The explosion of ethnic violence in Darfur largely by nomadic “Arab” groups in alliance with the RSF who have been battling national army forces for control of the country since mid-April, has led tens of thousands to flee into neighbouring Chad.

‘Horrifying accounts’

In a statement, OHCHR Spokesperson Ravina Shamdasani said interviews with people fleeing the decimated city of El-Geneina have revealed “horrifying accounts” of people being killed on foot by the RSF-supported militia.

“All those interviewed also spoke of seeing dead bodies scattered along the road – and the stench of decomposition”, she said. “Several people spoke off seeing dozens of bodies in an area referred to as Shukri, around 10km from the border, where one or more of the Arab militias reportedly has a base.”

She said immediate action to halt the killings was essential.

“The High Commissioner for Human Rights calls on the RSF leadership to immediately, unequivocally condemn and stop the killing of people fleeing El-Geneina, and other violence and hate speech against them on the basis of their ethnicity. Those responsible for the killings and other violence must be held accountable.”

Safe passage

She added that people fleeing El-Geneina must be guaranteed safe passage and humanitarian agencies allowed access to the area so they can collect the bodies of the dead.

“Out of 16 people we have so far been able to interview, 14 testified that they witnessed summary executions and the targeting of groups of civilians on the road between El-Geneina and the border – either the shooting at close range of people ordered to lie on the ground or the opening of fire into crowds.”

The civilian exodus from the city intensified following the killing of the state governor on 14 June just hours after he accused the RSF and militias of “genocide” – raising the spectre of the hundreds of thousands killed between 2003-2005 during a Government-orchestrated campaign of violence.

Ms. Shamdasani said the testimonies recounted killings that took place on 15 and 16 June, but also during the past week.

Deadly hate speech

“We understand the killings and other violence are continuing and being accompanied by persistent hate speech against the Masalit community, including calls to kill and expel them from Sudan.”

One 37-year-old told the UN that from his group of 30 people fleeing to the Chad border, only 17 made it across, the Spokesperson recounted.

“Some were killed after coming under fire from vehicles belonging to the RSF and ‘Arab’ militia near the Chad border, while others were summarily executed, he said. Those who survived had their phones and money looted from them by armed men shouting: ‘You are slaves, you are Nuba’”.

A 22-year-old woman gave similar accounts of killings. She told how one badly wounded young man had to be left on the ground: “We had to leave him because we had only one donkey with us”.

“El-Geneina has become uninhabitable”, said Ms. Shamdasani with essential infrastructure destroyed and movement of humanitarian aid to the city, blocked.

“We urge the immediate establishment of a humanitarian corridor between Chad and El-Geneina, and safe passage for civilians out of areas affected by the hostilities.”

“The tendency of family courts to dismiss the history of domestic violence and abuse in custody cases, especially where mothers and/or children have brought forward credible allegations of domestic abuse, including coercive control, physical or sexual abuse is unacceptable,” said Reem Alsalem, UN Special Rapporteur on violence against women, in a report to the Human Rights Council in Geneva on Thursday.

A history of intimate partner violence against women was often neglected in family courts and shared custody or parental authority, treated as the default ruling, regardless of the child’s perspective.

“When custody decisions are made in favour of the parent who claims to be alienated without sufficiently considering the views of the child, the resilience of the concerned child may be undermined.

“The child may also continue to be exposed to lasting harm,” Ms. Alsalem said. She also called out the failure of child custody processes to use child sensitive approaches that focus on the best interest of children.

Harder for minority women

The report underscores that minority women face additional barriers when being accused of using “parental alienation” in part due to increased barriers in accessing justice as well as negative stereotypes.

Parental alienation is defined as the situation when a child refuses to have a relationship with one parent, as a result of manipulation or falsehoods spread by the other parent.

In some family court systems, for example in state judicial systems in the US, some mental health professionals contend that parental alienation is a form of emotional child abuse.

The independent expert’s report, argues that the use of the unfounded and unscientific concept, is highly gendered.

While it is invoked against both fathers and mothers, it is predominantly used against mothers, the report states, with the woman being accused of turning children against the father.

The consequences of biased custody decisions can be detrimental and irreversible to those concerned leading to a continuum of violence before and after separation, the expert said.

‘Pseudo concepts’

Despite these grave consequences “parental alienation” and related pseudo concepts are embedded and endorsed in legal systems across different jurisdictions, including amongst evaluators tasked with reporting to family courts on the best interest of the child.

