Archiv: Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) / Büro des Hohen Kommissars für Menschenrechte


28.11.2025 - 20:00 [ Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) ]

Jenin killings incident

We are appalled at the brazen killing by Israeli border police yesterday of two Palestinian men in Jenin, in the occupied West Bank, in an apparent summary execution.

Killings of Palestinians by Israeli security forces and settlers in the occupied West Bank have been surging, without accountability, even in the rare cases when investigations are announced. Following yesterday’s incident, which was caught on film by a TV channel, an internal review was announced. But statements by a senior Israeli government official sought to absolve Israeli security forces of responsibility, raising serious concerns about the credibility of any future review or investigation conducted by any entity that is not fully independent from the Government.

Our Office has verified that since 7 October 2023 and up until 27 November 2025 , Israeli forces and settlers killed 1,030 Palestinians in the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem. Among these victims were 223 children.

28.11.2025 - 19:49 [ United Nations ]

UN rights office condemns ‘apparent summary execution’ of two men in the West Bank

The UN human rights office, OHCHR said on Friday that it was “appalled” by the “brazen killing” of two Palestinian men by Israeli border police in the West Bank, describing it as “an apparent summary execution.”

The shooting occurred on Thursday in Jenin and was apparently caught on film by a TV channel, OHCHR Spokesperson Jeremy Laurence told journalists in Geneva.

He said an internal review was announced following the incident, but statements made by a senior Israeli official sought to absolve security forces of responsibility, “raising serious concerns about the credibility of any future review or investigation conducted by any entity that is not fully independent from the Government.”

25.11.2025 - 21:31 [ Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) ]

UN experts urge States to act as Israeli violations threaten fragile Gaza ceasefire

The experts urged Member States to act decisively to end the pattern of systematic violations of international law and suffering in occupied Palestine and restore international peace and security.

They called for the following urgent measures:

– Guaranteeing safe humanitarian access through UN-supervised land and naval corridors, including temporary housing before winter;
– Opening humanitarian corridors toward the West Bank, East Jerusalem, and Israel for the wounded, sick, older persons, persons with disabilities, pregnant women, and children;
– Imposing sanctions on Israel for continued violations of international law and illegal occupation;
– A comprehensive arms embargo on Israel;
– Full and free access to international media to the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including throughout Gaza.
– Ensuring that independent, international investigations are conducted into serious violations of international law, including the killing of civilians in the Gaza Strip, and that prosecutions are initiated under universal jurisdiction;
– Considering a UN-led international intervention if attacks persist and the humanitarian situation deteriorates further.

*The experts:

– Francesca Albanese: Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Palestinian territories occupied since 1967;

– George Katrougalos, Independent Expert on the promotion of a democratic and equitable international order

– Ashwini K.P., Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance

– Olivier De Schutter: Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights

– Morris Tidball-Binz, Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions

– Ben Saul, Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms while countering terrorism

– Irene Khan, Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression

– Paula Gaviria, Special Rapporteur on the human rights of internally displaced persons

– Tlaleng Mofokeng, UN Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health

– Heba Hagrass, Special Rapporteur on the rights of persons with disabilities

– Farida Shaheed, Special Rapporteur on the right to education

– Michael Fakhri, Special Rapporteur on the right to food

– Pedro Arrojo Agudo, Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation

– Gina Romero, Special Rapporteur on the Rights to Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and of Association

– Siobhán Mullally, the Special Rapporteur on trafficking in persons, especially women and children

– Reem Alsalem, Special Rapporteur on violence against women and girls, its causes and consequences

– Nicolas Levrat, Special Rapporteur on minority issues

– Michelle Small (Chair-Rapporteur), Ravindran Daniel, Jovana Jezdimirovic Ranito, Joana de Deus Pereira, Andrés Macías Tolosa, Working Group on the use of mercenaries

– Carlos Duarte (Chair), Working Group on the rights of peasants and other people working in rural areas

– Ivana Krstić (Vice-Chair), Dorothy Estrada Tanck, Haina Lu, and Laura Nyirinkindi, Working Group on discrimination against women and girls

02.11.2025 - 22:40 [ Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights ]

US attacks in Caribbean and Pacific violate international human rights law – UN Human Rights Chief

(October 31, 2025)

GENEVA – Airstrikes by the United States of America on boats in the Caribbean and the Pacific – allegedly linked to drug trafficking – violate international human rights law, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk said on Friday.

