Iraq’s former President Barham Salih. File
| Photo Credit: AP

Bangladesh’s former government was behind systematic attacks and killings of protesters as it tried to hold onto power last year, the UN said on Wednesday, warning that the abuses could amount to “crimes against humanity”.

Before Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina was toppled in a student-led revolution last August, her government cracked down on protesters and others, including by “hundreds of extrajudicial killings”, the United Nations said.

The UN rights office (OHCHR) said it had “reasonable grounds to believe that the crimes against humanity of murder, torture, imprisonment and infliction of other inhumane acts have taken place”.

These alleged crimes committed by the government, along with violent elements of Hasina’s Awami League party and the Bangladeshi security and intelligence services, were part of “a widespread and systematic attack against protesters and other civilians”, OHCHR’s report into the violence said.

Hasina, 77, who fled into exile in neighbouring India, has already defied an arrest warrant to face trial in Bangladesh for crimes against humanity.

Asked about Hasina’s personal culpability, UN rights chief Volker Turk told reporters that his office “found reasonable grounds to believe that indeed the top echelons of the previous government were aware, and in fact were involved in… very serious violations”.

Up to 1,400 killed 

Bangladesh’s interim leader Mohammed Yunus, who had asked the UN rights office to launch its fact-finding mission, welcomed the report, insisting that he wanted to transform Bangladesh “into a country in which all its people can live in security and dignity”.

The UN investigation examined events in Bangladesh between July 1 and August 15 last year, relying on hundreds of interviews with victims, witnesses and others, and on photos, videos and other documents.

The team determined that security forces had supported Hasina’s government throughout the unrest, which began as protests against civil service job quotas and then escalated into wider calls for her to stand down.

OHCHR estimated that “as many as 1,400 people may have been killed” over the 45-day period, the vast majority of them “shot by Bangladesh’s security forces”.

Children made up 12 to 13 percent of those killed, it said.

The overall death toll given is far higher than the most recent estimate by Bangladesh’s interim government of 834 people killed.

‘Rampant state violence’ 

“The brutal response was a calculated and well-coordinated strategy by the former government to hold onto power in the face of mass opposition,” Turk said.

He pointed to findings of “hundreds of extrajudicial killings, extensive arbitrary arrest and detention and torture and ill treatment”, decrying “a disturbing picture of rampant state violence and targeted killings”.

The rights office also found indications of widespread gender-based violence and the abuse and killing of children.

On the other side, the report highlighted “lynchings and other serious retaliatory violence” against police and Awami league officials or supporters. 

Bangladeshi rights group Odhikar said that a dozen people had died in detention since Hasina’s ousting.

Asked about these cases, Turk said his office had only examined the situation up to mid-August. 

He hailed the interim government’s cooperation and expressed commitment to reforms, but warned of “major challenges and deficiencies in the current legal system”.

Rory Mungoven, head of OHCHR’s Asia-Pacific section, said the office was prepared to cooperate with Bangladesh’s judiciary to help ensure justice, but only if the process meets international fair trial standards.

The fact that Bangladesh allows capital punishment also posed a problem, he said.  

Turk said that the country needed “a comprehensive process of truth-telling, healing and accountability, and to redress the legacy of serious human rights violations and ensure they can never happen again”.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

United Nations:

The United States on Wednesday vetoed a UN Security Council push to call for a ceasefire in Gaza that Washington said would have emboldened Hamas.

The resolution demanded “an immediate, unconditional and permanent ceasefire” in the war between Israel and the Palestinian group, along with “the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages.”

But the wording angered Israel, with a senior US official warning ahead of the vote that the resolution had “the potential only to buoy Hamas, which will have no reason to come to the negotiating table.”

Israel’s UN ambassador Danny Danon said “The resolution being considered by the Security Council today is nothing short of a betrayal.”

“For us, it has to be a linkage between a ceasefire and the release of hostages,” said Robert Wood, the deputy US ambassador to the United Nations. “It has been our principal position from the beginning and it still remains.”

