30 Rohingya refugees from Myanmar were found dead on board a boat in the Bay of Bengal, that had been drifting at sea for 2 months. Nearly 400 others were found on board this fishing trawler by the Bangladesh coast guard attempted to make landfall on Bangladesh's southeast coast near Cox's Bazar.
SOUNDBITE (English)—Rupert Colville, Spokesperson for the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR): “ We are shocked by the news that more than 30 Rohingya refugees from Myanmar have died on board a boat in the Bay of Bengal, and that nearly 400 others were found dehydrated, malnourished and in need of immediate medical attention after nearly two months at sea. And many of those on board the vessel as you may have seen from the picture were women and children.”
SOUNDBITE (English)—Rupert Colville, Spokesperson for the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR): “The UN Refugee Agency UNHCR and their partners in Bangladesh are currently providing shelter and assistance to the survivors who disembarked from the boat yesterday morning”
SOUNDBITE (English)—Rupert Colville, Spokesperson for the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR): “We are aware of reports that this boat had repeatedly sought a safe harbour, but the vessel was unable to land in Malaysia. Whatever efforts are taken to combat people smuggling, this should be a time for compassion towards those in desperate need of assistance and protection. In light of reports of other vessels in similar circumstances still at sea, we strongly urge stepped-up search and rescue efforts to be conducted in a timely manner.”
SOUNDBITE (English)—Rupert Colville, Spokesperson for the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR): “All States should ensure that their responses to migrants in distress at sea are based on international human rights and refugee law, and that they are permitted safe disembarkation. Dangerous interception practices, including pushing back boats that are trying to land, must be scrupulously avoided.”
SOUNDBITE (English)—Rupert Colville, Spokesperson for the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR): “Today, we are aware that the situation in Rakhine and neighbouring Chin State is again dire. There has been a spike in violence between the ethnic Arakan Army armed
group and the Myanmar army, and that is impacting civilians of all ethnic groups living in the area, including Rohingya, Rakhine, Chin, Mro, Daignet and others. Myanmar’s military has been carrying out almost daily airstrikes and shelling in populated areas resulting in at least 32 deaths and 71 injuries since 23 March, the majority of those are women and children, and destroying and burning schools and homes.”
SOUNDBITE (English)—Rupert Colville, Spokesperson for the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR): “Despite the UN Secretary General’s call for a global ceasefire during the COVID-19 pandemic, these calls for a ceasefire have been ignored.”
SOUNDBITE (English)—Rupert Colville, Spokesperson for the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR): “ And further complicating the situation, there has been an internet blackout I believe it’s the longest in the world, in nine townships across Rakhine and Chin States since June 2019. That is not far off a year now. This blackout has greatly hampered the availability of reliable public information on hygiene, physical distancing precautions and other preventative measures. Internet restrictions have also been applied by the Bangladesh authorities to the Rohingya refugee camps in Cox's Bazar.”
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Edited News | OCHA
A clearer picture of needs across Iran is beginning to emerge after the conflict this month with Israel, which left hundreds dead, several hospitals hit and a spike in Afghan refugees returning home, the UN’s top official in Tehran said on Tuesday.
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Edited News | WMO
The blistering early-summer heatwave that’s brought life-threatening temperatures across much of the northern hemisphere is a worrying sign of things to come, UN weather experts said on Tuesday.
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Edited News | OHCHR
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk made the following remarks to the Human Rights Council annual panel on adverse impacts of climate change.
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Edited News | WHO
The first meagre midweek delivery of urgently needed medical goods to enter Gaza in months will provide scant relief to the enclave’s people, who continue to be shot and killed as they search for food, the UN World Health Organization (WHO) said on Friday.
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Statements , Edited News | HRC
Enhanced interactive dialogue on the High Commissioner’s report on Myanmar presented by Volker Türk, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights and oral update by Thomas Andrews, Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Myanmar
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Edited News | UNOG
The conflict-impacted people of the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) urgently need much more international assistance than they are getting today, the UN’s top aid official said on Thursday.
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Edited News | UNOG
Violence in Myanmar is spiralling as the military junta increases its attacks on monasteries, schools and camps sheltering people uprooted by the civil war, a top independent human rights investigator warned on Wednesday.
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Edited News | OHCHR
UN Human Rights Spokesperson Thameen Al-Kheetan on Palestinians killed seeking food in Gaza
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Edited News | OHCHR
Iran-Israel war: UN rights office concerned over strike on Tehran prison, reported espionage arrests
Tehran’s notorious Evin prison known for holding dissidents should not be a target, the UN Human Rights Office (OHCHR) said on Tuesday, a day after a reported Israeli strike on the complex.
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Edited News | UNICEF , WHO
Death and suffering in Gaza are ever-present and the enclave's people now have little choice but to risk their lives to fetch aid supplies, UN agencies said on Friday. “I met a little boy who was wounded by a tank shell at one of these sites on the final day of me leaving Gaza - I learnt that this little boy had since died of those injuries,” said UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) spokesperson James Elder. “That speaks to both what is happening at these sites and what is not happening when it comes to medical evacuations.”
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Edited News | UNCTAD
UN Trade and Development (UNCTAD) launched today the World Investment Report 2025. Global foreign direct investment (FDI) fell by 11%, marking the second consecutive year of decline and confirming a deepening slowdown in productive capital flows, according to the report.
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Edited News
Afghan journalist Zahra Nader fled twice due to Taliban rule, highlighting severe women's rights issues.