speech on urdu language

Text to speech Urdu

Easily convert text to speech in Urdu, and 90 more languages. Try our Urdu text to speech free online. No registration required. Create Audio

Urdu text to speech online makes it easy to read Urdu text, and convert Word documents and Powerpoint presentations into audio and video files. Our Urdu text to speech converter is realistic, natural and lifelike, and speaks with a neutral accent that is easy to understand.

Urdu is the national language of Pakistan, and one of two official languages in that country. It’s also recognised as a scheduled language in India, and a registered regional dialect in Nepal. There are more than 60 million native Urdu speakers.

Narakeet has 2 Urdu text to speech male and female voices. Play the video below (with sound) for a quick demo.

Urdu Text to Speech Voices

In addition to these voices, Narakeet has 700 text-to-speech voices in 90 languages .

For more options (uploading Word documents, voice speed/volume controls, working with Powerpoint files or Markdown scripts), check out our Tools .

Urdu voice over online

Our online Urdu text to speech generators can help you create Urdu voiceovers quickly and conveniently, without having to hire Urdu voice talent. Here are some typical types of files you can make with Narakeet:

• Text to Speech in Urdu YouTube Videos
• Online Text to Speech Urdu Audio Articles
• Text to Speech Urdu Language Lessons
• Text to Urdu Speech Social Media Stories
• Urdu Text to Speech TTS Audiobooks
• Girl voice message in urdu mp3 download

Urdu Text-to-Speech Frequently Asked Questions

Want to know more about our Urdu online text to speech voices? Here are the answers to the most frequently asked questions:

How to convert text to speech in Urdu?

Just type your Urdu text into our Text to Audio tool, select one of the Urdu voices, and click "Create Audio".

Is there any Urdu text to speech software?

Yes, Narakeet has realistic, natural Urdu text to speech voices, available online.

How to convert Urdu speech into text on mobile?

Narakeet Text to Audio tool works on all modern mobile browsers, and can help you turn Urdu text to Voice online.

Narakeet helps you create text to speech voiceovers , turn Powerpoint presentations and Markdown scripts into engaging videos. It is under active development, so things change frequently. Keep up to date: RSS , Slack , Twitter , YouTube , Facebook , Instagram , TikTok

Speech On Pakistan In Urdu

Back to: اردو تقاریر | Best Urdu Speeches

جناب صدر عالی وقار ہم وطنو! السلام علیکم! آج کی میری تقریر کا عنوان میرا ملک میری عظمت میرا پاکستان ہے۔

۱۴ اگست ۱۹۴۷ کے دن ایک سبز ہلالی پرچم دنیا کے نقشے پر اُبھرا، ایک ایسی مملکت جس کے حصول کے لیے لاکھوں لوگوں نے جانیں قربان کی لیکن آزادی پر کوئی سمجھوتہ نہیں کیا۔ قائد کی انتھک محنت، کاوش اور قربانیوں کا زندہ پیکر، اے سوہنی دھرتی تیری آزاد اور پاک فضائیں ہی تو بھاتی ہیں تیرے متوالوں کو، تیرے بیٹے سرحدوں پار اور سرحدوں کے اندر بھی دہشت گردوں اور تیرے دشمنوں کے سامنے سینہ سپر ہیں۔ تیرے گلستان، پربت، جھیل، دریا تیرے حسن و پاکیزگی کے عکاس ہیں۔ اس آزادی کو محسوس کرو ان پاک فضاؤں میں، اس مٹی کی سوندھی مہک میں رب کا شکر ادا کرو۔ اس بیش قیمت نعمت کے لئے، اے عزیزِ من سب پاکستانیوں کا عزم ہے تیری سلامتی اور تیری ترقی، آزادی کا جشن برپا ہے۔ اس وطن کی گلیوں، محلوں میں، آزادی کی خوشی عیاں ہے ان سبز پوشاکوں ان چمکتے چہروں سے۔شاعر نے محب الوطنی میں بہت خوب لکھا؀

