In a statement on Sunday, the UN chief said that the Organization is promptly responding to the extremely serious allegations that several UNRWA personnel were involved in the 7 October terror attacks in southern Israel. An investigation by the Office of Internal Oversight Services (OIOS), the highest investigative body in the UN system, was immediately…
Tents for displaced people in southern Gaza When war began on 7 October, life changed dramatically overnight for mother-of-four Hala, as it did for the more than two million Palestinians who live in the Gaza Strip. She kept a diary of her experiences and shared it with the UN humanitarian agency (OCHA). It recounts her…
Observing Saturday’s International Day of Commemoration in Memory of the Victims of the Holocaust, he highlighted the millions of Jewish children, women and men, along with countless others, who suffered persecution and death during that dark period. “We honour their memory. We stand with the survivors, their families and descendants. We pledge never to forget…
It was “shocking” to see the suspension of funds in reaction to allegations against a small group of staff, Philippe Lazzarini, UNRWA Commissioner General, said in a statement. “It would be immensely irresponsible to sanction an Agency and an entire community it serves because of allegations of criminal acts against some individuals, especially at a time…
The OHCHR warning came nearly four months into the war which has seen widespread Israeli bombardment of the Gaza Strip, in response to Hamas-led attacks on Israeli communities beginning 7 October in which some 1,200 people were massacred and more than 250 taken hostage. “Attacks on hospitals, schools, and other places of refuge have repeatedly…
Reading out the order at the Peace Palace in The Hague – in response to allegations of genocide against Israel by South Africa, which Israel denies – ICJ President Joan Donoghue also called for the release of all remaining hostages taken from Israel during the Hamas-led attacks on Israeli communities in which some 1,200 people…
Mr. Guterres has also asked UNRWA head, Philippe Lazzarini, to refer any employees found to have taken part in or “abetted what transpired” in the brutal attacks by Hamas and other Palestinian militants that day, “for potential criminal prosecution.” “The Secretary-General is horrified by this news,” Mr. Guterres’ Spokesperson, Stéphane Dujarric, said in a statement…
“I deeply regret the execution of Kenneth Eugene Smith in Alabama despite serious concerns that this novel and untested method of suffocation may amount to torture, cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment,” said Volker Türk, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, OHCHR. Convicted of murder in 1988, Mr. Smith, 58, had been sentenced to death in…
“All of us – leaders and citizens – have a responsibility to listen and to learn from survivors and victims by condemning these terrible crimes against humanity, striving to eradicate antisemitism and all forms of bigotry, hatred and intolerance and by finding a way forward to a shared, safe and inclusive future for all,” UN…
Wrapping up a week-long visit to the country, he made a strong appeal for greater international humanitarian support. “The fighting has escalated and the humanitarian situation in the country is dramatic and urgent. Millions have been forced to flee the war and Russian attacks, and they are in desperate need of humanitarian assistance,” he said….
