Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
“Le Haut-Commissaire des Nations Unies aux droits de l'homme, Volker Türk, a souligné l'importance de ce moment en Syrie - tant pour ceux qui sont encore portés disparus que pour leurs proches,” a déclaré l'orateur du bureau des droits de l'homme de l'ONU, Thameen Al-Kheetan.
“Depuis la chute du gouvernement de l'ancien président Bachar Al-Assad, il y a presque deux semaines, nous avons vu des images de centaines de détenus sortant des prisons désormais ouvertes - certains exprimant leur bonheur de voir la lumière du jour, mais d'autres, tellement choqués après des années de torture et de traitements inhumains, qu'ils sont incapables de toute forme d'expression,” a déclaré Al-Kheetan lors du point de presse bihebdomadaire de l'ONU à Genève.
“De nombreuses familles restent dans la détresse car elles n'ont pas encore retrouvé leurs proches,” a-t-il dit.
“Elles méritent d'avoir toutes les réponses sur le sort et la localisation de leurs proches, et de connaître les circonstances dans lesquelles ils ont disparu. Elles ont également besoin de soutien en santé mentale et psychosocial. C'est là que le travail de l'institution sera fondamental,” a déclaré l'orateur.
Alors que l'Institution se concentrera sur la réduction de la souffrance des familles des disparus, notre Bureau et d'autres mécanismes internationaux travailleront à surveiller et collecter des informations sur les violations et abus des droits de l'homme passés et présents, dans le cadre de leurs mandats respectifs.
Le Haut-Commissaire déploiera la semaine prochaine une équipe d'agents des droits de l'homme en Syrie pour soutenir la présence existante de l'ONU sur les questions de droits de l'homme, ainsi que les efforts visant à garantir que toute transition soit inclusive et dans le cadre du droit international, a déclaré Al-Kheetan.
“La justice transitionnelle et la construction de la confiance communautaire ancrées dans les droits de l'homme seront un chapitre très important dans l'avenir de la Syrie,” a-t-il dit.
Il est fondamental que les autorités intérimaires prennent des mesures immédiates pour garantir la préservation des preuves des crimes et violations passés. Cela inclut les fosses communes, les dossiers et documents des prisons, centres de détention, ministères et autres institutions étatiques, ainsi que tout autre élément matériel qui pourrait être crucial pour documenter ce qui s'est passé et tenir les responsables pour compte.
En attendant, les autorités intérimaires doivent agir pour garantir que la sécurité soit rétablie, que ceux accusés de crimes soient tenus responsables conformément aux normes internationales des droits de l'homme, et que les femmes, les enfants et les diverses communautés ethniques et religieuses puissent exercer pleinement leurs droits, a déclaré l'orateur.
Pour plus d'informations et demandes médias, veuillez contacter:
À Genève:
Liz Throssell + 41 22 917 9296 / elizabeth.throssell@un.org
Thameen Al-Kheetan - +41 22 917 4232 / thameen.alkheetan@un.org
Taguer et partager - Twitter: @UNHumanRights et Facebook: unitednationshumanrights
HISTOIRE : Orateur des droits de l'homme de l'ONU Thameen Al-Kheetan sur la Syrie
TRT : 01:32
SOURCE : OHCHR / UNOG
RESTRICTIONS : AUCUNE
LANGUE : Anglais/NATS
RATIO D'ASPECT : 16:9
DATELINE : 20 décembre 2024 GENÈVE, SUISSE
LISTE DE PLANS
EXTRAIT SONORE (Anglais)—Thameen Al-Kheetan, Orateur pour le Bureau du Haut-Commissaire des Nations Unies aux droits de l'homme (OHCHR) : « La justice transitionnelle et la construction de la confiance communautaire ancrées dans les droits de l'homme seront un chapitre très important en Syrie
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Displacement on the rise in Yemen as fighting continues - UNHCR
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Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
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Edited News , Press Conferences | WMO
New data showing that rivers were at their lowest level for decades last year provides further evidence that the climate crisis is real and countries must act immediately to protect themselves from the increasing threat to communities and livelihoods, the UN World Meteorological Organization (WMO) said on Thursday.