عالی وقار! ہم کسی بیرونی مُلک میں قیام پذیر ہوں، تو ہمیں پاکستانی جانا جاتا ہے۔ سندھی یا بلوچی، سرحدی یا پنجابی نہیں۔ ہمارے کارہائے نمایاں کسی پشتو یا پنجابی بولنے والے کی میراث نہیں ہیں، بلکہ اردو بولنے والے پاکستانیوں کی شناخت ہیں۔ ہماری سرگرمیاں کسی کشمیری اور آرائیں جیسی برادری کے لیبل کی مرہونِ منت نہیں ، بلکہ ہماری خدمات جلیلہ پاکستان کی وجہ سے نمایاں ہیں۔ ہمارا نام، انعام اور مقام صرف پاکستان ہے۔ ہمیں پاک سرزمین کی محبت میں رقصاں ہونا چاہئے۔ ہمیں اپنے دیس، اپنی ماں کو ادب و پیار دینا چاہئے کہ وطن کے درو دیوار کی چادر عصمت کی طرح مقدس ہیں۔ اس کا نظریہ ماں باپ کے عقیدے اور ایمان کی صورت جگمگاتا ہے۔

جناب صدر! کسی سیانے کا قول ہے کہ محبّت قربانی مانگتی ہے، عشق صلے سے بے پرواہ ہوتا ہے، اور پیار دینے اور دیے جانے کا نام ہے۔ اور اگر اس پہلو سے پرکھا جائے تو سب سے پہلے جو سوال پیدا ہوتا ہے وہ یہ ہے کہ ہم اس ملک کو کیا دے رہے ہیں؟ اجتماعی سطح پر یہ سوال اٹھانے سے پہلے آئیے ذرا انفرادی طور پر خود سے یہ سوال پوچھیں۔

ملک بھر میں صفائی، گندگی، اور بلدیاتی اداروں کی نااہلیوں پر تبصرہ کرتے ہم خود بھی ایسے ہی لوگوں میں شامل ہیں جو گاڑی میں سفر کرتے ہوئے کھڑکی کھول کر ریپر اور تھیلیاں باہر سڑک پر پھینک دیتے ہیں۔ ٹریفک جام میں پھنسنے پر ٹریفک پولیس کو برا بھلا کہتے کہتے ہم خود بھی کئی گاڑیوں کا راستہ روکتے خود پہلے نکل جانے کا راستہ تلاش کرتے ہیں۔ رشوت کو برا کہتے اور رشوت لینے والے افسروں اور اداروں پر لعنت ملامت کرتے ہم خود بھی ڈرائیونگ لائسنس، پاسپورٹ یا دیگر کاغذات بنوانے، یہاں تک کہ ٹریفک سگنل کی خلاف ورزی پر (جو کہ سراسر ہماری غلطی ہوتی ہے) چالان کروانے کے بجائے رشوت دینے پر آمادہ ہو جاتے ہیں۔

تعلیم کے معیار اور تعلیمی اداروں میں تفریق پر ماتم کرتے ہم خود اس سسٹم میں تبدیلی لانے کے بجائے کوچنگ سینٹرز اور پرائیویٹ ٹیوشن کے کلچر کو فروغ دینے کا سب سے بڑا ذریعہ ہیں۔ بجلی کے بحران پر آنسو بہانے کے ساتھ ساتھ کنڈا سسٹم پر اپنے گھروں میں اے سی چلانے اور بجلی چوری کے مرتکب ہونے والے بھی تو ہم ہی ہیں۔ وقت آگیا ہے اپنے ملک کی خاطر اٹھ کھڑا ہونا ہوگا۔ آئیں مل کر اس کی بقا کی جنگ لڑیں۔ اللہ میرے ملک کی حفاظت فرما۔ آمین ثم آمین شکریہ۔

Urdu with Pakistani Accent Text to Speech Generation

Language code: ur-PK

The Urdu language, with a Pakistani accent, carries a unique musicality and rhythm. Native to Pakistan and one of its official languages.

Here are some pronunciation features of Urdu as it is spoken with a Pakistani accent:

Influence of Other Languages. Given Pakistan's multilingual society, Pakistani Urdu has influences from Punjabi, Sindhi, Pashto, and other regional languages. These influences can cause variations in pronunciation, vocabulary, and syntax, leading to a distinctive Pakistani accent.

Consonant Sounds. The Urdu language consists of various aspirated and unaspirated consonants, which can be dental, retroflex, or palatal in articulation. In the Pakistani accent, the retroflex consonants are pronounced with a curling of the tongue tip back in the mouth, which is not commonly found in the English language.

Vowel Sounds. This language is known for its unique system of vowel harmony, where the type of vowel in the primary syllable often affects the rest of the word's vowel sounds. With a Pakistani inflection, vowel duration and pronunciation might display some variation, capable of altering a word's meaning.

Stress Patterns. The usual tendency is to place stress on the final syllable of a word. Yet, the stress placement may occasionally shift when spoken with a Pakistani intonation, contingent upon the word's positioning within a sentence.

