Authorities in Nigeria must investigate a string of deadly
airstrikes over the past six years and hold those responsible to
account, the UN human rights office, OHCHR, said on
Wednesday.
OHCHR issued a
statement deploring the latest strike – the fourth since 2017 –
which took place in Kaduna state in the north on Tuesday and left
at least 80 civilians dead and more than 60 injured.
“While we note that the authorities have termed the civilian
deaths as accidental, we call on them to take all feasible steps
in future to ensure civilians and civilian infrastructure are
protected consistent with Nigeria’s international law
obligations,” said Spokesperson Seif Magango.
Review SOPs
OHCHR urged the authorities to review rules of engagement and
standard operating procedures to ensure that such incidents do
not happen again.
The human rights office was “particularly alarmed by reports that
the strike was based on the ‘pattern of activities’ of those at
the scene which was wrongly analyzed and misinterpreted,” he
said, adding “there are serious concerns as to whether so-called
‘pattern of life’ strikes sufficiently comply with international
law.”
The statement called for the Nigerian authorities to investigate
all alleged violations of international law including deaths and
injuries from airstrikes.
Those responsible must be held to account, while victims and
their families should receive “adequate reparations”.
© IOM/Gema Cortés
An IOM staff member registers Venezuelan migrants at a temporary
accommodation center in Pacaraima, in the north of Brazil.
Support for migrants and refugees from
Venezuela
At least $1.59
billion will be needed next year to assist three million
refugees and migrants from Venezuela and communities in 17 Latin
American and Caribbean countries that are hosting them, two UN
agencies announced on Wednesday, in an appeal on behalf of aid
partners.
The funding will support access to asylum procedures, migratory
regularization activities and socio-economic integration “so that
refugees, migrants and host communities can achieve stability and
a brighter future.”
That’s according to the UN refugee agency, UNHCR, and the
International Organization for Migration (IOM) who co-lead the
Regional Inter-Agency Coordination Platform for Refugees and
Migrants from Venezuela (R4V).
Pressing needs remain
Last year, partners provided humanitarian assistance and
protection, and implemented socio-economic integration
programmes, for more than two million people – Venezuelans and
members of host communities.
However, an R4V assessment found that four million refugees and
migrants “still have pressing humanitarian, protection and
integration needs” and one in three do not have regular status or
the necessary documentation to access decent jobs, healthcare
services, housing or education.
More than 7.7 million Venezuelans have left their homeland and
the majority - over 6.5 million - reside in Latin America and the
Caribbean.
Governments and communities across the region continue to provide
opportunities for them to settle and rebuild their lives, and
over 60 per cent have regularized their status.
Stem flow of weapons for Myanmar junta, UN expert
urges
Urgent action is needed to save lives amid the intensifying
conflict in Myanmar, the UN Special Rapporteur on the human
rights situation in the country said on
Wednesday.
Tom Andrews called for the international community to take
immediate measures to stop the flow of weapons that he said
Myanmar’s military government is using to commit probable war
crimes and crimes against humanity.
“Unlike other conflicts where there are calls for more and more
weapons, UN Member States can make a critical difference in
Myanmar by stopping the flow of weapons to a military junta that
is responding to growing losses of territory and troops with
indiscriminate attacks on villages,” he said.
‘No time to waste’
Stressing that “there is no time to waste,” he said more than a
quarter of a million people have been displaced throughout the
country in recent weeks.
“These developments should lay to rest any notion that the
military can act as a stabilising or unifying force,” he said,
adding “its relentless attacks and rampant human rights
violations are unifying the country in opposition.”
Mr. Andrews said measures must be taken now to help ground junta
jets and helicopter gunships that are attacking villages,
schools, hospitals, and camps for displaced persons, and cutting
off access to fuel is a key step.
Special Rapporteurs are appointed by the UN Human Rights Council to
monitor specific country situations or thematic issues.
They are not UN staff and do not receive payment for their
work.
