UN Condemns Deadly Force by Chadian Security Against Protesters
Voice of America
GENEVA - The U.N. human rights office condemns the deadly use of force by Chad’s security forces against peaceful protesters demanding a return to civilian rule. Nationwide demonstrations throughout the past week have been met with a fierce response by Chad’s defense and security forces, who reportedly killed six people on Tuesday and wounded several others. The U.N. human rights office expresses grave concern at what it calls excessive, disproportionate use of force, including the use of live ammunition against protesters. In addition, U.N. human rights spokeswoman Marta Hurtado says 700 people reportedly have been arrested. She says those actions are in violation of international law, which obligates countries to protect and respect human rights, including the right of freedom of peaceful assembly. “The decree imposing a blanket ban on demonstrations without prior authorization may undermine the exercise of the right to peaceful assembly. We also note that the Transitional Military Council itself declared on 20 April that it would abide by Chad’s international treaty obligations,” Hurtado said. Chad’s president, Idriss Deby, was killed by rebels April 20. Chad’s military appointed a transitional military council headed by Deby’s son, Mahamat Idriss Deby, until new elections were to be held in 18 months. Hurtado said that decree has elicited an outcry of protest from Chad’s political opposition, triggering mass demonstrations against continued military rule. “The people on the street are demanding that the country comes back to the constitutional order and civilian rule.…They want the authorities to hear their demand,” Hurtado said.
The U.N. human rights office is calling on state authorities to conduct impartial, effective and transparent investigations into human rights violations that may have occurred, including the use of excessive force against protesters.This undated handout photo taken by the UN Development Programme and released on May 28, 2024 shows locals digging at the site of a landslide at Mulitaka village in the region of Maip Mulitaka, in Papua New Guinea's Enga Province. This photo released by UNDP Papua New Guinea, shows a landslide in Yambali village, in the Highlands of Papua New Guinea, May 27, 2024. Authorities fear a second landslide and a disease outbreak are looming at the scene of Papua New Guinea's recent mass-casualty disaster.
Ali Larijani, left, and Saeed Jalili, right, are seen in this 2008 photo by Iranian state-approved news site Asr Iran in 2008. (Asr Iran) Iran's interim president Mohammad Mokhber speaks during the opening ceremony of Iran's 12th parliament in Tehran, Iran, May 27, 2024. Majid Asgaripour/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via REUTERS FILE - Presidential candidate Saeed Jalili attends an election debate at a television studio, in Tehran, Iran June 8, 2021. Morteza Fakhri Nezhad/YJC/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via REUTERS FILE - Iranian parliament speaker Ali Larijani attends a news conference at the Iranian embassy in Beirut's southern suburbs, as a picture of late Iran's Quds Force top commander Qassem Soleimani is seen in the background, Lebanon February 17, 2020. FILE - Iranian Minister of Roads and Urban Development Mehrdad Bazrpash and the Russian Ministry of Transport Vitaly Savelyev during a ceremony in Tehran, Iran, May 17, 2023. Iran's Presidency /WANA (West Asia News Agency)/Handout via REUTERS Parviz Fattah, head of Iranian state-owned enterprise Execution of Imam Khomeini's Order (EIKO), is seen in this photo posted on the EIKO website on May 14, 2024. (EIKO)
A TV screen shows a file image of North Korea's rocket launch during a news program at a bus terminal in Seoul, South Korea, May 27, 2024. FILE - Japanese Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi speaks to reporters in Colombo, July 29, 2023. FILE - A TV screen shows a report of North Korea's spy satellite into orbit with its third launch attempt this year with an image of North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un during a news program at the Seoul Railway Station in Seoul, South Korea, Nov. 22, 2023.
Palestinians gather at the site of an Israeli strike on a camp for internally displaced people in Rafah on May 27, 2024. Fire rages following an Israeli strike on an area designated for displaced Palestinians, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip, in this still picture taken from a video, May 26, 2024. Palestinians gather at the site of an Israeli strike on a camp for internally displaced people in Rafah on May 27, 2024. A member of the bomb squad of the Israeli police collects debris after a rocket fired by Palestinian militants struck in the Israeli city of Herzliya on May 26, 2024.