Sharafeddin, the Mufti appointed by leaders of the Houthi rebel movement accused the detained Baha’is of being traitors, and said that if they did not repent, they “should be killed”.
Baha’i is a faith that emphasizes the worth of all religions since its establishment in the 19th century, according to the international community’s website, including “divine educators” such as Abraham, Moses, Krishna, Jesus and the prophet Muhammad.
Around one per cent of Yemen’s non-Muslim population are estimated to subscribe to the faith.
Houthi rebels, who are Shia Muslims, have controlled Sana’a since 2014, as part of the long-running conflict with officially-recognized Government forces and their allies, for full control of the country.
Sermon incited ‘discrimination and violence’
OHCHR Spokesperson briefing in Geneva, Jeremy Laurence, condemned the use of “any language that incites discrimination and violence, particularly against minorities, and often leads to forced exile and displacement”, in addition to contravening international law.
“We remind the de facto authorities in Sana’a, that they must respect the human rights of people living under their control”, added Mr. Laurence.
“Human rights guarantees minorities, among other things, the right to profess and practice their own religion and the right to a fair trial before an independent and impartial tribunal”, he continued.
He said pre-trial detention “should be the exception and should be used only if reasonable and necessary, based on an individual assessment of each case.”
UN Spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric told correspondents that the decision to send the unit home had been made by the Secretariat in New York, following consultations with the peacekeeping mission in CAR, MINUSCA.
‘Credible evidence’
“The decision comes after a preliminary investigation which found credible evidence that 11 members of the unit had allegedly engaged in sexual exploitation and abuse of four victims”, Mr. Dujarric said.
In a statement, MINUSCA said that a rapid response team had been “immediately deployed” to assess the allegations.
Responding on Twitter to the news, UN Peacekeeping chief Jean-Pierre Lacroix, said that the scourge has no place in any part of his department, adding that the upcoming repatriation “is a robust measure taken to protect victims and demonstrate our resolve to swiftly address these wrongs with the troop-contributing country.”
Victims provided care and support
“The identified victims are being provided with care and support by the Mission’s humanitarian partners. The Mission has also deployed a team to further engage with the community”, he added.
The Spokesperson said the Tanzanian Government had already been formally notified of the decision, and have themselves deployed a national investigation team to CAR.
Tanzania pledges action
“In reaffirming their commitment to zero tolerance for sexual exploitation and abuse, the Tanzanian authorities noted the seriousness of the allegations and have committed to taking the necessary action to address these matters.”
Mr. Dujarric added that the unit had been relocated away from the area where the alleged abuse took place are are now confined to barracks “in order to protect victims as well of course, as the integrity of the investigation. The unit will be repatriated once their presence is no longer required in theatre by the investigators.”
Zero tolerance
He noted that the Secretariat’s decision was in accordance with Security Council resolution 2272, which provides clear support for decisions made by the UN Secretary-General to repatriate peacekeeping personnel, of “a particular military unit or formed police unit of a contingent, when there is credible evidence of widespread or systemic sexual exploitation and abuse by that unit.”
The UN chief António Guterres announced a firm and robust policy early in his tenure of ‘zero tolerance’ towards sexual abuse by UN personnel, calling on Member States to sign a voluntary compact on preventing and addressing the scourge, in 2017.
Mr. Dujarric stressed that the UN remains committed to “robustly implementing” the zero tolerance policy at all levels.
Tom Andrews, the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Myanmar, insisted that current conditions there were “anything but conducive” for the return of Rohingya refugees.
Death trap
He stressed that the very generals who had launched “genocidal” attacks against the Rohingya, causing hundreds of thousands to flee the country, were now in power and “attacking civilian populations while denying the Rohingya citizenship and other basic rights”.
According to Mr. Andrews’ statement, Bangladesh officials have been planning to send back to Myanmar, potentially very soon, an initial group of 1,140 Rohingya refugees, using a combination of threats and financial rewards.
Confined to ‘designated area’
The returnees would reportedly pass through “transit” centres in Rakhine state before being resettled in a “designated area of 15 newly constructed villages” which they will “not be allowed to leave freely”.
