3 November 2014
The UN Security Council strongly condemned the kidnapping and murder by Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) terrorists of ‘scores’ of Sunni tribesmen whose bodies were found in mass graves in Anbar province, and once again urged the world to unite in a ‘common effort’ to defeat the group and ‘stamp out’ the violence and hatred it espouses. (more…)
Source: UN News Centre | Security Council condemns ISIL's murder of Sunni tribesmen in Anbar
19 May 2014
Following reports that armed groups have cut water supplies in Aleppo (Syria), leaving at least 2.5 million people with no access to safe water for drinking and sanitation for eight days, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon warned that such deliberate targeting of civilians is a ‘clear breach’ of international law. According to a statement, Mr. Ban ‘notes that preventing people’s access to safe water is a denial of a fundamental human right’, adding that deliberate targeting of civilians and depriving them of essential supplies is a clear breach of international humanitarian and human rights law. (more…)
Source: UN News Centre | Syria: Ban warns against targeting civilians after armed groups cut water supplies in Aleppo
19 May 2014
In a report released on 15 May, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) expressed its concern over the rising number of human rights violations by armed groups in eastern Ukraine. The report says that the actions and impunity of the armed groups ‘remain the major factor in causing a worsening situation for the protection of human rights’ and that ‘in most cases, local police did nothing to prevent violence, while in some cases it openly cooperated with the attackers.’ (more…)
Source: The New York Times | U.N. Finds Rising Human Rights Violations in Ukraine
Source: OHCHR | Report on the human rights situation in Ukraine | 15 May 2014
19 November 2013
A piece in the New York Times draws attention to the risks raised by the decision of the Security Council to authorise the United Nations Force Intervention Brigade in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, to ‘neutralize armed groups’, contrary to prior passive peacekeeping forces. This brigade is comprised of 3,000 soldiers from South Africa, Tanzania, and Malawi.
It notes that the Congolese government walked out on peace talks with rebels, as a result of such one-sided support from the UN. Additionally, this authorisation could affect peacekeeping operations worldwide, as there are almost 100,000 peacekeepers stationed from the Western Sahara and Haiti, to Cyprus and Kashmir. Humanitarian aid organisations are considered such operations will put their workers at risk because armed groups will no longer distinguish soldiers and those that provide food and shelter to civilians during war. Furthermore, countries which traditionally send many troops to serve as peacekeepers, such as India and Uruguay, feel uneasy about this new direction, as prior peacekeeping posed little risk of casualties. A UN official, speaking anonymously, was concerned about the precedent which would be set by this authorisation and stated that the Security Council was ‘careful to say it was not a precedent, but every time you say that that’s exactly what you’re making.’
Source: New York Times | New U.N. Brigade’s Aggressive Stance in Africa Brings Success, and Risks