At the 43rd session of the UN Human Rights Council (HRC), the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights made a presentation of the current human rights situation in the world emphasizing various states and issues. Madame Bachelet noted that attacks on Idlib, Aleppo, and Hama in Syria are causing numerous civilian deaths, the most massive displacements in the past nine years and worsened humanitarian situation by the effective closure of two cross-border points for the entry of humanitarian aid. The excessive use of force by security forces against unarmed protestors in Iraq, resulting in over 450 deaths since October and detentions without due process and ill-treatment. In the Occupied Palestinian Territory, the HC underlined the alarming loss of life and injuries by Israeli Forces, including many children and plans for twice more new Israeli settlements in the occupied territory which is illegal under international law. She reported on the increasing use of the death penalty in Egypt, with 37 individuals reportedly sentenced to death just this month, called for the release of several women who have legitimately and peacefully demanded reforms of discriminatory policies and for full transparency in the ongoing judicial proceedings, and comprehensive accountability, regarding the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi in Saudi Arabia, restrictive US migration policies.
N Human Rights Chief gives global update: “We must do better”