The war was triggered by the assault on Israel by Hamas militants on October 7, 2023, a stunning cross-border raid that resulted in the deaths of 1,206 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally of Israeli official figures.

The health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza said the death toll from the resulting war had reached 43,985 people, the majority civilians. The United Nations considers the figures reliable.

Of 251 hostages seized during the October 7 attack, 97 remain in Gaza, including 34 the Israeli military says are dead.

Almost all of Gaza’s 2.4 million people have been displaced by the war, which has caused a humanitarian catastrophe.

– Gaza ‘will haunt’ – 

Since the beginning of the conflict, the Security Council has struggled to speak with one voice, as the United States used its veto power several times, although Russia and China have as well.

“China kept demanding ‘stronger language’,” said the US official who also claimed that Russia had been “pulling strings” with the countries responsible for pushing the latest resolution. 

The few resolutions that the United States did allow to pass by abstaining stopped short of calling for an unconditional and permanent ceasefire.

In March, the council called for a temporary ceasefire during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, but this appeal was ignored by the warring parties.

And in June, the 15-member body pledged support for a US resolution that laid out a multi-stage ceasefire and hostage release plan that ultimately went nowhere.

“We regret that the Council could have incorporated compromise language the UK put forward to bridge the existing gaps… With that language, This resolution should have been adopted,” Wood, the US envoy, said following the vote.

Some diplomats have expressed optimism that following Donald Trump’s election win on November 5, President Joe Biden might be more flexible in his few remaining weeks in power.

They hoped for a repeat of December 2016 when then-president Barack Obama’s second term was finishing and the council passed a resolution calling for a halt to Israeli settlement building in the occupied territories, a first since 1979.

The United States refrained from using its veto then, a break from traditional US support for Israel on the sensitive issue of settlements.

The resolution vetoed on Wednesday calls for “safe and unhindered entry of humanitarian assistance at scale,” including in besieged northern Gaza, and denounces any attempt to starve the Palestinians.

The Palestinian delegation at the United Nations has suggested the text did not go far enough.

“Gaza’s fate will haunt the world for generations to come,” Ambassador Riyad Mansour warned.

He said the only course of action for the Security Council is to call for an immediate and unconditional ceasefire under Chapter 7 of the UN charter.

That chapter allows the council to take steps to enforce its resolutions, such as sanctions, but the latest text made no reference to this option.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

New York:

India’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations (UN), Parvathaneni Harish, on Monday stressed the need for UN Security Council reform, noting that despite decades of discussions, there have been no significant changes since 1965.

#IndiaAtUN

PR @AmbHarishP delivered ’s statement at the Plenary Meeting of the General Assembly on ‘Question of equitable representation on and increase in the membership of the Security Council and other matters related to the Security Council’ today. pic.twitter.com/1SDKiTSVtr

— India at UN, NY (@IndiaUNNewYork) November 11, 2024

Addressing the Plenary Meeting of the General Assembly in New York, Mr Harish said, “As we begin this year’s deliberations, we note that the reform of the UN Security Council was once again identified as a critical and immediate priority at the summit of the future discussions by our leaders. However, in spite of several decades of collective reiteration of this sentiment, it is disheartening that we have had no results to show in this regard since 1965 when the Council was last expanded in the non-permanent category alone.”

Mr Harish pointed to three key factors hindering progress: the ineffective intergovernmental negotiation process, the insistence on consensus by some countries, and the lack of representation for the Global South.

“First, the nature of the process of the intergovernmental negotiations itself. Sixteen years since its inception, the IGN remains largely confined to exchanging statements, speaking at rather than with each other. No negotiating text, no time frame and no defined end goal. Second, there is the argument pushed by a select few countries who favour the status quo of consensus. They argue that even before we begin text-based negotiations, we must all agree on everything. Surely we cannot have a more extreme case of putting the cart before the horse. Third, as a member of the Global South, we believe that representation stands as the unassailable prerequisite for both the legitimacy and effectiveness of not just the Council, but the United Nations as a whole. Younger multilateral frameworks have been much more adaptive and nimbler on their feet,” Mr Harish said.