“Over 60 people have reportedly been killed in a continuing series of attacks carried out by US armed forces against boats in the Caribbean and the Pacific since early September, in circumstances that find no justification in international law,” the High Commissioner said.

“These attacks – and their mounting human cost – are unacceptable. The US must halt such attacks and take all measures necessary to prevent the extrajudicial killing of people aboard these boats, whatever the criminal conduct alleged against them.”

22.10.2025 - 11:59 [ UN Human Rights Office in the Occupied Palestinian Territory / Reliefweb.int ]

UN Human Rights in Occupied Palestinian Territory: 1001 Palestinians killed in West Bank since 7 October 2023 – one in five are children [EN/AR]

Ramallah, 17 October 2025

The UN Human Rights Office in the Occupied Palestinian Territory is appalled by the killing of 9-year-old Mohammad Bahjat Al-Hallaq who was shot by Israeli security forces (ISF) while playing football in Ar-Rihiya, Hebron, on Thursday, 16 October.

The fatality brings the total number of Palestinian killed by ISF and settlers since 7 October 2023 in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, to 1001.

26.09.2025 - 19:46 [ Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) ]

UN Human Rights Office updates database of businesses involved in Israeli settlements in occupied West Bank

GENEVA – The UN Human Rights Office today issued an update to its database of businesses involved in certain activities in illegal Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian territory, listing a total of 158 business enterprises from 11 countries.

The report was mandated by the UN Human Rights Council, and today’s release updates the database that was first issued in 2020, then updated in 2023. It identifies businesses involved in specific activities listed by the Council resolution, including: supplying equipment and materials that facilitate the construction and maintenance of illegal settlements, demolition of houses and property of Palestinians, surveillance activities, the use of natural resources for business purposes, and the pollution and dumping of waste in Palestinian villages.

23.09.2025 - 19:16 [ Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) / Büro des Hohen Kommissars für Menschenrechte ]

וועדת האו“ם קבעה כיישראל חותרת לשליטה קבועה בעזה, ולרוב יהודי בשטח הפלסטיני הכבוש ובישראל

קווי דמיון ביןמדיניות הקרקעות והדיור המשפיעה על פלסטינים בישראל לביןזוהחלהעל פלסטינים בגדה המערבית
הכבושה מצביעים עלקיומה של מדיניות רחבה יותר ביחס לאוכלוסייה הפלסטינית בכללותה, שנועדה להבטיח רוב יהודי
בכלל האזוריםהמצוייםתחת שליטהישראלית, תוך צמצום האפשרות להגדרה עצמית גיאוגרפית עבור העם הפלסטיני.
בדוח זוהו ששה שרים ישראליים כמי שנושאים ככל הנראה בעיקר האחריותלביצוע פשעים בינלאומיים הנוגעים לקרקעות
ודיור, כמו גם לפשעים אחרים שזוהו על-ידי הוועדה בדוחותיה הקודמים:
•שר הביטחון לשעבריואב גלנטושר הביטחון הנוכחיישראל כץנושאים באחריותלפעולותיהם של כוחות הביטחון
הישראליים בעזה;
•שר האוצרבצלאל סמוטריץ‘ושרת ההתיישבות והמשימות הלאומיותאורית סטרוקנושאים במשותף באחריות
להנעת הקמתן והרחבתן של התנחלויותבגדה המערבית הכבושה, לרבות מזרח ירושלים;
•השר לביטחון לאומיאיתמר בן-גבירנושא באחריות למעשיהתעללותשלרשויות הכליאה הישראליות בעצירים
פלסטיניים, אשר זוהו על-ידי הוועדה בדיווחה הקודםלעצרתהכללית;
•ראש הממשלהבנימין נתניהונושא באחריות הסופית להתנהלותה של ישראל בשטח הפלסטיני הכבוש בכללותו,
ובאחריות ישירהלאור הוראותיו לביצוע מעשיםהמהווים פשעי מלחמה, פשעים נגד האנושות, ופשע השמדת עם;
•ראש הממשלהנתניהוושר הביטחון לשעברגלנטנושאים גם באחריותלפשע ההסתה לביצוע השמדת עם