Ms. Alsalem’s report also provides recommendations for States and other stakeholders to reverse the long-lasting harm done to individuals, families and societies.

She said the international community needed to develop a greater “collective conscience” when considering the human rights dimension of multi-layered violence that many mothers and children experience when using family court systems.

“The protection of women and children from violence, a victim-centered approach, and the best interests of the child, must take precedence over all other criteria when establishing arrangements for custody and visitation rights,” she said.

Special Rapporteurs and other UN Human Rights Council-appointed rights experts, work on a voluntary and unpaid basis, are not UN staff, and work independently from any government or organisation.

“These latest killings and the violence, along with the inflammatory rhetoric, serve only to drive Israelis and Palestinians deeper into an abyss,” said the High Commissioner for Human Rights, as his Office warned of the “terrible impact on both Palestinians and Israelis” of the escalation, before calling for an immediate end to the bloodshed. 

Mr. Türk’s comments followed remarks by the UN Secretary-General António Guterres, who on Thursday “condemned all acts of violence against civilians” in the Occupied Palestinian Territories and deplored the loss of life.

Refugee camp victims

Echoing Mr. Guterres’s deep concern about an Israeli military raid on Jenin refugee camp in the northern West Bank on Monday that killed at least seven Palestinians, including a boy and a girl, the UN rights chief said that the use of airstrikes was “more generally associated with the conduct of armed hostilities rather than a law enforcement operation”.

According to reports, Israeli gunships were used for the first time in the area since the early 2000s to extract injured soldiers, while a long gun battle raged.

Mr. Türk added that on Wednesday evening, other reports emerged of an Israeli military drone strike near Jenin that killed three alleged Palestinian militants.

“Israel must urgently reset its policies and actions in the West Bank in line with international human rights standards, including protecting and respecting the right to life”, insisted the High Commissioner.

Following the Jenin raid, Mr. Türk’s Office said that he had been “appalled” that some Palestinians had celebrated the killing of four Israeli settlers – reportedly including a 17-year-old boy – by two armed Palestinian men near the community of Eli in the occupied West Bank. 

Vicious circle 

Highlighting the tinderbox situation, OHCHR spokesperson Jeremy Laurence said that several Palestinian communities had reportedly been assaulted by Israeli settlers, amid “confrontations between Israeli settlers, accompanied by Israeli Security Forces, and Palestinians”.

According to UN rights office OHCHR, so far this year, Israeli Security Forces have killed at least 126 Palestinians in the Occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem. Among them were 21 boys and one girl. 

This compares with last year, when 155 Palestinians were killed by Israeli Security Forces in the Occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, representing the highest number in the past 17 years.

Data from the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights indicates that 24 Israelis were killed inside Israel and the occupied West Bank last year – “the highest number of Israelis were killed last year since 2016”. 

“For this violence to end, the occupation must end,” said Mr. Türk. “On all sides, the people with the political power know this and must instigate immediate steps to realize this.”

“It is troubling to see Tunisia, a country that once held so much hope, regressing and losing the human rights gains of the last decade,” Mr. Türk said, urging the country to “change course”.

The UN human rights office (OHCHR) said that over the past three months, the Tunisian authorities have used security and counter-terrorism legislation as well as a presidential decree on cybercrimes, to arrest and convict six journalists for spreading “false news, information or rumours”.

Civil and military prosecutions

 Since July 2021, OHCHR has documented 21 cases of alleged human rights violations against journalists, including prosecutions before civilian and military courts, likely initiated to counter criticism of the authorities. 

 Under international human rights law all public figures including heads of State may legitimately be subject to criticism.

 “People have the right to be informed and to do so, journalists must be able to do their job without any undue restriction,” Mr. Türk insisted.

On 15 June, parliamentary authorities decided to ban journalists from covering parliamentary committee meetings. Just two days later, a judge banned media outlets from covering two cases of alleged “conspiracy against State security affairs” in which dozens of people have been prosecuted and detained since mid-February.

Independent media silenced

“These decisions undermine the principle of transparency in public affairs. People have the right to be informed and to do so, journalists must be able to do their job without any undue restriction,” said the High Commissioner.

“Silencing the voices of journalists, in a concerted effort, undermines the crucial role of independent media, with a corrosive effect on society as a whole,” he said.

The High Commissioner called on the Tunisian Government to respect due process and fair trial standards in all judicial proceedings.

Authorities also called on the authorities to stop trying civilians before military courts and release all those arbitrarily detained, including anyone held for exercising their right to seek, receive and impart information.