UN News Today 14 August 2025 |

Türk: Peru amnesty law is an ‘affront’ to victims of country’s war

The UN’s top human rights official Volker Türk on Thursday described Peru’s amnesty law as an “affront” to victims of the country’s armed conflict.

The development comes after the President of Peru signed into law legislation granting amnesty to the armed forces, the national police and self-defence committees, for crimes committed between 1980 and 2000.

An estimated 70,000 people were killed during the conflict and at least 20,000 were disappeared, according to the National Commission on Truth and Reconciliation.

Mr. Türk said that hundreds of cases, both concluded and ongoing, will be affected by the new law. And he described it as a “backwards step” in the search for justice for gross human rights violations committed.

With more, here’s UN human rights office spokesperson Marta Hurtado:

“The High Commissioner for Human Rights is dismayed by this new amnesty law in Peru. It is an affront to the thousands of victims who deserve truth, justice, reparations and guarantees of non-recurrence, not impunity. It is a backward step in the pursuit of justice and reconciliation in Peru and must be immediately reversed.”

The UN rights chief said in a statement that international law “clearly prohibits” amnesties like the one now in operation in Peru, as well as any attempts to limit the prosecution of long-suspected atrocity crimes.

Syria: Violence in Alawite areas may be war crimes, say rights investigators

Top UN human rights investigators said on Thursday that war crimes may have been committed in predominantly Alawite areas of Syria in a wave of deadly violence earlier this year.

Many of the victims were Alawite, a minority community in Syria, which the former ruling Assad family belonged to.

Some community members are believed to have been killed in March by forces or individuals loyal to the country’s new leadership, the National Transitional Authority, which is headed by interim President Ahmed Al-Sharaa.

In response to the “arrest operation” launched on 6 March, fighters loyal to toppled President Bashar al-Assad responded by capturing, killing and injuring hundreds of interim government forces, said the UN Commission of Inquiry on Syria.

In total, approximately 1,400 people were reported killed in the ensuing massacres, predominantly civilians.

Commissioners warned that the Alawite community which formed the Assads’ power base is still being targeted today. Alawites make up about 10 per cent of the majority Sunni country.

In Gaza, a 40°C heatwave is piling pressure on scant water supplies

To Gaza, where dangerous temperatures soaring above 40°C or 104°F are making the desperate situation there much worse, aid teams said on Thursday.

UNRWA, the UN agency for Palestine refugees, warned that dehydration is increasing because of the very limited water available.

As part of its ongoing efforts to help the people of Gaza, UNRWA has provided emergency water, sanitation and hygiene services to about 1.7 million people since the start of the war in October 2023.

Meanwhile, hunger-related deaths are rising and the Gaza Strip continues to face starvation, aid teams are reporting.

The UN aid coordination office, OCHA, warned late on Wednesday that eight people had reportedly died in the past 24 hours.

The UN agency also noted that over the past week, Israeli forces have continued to bombard Gaza, while ground operations have reportedly intensified.

Continuing rocket fire by Palestinian armed groups into Israel has also been reported, in addition to clashes with Israeli forces.

Daniel Johnson, UN News