10.09.2025 - 21:47 [ Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) ]

UN experts stand in solidarity with the Global Sumud Flotilla, demand full protection of all passengers

GENEVA – United Nations experts* today urged Israel to cease all threats of harm against the Global Sumud Flotilla and ensure it proceeds unhindered in its mission to deliver humanitarian aid to the civilian population in Gaza.

“Any attempt to block the flotilla would constitute a grave violation of international law and humanitarian principles,” the experts said.

They stressed that the flotilla is a consequence of the failure of the international community to end Israel’s unlawful blockade of Gaza and the catastrophic humanitarian crisis it has produced. “Civil society activists would not be compelled to risk their lives at sea if the General Assembly or Security Council had taken decisive action to ensure safe and unimpeded delivery of humanitarian aid into Gaza,” the experts said.

(…)

*The experts:

– Francesca Albanese, Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Palestinian territories occupied since 1967

– Pedro Arrojo Agudo, Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation

– Michael Fakhri, Special Rapporteur on the right to food

– Farida Shaheed, Special Rapporteur on the right to education

– George Katrougalos, Independent Expert on the promotion of a democratic and equitable international order

– Paula Gaviria Betancur, Special Rapporteur on the human rights of internally displaced persons

– Heba Hagrass, Special Rapporteur on the rights of persons with disabilities

– Balakrishnan Rajagopal, Special Rapporteur on the right to adequate housing

– Bina D‘Costa (Chair), Barbara G. Reynolds, Isabelle Mamadou, Working Group of Experts on People of African Descent

– Nicolas Levrat, Special Rapporteur on minority issues

– Gina Romero, Special Rapporteur on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association;

– Siobhán Mullally, Special Rapporteur on trafficking in persons, especially women and children

– Reem Alsalem, Special Rapporteur on violence against women and girls, its causes and consequences

– Elisa Morgera, Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of human rights in the context of climate change

– Bina D‘Costa (Chair), Barbara G. Reynolds, Isabelle Mamadou, Working Group of Experts on People of African Descent

– Carlos Duarte (Chair), Shalmali Guttal, Davit Hakobyan (vice-chair), Uche Ofodile (vice chair), Genevieve Savigny, Working Group on the rights of peasants and other people working in rural areas

– Claudia Flores (Chair), Ivana Krstić (Vice-Chair), Dorothy Estrada Tanck, Haina Lu, and Laura Nyirinkindi, Working group on discrimination against women and girls

– Tlaleng Mofokeng, UN Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health

– Jovana Jezdimirovic Ranito (Chair-Rapporteur), Ravindran Daniel, Michelle Small, Joana de Deus Pereira, Andrés Macías Tolosa, Working Group on the use of mercenaries

– Ashwini K.P. Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance

– Olivier De Schutter, Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights

10.09.2025 - 21:00 [ Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) ]

UN experts urge US to grant visas to Palestinian officials, uphold diplomacy for peace

GENEVA – UN experts* today urged the United States to grant Palestinian leaders visas ahead of the UN General Assembly in New York in September, and lift the discriminatory suspension of processing visitor visas for all Palestinian nationals.

“The General Assembly in New York is the epicentre of global diplomacy for peace, justice and human rights. Unilaterally excluding foreign leaders strikes at the heart of this vital mission. The US should maintain its long tradition of allowing access to the United Nations’ headquarters as a neutral meeting place for peaceful dialogue,” the experts said.

(…)

*The experts:

– Ben Saul, Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms while countering terrorism
– Francesca Albanese, Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Palestinian territories occupied since 1967
– George Katrougalos, Independent expert on the promotion of a democratic and equitable international order

10.09.2025 - 20:50 [ Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) ]

Gaza: UN child rights committee condemns using starvation of children as weapon of war

GENEVA – The UN Committee on the Rights of the Child expressed its deepest concern today over the catastrophic impact on children of the ongoing hostilities in Gaza, ahead of the upcoming 80th United Nations General Assembly session, and urgently reiterated its calls for decisive action by all States, and in particular by Israel as a de facto occupying force.