He highlighted India’s commitment to cooperative and inclusive international relations, stressing that reform is essential for the UN’s legitimacy and credibility. He pointed to the example of the G20, where India’s presidency last year welcomed the African Union as a member, demonstrating that with political will, change is possible.

“An example is the G20, which under India’s presidency last year, welcomed the African Union as its member. This is proof that with political will, change is indeed possible. The UN turns 80 next year. Tasked with the responsibility for the maintenance of international peace and security, the Security Council has too often find itself paralyzed by the geopolitical realities of today, which have evolved far beyond the realm of that of 1945,” he added.

As the UN approaches its 80th anniversary, Mr Harish urged member states to work constructively towards concrete outcomes on Security Council reforms, respecting the sentiments of the majority. He emphasized that convergences are not consensus and should not be used to delay meaningful change.

“The world of today is vastly different from the world of 1945. We cannot go on with the relics of the past for the demands of the future. India has consistently championed a cooperative, inclusive, and consultative approach to international relations. We firmly believe that the calls for reform multilateralism, with Security Council reforms at its core, is supported by the overwhelming majority of the membership,” he said.

“While we seek real, tangible progress in the intergovernmental negotiations (IGN), including with regard to development of a new model of reform of the Security Council, as a precursor to text-based negotiations, we urge caution on two counts. First, the search for a minimum threshold of input from member states should not lead to indeterminate period of waiting for them to present their model. Second, the development of a consolidated model based on convergences should not lead to a race to the bottom to trace the lowest common denominator. Convergences are not consensus. There is every danger that the search for such a lowest common denominator might be used as a smokescreen to attempt a mere tinkering of the existing framework of the UN Security Council and terming it as a major reform. This would indefinitely postpone significant elements such as the expansion in the permanent category and addressing the underrepresentation of Asia, Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean to a very distant future,” he added.

In conclusion, Mr Harish stated, “India is hopeful that the member states will work constructively to ensure a concrete outcome on UN Security Council reforms. An outcome that respects the sentiments of the major through the time-tested manner of negotiations. The legitimacy and credibility of the UN must be preserved by updating it. That indeed should be our resolution for the UN’s 80th anniversary.”

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Donald Trump has chosen Republican Representative Elise Stefanik to serve as U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, the president-elect said in a statement shared with Reuters on Monday.

“I am honoured to nominate Chairwoman Elise Stefanik to serve in my Cabinet as U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations. Elise is an incredibly strong, tough, and smart America First fighter,” Trump said.

Stefanik, a New York representative and House Republican Conference chair has been a fierce Trump ally.

She could not be immediately reached for comment.

Trump said on Saturday that former Republican presidential contender Nikki Haley and former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo will not be asked to join his administration.

Haley served as the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations under Trump during his previous term and had endorsed Trump for president despite having criticized him harshly when she ran against him in the party primaries.

Trump is meeting with potential candidates to serve in his administration before his Jan. 20 inauguration as president.

Reuters reported Friday that Trump met with prominent investor Scott Bessent, who is a potential U.S. Treasury Secretary nominee.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

A former Hamas hostage has lambasted the United Nations and other advocacy groups for their inaction towards the plight of hostages still held in Gaza. During an address outside the United Nations Security Council in New York on November 6, Mia Shem expressed frustration over what she described as the UN’s absence in seeking aid for those in captivity.

“Not a single humanitarian agency saw me or treated me. Where was the Red Cross? Where was the UN demanding that they have access to us?” said Mia Shem, who was released in November 2023.

The 22-year-old Israeli-French dual national detailed her harrowing experience marked by isolation, lack of medical treatment and intimidation by armed captors. She said, “For 50 days, I was kept alone, suffering from an unbearable pain in my hand, without any treatment. A Hamas terrorist sat in front of me in a dark room with a gun pointed at my head. Not a single humanitarian agency saw me or treated me even as my arm got worse.”