SpeechGen offers an advanced text to speech solution in Urdu that captures the essence of the Pakistani accent. Our advanced algorithm is built on a neural network that flawlessly transforms your text into a voice that sounds natural and real.

Our cutting-edge service goes beyond merely reading out your text. It makes every effort to capture the rhythm, intonation, and unique articulation characteristics of the Pakistani accent.

Other Accents

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• Text to Speech
• Urdu Text to Speech

Text to Speech Urdu

Use our online Urdu text to speech if you are in Afghanistan, Bahrain, Bangladesh or wherever in the world you are and speak Urdu. Speechify has the most natural, native-sounding Urdu voices. Try pasting your content, or typing it in and then choose male or female Urdu voice and begin listening.

Optionally, you can download your Urdu text to speech as an MP3 or other format.

Urdu Text to Speech Features

Ditch robotic voices for Speechify’s native-sounding Urdu text to speech.

The Best Urdu Text to Voice Converter

sten up to 9x faster with Speechify’s ultra realistic Urdu text to speech software that lets you read faster than the average reading speed, without skipping out on the best AI voices.

Listen & Read at the Same Time

With Speechify text highlighting you can choose to just listen, or listen and read at the same time. Easily follow along as words are highlighted – like Karaoke. Listening and reading at the same time increases comprehension.

Convert Urdu Text to Studio-Quality Voices

With Speechify’s easy-to-use AI Urdu text to speech voices, you can forget about warbly robotic text to speech AI voices. Our accurate human-like AI Urdu voices are all HD quality and native sounding.

Urdu Image to Speech

Scan or take a picture of any image and Speechify will read it aloud to you with its cutting-edge Urdu OCR technology. Save your images to your library in the cloud and access it anywhere. You can now listen to that note you got from a friend, relative, or other loved one.

Text to Speech in these Urdu Voices

The most realistic Urdu TTS voices only on the best text to speech app.

Gwyneth Paltrow

Try Urdu Text to Speech in these Popular Voices

Urdu Text to Speech Apps & Extensions

Turn any Urdu  text into natural sounding audio instantly in your browser, smartphone, or Mac

What is Urdu Text to Speech Section

Urdu Text to speech, also known as TTS, read aloud, or even speech synthesis. It simply means using artificial intelligence to read words aloud be; it from a PDF, email, docs, or any website. There isn’t a voice artist recording phrases or words, or even the entire article. Speech generation is done on-the-fly, in real time, with natural sounding AI voices.

And that’s the beauty of it all. You don’t have to wait. You simply press play and artificial intelligence makes the words come alive instantly, in a very natural sounding voice. You can change voices and accents across multiple languages.

I used to hate school because I’d spend hours just trying to read the assignments. Listening has been totally life changing. This app saved my education.

Speechify has made my editing so much faster and easier when I’m writing. I can hear an error and fix it right away. Now I can’t write without it.

Speechify makes reading so much easier. English is my second language and listening while I follow along in a book has seriously improved my skills.

Get Urdu Text to Speech Today

And begin removing barriers to reading Urdu online

More Text to Speech Features You’ll Love

Speechify text to speech online reviews, kate marfori.

Product Manager at The Star Tribune

With Speechify’s API, we can offer our users a new and accessible way to consume our content. We’ve seen that readers who choose to listen to articles with Speechify are on average 20% more engaged than users who choose not to listen.

Susy Botello

Thanks for sharing this.I love this feature. I just tweeted at you on how much I like it. The voice is great and not at all like the text-to-speech I am used to listening to. I am a podcaster and I think this will help a lot of people multitask a bit, especially if they are interrupted with incoming emails or whatever. You can read-along but continue reading if your eyes need to go elsewhere. Hope you keep this. It’s already in other web publications. I also see it in some news sites. So I think it could become a standard that readers expect when they read online. Can I vote twice?

Renato Vargas

I just started using Medium more and I absolutely love this feature. I’ve listened to my own stories and the Al does the inflections just as I would. Many complain that they can’t read their own stories, but let’s be honest. How many stories would go without an audio version if you had to do all of them yourself? I certainly appreciate it. Thanks for this!!

Oh! How cool – I love it 🙂 The voice is surprisingly natural sounding! My eyes took a much appreciated rest for a bit. I’ve been a long time subscriber to Audible on Amazon. I think this is Great 🙂 Thank you!

Paola Rios Schaaf

Super excited about this! We are all spending too much time staring at our screens. Using another sense to take in the great content at Medium is awesome.

