High Commissioner Volker Türk urged Ugandan authorities to fulfill their international obligations and ensure that all citizens can vote freely and safely.
“The Ugandan authorities must ensure that all Ugandans can participate fully and safely in the elections, as is their right under international law,” he said. said. “They must, among other things, ensure that unnecessary or disproportionate force, including lethal force, is not used to disperse peaceful protests.”
OHCHR documented arrests and detention of opposition leaders and activists, raids on opposition party offices, seizures of property, suspension of radio stations, arrests of bloggers, and increased controls on NGOs.
Kizza Besigye arrested
Prominent opposition figure Kizza Besigye remains in custody on what OHCHR described as dubious treason charges after he was kidnapped in neighboring Kenya in November 2024. His colleague Obeid Lutale was also repeatedly denied bail.
The report highlights the use of live ammunition by security forces to disperse peaceful gatherings and the practice of kidnapping opposition supporters in unmarked vans and holding them incommunicado in unofficial detention centers.
OHCHR emphasized that all election-related human rights violations must be investigated and those responsible held accountable.
Syria: UN alarmed by renewed fighting in Aleppo
The UN on Friday expressed renewed alarm over the fighting in Syria’s second-largest city, Aleppo, warning that the risk of escalation and harm to civilians remains extremely high.
Despite continued efforts to end the fighting, UN spokesman Stéphane Dujarric said the situation continues to deteriorate, with civilians bearing the brunt of the violence.
“We underline that all parties are bound by international humanitarian law to protect civilians and civilian infrastructure at all times,” he said, urging all actors to avoid further escalation, exercise restraint and take concrete steps to prevent further civilian casualties.
The UN called on all parties to show real flexibility and good faith to ensure the full implementation of a March 10 agreement last year between the Kurdish-led SDF militia and the transitional government, establishing a lasting ceasefire that would lead to unified armed forces and security forces.
Increased insecurity in parts of Aleppo has disrupted access to key roads, restricting movement and delaying humanitarian access, Mr Dujarric said.
“We are coordinating with relevant groups so that we can continue to deliver humanitarian assistance,” he added.
Aid continues in Gaza as settler violence displaces families in the West Bank
Meanwhile, the UN and humanitarian partners in the Occupied Palestinian Territories continue to provide critical assistance across the Gaza Strip as violence and displacement continue in the West Bank.
According to the Aid Coordination Office OCHABetween Monday and Wednesday, more than 5,000 families in Gaza received emergency cash assistance to help them buy essential items.
By 2025, more than 340,000 families in the Strip could benefit from this benefit at least once.
In the West Bank, OCHA reported that at least 20 Palestinian families from the Ras ‘Ein al’ Auja pastoralist community in Area C of Jericho Governorate have been displaced following repeated attacks and intimidation by settlers, including the loss of water and electricity networks after pipes were cut.
In the northern West Bank, Israeli settlers reportedly set fire to property including vehicles, a school and a daycare center on Thursday, causing injuries and damage in Deir Sharaf, Jalud and Bizzariya in Nablus Governorate.
In total, OCHA documented more than 1,800 settler attacks on Palestinians in 2025 that resulted in casualties or property damage in approximately 280 communities – the highest daily average since records began in 2006.
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