Shem also revealed how after her abduction she was held in a Palestinian home, where she endured harassment from an adult and taunts from a child. Speaking to Channel 12, she said, “There are no innocents in Gaza, not even one.”

Israel’s UN Ambassador, Danny Danon, also spoke at the press conference, sharply criticising the UN’s “complete moral failure.” He said the UN’s silence on the issue was “unforgivable.”

According to a report in the New York Post, while the UN Security Council has issued statements urging Hamas to release Israeli hostages, no specific actions or sanctions have been proposed to enforce these demands.

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has maintained that, as a neutral humanitarian body, it cannot adopt a strong public stance, although it has expressed a desire to visit Israeli captives.

In over a year-long Israeli onslaught in Gaza, over 43,000 Palestinians — a vast majority of them kids and women — have been killed. Almost the entire population of Gaza has been internally displaced, with people forced to move from one place to another as Israeli rockets target neighbourhoods, hospitals and even camps offering temporary refuge.

The Benjamin Netanyahu government’s war in Gaza came as a retaliation to Hamas’ October 7 attack on a music festival and parts of southern Israel. At least 1200 people were killed in the attack, and Hamas took another 254 people hostage.

Kazan, Russia:

Prime Minister Narendra Modi emphasised the need for unified action against terrorism at the 16th BRICS Summit. He stressed that combating terrorism requires “single-minded” focus and “firm-support” of all nations. He asserted that “double-standards” have no place in addressing this global challenge.

He also highlighted how important it is to stop radicalisation of young people and urged action to counter terrorism and terror financing. These remarks come after China had blocked several proposals at the United Nations to designate Pakistan-based terrorists.

“We must work together on the long-pending matter in the UN of the Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism,” PM Modi said. He also added that work needs to be done on global regulations for cyber security and for safe AI.

Furthermore, he spoke about the expansion of the BRICS forum. “India is ready to welcome new countries into BRICS as partner countries,” he said.

He also emphasised that decisions should be taken by consensus and the views of BRICS founding members should be respected.

He advocated the compliance of guiding principles, standards, criteria and procedures adopted during last year’s Johannesburg summit, by all members and countries and said that BRICS is an organisation willing to evolve with time.

He concluded by saying that BRICS should be an exemplary organisation for the world, and that they should raise their voice for reforms in global organisations in a collective and united manner but also ensuring that they avoid any perceptions that they are “trying to replace global institutions, instead of being perceived as one that wishes to reform them”.
 

Climate protesters have become a daily sight on London’s streets, undeterred by the honking horns of irate motorists, personal insults and even arrests. This time, Ocean Rebellion campaigners pretended to drown themselves in oil and gas in a protest outside a United Nations agency in London. The climate change activists staged the frightening demonstration on the steps of the International Maritime Organisation, the UN agency responsible for regulating maritime transport. “A drowning ocean goddess symbolizes the dire threat LNG poses to our oceans,” the group wrote on X while sharing pictures of the stunt show. 

The images show, one activist, dressed as an “ocean goddess”, donning a fishbowl on her head filled with black liquid as though she was drowning. She could be seen screaming as the liquid engulfed her face before it quickly drained from the bowl. Other protesters around her were seen wearing gas masks and brandishing petrol pumps with flames spouting out of them. 

“Liquid Natural Gas (LNG) is not a “green” solution. Methane leaks from LNG ships are 80x more damaging than CO2. The IMO must wake up to this reality before it’s too late,” Ocean Rebellion wrote on X. 

2/5 Liquid Natural Gas (LNG) is not a “green” solution. Methane leaks from LNG ships are 80x more damaging than CO2. The IMO must wake up to this reality before it’s too late. #SayNoToLNG #ClimateCrisis @OceanRebellion pic.twitter.com/8tFqfqTvV4

— Ocean Rebellion (@oceanrebellion) October 4, 2024

According to the New York Post, the protest took place on Friday, the final day of meetings for the UN agency’s Maritime Environment Protection Committee, which had convened to discuss reducing greenhouse gas emissions from ships. The protesters accused the agency of manipulating the fossil fuel industry and failing to protect the ocean. 