The Committee highlighted that the famine has now taken hold in Gaza. Malnutrition among children is accelerating at a catastrophic pace. The Committee echoed the multiple UN agencies’ warning that, without immediate and unhindered humanitarian access, the manmade famine will spread, and more children will die.

09.09.2025 - 06:04 [ Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) ]

Gaza: UN experts urge General Assembly to respond to famine and genocide

(September 5, 2025)

GENEVA – UN experts* today issued an urgent appeal for an emergency meeting of the UN General Assembly, warning that the international community must act immediately before the 17 September-deadline for demanding an end to Israel‘s occupation of Palestine, as genocide and a man-made famine unfold in Gaza.

(…)

The experts called on the General Assembly to convene an emergency meeting to:

– Call on Member states to act under “uniting for peace” in line with General Assembly resolution 377 V and recommend a peace operation.
– Demand the opening of all the crossings to unrestricted humanitarian access under direct UN oversight.
– Demand the immediate suspension of failed or dangerous mechanisms, including those that have led to widespread killings at aid distribution points.
– Call on Member States with ports in the Mediterranean Sea to urgently deploy emergency navies carrying humanitarian aid.
– Request the authorisation of UN-led international humanitarian convoys with full UN authority to coordinate and supervise all crossings into Gaza.
– Demand an immediate, permanent ceasefire and the release of arbitrarily detained Palestinians and Israelis alike.

“The situation in Gaza is intolerable and unconscionable,” the experts said.

“The General Assembly must uphold the duty of the United Nations to respect international humanitarian law and protect civilians, end the violence, and guarantee that life-saving assistance reaches the people of Gaza without obstruction or delay. Anything less makes the international community complicit in these grave violations.”

The experts:

– Francesca Albanese, Special Rapporteur on the human rights situation in the Palestinian territories, occupied since 1967
– Gina Romero, Special Rapporteur on the Rights to Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and of Association;
– Mary Lawlor, Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders
– Michael Fakhri, Special Rapporteur on the right to food
– Nicolas Levrat, Special Rapporteur on minority issues
– Paula Gaviria Betancur, Special Rapporteur on the Human Rights of Internally Displaced Persons
– Pedro Arrojo Agudo, Special Rapporteur on the Human Rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
– Siobhán Mullally, Special Rapporteur on trafficking in persons, especially women and children
– Heba Hagrass, Special Rapporteur on the rights of persons with disabilities
– Tomoya Obokata, Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of slavery, including its causes and consequences
– George Katrougalos, Independent Expert on the promotion of a democratic and equitable international order
– Claudia Flores (Chair), Ivana Krstić (Vice-Chair), Dorothy Estrada Tanck, Haina Lu, and Laura Nyirinkindi, Working group on discrimination against women and girls
– Jovana Jezdimirovic Ranito (Chair-Rapporteur), Ravindran Daniel, Michelle Small, Joana de Deus Pereira, Andrés Macías Tolosa, Working Group on the use of mercenaries
– Ashwini K.P. Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance
– Ben Saul, Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms while countering terrorism
– Bina D‘Costa (Chair), Barbara G. Reynolds, Isabelle Mamadou, Working Group of Experts on People of African Descent
– Carlos Duarte (Chair), Shalmali Guttal, Davit Hakobyan (vice-chair), Uche Ofodile (vice chair), Genevieve Savigny, Working Group on the rights of peasants and other people working in rural areas
– Astrid Puentes Riaño, Special Rapporteur on the human right to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment
– Mai Sato, Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran
– Irene Khan, Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression
– Balakrishnan Rajagopal, Special Rapporteur on the right to adequate housing;
– Reem Alsalem, Special Rapporteur on violence against women and girls, its causes and consequences
– Elisa Morgera, Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of human rights in the context of climate change
– Farida Shaheed, Special Rapporteur on the right to education;
– Gabriella Citroni (Chair-Rapporteur), Grażyna Baranowska (Vice-Chair), Aua Baldé, Ana Lorena Delgadillo Pérez, and Mohammed Al-Obaidi, Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances
– Alexandra Xanthaki, Special Rapporteur in the field of cultural rights
– Surya Deva, Special Rapporteur on the right to development

