Strong Message From UN Security Council After Pahalgam Terror Attack

UNITED NATIONS, April 26: The UNSC has "condemned in the strongest terms" the terrorist attack in Jammu and Kashmir, stressing that those responsible should be held accountable and the organisers and sponsors of this "reprehensible act of terrorism" should be brought to justice.

The 15-nation Council issued a Press Statement on 'terrorist attack in Jammu and Kashmir' in which the members "condemned in the strongest terms the terrorist attack in Jammu and Kashmir" on April 22, during which at least 26 people were killed and many more injured.

"The members of the Security Council underlined the need to hold perpetrators, organisers, financiers and sponsors of this reprehensible act of terrorism accountable and bring them to justice," the press statement said.

"They stressed that those responsible for these killings should be held accountable, and urged all States, in accordance with their obligations under international law and relevant Security Council resolutions, to cooperate actively with all relevant authorities in this regard," it said.

A press statement is a declaration to the media made by the President of the Security Council on behalf of all 15 Members.

France is President of the Council for the month of April and the press statement was issued by Council President Permanent Representative of France to the UN Ambassador Jerome Bonnafont.

It is learnt that the US had floated the draft statement, which was then discussed by Council members.

Pakistan currently sits in the UN Security Council as a non-permanent member. A press statement requires agreement from all Council members and is a negotiated text.

The members of the Security Council expressed their deepest sympathy and condolences to the families of the victims and to the Government of India and the Government of Nepal, and wished a speedy and full recovery to those who were injured. In the April 22 terror attack in Pahalgam, 25 Indians and one Nepali citizen were killed. The victims were mostly tourists from all across India.

The UNSC members reaffirmed that terrorism in all its forms and manifestations constitutes one of the most serious threats to international peace and security. They reiterated that any acts of terrorism are criminal and unjustifiable, regardless of their motivation, wherever, whenever and by whomever committed.

They reaffirmed the need for all States to combat by all means, in accordance with the Charter of the United Nations and other obligations under international law, including international human rights law, international refugee law and international humanitarian law, threats to international peace and security caused by terrorist acts.

Meanwhile, Stephane Dujarric, Spokesman for Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, responding to a question on the situation between India and Pakistan at the daily press briefing Friday, said that "we continue to follow the situation with very deep concern".

"And we, of course, reiterate our condemnation of the attacks in Jammu and Kashmir, which, as you know, killed about 26 civilians. And we again urge both the Government of India and the Government of Pakistan to exercise maximum restraint to ensure the situation does not deteriorate further."

To a question on whether the Secretary-General, who is currently in Rome to attend the funeral of Pope Francis, plans to speak to leaders of India and Pakistan once he is back in New York, Dujarric said, "I hope to have something to share with you" on that.

Dujarric rejected a comment that the "two nuclear countries" might go to war, and the situation is meriting such little attention.

"Let me just say, I don't agree with your comment... we are paying very close attention to the situation between India and Pakistan," Dujarric said.

Iran Close To Having A Nuclear Bomb, Says UN Body Chief, Heads To Tehran

TEHRAN, April 16: Iran is dangerously close to developing an atomic weapon, warned the International Atomic Energy Agency, hours before the UN watchdog's chief is expected to leave for Tehran. During his visit, the top nuclear body chief will hold talks with Iranian government officials over recent developments in its top secret nuclear programme.

Rafael Grossi, who heads the IAEA, likened the development of a nuclear weapon to that of solving a jigsaw puzzle. "Iran has all the pieces now, and could well put them together eventually," he said.

Speaking about Tehran's nuclear weapons ambition, Grossi told French newspaper Le Monde that "Iran is not too far from having an atomic bomb".

IAEA, which is an autonomous UN body, is currently tasked with overseeing Iran's compliance with the 2015 nuclear deal that fell apart after Donald Trump withdrew from it during his first term as US President. At the time President Trump had called it a "bad deal".

He now wants to completely rid Iran of its military nuclear programme. Just this week, President Trump had asserted that "Iran has to get rid of the concept of a nuclear weapon. These are radicalised people, and they cannot have a nuclear weapon."

His remark came shortly after the first round of talks between Washington and Tehran which were held in Oman last weekend.

More than 200 children, some as young as one, raped in Sudan, UNICEF says

GENEVA, Mar 4: Children in war-ravaged Sudan, some as young as a year old, have been raped since the beginning of 2024, according to the United Nations children’s agency.

In a report published on Tuesday, UNICEF said at least 221 children, including boys, were raped by armed men, according to records compiled by gender-based violence service providers in the North African nation.

Of those cases, 66 percent of the survivors were girls and the rest were boys. There were 16 survivors below the age of five, including four who were as young as one.

UNICEF recorded an additional 77 reported cases of sexual assault against children – primarily attempted rape.

The war in Sudan broke out in April 2023 between the military and its rival paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, with battles in capital Khartoum and around the country.

Since then, at least 20,000 people have been killed, though the number is likely much higher. The war has also driven more than 14 million people from their homes and pushed parts of the country into famine.

According to rights groups, atrocities, including sexual violence and forced child marriages, have been committed by both sides. An estimated 61,800 children have been internally displaced since the war began, according to UNICEF.

The agency reported documented cases involving children who were raped during attacks on cities.

UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell said in the report that sexual violence, including rape, is “being used as a tactic of war” in violation of international law and laws protecting children.

The cases of rape were reported in the states of Gadarif, Kassala, Gezeira, Khartoum, River Nile, Northern State, South Kordofan, North Darfur and West Darfur.

In South Kordofan, a boy was raped at gunpoint and several children, including a six-year-old, were also raped. They were all out picking fruit.

“In a culture of really serious social stigma and at a time when access to services has been severely hampered, the fact that this group came forward tells us that it is only a small sample,” said UNICEF spokesperson Tess Ingram.

“It is only the tip of the iceberg of what are undoubtedly hundreds more children who have been raped.”

Ingram, who was in Sudan in December, said she met with victims who “endured horrors that no person would want to experience in their lifetime, and in the aftermath of those horrors, their suffering doesn’t stop”.

Many of the victims dealt with physical injuries and “serious psychological scars”, Ingram said, adding that some have attempted suicide.

Survivors are often reluctant to report that they were subjected to sexual violence due to social stigma and fear of retribution from armed groups and rejection from family.

UNICEF urged the Sudanese government and all parties to the conflict to respect their obligations to protect civilians, especially children, while those providing services to survivors must be protected.

“Children as young as one being raped by armed men should shock anyone to their core and compel immediate action,” said Russell.