Silence the guns, amplify women’s voices for peace to end rape in wartime

Silence the guns, amplify women’s voices for peace to end rape in wartime

Presenting her annual report, Pramila Patten, the Secretary-General’s Special Representative on Sexual Violence in Conflict, noted that weapons continue to flow into the hands of perpetrators while most victims remain emptyhanded when it comes to reparations and redress.  “The essential, existential task we face is to silence the guns and amplify the voices of women…

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Ukraine: Türk calls on Russia to silence the guns in appeal for ‘a just peace’

Ukraine: Türk calls on Russia to silence the guns in appeal for ‘a just peace’

Since the onset of the invasion the UN human rights office (OHCHR) has meticulously monitored the situation. As of December 4, there have been over 10,000 civilian deaths, including 560 children, with an additional 18,500 civilians confirmed injured, with actual figures believed to be much higher due to the difficulties of verifying figures. “I feel…

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Israel-Palestine crisis: Silence the guns, UN relief chief tells Paris forum

Israel-Palestine crisis: Silence the guns, UN relief chief tells Paris forum

Echoing his remarks with French President Emmanuel Macron looking on, the head of the UN agency for Palestine refugees (UNRWA), Philippe Lazzarini, stressed the “heart-breaking” plight of children in the territory, whom he saw last week “pleading for a piece of bread and a sip of water”. Mass displacement has led to severe overcrowding in…

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The eerie silence of starvation ‘is deafening, it never leaves you’: UN official

The eerie silence of starvation ‘is deafening, it never leaves you’: UN official

Globally, over 250 million people suffered acute hunger in 2022, the highest in recent years, with about 376,000 people facing famine-like conditions in seven countries – all affected by armed conflict or extreme levels of violence. Another 35 million people are on the edge, Reena Ghelani said. Hunger and conflict “feed off of each other,”…

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Bangladesh using enforced disappearances, extrajudicial killings to silence rights defenders: Experts

Bangladesh using enforced disappearances, extrajudicial killings to silence rights defenders: Experts

‘Chilling effect’ Odhikar has “documented enforced disappearances and extrajudicial killings and cooperated with UN human rights mechanisms in this context,” the three experts said. “Such reprisals also have a chilling effect and may deter others from reporting on human rights issues and cooperating with the UN, its representatives, and mechanisms”. The Special Rapporteurs said that…

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'Mum does not cry or scream anymore': Breaking the silence of domestic abuse in Tajikistan

‘Mum does not cry or scream anymore’: Breaking the silence of domestic abuse in Tajikistan

Like many women in Tajikistan, Shermatova Marjona has experienced gender-based violence. Ms. Shermatova met her husband while she was working abroad as a cleaner in Moscow, Russia. It wasn’t long before they were married, and he persuaded her to send all the money she earned to her father-in-law in Tajikistan, who was to use the…

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