28.08.2025 - 19:05 [ Reuters ]

Hundreds of UN staff pressure rights chief to call Gaza a genocide, letter shows

„OHCHR has a strong legal and moral responsibility to denounce acts of genocide,“ said the letter signed by the Staff Committee on behalf of over 500 employees, which called on Turk to take a „clear and public position“.
„Failing to denounce an unfolding genocide undermines the credibility of the U.N. and the human rights system itself,“ it added.
It cited the international body‘s perceived moral failure for not doing more to stop the 1994 Rwanda genocide that killed more than 1 million people.

21.08.2025 - 16:57 [ United Nations ]

Amid massive destruction of Gaza City, UN chief renews ceasefire call

Meanwhile in Gaza City, whole urban areas are being “totally destroyed”, the UN understands, with further destruction now underway in the south and southeast, as military manoeuvres continue.

Recent attacks have been particularly devastating in the Az Zaytoun and As Sabra neighbourhoods. In addition, reported airstrikes hit residential buildings or tents sheltering displaced people in Ash Sheikh Radwan, Ash Shujaiyeh and Ash Shati Camp, resulting in multiple fatalities, the OHCHR head in the occupied territories told UN News.

Highlighting more than 50 attacks on residential buildings and entire blocks in Gaza City since 8 August, OHCHR warned on Wednesday that the city’s “systematic destruction” had begun.

21.08.2025 - 15:11 [ United Nations ]

Amid ongoing Israeli attacks, ‘the systematic destruction of Gaza City is already underway’: UN rights office

(August 29, 2025)

Recent attacks have been particularly devastating in the Az Zaytoun neighbourhood, where airstrikes, artillery shelling and gunfire are continuous and intense, causing a high number of civilian casualties and the large-scale destruction of residential buildings and public facilities, the UN human rights office, OHCHR, in the Occupied Palestinian Territory said in a statement.

Since 8 August, the office has recorded 54 attacks on residential buildings and entire blocks in Gaza City, killing 87 Palestinians, including at least 25 children and entire families.

It also recorded attacks on shelters for internally displaced people, including tents and schools, killing at least 14.

These casualty figures “indicate that the systematic destruction of Gaza City is already underway,” the statement said.

However, OHCHR stressed that these devastating figures are only a portion of the actual toll due to underreporting in such dire circumstances.

08.08.2025 - 14:49 [ United Nations ]

Israeli plan to take military control of Gaza must stop now, says UN rights chief

“A complete military takeover of the occupied Gaza Strip must be immediately halted,” insisted Volker Türk, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, after the Israeli security cabinet approved a plan which portends a full-scale Israeli military takeover in the battered enclave.

The development runs contrary to international law, Mr. Türk continued, referring to a ruling of the International Court of Justice that Israel must end its occupation and achieve a two-State solution giving Palestinians the right to self-determination.

15.07.2025 - 22:16 [ theCradle.co ]

West Bank witnessing largest forced displacement of Palestinians since 1967: UN

UN rights office spokesman Thameen al-Kheetan said the forced uprooting underway may constitute a crime under international law, stressing that “permanently displacing the civilian population within occupied territory amounts to unlawful transfer,” and depending on the circumstances, “could be tantamount to ethnic cleansing.” He said the campaign is “emptying large parts of the West Bank of Palestinians.”

The UN said the offensive, launched in January, is impacting several northern refugee camps. Juliette Touma, spokeswoman for UNRWA, described it as “the longest since … the Second Intifada,” and warned it was causing “the largest population displacement of the Palestinians in the West Bank since 1967.”

15.07.2025 - 21:47 [ United Nations ]

Gaza: 875 people confirmed dead trying to source food in recent weeks

Nearly 900 desperate and hungry Gazans have been killed in recent weeks trying to fetch food, with most deaths linked to private aid hubs run by the so-called Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), the UN human rights office, OHCHR, said on Tuesday.

