Words of gratitude to protesting students are written on a tent in southern Gaza. Top news of the day | Tuesday: Gaza, Ukraine, USA, Bosnia and Herzegovina UN
The main news of the day in the UN and in the world: inhumane treatment of Palestinian prisoners in Israel, the consequences of the attack on Odessa, the chief UN human rights activist on the suppression of protests at US universities, a meeting of the UN Security Council on the situation in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Torture of Palestinian prisoners
UNRWA Commissioner-General Philip Lazzarini said more humanitarian aid had arrived in Gaza in recent weeks than in previous months, but it was still not enough. He said Israeli authorities often close the checkpoint because released prisoners are left there or sometimes dump the bodies of Palestinians who were brought back from Israel to the enclave. Citing testimonies from former detainees, the head of UNRWA said detainees were left incommunicado and subjected to “inhumane treatment, including torture such as simulated drowning, severe beatings and hounding.”
Strike on Odessa
From the UN Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reported that as a result of the strike in Odessa, civilians were killed and dozens of people, including children and pregnant women, were injured. Homes, educational institutions and other civilian infrastructure were damaged. UN Humanitarian Coordinator for Ukraine Denise Brown strongly condemned the attack. As of yesterday, humanitarian organizations have been on the ground supporting the efforts of first responders, providing medical assistance, and distributing materials to repair damaged buildings.
Protests in the United States
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk said he was concerned about a series of harsh measures taken to disperse and suppress protests at US universities, where thousands of students are demonstrating against the war in the Gaza Strip. Türk called a number of measures taken by universities “disproportionate.” He also said that anti-Semitic, anti-Arab and anti-Palestinian speech and actions are completely unacceptable. The High Commissioner emphasized that any restrictions on freedom of expression and the right to peaceful assembly must be guided by the principles of legality, necessity and proportionality.
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Special Adviser to the Secretary-General on the Prevention of Genocide, Alice Wairimu Nderitu, visited Bosnia and Herzegovina several times and expressed concern about threats of separatism and incitement to hatred there , denial of genocide and glorification of war criminals. Assistant Secretary General for Europe, Central Asia and the Americas Miroslav Jenca recalled this at a Security Council meeting on Tuesday dedicated to the situation in Bosnia and Herzegovina. He stressed that only by promoting understanding of the past can a sustainable peace be achieved. Jenča also recalled that the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia and the International Court of Justice found that acts of genocide were committed against the Muslims of Bosnia and Herzegovina in Srebrenica and its surroundings in July 1995.