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High Commissioner Volker Türk voiced his concern that Sunday’s poll which saw Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina secure a fifth term in office, was “marred by violence and repression of opposition candidates and supporters”, according to a press release from rights office OHCHR. “In the months leading up to the vote, thousands of opposition supporters have…

UN rights chief warns of ‘dehumanization’ of Palestinians amid West Bank violence as Gaza crisis deepens

Commenting on a new report on the West Bank released by his office, OHCHR, Mr. Türk expressed concern at the use of military means and weapons by law enforcement, movement restrictions affecting Palestinians and a sharp rise in settler violence resulting in the displacement of herding communities. “The dehumanization of Palestinians that characterizes many of the…

Gaza: UN expert on sexual violence in conflict reiterates grave concern for hostages

Pramila Patten, the Secretary-General’s Special Representative on Sexual Violence in Conflict, called for the immediate, safe, and unconditional release of all those who remain in captivity. Ms. Patten met this week with the mother of one of the young women taken hostage who expressed the pain, despair and helplessness that families are facing as they…

UN’s Türk urges probe into alleged sexual violence during Hamas terror attacks

The High Commissioner also rejected allegations of double standards regarding the UN’s position on the crisis in Gaza, noting that he had been made aware of allegations of sexual violence during the Hamas attack on communities in southern Israel. It was “painfully clear” that the “atrocious” attacks should be fully investigated independently “because that is…

Gaza: UN rights chief appeals for end to violence and a return to dialogue

“Silence the guns and return to dialogue – the suffering inflicted on civilians is too much to bear. More violence is not the answer. It will bring neither peace nor security,” Volker Türk said in a statement, voicing deep concern that negotiations towards a continuation of last week’s pause had reportedly stalled. Fighting resumed on…

Fighting gender-based violence door-to-door with support of Ugandan men

In the second of a two-part series from Uganda, Timothy Mbene Masereka spoke to the UN Population Fund (UNFPA) ahead of the 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence, marked annually from 25 November to 10 December, Human Rights Day. As a village health worker, Mr. Masereka goes from house to house in some of the remotest…

Step up investment to end violence against women and girls: UN deputy chief

Such investment is not just practical but transformative, she said in a video message to the official UN commemoration of the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, held in New York on Wednesday. “Investment in prevention is to invest in our collective well-being,” she said. “It means creating conditions where women and…

Stories from the UN Archive: Feminist icon calls out violence against women

Co-founding the groundbreaking magazine Ms. in 1972, Ms. Steinem and her colleagues brought feminist issues to the forefront. “For the first time, there are fewer females on Earth than males because of all the forms of violence,” Ms. Steinem said at UN Headquarters in 2016 to draw attention to violence against women. Ahead of UN Women’s 16…

Sudan: Deadly spiral of violence continues between military rivals

Martha Ama Akyaa Pobee, Assistant Secretary-General for Africa, informed ambassadors on the Security Council that the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) have gained territory, pushing the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) out of several of its bases in the region since late October. The RSF seems poised to advance on El Fasher in north Darfur, a major…

Israel-Palestine crisis: Amid war crimes fears, UN rights chief renews calls to stop violence, free hostages

“Water is scarce and fear is pervasive” in Gaza, Mr. Türk told journalists in Amman, recounting a conversation he had minutes earlier with a colleague in Gaza who had to flee Israeli bombardments with his family. “His children, aged nine and seven, are asking him questions he does not know how to answer: ‘Why is…