Conflicts cause unbearable human suffering... (Source: Reuters)

United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk gave the above figures in a speech at the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva (Switzerland) today, June 18.

Stressing that the warring parties are increasingly “going beyond the limits of what is acceptable” and the rule of law, Volker Turk condemned actions that show “complete disregard for others and the utter disregard for human rights”. The fact that “the killing and wounding of civilians” and “the destruction of vital infrastructure” have become a daily occurrence.

The UN human rights chief said his office had collected data showing that last year “the number of civilians killed in armed conflict increased by 72%”.

“It is horrifying, the data shows that the rate of women being murdered in 2023 doubled and the rate of children being murdered tripled compared to the previous year,” he shared.

In the Gaza Strip, Mr. Volker Turk was “appalled by the disregard for human rights and international humanitarian law by the parties to the conflict” as well as “the senseless suffering and death.”

Since the conflict erupted after an unprecedented Hamas offensive on Israel on October 7, 2023, he said, “more than 120,000 people in the Gaza Strip, the majority of them women and children, have been killed or injured.”

After Israel launched an operation in the city of Rafah in early May, nearly 1 million Palestinians were forced to evacuate once again, while providing humanitarian aid became increasingly difficult.

In addition, Mr. Volker Turk also pointed out many other conflicts such as in Ukraine, Syria and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights said that by the end of May 2024, humanitarian funding was short by $40.8 billion. The international community only met an average of 16.1% of the required funding.

Comparing this figure with global military spending in 2023 at nearly $2.5 trillion, up 6.8% from 2022, Mr. Volker Turk said, “this is the strongest annual increase since 2009”.

“In addition to causing unbearable human suffering, war also has a high price,” stressed the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights.