News in Brief 6 December 2023 |

This is the News in Brief from the United Nations. 

Gaza: UN rights chief urges probe into alleged sexual violence during Hamas terror attacks in Israel

UN human rights chief Volker Türk on Wednesday condemned serious sexual violations allegedly carried out by Hamas militants during their terror attacks in southern Israel on 7 October.

Humanitarians helping Gazans meanwhile said that conditions for civilians there had hit “rock bottom”, amid continued bombardment and mass displacement in the south.

In Geneva, UN High Commissioner Türk said it was “painfully clear” that the “atrocious” attacks should be fully and independently investigated, and that his Office had issued requests to Israel so that this could happen:

“It is clear, atrocious forms of sexual violence need to be thoroughly investigated and we need to make sure that justice is served because that is what we owe the victims.”

The UN rights chief also expressed deep concern at the “catastrophic” scenes playing out in Gaza since Israeli Defense Forces began their retaliation for the Hamas-led terror attack on 7 October.

Those concerns were echoed by UN agency for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA, which said that it was getting “constant SOS calls from colleagues and friends” in Gaza.

Myanmar violence taking an unbearable toll on civilians, warns Türk

To Myanmar, where the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights has condemned the “unbearable toll” of the 2021 military coup and subsequent brutal crackdown on civilians. 

Volker Türk cited credible sources who say that military forces have killed over 4,232 civilians since the 1 February putsch. 

He said that civilians had suffered “countless violations” including airstrikes, artillery shelling, enforced disappearances, sexual violence and the burning of their homes, fields and villages. 

The UN rights chief added that the perilous situation of Rohingya Muslims was still unresolved “with no prospect of safe and sustainable return” – a situation that continues to force many to risk their lives on dangerous sea journeys.

COP28 is about action, not politics, ‘posturing or point scoring’

COP28 news now from Dubai, where the UN climate chief said on Wednesday that delegates were not there to “score points”, as he urged them to take ambitious action on curbing global warming.

Simon Stiell’s call to government negotiators comes halfway through the latest UN climate conference.

So far, no agreement has been reached on financing for climate adaptation or  the fate of fossil fuels. 

Adding its voice to the call for urgent action, the UN migration agency IOM highlighted how climate adaptation measures are needed in Iraq.

It says that a “tidal wave of salty seawater” is inching northwards and already destroying “countless” palm groves, citrus trees and other agricultural crops in Iraq’s southernmost governorate, Basra. 

Further north, in Thi-Qar governorate, IOM warned that marshes are drying up because of several factors including a lack of rain, the construction of dams by Iraq’s neighbours – and the absence of sustainably  managed water resources locally.  

Daniel Johnson, UN News.