World News in Brief: Gaza aid restrictions, Syria humanitarian needs, lawyer reprisals in Burundi

This article is published in association with United Nations.

The UN and partners continue to provide assistance to people in Gaza, where recent winter storms have worsened conditions for thousands across the enclave. 

However, the humanitarian response has not been able to keep pace with needs due to ongoing restrictions imposed by the Israeli authorities, the UN aid coordination office OCHA said on Tuesday. 

This includes restrictions on the entry of supplies, such as new materials needed to maintain and repair sewage networks. 

Meanwhile, efforts are underway to improve water purification capacity at the Al Bassa desalination plant in Deir Al-Balah by transferring specialized equipment to the facility according to aid partners, while installation of the Al Manshia desalination plant in Gaza City has begun.    

West Bank violence and displacement 

OCHA also updated on the situation in the West Bank, where ongoing operations by Israeli forces and settler violence continue to put Palestinians at risk and deepen humanitarian needs. 

Six Palestinians – four of them children – were killed over the past two weeks, including five by Israeli forces and one by an Israeli settler. Three Israelis were injured by Palestinians during the same period. 

At the same time, OCHA also voiced deep concern over ongoing displacement across the West Bank, with more than 100 Palestinians uprooted due to demolitions.  

 This includes 50 people – among them 21 children – displaced in a single Israeli demolition of a four-story building in the Silwan neighbourhood on Monday for lacking an Israeli-issued building permit, which is nearly impossible for Palestinians to obtain.  

© WFP/Jonathan Dumont

Mothers in Aleppo, Syria, wait to have their children tested for malnutrition.

Millions in Syria require humanitarian assistance 

Humanitarian needs remain severe across Syria, with 16.5 million people – or nearly two thirds of the population – still needing aid, according to OCHA. 

The country continues along a path of political transition following the overthrow of the Assad regime last December. 

Explosive ordnance contamination remains a major threat, OCHA said. Last month, 21 people were killed and more than 60 injured, half of them children. 

Furthermore, some 2.5 million children remain out of school, and 40 per cent of schools are non-operational. 

Since January, the UN and partners have reached more than three million people each month with humanitarian assistance. 

OCHA and partners continue to coordinate with authorities and monitor developments in Aleppo City, where a ceasefire agreement was reached on Monday night following recent hostilities. 

The fighting was related to tensions around incorporating the mostly Kurdish Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) into the armed forces. 

The fighting resulted in the shelling of multiple neighbourhoods, triggering new displacement. Two civilians were killed and several others injured, according to the health authorities

Burundi: Lawyers penalised for cooperating with UN, committee finds   

A committee appointed by the UN Human Rights Council warned that Burundi has acted in violation of the Convention against Torture.  

The UN Committee Against Torture (CAR) announced its decision on Tuesday after reviewing the petition case of four lawyers who were punished for engaging with the Committee in 2016 during its evaluation of the country’s compliance with the Convention.  

They had contributed to a joint civil society report submitted to the Committee, and three of them travelled to Geneva for the review process.  

The lawyers said they had participated in peaceful demonstrations in 2015 opposing then President Pierre Nkurunziza’s decision to seek a third term in office, which they considered unconstitutional.   

The demonstrations were violently suppressed by the authorities, with security forces targeting protesters and political dissidents. The lawyers publicly condemned the violent suppression and, amid repression, fled Burundi and went into exile for fear of their safety.  

In violation of international law  

The Committee said the State party declined to participate in the second half of a scheduled two-day session to object to the Committee’s use of information submitted by civil society. On the same day, the Public Prosecutor of the Court of Appeal in Burundi’s capital, Bujumbura, formally sought the disbarment of the lawyers.  

The experts found that Burundi’s actions were in violation of the Convention against Torture, and in particular, of article 13 which stipulates that complainants  are protected against intimidation.  

“The Committee reiterated that all States have an obligation to refrain from intimidation or retaliation against individuals who seek to cooperate with the Committee,” said Todd Buchwald, a member.   

Ten experts serve on the Committee, which receives its mandate from the Human Rights Council.  

They are not UN staff and do not receive payment for their work.