“We are not meeting the minimum requirement to prevent women from being silenced, and support their participation and leadership in…building peace,” Mr. Türk said.
25 years ago, the UN Security Council passed a resolution which affirmed the vital role that women play in preventing and resolving conflict and emphasized the importance of ending impunity for sexual violence in and around conflict.
Since then, other resolutions have reinforced these principles and UN agencies and their partners have worked to implement them. While this work has led to trials which held perpetrators accountable, gender-based violence is becoming more, not less, prevalent.
Justice is not the norm
Mr. Türk’s office has documented thousands of horrific cases in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territory, Haiti, Sudan, Ukraine and many other conflict-affected areas.
“Fighters are being encouraged or instructed to victimize women, often as a deliberate weapon of warfare – to terrorize communities and force them to flee; and to silence the voices of women who speak out against war-mongering, and seek to build peace,” he said.
Funding and aid cuts are also impeding the efforts of humanitarians and human rights agencies, impeding the provision of essential medical and psychosocial support for affected women and girls.
Mr. Türk noted that the failure to provide these essential services has long-term impacts on survivors and “leaves young girls and women alone, outcast and traumatised.”
Floods in Brazil displacing communities two years in a row
The UN migration organization (IOM) raised the alarm on Tuesday over heavy rains pounding Brazil’s southern state of Rio Grande do Sul.
Since mid-June, over 5,000 people have been displaced, four have died, one person remains missing, and 132 municipalities have reported damage.
This latest disaster comes just a year after record flooding forced many communities from their homes, some now displaced for the second time.
IOM response
IOM’s presence and partnerships in the region were expanded and strengthened during the 2024 crisis, allowing for a swift response in 2025.
This year, the organization is focused on supporting recovery efforts by providing technical expertise and helping authorities assess needs and develop long-term solutions.
The goal is to ensure aid reaches those most in need and that systems are in place to help communities rebuild safely and sustainably.
While committed to supporting the people of Rio Grande do Sul, IOM has called for critical support: “As extreme weather events become more frequent and intense, humanitarian action must go hand in hand with investments in preparedness and resilience,” said Paolo Caputo, IOM Chief of Mission in Brazil.
Nicaraguan dissident killed in Costa Rica is part of a pattern, experts say
The Group of Human Rights Experts on Nicaragua, independent experts appointed by the UN Human Rights Council, condemned the murder of Nicaraguan exile Roberto Samcam on Tuesday, saying that reports indicate the crime may be part of a larger pattern to silence dissidents abroad.
Mr. Samcam was killed in Costa Rica on 19 June by someone posing to be a delivery man who shot him five times before fleeing.
The victim was a retired army major who, in 2018, publicly denounced the current Nicaraguan government led by President Daniel Ortega and his wife Rosario Murillo.
“We condemn the murder of Roberto Samcam in the strongest terms, and welcome the swift action of Costa Rica, which we trust will expose the motivations behind this terrible act and bring justice to his family,” said Jan-Michael Simon, chair of the group.
A pattern of silencing dissidents
Since 2018 when security forces in Nicaragua violently suppressed anti-government protests, independent experts have documented many alleged human rights violations and abuses.
Most recently, in February, the UN group released a report warning that the repressive actions of the Nicaraguan State have extended beyond their territorial borders, affecting dissidents – real or perceived – living abroad.
“Nowhere in the world seems to be safe for Nicaraguans opposed to the Government of Daniel Ortega and Rosario Murillo,” said expert Reed Broady.
The experts noted that there is information to indicate there may be links to the murder of another Nicaraguan dissident Rodolfo Rojas Cordero in 2022 in Honduras and the twice attempted murder of Jaoa Maldonado in 2021 and 2024.
“States must be held accountable for committing transborder human rights violations,” Mr. Simon said.
Independent rights experts are not UN staff, receive no salary for their work and and independent of any government or organization.