The key findings from WMO’s State of Global Water Resources 2025 report covering the hydrological cycle and extreme events in the five-year period to last year:
Highlighting the long-term decline in the Earth’s freshwater storage and glacier melt, WMO Secretary-General Celeste Saulo explained that the planet’s water reserves used to act as a planetary “savings account” that absorbed the occasional dry season, avoiding a water crisis. “One of the central stories of the 2025 report is what is happening to that savings account? And the simple answer is that we are depleting it,” she told journalists in Geneva.
Groundwater reserves are equally stretched and have been in decline since 2014, WMO’s report states, with nearly two-thirds of monitored wells worldwide showing levels lower than the historical norm and indicating a shift “further toward deficit…not recovery”.
“At the same time, we are seeing more water-related disasters,” Ms. Saulo said, while also stressing that the currently strengthening El Niño “will increase the risk of drought in some areas, and flooding in others”.
Glaciers disappearing
In 2025, for the fourth consecutive year, every major glaciated region on Earth lost ice mass, leading to short-term hazards including floods and long-term water insecurity, according to WMO.
Responding to a question about whether the changing global water cycle might have contributed to the deadly Nepal-China flooding disaster, Ms. Saulo explained that melting ice and rock was just one factor in the chain of events that ultimately sent a massive and deadly wall of water and debris downstream on 26 August, killing at least 1,367 people.
“You asked if it could happen again? Absolutely; the problem in this region is that there’s 63,700 glaciers at the last count,” she told a Press Conference in Geneva. “Even if you’re looking with remote sensing with satellites at these glaciers, you might see some faults, you might see some slight shifting, that does not mean necessarily catastrophic collapse. So, in order to plan for this, it’s very, very difficult. But the international community is looking very hard at ways in which we can bring people together to solve some of these monitoring issues.”
Data indicates that glaciers shrank between 2023 and 2025 with cumulative losses of 1,400 gigatonnes of water – or about one third of annual fresh water needs.
Every major glacier region on Earth lost ice for the fourth consecutive year.
“All 19 glacier regions around the globe lost ice; in Central Asia, Iceland, the Russian Arctic and western Canada and the United States, it was among the three worst years on record,” said Wayne Jenkinson, WMO’s Director of Hydrology and Cryosphere.
Some regions with smaller glaciers such as Central Europe, the Caucasus, the western Canada and the United States may already have reached “peak water”, Mr. Jenkinson warned.
“After this point, the glacier gives less meltwater each year simply because there is less ice left to melt. That matters for every community downstream that relies on water during hot, dry summers,” he explained.
Narelle van der Wel, WMO’s Head of Cryosphere Monitoring, Predictions and Services, stressed that while some further glacier loss is unavoidable, the eventual scale of the decline is not predetermined.
“Some glacier loss is inevitable, but total loss of glaciers is not yet inevitable,” she said, pointing to emissions reductions as central to limiting future losses.
Preparing for moving baselines
The report does not attribute every observed change to climate change alone. WMO says pressure on water resources and natural variability also contribute.
Mr. Jenkinson said governments need to prepare for “moving baselines” as historical patterns become less reliable.
“The situation 30 years ago is not where we are today,” he said. Countries, he added, need to prepare “for those changes that have really already arrived”.
ends
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Press Conferences , Edited News | WFP
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Edited News | UN WOMEN
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Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
UN Human Rights Chief Volker Türk made the following remarks to the Enhanced Interactive Dialogue on the Independent Investigative Mechanism for Myanmar at the 63rd Human Rights Council.
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Press Conferences , Edited News | WMO
Powerful El Niño heightens extreme-weather risks through 2027, as countries brace for impact - WMO
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Edited News | OCHA , IFRC , UN WOMEN , WHO
Nepal flood deaths near 1,000 as those spared struggle to survive – UN humanitarians
With the death toll in Nepal’s catastrophic flash floods inching towards 1,000, rescue workers are facing harsh conditions while survivors lack access to food, safe water and health care, humanitarians said on Tuesday.