UN high commissioner expresses concerns over police brutality during Madagascar protests News
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UN high commissioner expresses concerns over police brutality during Madagascar protests

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk on Monday expressed great disturbance by the degree of police brutality during a protest in Madagascar that stirred the country due to water outage and power cuts.

Türk, in his press release, stated that:

I am shocked and saddened by the killings and injuries in the protests over water and power cuts in Madagascar, I urge the authorities to ensure respect for freedom of expression and peaceful assembly, consistent with their obligations under international human rights law.

The protests started on September 25, 2025, as peaceful demonstrators demanded an end to power cuts and water outages, and called for respect for fundamental rights. According to local news, the scope of the protests broadened as a faction of people began to loot shops, and the protesters also shifted their demands to include the resignation of the head of state within 72 hours. This was coupled with a call for the resignation of the prefect of Antananarivo, Angelo Ravelonarivo, within 24 hours, accusing him of repeatedly violating fundamental rights, as he had since then called for a curfew on September 25. 

The protests, however, took a turn as police officers intervened with excessive force, lobbing teargas and beating and arresting protesters. Some officers also used live ammunition. The Civil Society Platform for Children (PFSCE), a civil society in Madagascar, denounced the indiscriminate use of tear gas near schools during the demonstrations in the capital, which exposed young people to serious health and psychological dangers. The group reported that gunfire was heard even late into the night, with young people being pursued in neighborhoods.

Türk has since then called for the release of the arbitrarily detained protesters and urged strict adherence to the well-laid-out international laws on the use of firearms.

The protests in Madagascar are the latest to have highlighted the disproportionate use of force exhibited by a few African countries during demonstrations.

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