(…)

With its current focus on the northern occupied West Bank, the Israeli military operation has impacted the refugee camps of Jenin, Tulkarem and Nur Shams.

“It is causing the largest population displacement of the Palestinians in the West Bank since 1967,” Ms. Touma continued.

11.07.2025 - 19:33 [ United Nations ]

Gaza: ‘Unacceptable’ choice between getting shot or getting fed

OHCHR’s Ms. Shamdasani said that from 27 May, when the GHF started operations in Gaza, until 7 July, OHCHR recorded 798 killings “including 615 in the vicinity of the GHF sites and 183 presumably on the routes of aid convoys”.

The deaths of almost 800 people trying to access aid were “mostly due to… gunshot injuries”, Ms. Shamdasani said.

Joining her in condemning the killings, World Health Organization (WHO) spokesperson Christian Lindmeier said that he is “slowly lacking words to describe the scenario”.

“People being shot at distribution sites… scores of women and children and men and boys and girls being killed while either getting food or in what’s supposedly safe shelters or on the road to health clinics or inside health clinics – this is far beyond unacceptable.”

11.07.2025 - 19:31 [ Middle East Eye ]

Around 800 aid seekers killed in Gaza, UN says

“Up until the seventh of July, we’ve recorded now 798 killings, including 615 in the vicinity of the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation sites, and 183 presumably on the route of aid convoys,” OHCHR spokesperson Ravina Shamdasani told reporters in Geneva.

06.07.2025 - 04:09 [ Middle East Eye ]

Today’s death toll rises in the Gaza Strip

(6 hours ago)

At least 78 people have been killed in Israeli strikes on Gaza since midnight today, sources at hospitals in the Strip tell Al Jazeera.

05.07.2025 - 05:55 [ thePeninsulaQatar.com ]

Death toll from Israeli aggression on Gaza rises to 57,268

(July 4, 2025)

It‘s worth noting that the humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip is becoming increasingly complex due to the Israeli occupation‘s intransigence in preventing the entry of humanitarian aid to the population, and the ongoing bombing of all areas, including the remaining medical and service facilities, as well as the tents of displaced people.

05.07.2025 - 05:49 [ France24.com ]

UN records 613 killings near US-run humanitarian convoys and aid distribution points in Gaza

(July 4, 2025)

„We have recorded 613 killings, both at GHF points and near humanitarian convoys – this is a figure as of June 27. Since then … there have been further incidents,“ Ravina Shamdasani, the spokesperson for the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, told reporters in Geneva.

The GHF began distributing food packages in Gaza at the end of May and has repeatedly denied that incidents had occurred at its sites.

Of the 613 people killed, 509 were killed near the GHF distribution points, the OHCHR said.

The OHCHR said its figure is based on a range of sources such as information from hospitals, cemeteries, families, Palestinian health authorities, NGOs, and its partners on the ground. It said it is verifying further reports and cannot yet give a breakdown of where they were killed.

16.04.2025 - 05:11 [ United Nations ]

Israeli strikes in Lebanon continue to kill civilians, UN rights office warns

At least 71 civilians have been killed by Israeli forces in Lebanon since the 27 November 2024 ceasefire, according to an initial review by the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR).

Among the dead are 14 women and nine children. More than 92,000 people remain displaced by the violence.

27.02.2025 - 00:00 [ Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) / Büro des Hohen Kommissars für Menschenrechte ]

HC Türk on Occupied Palestinian Territory: “Any plans for a better future must deal with the past, so accountability is crucial.”

For more than 57 years, people in Gaza and in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, have been suffocating under Israeli occupation. They have been denied their most basic human rights, from the right to self-determination, to freedom of movement, to an adequate standard of living. In Gaza, they have been subjected to blockades amounting to collective punishment. In the West Bank, illegal settlements and violence have been growing for decades, in violation of international law, with a significant increase over the past three years. Most of these violations have gone unpunished.

There is absolutely no justification for the horrific attacks committed on 7 October 2023 when Hamas and other Palestinian armed groups brutally assaulted Israeli communities, killed civilians, and took more than 250 hostages, and I have repeatedly condemned these acts.

