International

UN says Peru resorted to excessive use of force in protests that left more than 60 people dead

Photo: AP

May 19 |

The United Nations rapporteur on the right to freedom of peaceful assembly, Clément Voule, said Wednesday that the Peruvian government used excessive force that led to the deaths of more than 60 Peruvians during three months of demonstrations calling for the resignation of President Dina Boluarte.

In early May, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights reported in a report that the Peruvian army and police allegedly committed massacres, extrajudicial executions, serious human rights violations, as well as disproportionate and lethal use of force during the protests.

“The excessive and disproportionate use of force led to the death and injury of protesters and bystanders during the protests that began in December,” Voule told reporters at the end of a 10-day working visit that included meetings with the president, protesters and victims’ families.

Voule, a Togo-born lawyer and diplomat, added that Peru must “guarantee access to justice, remedies, reparations and compensation to the victims, including assuming the cost of medical treatment for the injured.”

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He indicated that after visiting prisons, talking to government ministers, police, military, prosecutors and judges he has received no evidence that the protesters “are terrorists.”

“They are protesters,” he added. The Peruvian justice system confirmed in May 18 months of preventive imprisonment for four protesters while they are investigated for the alleged crime of affiliation or membership in a terrorist organization.

“This stigma of being a terrorist should not be used,” he commented. Four other protesters in the city of Cusco were sentenced in January to nine months in pre-trial detention for the crimes of rioting and hindering the functioning of public services.

The rapporteur said he received “no evidence” that the protesters had used firearms.

The demonstrations against Boluarte began on December 7 when he assumed power after Congress dismissed his predecessor Pedro Castillo, now imprisoned for three years while under investigation for corruption and rebellion. The protests that culminated in February left 49 civilians killed by security forces, according to the Ombudsman’s Office. Another 11 civilians died in traffic accidents or road blockades by protesters. Seven uniformed officers were also killed.

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Voule said that in trying to find the causes of the protests in the southern Peruvian Andes he met people who “feel overwhelmed by the corruption in the country and are asking for a real fight against corruption”, precisely in areas where Peru’s wealth is produced, including copper mining, a metal that goes to China and of which the country is the second largest exporter in the world.

The UN official indicated that his full report will be presented in 2024.

International

Iran Reports 201 Dead, 747 Injured After U.S. and Israeli Strikes

The Iranian Red Crescent Society reported Sunday night (local time) that at least 201 people were killed and 747 injured following attacks carried out by Israel and the United States against the Islamic Republic.

A spokesperson for the humanitarian organization said more than 220 rescue teams have been deployed across affected areas and that relief operations are continuing without interruption. The official highlighted the difficulty of treating the large number of wounded and the urgent need for additional resources in impacted provinces.

Out of Iran’s 31 provinces, 24 have reported damage, according to a statement carried by the Isna news agency. This marks the first overall casualty toll released by Iranian state-affiliated media since the launch of the offensive.

Among the dead are 85 schoolgirls from a school in the southern city of Minab, according to the country’s judiciary. “The number of martyrs at the Minab girls’ school has risen to 85,” the local prosecutor’s office said, as quoted by the judiciary’s website, Mizan Online.

Iranian President Masud Pezeshkian described the attack as a “savagery” that “constitutes a new black page in the record of countless crimes committed by the aggressors.”

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Meanwhile, the international community continues to monitor the situation closely amid concerns about possible further reprisals and the broader impact on Middle East stability, energy markets, and global security.

AFP noted that it was unable to independently verify the casualty figures or the circumstances surrounding the events.

International

Pope Leo XIV Urges End to ‘Spiral of Violence’ in Middle East

Pope Leo XIV on Sunday called for an end to the “spiral of violence” in the Middle East, following military strikes by the United States and Israel against Iran and subsequent retaliatory bombardments in the region.

“Faced with the possibility of a tragedy of enormous proportions, I urge the parties involved to assume their moral responsibility and stop the spiral of violence before it becomes an irreparable abyss,” the pontiff told the crowd gathered in St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican.

Speaking during the Angelus prayer, the U.S.-born pope said stability and peace cannot be achieved through threats or weapons. “Stability and peace are not built with reciprocal threats or with arms that sow destruction, suffering and death, but only through reasonable, sincere and responsible dialogue,” he declared.

The leader of the world’s 1.4 billion Catholics also called for diplomacy to “regain its role” amid escalating tensions.

In addition, the pope urged Afghanistan and Pakistan to urgently resume dialogue after several days of clashes between the two countries.

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International

Security Council to Hold Emergency Meeting on Middle East Crisis

UN Secretary-General António Guterres on Saturday condemned the “military escalation in the Middle East” following attacks by the United States and Israel against Iran and Tehran’s retaliatory strikes, just hours before an urgent meeting of the UN Security Council.

“I call for the immediate cessation of hostilities and de-escalation,” Guterres said in a statement.

The Security Council is scheduled to meet on Saturday at 21:00 GMT (4:00 p.m. in New York) to address “the situation in the Middle East,” the United Nations announced.

The meeting, during which Guterres will deliver remarks, was convened at the request of France, Bahrain, Colombia, Russia and China, according to a diplomatic source.