The UN rights office, OHCHR, said on Friday that it is deeply disturbed by security forces in Chad’s use of live ammunition during recent protests after the death of former President Idriss Déby, on 19 April.
Six people were reportedly killed and several wounded in the capital, N’Djamena, on Tuesday – and in the second largest city, Moundou, Marta Hurtado, spokesperson for OHCHR, told the regular press briefing in Geneva.
🇹🇩 #Chad: We are deeply disturbed by the apparently disproportionate use of force – incl. use of live ammunition – in the context of protests. Chad is bound by int’l human rights law to protect & respect #HumanRights, incl. freedom of peaceful assembly 👉 https://t.co/CFzSp5THfh pic.twitter.com/NPrp6XptLs
— UN Human Rights (@UNHumanRights) April 30, 2021
And while more than 700 people have been arrested, it is not clear how many are still in detention.
Respect human rights
With further protests and general strikes due to take place in the coming days, Ms. Hurtado said that Chad remains “bound by its obligations” under international human rights law to “protect and respect human rights”, including the right to life, and to “facilitate the exercise of the right to freedom of peaceful assembly”.
She told journalists that a blanket ban on demonstrations may “undermine the exercise of the right to peaceful assembly”.
Reminding that the Transitional Military Council itself declared on 20 April that it would abide by Chad’s international treaty obligations, she urged the authorities to do so.