“The return of Rohingya refugees under these conditions would likely violate Bangladesh’s obligations under international law and expose Rohingya to gross human rights violations and, potentially, future atrocity crimes,” Mr. Andrews said.
In March, Bangladesh authorities facilitated two visits by Myanmar junta authorities to the Bangladesh camps, said the UN rights office OHCHR.
According to reports, at least some of the refugees were coerced into participating in so-called ‘verification’ interviews with junta officials. Bangladesh and the military regime’s officials also coordinated a ‘go see’ visit to Rakhine State for some Rohingya refugees.
Bangladeshi officials said the refugees had expressed “general satisfaction” with the arrangements being made for their return, but these assurances were contradicted by reports that those who participated in the trip had unequivocally rejected the repatriation plans, OHCHR said.
“I implore Bangladesh to immediately suspend the repatriation pilot programme,” Mr. Andrews said.
Stand with Rohingya
“I also urge the international community to stand with Rohingya refugees in both word and deed”, he added.
“This must include reversing the failure to provide a humane level of support for Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh who are unable to pursue livelihoods, continue to face hunger and malnutrition, and whose children have very limited educational opportunities”.
They are mandated to monitor and report on specific thematic issues or country situations. They are not UN staff and do not receive a salary for their work.
They urged lawmakers to adopt the draft bill, which compels private creditors to participate in international debt relief efforts on similar terms as public lenders.
Fair for all
New York State is home to New York City, the financial capital of the world.
Some 60 per cent of developing country debt is held by private creditors, and New York law governs 52 per cent of this global debt, according to the experts.
“If taxpayers contribute to public debt relief, private creditors should be obliged to participate on the same terms,” they said. “Debt relief must be effective and fair for all, and its costs must be shared by private creditors as well.”
The proposed legislation means distressed low and middle-income countries would be able to protect the economic, social and cultural rights of their citizens instead of paying “unsustainable” debt loads.
Shift budget priorities
In 2021, these nations spent an average of 27.5 per cent of their budgets on interest and debt payments, or more than the amount spent on education, health and social protection combined.
“This bill is a golden opportunity that will allow countries in debt distress to shift their budgetary priorities and, by providing for better living conditions, reduce the risks for investors in these countries and create better opportunities,” they said.
The experts stressed that the COVID-19 pandemic, the energy crisis, rising food prices and inflation, have led to an increase in unsustainable debt for many countries, with a particular impact on developing nations.
“Many poor people can barely afford food and minimum dietary needs for health. It is precisely in times of crisis that States must be able to ensure social protection and food security for all people in their country,” they added.
They underscored that “everyone has an interest in countries being able to invest in social protection, healthcare, housing, education and food security, instead of devoting more and more of their limited budgets to debt repayments.”
About UN experts
Special Rapporteurs and Independent Experts receive their mandates from the UN Human Rights Council, which is based in Geneva.
They serve in their individual capacity and are independent of any Government or organization.
They are not UN staff and do not receive payment for their work.
Abdulwasea Mohammed addressing UN Member States, UN agencies, fellow NGOs during Protection of Civilians Week last month. Credit: Oxfam
Opinion by Abdulwasea Mohammed (sana’a, yemen)
Inter Press Service
SANA’A, Yemen, Jun 06 (IPS) – During the week of May 21, the UN held its annual week dedicated to the Protection of Civilians. The themes of the week’s events, particularly the side events, I had the honor of participating in, mirrored many of the pressing issues in Yemen, as conflict continues.
While there is some hope as peace negotiations are underway, millions of Yemenis are still feeling the acute impacts of war. I had the opportunity to address some of the representatives of UN member states, UN agencies and fellow NGOs, who are taking a leading role on these issues, including Conflict and Hunger and Community-Led Approaches of Civilian Protection.
I also was able to share many of these key messages with members of US Congress and UN missions during my time in the US. As we look ahead, we need to see the conversations from the week put into action.
Conflict and hunger are deeply intertwined in Yemen, just as they are around the world – Conflict continues to be the top driver of extreme hunger. The humanitarian response including food, cash, clean water, is saving lives every day, but without clear signs for lasting peace, hunger and other potentially deadly challenges that cannot be ended in Yemen.
