The United Nations Office at Geneva
Multimedia Newsroom
Lebanon crisis: UN rights chief urges warring parties to agree on ceasefire
UN human rights chief Volker Türk lent his weight to growing ceasefire calls in Lebanon on Tuesday, as senior Israeli cabinet members were reportedly due to meet on a deal to end more than a year of conflict with Hezbollah militants, sparked by the war in Gaza.
The development follows dire assessments from UN aid teams about the cost of “relentless” Israeli attacks on Beirut’s southern suburbs since the weekend, resulting in extensive damage and significant casualties, and forcing more people to flee their homes.
“The High Commissioner reiterates his call for an immediate ceasefire to put an end to the killings and the destruction,” stressed Jeremy Laurence, spokesperson for the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR). “Israeli military action in Lebanon has caused widescale loss of civilian life, including the killing of entire families, widespread displacement and the destruction of civilian infrastructure, raising serious concerns about respect for the principles of proportionality, distinction and necessity.”
At the same time, Hezbollah rocket fire has continued into northern Israel, resulting in civilian casualties, the OHCHR spokesperson noted. “Most of these rockets are indiscriminate by nature along with the displacement of many Israeli civilians, which is unacceptable. The only way to end the suffering of people on all sides is a permanent and immediate ceasefire on all fronts: in Lebanon, in Israel and in Gaza.”
The latest update from the UN aid coordination office, OCHA, reported that a deadly air strike on Saturday in Beirut “demolished a residential building, claiming nearly 30 lives and injuring more than 65 people. This is out of a total 84 people killed in the country that day alone, according to the authorities.”
On average, 250 people have been killed every week in November in Lebanon, bringing the death toll to more than 3,700 since the escalation of hostilities in October 2023, OCHA said, while the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) condemned the killing of at least nine youngsters between 22 and 23 November, “including boys and girls who were sleeping in their beds”.
The UN agency said that the total number of child deaths has reached at least 240 since October 2023 when Hezbollah rocket fire escalated in response to Israeli bombardment of nearby Gaza.
Despite ongoing security concerns, the UN and humanitarian partners remain on the ground to try to scale up efforts to continue providing critical assistance.
As of 19 November, UNICEF reported carrying out 14 humanitarian convoys, reaching some 50,000 people in areas that are difficult to access, such as Tyre, Rmeich, Marjaayoun and Hasbaya. The UN agency has also supported displaced families living on the streets of Beirut, helping them find shelter amid a severe urban displacement crisis.
Meanwhile late Monday, the UN World Health Organization (WHO) said that it had delivered 48 tons of medical supplies to support the Lebanese health authority’s chronic medication programme, ensuring that 300,000 people “have continued access to essential medicines”.
Lebanon ceasefire call – OHCHR
TRT: 02 min 00s
SOURCE: UNTV CH
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH / NATS
ASPECT RATIO: 16:9
DATELINE: 26 NOVEMBER 2024 GENEVA, SWITZERLAND
Speaker:
- Jeremy Laurence, spokesperson, OHCHR
SHOTLIST
-
- Exterior médium-wide: UN Geneva flag alley.
- Wide, UN Geneva Press room, journalists, screens.
- SOUNDBITE (English) – Jeremy Laurence, spokesperson, OHCHR: “The High Commissioner reiterates his call for an immediate ceasefire to put an end to the killings and the destruction. Israeli military action in Lebanon has caused widescale loss of civilian life, including the killing of entire families, widespread displacement and the destruction of civilian infrastructure, raising serious concerns about respect for the principles of proportionality, distinction and necessity.”
- Medium-wide, Press room, journalists.
- SOUNDBITE (English) – Jeremy Laurence, spokesperson, OHCHR: “The Lebanese armed group Hezbollah has also continued to fire rockets on the north of Israel, which has resulted in civilian casualties. Most of these rockets are indiscriminate by nature along with the displacement of many Israeli civilians, which is unacceptable. The only way to end the suffering of people on all sides is a permanent and immediate ceasefire on all fronts; in Lebanon, in Israel and in Gaza.”
- Medium-wide, journalists.
- SOUNDBITE (English) – Jeremy Laurence, spokesperson, OHCHR: “At least seven paramedics were reportedly killed in three separate Israeli strikes on the south of Lebanon, adding to the 226 healthcare workers reported killed between the 7 October and 18 November this year. These are further indications of just how brutal this war has been on civilians.”
- Medium-wide, podium speakers, Press room, TV journalist and camera.
- Medium-wide, Press room, TV screens.
- Medium-wide, TV journalist and camera, control booths.
Similar Stories
1
1
1
Edited News | UNHCR
Ongoing Russian attacks in Ukraine force frontline areas to empty: UNHCR
With Ukrainian cities still reeling from this week’s deadly Russian missile and drone attacks, communities on the front line continue to be targeted too, the UN refugee agency, UNHCR, said on Friday. “We also see attacks on frontline regions increasing and it's, as always, civilians that are bearing the highest cost of the war,” said Karolina Lindholm Billing, UNHCR Representative in Ukraine.
1
1
1
Edited News | WFP
Funding and supply shortfalls for the UN World Food Programme (WFP)'s work in Ethiopia will halt lifesaving treatment for 650,000 malnourished women and children at the end of the month. “We are at the breaking point,” it said on Tuesday.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
Israeli military operations in Lebanon continue to kill and injure civilians, and destroy civilian infrastructure, raising concerns regarding the protection of civilians, the UN Human Rights Office warned today.
1
1
1
Edited News | IOM , UNWOMEN , UNDP
Sudan: Aid teams report massive displacement after latest Darfur atrocity; women’s bodies ‘turned into battlegrounds’
In Sudan’s North Darfur, tens of thousands of people have fled a displacement camp following the massacre of civilians and aid workers as the country enters the third year of a conflict marked by horrific levels of sexual violence, UN humanitarians said on Tuesday.
1
1
1
Edited News | ITC
Global trade could shrink by three per cent as a result of the United States’ new tariff measures which in the longer term could reshape and boost as-yet untapped regional commercial links, a top UN economist confirmed on Friday.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
Warring parties in Sudan are overseeing a wholesale assault on human rights amid global inaction, the UN Human Rights Office said on Friday, as the conflict is about to enter its third year.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
The UN Human Rights Office on Friday said Israel’s increasing issuance of so-called “evacuation orders” for Palestinians in Gaza have resulted in their forcible transfer.
1
1
1
Edited News | OCHA , OHCHR , UNHCR , UNWOMEN , WFP , WHO
Two years of war in Sudan have created epic suffering, aid agencies say
Two years since Sudan’s brutal conflict began, UN agencies warned that famine is spreading and civilians of all ages continue to suffer shocking abuse, including rape and gang rape.
1
1
Edited News | UNMAS
In Gaza, ongoing Israeli military operations and the aid blockade have continued to add to daily fears and hardships confronting those in the devastated enclave, the UN Mine Action Service, UNMAS, said on Wednesday.
1
1
1
Edited News | UNDP
Dangers grow for Myanmar earthquake survivors, health system 'overwhelmed' - UNDP
In earthquake-shattered central Myanmar people are sleeping in the streets in fear of buildings collapsing, facing early monsoon rains and the risk of waterborne diseases, the UN Development Programme warned on Tuesday.
1
1
1
Edited News | ICRC , OHCHR , UNHCR
Myanmar’s military has continued to launch airstrikes and other attacks against opposition forces in the devastated country, one week since a 7.7 magnitude earthquake struck and despite announcing a ceasefire, UN human rights chief Volker Türk said on Friday.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR
UN Deputy High Commissioner for Human Rights Nada Al-Nashif on Tuesday presented a report on the human rights situation in the Democratic Republic of Congo, detailing the continued violations of human rights as a result of the offensive launched by the Rwandan-backed M23 in eastern DRC.