UN News Today 03 September 2024 |

Venezuela: UN human rights office concern over ‘climate of fear’

The UN human rights office, OHCHR, reiterated deep concerns on Tuesday over the continuing “climate of fear” in Venezuela, after an arrest warrant was issued for the opposition’s presidential candidate in the country’s recent election.

The alert is just the latest of many warnings from the UN human rights chief Volker Türk, along with top independent rights experts, about the violent repression of dissenting voices in the South American country.

It comes a day after the authorities called for the detention of opposition candidate Edmundo Gonzalez.

From the UN human rights office, here’s chief spokesperson Ravina Shamdasani:

“People are being detained for expressing their right to political participation, for their freedom of expression, for freedom of assembly…It is a climate of fear in the country at the moment. And we are urging the Government to ensure that all steps are taken in line with international human rights law with transparency and that steps are taken to resolve this dispute peacefully.

Mr. Gonzalez’s campaign proved unsuccessful against President Nicolas Maduro who won the July election. The result was contested by opposition supporters, who have questioned the absence of voting data from the electoral authorities to back up the victory.

Yemen: UN appeals for immediate release of staff held by de facto authorities

Staying with human rights, and an urgent call from Volker Türk for the immediate release of six UN personnel who’ve been held in Yemen by the Houthi de facto authorities for almost three months.

OHCHR said that the High Commissioner “unequivocally” rejected the “false allegations” for which one staff member appeared to have been made to confess under duress.

The six UN human rights staff – one woman and five men – were arrested on 6 June together with seven other UN personnel.

Two OHCHR staffers and two colleagues from other UN agencies have been detained and held “incommunicado” by the de facto authorities since 2021 and 2023 respectively, bringing the number of UN staff arbitrarily detained in Yemen to 17.

Their whereabouts remain unknown and the Houthi de facto authorities have not permitted physical access to any of them, despite repeated requests from the UN human rights office.

The Houthis control much of Yemen – including the capital Sana’a – after a decade fighting internationally recognised Government forces.

They should “facilitate rather than hinder UN entities and other human rights and humanitarian actors in their efforts to serve the people of Yemen, including for the promotion and protection of their human rights”, Mr. Türk insisted.

Gaza: UN humanitarian agencies ahead of their targets for polio vaccinations, says WHO

The UN World Health Organization (WHO) said on Tuesday that more than 161,000 children under 10 have been vaccinated in central Gaza after the first two days of the UN-led mass vaccination campaign, surpassing the target of 156,000.

The figure amounts to about a quarter of the total population needing to be reached – some 640,000 children.

Speaking from Gaza, WHO Representative for the Occupied Palestinian Territories, Dr. Rik Peeperkorn, said that day three of the campaign was continuing during the eight-hour daily pauses agreed by the Israeli military and Hamas fighters.

Vaccinations are due to begin in the larger southern zone on Thursday for another three days, before beginning in the northern zone.

But accessing the northern part of the Strip remains a concern, after the UN health agency reported trying to reach hospitals with essential medical supplies.

“From the eight or nine missions we planned, only three or four could go,” said Dr Peeperkorn, who added that an Emergency Medical Team (EMT) was successfully deployed to the Indonesian Hospital along with a paediatric doctor to Kamal Adwan Hospital, in addition to medications and other supplies.

Despite the early success of the vaccination campaign, the UN Children’s Fund UNICEF reiterated the urgent need for a ceasefire and the release of all hostages,

“Once these children have been vaccinated, they will go back to areas that in the coming week…will be bombed again,” said UNICEF spokesperson James Elder.

Daniel Johnson, UN News.

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