Guterres expressed his deepest condolences to the families of the victims and called on authorities to comply with international human rights law.
“The Secretary General also stresses that protests must take place peacefully, respecting life, property and the rule of law, and calls for dialogue to forge a constructive path forward,” the statement concluded.
Youth in rebellion
Thousands of young people in Madagascar initially took to the streets to denounce persistent water and power outages, inspired by similar “Generation Z” protests in Kenya, Nepal and elsewhere.
The demonstrations have grown to reflect disappointment over other issues such as poverty and corruption.
In response, the President dismissed his government and appointed an army general as the new Prime Minister on Monday, but protesters gave him a 48-hour ultimatum to resign and rejected his call for a national dialogue on Wednesday.
Violent response
The UN human rights office, OHCHR, recently reported that at least 22 people have died and more than a hundred have been injured in the protests.
“The victims include protesters and bystanders killed by members of the security forces, but also others killed in widespread violence and subsequent looting by individuals and gangs not associated with the protesters,” he said.
UN human rights chief Volker Türk expressed surprise at the violent response by security forces.
He urged the authorities to “ensure respect for freedom of expression and peaceful assembly, in accordance with their obligations under international human rights law.”