And in our case, the same can be said about economic factors – many continue to overlook the impact the shattered economy has had on pushing food insecurity to catastrophic levels. We need both inclusive peace and large-scale economic action to help Yemenis continue to survive and recover.
Restrictions on imports over the years, continued financial shocks and economic deterioration as well as increased prices of fuel and food commodities, and disruptions to livelihoods and services, have driven millions to hunger.
The indirect impacts are overwhelming but this is also in addition, unfortunately, to very direct impacts on food production and essential infrastructure due to fighting. At Oxfam, we have documented farms being targeted, fishing boats being fired at, and unexploded ordnance, cluster munitions and landmines—all of them putting agricultural areas out of use.
To address all of these threats and their devastating impacts, we need community-based and community-led action. At the UN I spoke specifically about hunger and community-led protection, but this approach can be applied across humanitarian response and steps toward early recovery.
In times of crisis, community leaders, local organizations, and neighbors are the true first responders, arriving first and staying long after larger groups may have to leave. They are more effective in some ways, and have the knowledge to support the most vulnerable members of society. These groups need more resources to do their work effectively.
This is a concrete way for the aid community to make a difference in Yemen now and going forward – to reframe and revise support to community-based protection and funding to local organizations, with a focus on building trust over long-term relationships.
Donors should provide longer timeframes for organizations to accomplish the goals in a project and provide more flexible funding and support to truly build on the success of community-level work.
Yemen, just like all humanitarian responses, is a complicated place to work, and sometimes time runs out on funding, before a project even begins after dealing with security, logistical and bureaucratic challenges.
Of course, local groups alone cannot tackle one of the world’s largest humanitarian crises, and organizations like Oxfam should listen to their priorities, assess how to best support the work underway, and fill in the gaps to provide a complementary response.
Taking all of these risks and approaches into account, it is key that policies and programs addressing conflict-induced hunger address the specific needs and experiences of the most vulnerable, including women and displaced people.
All of these groups should be able to weigh in on issues impacting them as part of this an inclusive and effective humanitarian response, economic recovery, and sustainable peace.
Targeted programs to support their economic empowerment, such as providing access to finance, technical assistance, and market opportunities; and improving access to education all would make a massive difference for these groups, and for Yemen as a whole.
Above all, we have to address the root causes of the conflict and its impacts in a holistic way. For there to be progress, we must ensure that any negotiated peaceful resolution includes these same voices of women and other marginalized groups and addresses the underlying issues such as political and economic inequality that have contributed to the conflict and ensure no one is left behind.
I hope the Protection of Civilians Week was a point of reflection and a renewed call to action for those that gathered, as it was for me. Each context is unique, but there is much to learn from each other. I spoke at events alongside experts from the Lake Chad Basin, South Sudan, and more – and we all had something to learn from our successes, failures, and recommendations.
With more resources in the right hands alongside a recommitment to peace, Yemenis – along with those caught in similar spirals of hunger and insecurity – can have a hopeful way forward.
Abdulwasea Mohammed is Yemen Advocacy, Campaigns Media Manager at Oxfam.
The UN human rights office, OHCHR, and its mandate has become a powerful vehicle for change, progress, dignity, and justice, yet “this is far from enough to meet today’s challenges”, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk said in his keynote address at the +30 Symposium, Vienna World Conference: 30 Years On: Our Rights – Our Future.
Common language
Convened to mark the third decade of the adoption of the landmark Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action, the symposium aims at highlighting achievements and outlining challenges ahead.
“While there have been massive gains in human rights since the Vienna Declaration, today, all around the world, we are seeing dramatic rollbacks”, he said. “The common language of human rights is our compass to guide us towards progress.”
The global agreement remains a “living document that can guide us today in our ambitions”, the High Commissioner said.
Rolling back rights
From Afghanistan to Ukraine, he said, the world is witnessing pushbacks on rights, a rise in hate speech, shrinking civic space, and a changing geopolitical landscape that has revealed a disturbing trend of deepened divisions within and across countries threatening national cohesion, he warned.
