With no end to numerous protracted conflicts - not least in Ukraine, three years to the day since the full-scale Russian invasion - Secretary-General Ant¨®nio Guterres scorned the world¡¯s ¡°warmongers¡± for trampling on people¡¯s most fundamental rights.
On the opening day of the??in Geneva, the Secretary-General rounded on ¡°warmongers who thumb their nose at international law, international humanitarian law and the?¡±.
To date, Ukraine has seen more than 12,600 civilians killed, many more injured and entire communities reduced to rubble, Mr. Guterres told the UN¡¯s top human rights body.
¡°We must spare no effort to bring an end to this conflict, and achieve a just and lasting peace in line with the UN Charter, international law and General Assembly resolutions, he insisted.
¡°One by one, human rights are being suffocated,¡±?Mr. Guterres?continued, singling out the ¡°autocrats crushing opposition because they fear what a truly empowered people would do¡±, amid ¡°wars and violence that strip populations of their right to food, water and education¡±.
Turning to the ¡°precarious¡± ceasefire in Gaza, the UN chief insisted that a resumption of hostilities must be avoided at all costs for the sake of the enclave¡¯s people who have endured 15 months of constant Israeli bombardment. Mr. Guterres also expressed deep concern about rising violence in the occupied West Bank by Israeli settlers - ¡°and other violations, as well as calls for annexation¡±.
¡°It¡¯s time for a permanent ceasefire, the dignified release of all remaining hostages, irreversible progress towards a two-State solution, an end to the occupation, and the establishment of an independent Palestinian State, with Gaza as an integral part.¡±
Silence the guns
In a wide-ranging speech to the world¡¯s top human rights forum, the UN Secretary-General also called for diplomacy and dialogue to help resolve horrific, ongoing rights violations from the Sahel to Myanmar, Haiti, and the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo.
¡°We see a deadly whirlwind of violence and horrifying human rights abuses, amplified by the recent M23 offensive, supported by the Rwandan Defense Forces - as more cities fall, the risk of a regional war rises,¡± Mr. Guterres said. ¡°It¡¯s time to silence the guns; it¡¯s time for diplomacy and dialogue.¡±?
And amid growing intolerance towards many of society¡¯s most vulnerable and marginalized people - from indigenous peoples, to migrants, refugees, the LGBTQI+ community and persons with disabilities ¨C the Secretary-General also criticized the voices of ¡°division and anger¡± for whom human rights threaten their quest for ¡°power, profit, and control.¡±
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