And nothing justifies the appalling manner in which Israel has conducted its military operations in Gaza, which consistently breached fundamental principles of international humanitarian law.

26.02.2025 - 23:56 [ United Nations ]

Human Rights Council: Gaza ceasefire must hold, Türk insists

Addressing the Human Rights Council in Geneva on conditions inside the Occupied Palestinian Territory, Mr. Türk condemned the Hamas-led terror attacks on Israel that sparked the war in October 2023.

The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights also said there was no justification for Israel’s devastating military operations in Gaza, which have left more than 48,000 Palestinians dead, according to local authorities.

“At this tenuous moment the world must ask itself how to resolve this decades old conflict and stop the cycle of violence,” he said.
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“Any plans for a better future must deal with the past, so accountability and justice for violations are crucial.”

04.01.2025 - 14:41 [ webtv.UN.org ]

The situation in the Middle East, including the Palestinian question – Security Council, 9830th meeting

(January 3, 2024)

Summary
The situation in the Middle East, including the Palestinian question – Security Council, 9830th meeting

Description

– Briefer: Mr. Volker Türk, United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (via video-teleconference)
– Briefer: Dr. Rik Peeperkorn, Representative for the West Bank and Gaza, World Health Organization (via video-teleconference)
– Briefer: Dr. Tanya Haj Hassan, medical practitioner, Medical Aid for Palestinians (MAP) Charity (via video-teleconference)
– Statements: All Council members
– Statement: Observer State of Palestine
– Statements: Israel, Egypt

01.01.2025 - 19:01 [ Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) ]

Attacks on hospitals during the escalation of hostilities in Gaza (7 October 2023 – 30 June 2024)

INTRODUCTION

1. This report presents grave concerns regarding attacks on hospitals, as well as operations within them and in their vicinity, in Gaza covering the period 7 October 2023 to 30 June 2024. In the context of the ongoing escalation of hostilities in Gaza, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) has since early October 2023 documented repeated attacks on hospitals and operations within and in the vicinity of hospitals, leading to sustained combat in and around many hospitals. This pattern has led to the destruction of most hospitals in Gaza, pushing the healthcare system to the point of almost complete collapse. Attacks on hospitals were reported in each of the areas in which the Israeli military conducted ground operations, starting in November 2023 with an attack on Al Shifa Medical Complex and other hospitals in Gaza City. At the end of June 2024, 22 out of 38 hospitals across Gaza had been rendered non-functional, according to the Ministry of Health of the State of Palestine (Palestinian MOH).

2. In gathering, assessing, and verifying the information contained in this report, and drawing conclusions based on international human rights law and international humanitarian law, OHCHR applied its standard methodology. The monitoring and verification of violations remained extremely challenging, including owing to access constraints, a high level of insecurity, and threats and direct attacks also on United Nations personnel, monitors and humanitarian actors. Nevertheless, verification work continued, and information was gathered from multiple independent sources, including victims and witnesses; military and weapons experts; open sources, including satellite imagery, videos and photos; credible organizations and individuals; official and other documentation. The analysis of the information involved legal and weapons expertise, including from independent experts. Findings are included in the report where the “reasonable grounds” standard of proof has been met, namely: based on a body of verified information, an objective and ordinarily prudent observer would have reasonable grounds to believe that the facts took place as described and, where legal conclusions are drawn, that these facts meet all the elements of a violation. On 16 December 2024, the report was shared with the Permanent Missions of Israel and the State of Palestine for factual comments. The State of Palestine and Israel responded with comments on 19 and 20 December, respectively. OHCHR welcomes receiving these comments, which can be read here.

01.01.2025 - 18:53 [ Communist Party of Israel ]

UN Human Rights Office Issues Damning Report on Israeli Attacks on Gaza hospitals

UN Human Rights Office report on Tuesday, December 31, condemned deadly Israeli attacks on hospitals in Gaza, saying they had devastated the Palestinian occupied territory health system and raised serious concerns about Israel’s compliance with international law.