“The IMO is failing to protect our oceans. LNG is a dirty fuel disguised as clean. We demand transparency and accountability. Stop listening to fossil fuel lobbyists, start protecting our planet!” the group wrote on the microblogging site. 

Also Read | Antarctica Turning Green At An Alarming Rate, Says Study

Meanwhile, climate change activists have been in the news with their high-profile direct-action protests, such as disrupting Premier League Football matches, and sporting events, to publicise their cause. They have thrown tomato soup on famous paintings and glued themselves to picture frames in galleries. They want the government to end all new oil and gas exploration and have promised not to let up in its protests until it does so.

A few weeks ago, three activists from Just Stop Oil threw soup at two of Vincent van Gogh’s “Sunflowers” paintings at London’s National Gallery. This incident occurred just hours after two other members of the protest group were sentenced to prison for a similar act in 2022.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, speaking at the United Nations Summit of the Future on Monday, said alongside terrorism, new areas of conflict are emerging and it is high time that “global action must match global ambition”.

Pointing out that terrorism continues to be a serious threat to global peace and security, PM Modi said on the other hand, “cyber, maritime and space are emerging as new areas of conflict”.

“On all these issues, I will stress that global action must match global ambition,” he added.

Talking of growing global concern over dangers from new and evolving technologies, especially artificial intelligence, PM Modi said, “There is a need for balanced regulation at a global level, for the safe and responsible use of technology.”

According to the Wilmington Declaration – made two days ago at the Quad meet — leaders of the US, Australia, Japan and India announced their intention to enhance cybersecurity partnership.

“In the face of a deteriorating security environment in the cyber domain, Quad countries intend to enhance our cybersecurity partnership to address common threats posed by state-sponsored actors, cybercriminals, and other non-state malicious actors. Our countries commit to taking concrete steps to increase our collective network defense and advance technical capabilities through greater threat information sharing and capacity building,” read the joint declaration.

The leaders, in their declaration, had unequivocally condemned terrorism and violent extremism in all its forms and manifestations, including cross-border terrorism.

“We are committed to international cooperation and will work with our regional partners in a comprehensive and sustained manner to strengthen their capability to prevent, detect and respond to threats posed by terrorism and violent extremism, including threats posed by the use of new and emerging technologies for terrorist purposes, consistent with international law,” the statement had added.

“When we are discussing the global future, we must accord the highest priority to a human-centric approach while prioritising sustainable development,” PM Modi also said. 

“We must also ensure human welfare, food and health security,” he added, declaring India was ready to share her experience in poverty eradication and bridging the digital divide.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi today reiterated his message for world peace and called for reforms in top global organisations from the high platform of the UN General Assembly. “Reform is the key to relevance,” he said. 

Speaking at the “Summit Of The Future” at the United Nations headquarters in New York, PM Modi said, “The success of humanity lies in our collective strength, not in the battlefield and for world peace and development, reform is essential for global organisations”.

PM Modi’s message for peace comes after the UN General Assembly, which convened yesterday, adopted a “Pact for the Future” — designed to address 21st Century challenges including climate change, conflict, and human rights. 

It was adopted despite resistance by a band of seven nations — led by Russia which is currently engaged in armed conflict with Ukraine. 

Russia criticised the pact contending that the countries not satisfied with the agreement had not been given the opportunity for further negotiations.

“Regrettably, there is nothing good that today the United Nations adopted a Pact for the Future. The United Nations had infringed upon its own principles to pander to a group of delegations from the ‘beautiful garden,’ who have usurped the talks from the very beginning. And the majority from the ‘jungle,’ like a herd, could not find courage enough to protest and defend their rights. This is they who will bear responsibility for the consequences,” Russia’s First Deputy Permanent Representative to the United Nations Dmitry Polyansky said on his X account as cited by TASS.