The 21st century has also seen the triple planetary crisis of climate change, biodiversity loss, and pollution alongside digital shifts, including artificial intelligence developments, that are rapidly transforming the world, “moving faster than the regulators who should be setting up careful human rights guardrails to protect us from their dangers”, he said.
Rights foundations
“Today’s emerging human rights challenges will continue to test us,” he said. “It would be naïve to say we can pass all these tests, but it would be dangerous and counter-productive to stop trying.”
Recalling his youth in post-Second World War Austria, he said the “echoes of trauma and of grave human rights violations were palpable”.
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which turns 75 this year, was “a powerful unifying force for equality, social progress, justice, and respect” in an era of profound social transformations amid dynamic movements for social justice, feminism, LGBTI rights, anti-apartheid, decolonization, and environmental protection, he said.
When UN Member States adopted the Vienna Declaration in 1993, the agreement had shattered the long-held fallacy that social, economic, and cultural rights have less value than civil and political rights, he said.
The landmark agreement also confirmed the conviction that human rights are universal, indivisible, interdependent, and interrelated, and boldly rejected the view that certain human rights could be considered optional while paving the path for numerous other breakthroughs, from establishing the International Criminal Court, to historical advances on the rights of women, children, and indigenous peoples.
Learning from mistakes
“Anniversaries are arbitrary unless we seize them as meaningful opportunities to reflect on our achievements, learn from our mistakes, and take fearless steps towards progress and transformation,” he said.
“The task before all of us today, this year, and in the future is to apply the Universal Declaration’s visionary words to our current global challenges,” he said, urging all participants to constructively join the symposium with pledges and positive impact stories.
“Restoring faith and certainty in human rights at a time of profound global turmoil is the focus of this symposium, and it must be the focus of our future,” he added.
It also aims at mobilizing the “full weight” of the UN to ensure that all people, everywhere, enjoy their human rights, he stressed.
“As we remember those who worked for the Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action, we pledge to continue the fight to put human rights at the heart of our work, and our world to guarantee freedom, justice and equality for all,” he said.
The 5.5 magnitude quake struck in the department of Grand’Anse, following torrential rains which have displaced more than 13,000 people.
“We are deeply saddened by the loss of life, destruction of property and suffering of the Haitian people caused by the earthquake”, said UN Spokesperson, Stéphane Dujarric. “The Secretary-General extends his condolences to the families of the victims and wishes a speedy recovery to all those injured.”
More aid en route
He said the UN stood ready to work with the Haitian authorities and other partners, to help ease the suffering of those impacted by this latest natural disaster.
On Monday, the World Food Programme (WFP) said that it was already providing immediate assistance to those affected by the massive rainfall over the weekend, providing hot meals to those displaced, and mobilizing ready-to-eat rations and dry food.
Mr. Dujarric said that Grand’ Anse was among the areas impacted by the rains, prior to the earthquake.
According to news reports, Tuesday’s quake was the second to strike the area in just two days, with a 4.4 magnitude tremor registered on Sunday morning.
In August 2021, a 7.2 magnitude earthquake struck the same southern peninsula region, leaving hundreds dead.
Resources for flood victims
The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, OCHA, is working with UN Children’s Fund UNICEF, WFP and the International Organization for Migration, IOM, to support communities around the capital Port-au-Prince that were hardest hit by the floods and landslides, he added.
WFP is ready to distribute some 350,000 hot meals and other food assistance overall, to those who need it the most, he confirmed.
“Our colleagues say that ongoing insecurity and damage to roads are obviously hampering any relief efforts.”
According to UN humanitarians, the floods and landslides affected seven of Haiti’s 10 departments, and authorities say at least 51 people have been killed, 140 others injured and 18 are still missing. In the affected areas, nearly 32,000 homes were flooded.
Organized under the theme, Realizing the dream: A UN declaration on the promotion, protection and full respect of the human rights of people of African descent, the Permanent Forum heard from experts and leaders from around the world, including Ms. Nascimento, explaining the challenges they have faced, and the dreams they have for the future.
Her dream is for Black women to “break away from the madness” and “have the power and possibility to decide”.