The appalling destruction wrought by the Israeli military’s attacks on the Kamal Adwan hospital last Friday – leaving the population of North Gaza with almost no access to adequate health care – reflects the pattern of attacks documented in the report. Staff and patients were forced to flee or were taken into custody, with many reports of torture and ill-treatment. The director of the hospital was taken into custody and his fate and whereabouts are unknown.

09.11.2024 - 00:20 [ Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights ]

Six-month update report on the human rights situation in Gaza: 1 November 2023 to 30 April 2024

I. INTRODUCTION
1. This report presents grave concerns regarding the human rights situation in occupied Gaza since the last report of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights to the UN Human Rights Council, and covers a period of six months, from 1 November 2023, when the last Human Rights Council report covered the events on the ground,1 up to 30 April 2024.2 The report is based on monitoring and documentation by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR). The High Commissioner has asked Israel for access to Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT) in order to investigate human rights violations on and since 7 October 2023, pursuant to its mandate, which so far has not been granted.

09.11.2024 - 00:05 [ France24.com ]

Nearly 70 percent of people killed in Gaza women and children, UN finds

The majority of civilians killed in the Gaza Strip have been women and children, a UN report found Friday. The UN also found that 80 percent of all verified deaths in Gaza had occurred in Israeli attacks on residential buildings or similar housing, and that children aged five to nine made up the largest group of victims.
(…)
The report also tackled the contentious issue of the proportion of civilians among the nearly 43,500 people killed in Gaza so far, according to the health ministry in the Palestinian territory.

27.10.2024 - 21:00 [ Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) ]

Türk says world must act as darkest moment of Gaza conflict unfolds

(October 25, 2024)

“Under the Geneva Conventions, States have an obligation to act when a serious violation of international humanitarian law has been committed,” Türk said. “Under the Genocide Convention, State parties also have the responsibility to act to prevent such a crime, when risk becomes apparent.

“For months, I have pleaded with all parties to the conflict, as well as all States, particularly those with influence in the region, to act to stop the carnage and destruction, to ensure the prompt and unconditional release of all hostages, and to ensure international humanitarian and international human rights law are respected. But still this goes on and on and on.

“Now, the international rule of law is being progressively dismantled,” he added. “Either the world ashamedly fails those who so desperately need help, or we stand united and put a stop to this.

27.10.2024 - 20:44 [ TRTdeutsch.com ]

Gaza-Krieg: UN-Kommissar fordert Maßnahmen zur Verhinderung von Genozid

(October 25, 2024)

Türk erinnerte daran, dass Staaten nicht nur verpflichtet sind, gegen Kriegsverbrechen vorzugehen. „Nach der Völkermordkonvention sind die Vertragsstaaten auch dafür verantwortlich, Maßnahmen zu ergreifen, um ein solches Verbrechen zu verhindern, wenn eine Gefahr erkennbar wird“, sagte er. „Ich flehe Sie an, den Schutz der Zivilbevölkerung und die Menschenrechte an erste Stelle zu setzen und dieses Minimum an Menschlichkeit nicht aufzugeben“, appellierte er an Staats- und Regierungschefs.

19.09.2024 - 22:17 [ Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) / Büro des Hohen Kommissars für Menschenrechte ]

Comment by UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk on explosions across Lebanon and in Syria

Geneva, 18 September 2024

Widespread simultaneous explosions across Lebanon and in Syria yesterday, where detonating pagers killed at least 12 people – including two children – and left thousands of people injured, are shocking, and their impact on civilians unacceptable. The fear and terror unleashed is profound.

At this extremely volatile time, I appeal to all States with influence in the region and beyond to take immediate measures to avert further widening of the current conflicts – enough of the daily horrors, enough of the suffering. It is high time leaders stepped up in defence of the rights of all people to live in peace and security. The protection of civilians must be the paramount priority. De-escalation is today more crucial than ever.

Simultaneous targeting of thousands of individuals, whether civilians or members of armed groups, without knowledge as to who was in possession of the targeted devices, their location and their surroundings at the time of the attack, violates international human rights law and, to the extent applicable, international humanitarian law.

There must be an independent, thorough and transparent investigation as to the circumstances of these mass explosions, and those who ordered and carried out such an attack must be held to account.