The United Nations Office at Geneva
Multimedia Newsroom
Spokesperson for the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights: Ravina Shamdasani on protests and unrest around the world
Date: 25 October 2019
Location: Geneva
Subject: Press briefing Ravina Shamdasani, Spokesperson for the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR)
At the United Nations briefing in Geneva Ravina Shamdasani spokesperson for the Office of the UN high Commissioner for Human Rights, comments on the Protests and unrest around the world.
SOUNDBITE (English)— Ravina Shamdasani, Spokesperson for the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) “As you are all aware current or very recent protests, some of which we will talk about today, include ones taking place in Bolivia, Chile, Hong Kong, Ecuador, Egypt, Guinea, Haiti, Iraq and Lebanon. And of course, we have also seen major protests taking place earlier in the year in Algeria, Honduras, Nicaragua, Malawi, Russia, Sudan Zimbabwe, as well as in a number of EU countries, including France, Spain and the UK. And this list is far from exhaustive, there are several other that we have not mentioned here.”
Of course, the reasons behind these protests are complex and varied, and it is important not to come to sweeping conclusions. There are common threads among many of the protests: populations that are fed up and angry, especially with socio-economic conditions, corruption, inequalities and the general widening gap between rich and poor.
These sentiments are exacerbated by growing mistrust of institutions of government, politicians and ruling elites. Some protests have been triggered by one or two specific developments, and have then metamorphosed into expressions of deep public dissatisfaction on a whole range of issues spanning the political, social and economic spectrum.
Some have been fanned by poor government responses or by excessive use of force against the initial protestors, which have brought tens of thousands more people into the streets in solidarity with those who have been killed, injured or arrested by security forces who in many cases have failed to abide by international standards governing use of force, and tried to obstruct fundamental human rights such as freedom of peaceful assembly and association, and of expression.”
ENDS
For more information and media requests, please contact: Rupert Colville - + 41 22 917 9767/rcolville@ohchr.org or Ravina Shamdasani - + 41 22 917 9169/rshamdasani@ohchr.org or Marta Hurtado - + 41 22 917 9466/mhurtado@ohchr.org
Tag and share—Twitter: @UNHumanRights and Facebook: unitednationshumanrights
SHOTLIST
- Wide shot: briefing room Palais des Nations Geneva
SOUNDBITE (English)— Ravina Shamdasani, Spokesperson for the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR): “As you are all aware current or very recent protests, some of which we will talk about today, include ones taking place in Bolivia, Chile, Hong Kong, Ecuador, Egypt, Guinea, Haiti, Iraq and Lebanon. And of course, we have also seen major protests taking place earlier in the year in Algeria, Honduras, Nicaragua, Malawi, Russia, Sudan Zimbabwe, as well as in a number of EU countries, including France, Spain and the UK. And this list is far from exhaustive, there are several other that we have not mentioned here.”
- Cut away: Medium shot Audience attending the press briefing
- SOUNDBITE (English)— Ravina Shamdasani, Spokesperson for the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR): “Of course the reasons behind these protests are complex and varied, and it is important not to come to sweeping conclusions. There are common threads among many of the protests: populations that are fed up and angry, especially with socio-economic conditions, corruption, inequalities and the general widening gap between rich and poor.”
- Cut away: Journalists typing
- SOUNDBITE (English)— Ravina Shamdasani, Spokesperson for the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR): “These sentiments are exacerbated by growing mistrust of institutions of government, politicians and ruling elites. Some protests have been triggered by one or two specific developments, and have then metamorphosed into expressions of deep public dissatisfaction on a whole range of issues spanning the political, social and economic spectrum.”
- Cut away: journalist typing
- SOUNDBITE (English)— Ravina Shamdasani, Spokesperson for the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR): “Some have been fanned by poor government responses or by excessive use of force against the initial protestors, which have brought tens of thousands more people into the streets in solidarity with those who have been killed, injured or arrested by security forces who in many cases have failed to abide by international standards governing use of force, and tried to obstruct fundamental human rights such as freedom of peaceful assembly and association, and of expression.”
- Cut away: Various cut aways
Similar Stories
1
1
1
Edited News | OCHA , UNICEF , UNWOMEN
In the almost three years since the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine, the country’s people have endured “psychological terror…displacement and hardship”, top UN aid coordinator Matthias Schmale said on Friday.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
At the bi-weekly press briefing the UN Human Rights spokesperson Ravina Shamdasani made the following comments: “The situation in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo is deteriorating sharply, resulting in serious human rights violations and abuses, such as summary executions, including of children, and conflict-related sexual and gender-based violence. There have also been attacks on hospitals and humanitarian warehouses, as well as threats against the judiciary.”
1
1
1
Edited News | UNHCR , OHCHR
DR Congo: Children executed in Bukavu, UN Human Rights office says
The UN Human Rights office, OHCHR, confirmed cases of summary execution of children by the Rwanda-backed M23 militia after they captured the provincial capital of Bukavu at the week-end.
1
1
1
Edited News | WHO , UNHCR
DR Congo displacement, health crisis worsens amid dwindling aid access – UN humanitarians
In the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), a dire displacement crisis is escalating as M23 rebels make headway while aid routes are cut off, UN humanitarians warned on Friday.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
At a press conference in Geneva, Volker Türk, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, presented a report on the human rights violations and abuses related to the protests that took place in Bangladesh between 1 July and 15 August last year. The report is based on a comprehensive investigation undertaken by an interdisciplinary team of investigators from the UN Human Rights Office, including a forensic specialist and weapons expert.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR
The UN Human Rights Office today released a comprehensive, in-depth report on the human rights violations and abuses related to the protests that took place in Bangladesh last year, drawing on over 250 interviews with victims, witnesses, medics and senior officials, as well as individual pieces of digital information. The team also received thousands of submissions from individuals in Bangladesh.
1
1
1
Edited News | OCHA , UNOG
Gaza: a return to war must be avoided at all costs, insists UN chief
A return to war in Gaza must be avoided at all costs, UN Secretary-General António Guterres insisted on Tuesday, amid fears that the three-week old ceasefire agreement between Hamas fighters and Israel is about to end.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
UN Human Rights Chief Volker Türk on Friday warned of the risk of the violence in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo escalating throughout the Great Lakes sub-region, following the recent takeover of Goma city by the Rwandan-backed M23 armed group.
1
1
1
Edited News | HRC
UN human rights chief Volker Türk expressed profound concerns at the ongoing violent escalation in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) caused by the ongoing Rwanda-backed M23 offensive. “If nothing is done, the worst may be yet to come, for the people of the eastern DRC, but also beyond the country’s borders,” he told a Special Session of the Human Rights Council in Geneva.
1
1
1
Edited News | UNAIDS
US aid funding cuts create confusion, put HIV prevention at risk, says UNAIDS
The US pause in foreign assistance funding has created “a lot of confusion” in community HIV prevention work, despite the waiver issued for HIV/AIDS programmes, the UN agency to combat AIDS (UNAIDS) said on Friday.
1
1
1
Edited News | UNFPA , OCHA , UNOG
UN agencies offered a dire assessment on Tuesday about the global impact of deep cuts to grassroots humanitarian funding by the incoming US administration and reiterated calls for Washington to retain its position as a global aid leader.
1
1
1
Edited News | UNRWA
While West Bank camp is destroyed, UNRWA delivers bulk of aid in Gaza
Large swathes of Jenin refugee camp in the occupied West Bank have been completely destroyed following a series of controlled detonations by the Israeli security forces (ISF), the UN agency for Palestine refugees (UNRWA) said on Tuesday.