UN News/ Pauline Batista
Activist Valdecir Nascimento at the second session of the Permanent Forum on People of African Descent.
“My whole life has been dedicated to the racial struggle. My encounter with the Black movement was a turning point for me. I was 19 or 20 years old when I found the movement.
I went looking for a barber shop to cut all my hair because my straight hair no longer fit me. I could not continue with those aesthetics after what the movement told me.
My whole life is attached to this relationship: the existence of the Black movement, as a subject.
‘Born fighting’
I was born in the stilt houses of Alagados in Bahia during the first stilt house occupation in Latin America. What brought me to the global level was essentially being born in that place, and knowing that you are born fighting.
If the real colonized Brazil was born in the northeast, we experienced processes, including the liberation and autonomy struggle, much earlier on than in the southeast.
When the resources come and if resources are limited, they get taken away. Resources are not always distributed based on regional struggles. Resources also get distributed according to narratives folks want to hear. And I used to say, and I used to talk to Nilma Mendes, who is a colleague from Belém do Pará, from those days in the 1980s.
She used to ask me, ‘Val, how many enemies do you make a day?’ I said to her, with my eyes filled with tears, that where I came from, I learned that we can’t just let anyone walk all over us.
‘This is my dream’
Part of my dreams for Black women of today, still have not come true the way I would like, but they slowly are.
I want Black women of today to break away from this madness that we are all goddesses, and we need to come up with all solutions for the world.
We are not all goddesses and don’t need to come up with all solutions for the world. We can enjoy life, and life can be the simplest thing in the world, but I want us to have the power and possibility to decide.
In a statement on Friday, the experts said that emerging technologies, including artificial intelligence-based biometric surveillance systems, are increasingly being used “in sensitive contexts”, without individuals’ knowledge or consent
‘Urgent red lines’ must be drawn
“Urgent and strict regulatory red lines are needed for technologies that claim to perform emotion or gender recognition,” said the experts, who include Fionnuala Ní Aoláin, Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of human rights while countering terrorism.
The Human Rights Council-appointed experts condemned the already “alarming” use and impacts of spyware and surveillance technologies on the work of human rights defenders and journalists, “often under the guise of national security and counter-terrorism measures”.
They also called for regulation to address the lightning-fast development of generative AI that’s enabling mass production of fake online content which spreads disinformation and hate speech.
Real world consequences
The experts stressed the need to ensure that these systems do not further expose people and communities to human rights violations, including through the expansion and abuse of invasive surveillance practices that infringe on the right to privacy, facilitate the commission of gross human rights violations, including enforced disappearances, and discrimination.
They also expressed concern about respect for freedoms of expression, thought, peaceful protest, and for access to essential economic, social and cultural rights, and humanitarian services.
“Specific technologies and applications should be avoided altogether where the regulation of human rights complaints is not possible,” the experts said.
The experts also expressed concern that generative AI development is driven by a small group of powerful actors, including businesses and investors, without adequate requirements for conducting human rights due diligence or consultation with affected individuals and communities.
And the crucial job of internal regulation through content moderation, is often performed by individuals in situations of labour exploitation, the independent experts noted.
More transparency
“Regulation is urgently needed to ensure transparency, alert people when they encounter synthetic media, and inform the public about the training data and models used,” the experts said.
The experts reiterated their calls for caution about digital technology use in the context of humanitarian crises, from large-scale data collection – including the collection of highly sensitive biometric data – to the use of advanced targeted surveillance technologies.
“We urge restraint in the use of such measures until the broader human rights implications are fully understood and robust data protection safeguards are in place,” they said.
Encryption, privacy paramount
They underlined the need to ensure technical solutions – including strong end-to-end encryption and unfettered access to virtual private networks – and secure and protect digital communications.
“Both industry and States must be held accountable, including for their economic, social, environmental, and human rights impacts,” they said. “The next generation of technologies must not reproduce or reinforce systems of exclusion, discrimination and patterns of oppression.”
Special Rapporteurs and other rights experts are all appointed by the UN Human Rights Council, are mandated to monitor and report on specific thematic issues or country situations, are not UN staff and do not receive a salary for their work.
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