The proportion of women murdered in 2023 doubled and that of children tripled compared to the previous year. At its origin, the Palestinian-Israeli conflict and the Ukrainian war.
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The number of civilians killed in conflicts around the world increased by 72% in 2023 compared to the previous year, doubling the proportion of women killed and tripling the proportion of children, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights reported this Tuesday.
The data, which he described as “terrifying,” were presented this Tuesday by Volker Türk at the opening of the 56th session of the United Nations Human Rights Council, which runs until July 12 in Geneva, Switzerland.
The official emphasized the consequences of the Israeli army’s “relentless attacks” in Gaza, largely responsible for the sharp increase in the overall number of civilian casualties.
“I find it difficult to begin my global update, once again, with the cruelty of war. In 2023, data collected by my office shows that the number of civilian deaths in armed conflict increased by 72%. It is alarming that the data indicates that the proportion of women murdered in 2023 doubled and that of children tripled, compared to the previous year,” said the high commissioner.
Türk expressed himself particularly “shocked by the lack of respect for human rights and international humanitarian law by the parties involved in the Gaza conflict.”
“There have been unacceptable deaths and suffering. “More than 120,000 people in Gaza, the vast majority of them women and children, have been killed or injured since October 7 as a result of intense Israeli offensives,” he stated.
He noted that since Israel stepped up its operations in Rafah in early May, nearly one million Palestinians have again been forcibly displaced, while aid provision and humanitarian access have further deteriorated.”
Also in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, the situation “is deteriorating dramatically,” he continued, noting that, as of June 15, “528 Palestinians, 133 of whom were children, had been killed by Israeli security forces and/or or by settlers since October, which in many cases raises serious concerns about illegal killings.”
In the same period, 23 Israelis died in the West Bank and in Israel in clashes or attacks by Palestinians, while, he recalled, “Palestinian armed groups continue to hold many hostages and, in some cases, in densely populated areas, placing them with them and with Palestinian civilians who are most at risk.”
“Israel’s relentless attacks on Gaza are causing immense suffering and widespread destruction. The arbitrary denial and obstruction of humanitarian aid has continued, and Israel continues to arbitrarily detain thousands of Palestinians. This situation must end,” said the top UN human rights official.
Volker Türk also expressed himself “extremely Concerned about the escalation of the situation between Lebanon and Israel.“, indicating that the available data indicates that “401 people have already been murdered in Lebanon, including paramedics and journalists.”
“More than 90,000 people were displaced in Lebanon and more than 60,000 were displaced in Israel, with 25 Israeli deaths. Thousands of buildings were destroyed. “I reiterate my call for the cessation of hostilities and for influential actors to take all possible measures to avoid a large-scale war,” he stated.
Relatively to war in Ukraine, regretted that the situation here is also deterioratingstressing that “the recent ground offensive of the Russian armed forces in the Kharkiv region of Ukraine destroyed entire communities,”
The residents, “many of whom are elderly, [são forçados] hidden in basements, without electricity, water or adequate food, since the area was subject to intense attacks with wide-range explosive weapons.”
The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights highlighted that, “in addition to inflicting unbearable human suffering, war has a high price”, and revealed that, “until the end of May 2024, the gap between the financing needs of humanitarian aid and available resources amount to 40.8 billion dollars”, approximately 38 billion euros.
Regretting that, on average, Only around 16.1% of humanitarian aid appeals are funded.noted Volker Türk, “for comparison, global military spending in 2023 amounted to about 2.5 trillion dollars (around 2.3 trillion euros), an increase of 6.8% compared to the previous year, the highest since 2009.
At the end of his speech, the high commissioner warned that we are witnessing “increasingly aggressive verbal attacksthreats and reprisals and virulent social media campaigns against international institutions and mechanisms, including the United Nations in general” and its office in particular, but also against “special procedures mandate holders, the International Court of Justice and the Criminal Court International”.
“This is unacceptable. These institutions were created and mandated by States precisely to carry out their crucial work. And States must facilitate this work and protect it from undue interference and attacks,” he urged.
Source: Observadora