Hi Warren, I am one of those small, randomly selected people, and I ABSOLUTELY love this feature. I have consumed more ideas than I ever have on Medium. And also as a non-native English speaker, this is really helping me to improve my pronunciation. Keep this forevermore! Love, Ananya:)

This is the single most important feature you can role out for me. I simply don’t have the time to read all the articles I would like to on Medium. If I could listen to the articles I could consume at least 3X the amount of Medium content I do now.

Andrew Picken

Love this feature Warren. I use it when I’m reading, helps me churn through reading and also stay focused on the article (at a good speed) when my willpower is low! Keeping me more engaged..

I was THRILLED the other day when I saw the audio option. I didn’t know how it got there, but I pressed play, and then I was blown away hearing the words that I wrote being narrated

Neeramitra Reddy

LOVE THISSS. As someone who loves audio almost as much as reading, this is absolute gold

What is Urdu text to speech (TTS)?

Text-to-speech goes by a few names. Some refer to it as TTS,  read aloud , or even speech synthesis ; for the more engineered name. Today, it simply means using  artificial intelligence  to read words aloud be; it from a PDF, email, docs, or any website. Instantly turn text into audio. Listen in English, Italian, Portuguese,  Spanish , or more and choose your accent and character to personalize your experience.

How does Urdu AI text to speech work?

Beautifully. Urdu Speech synthesis works by installing an app like Speechify either on your device or as a browser extension. AI scans the Urdu words on the page and reads it out loud, without any lag. You can change the default voice to a custom voice, change accents, languages, and even increase or decrease the speaking rate.

AI has made significant progress in synthesizing voices. It can pick up on formatted text and change tone accordingly. Gone are the days where the voices sounded robotic. Speechify is revolutionizing that.

Once you install the TTS mobile app, you can easily convert Urdu text to speech from any website within your browser, read aloud your email, and more. If you install it as a browser extension, you can do just the same on your laptop. The web version is OS agnostic. Mac or Windows, no problem.

What is the Urdu text-to-speech service?

A Urdu text-to-speech service is a tool, like Speechify text to speech, that transforms your written Urdu words into spoken words. Imagine typing out a message in Urdu and having it read out loud by a digital voice – that’s what TTS services, like Speechify TTS do.

What are the benefits of Urdu text to speech?

Urdu TTS technology offers many benefits, like helping those with reading difficulties, providing rest for your eyes, multitasking by listening to content, improving pronunciation and language learning, and making content accessible to a wider audience.

How is Speechify TTS better than Murf AI text to speech, Google Voice, or TTSReader?

Speechify Urdu TTS stands out by offering a more natural and human-like voice quality, a wider range of customization options, and user-friendly integration across devices. Plus, our dedication to accessibility means that we ensure a seamless and inclusive experience for all Urdu users.

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Urdu Text to Speech

Give your urdu text a voice with VEED's urdu AI TTS tool. Create authentic voice overs instantly!

Transform Urdu Text into Engaging Speech with VEED's Urdu Text to Speech Tool

Welcome to VEED's Urdu Text to Speech (TTS) tool. With our advanced AI technology, you can effortlessly convert Urdu text into high-quality speech. Whether you're a content creator, professional, or instructor, our Urdu TTS tool empowers you to add natural-sounding voice overs to your videos, presentations, and more. Experience the power of AI as our Urdu TTS tool accurately pronounces each word and captures the nuances of the Urdu language. Our goal is to provide you with a seamless and efficient solution to bring your content to life. Don't worry about spending hours recording voice overs or hiring voice actors. VEED's Urdu Text to Speech tool saves you time and resources, allowing you to focus on creating impactful content. Customize the speed , tone, and pitch of the voice to match your preferences and the tone of your content. If you have English voice over, easily convert it to Urdu with our AI video translator. If you have English voice over, easily convert it to Urdu with our AI video translator .

How to Convert Text to Speech in Urdu:

1 upload or record.

Upload your video to VEED or start recording using our free webcam recorder . You can also drag and drop your videos to the editor.

2 Add Text and Convert to Urdu Voice

Click Audio from the left menu and select Text to Speech. Select a language. Type or paste your text into the text field and click Add to Project. You will see an audio file in the timeline.

When you’re happy with your text-to-speech video, click on Export. Download your video or audio to your device.

Walkthrough of Creating Urdu Voice Overs with VEED:

Engage Your Audience with Authentic Urdu Voiceovers

Captivate your audience by adding natural-sounding Urdu voiceovers to your videos. Our AI-powered Urdu TTS tool ensures accurate pronunciation and intonation, making your content more immersive and engaging. According to a study by Forrester Research, adding voice overs to videos can increase viewer engagement by 40%.

Save Time and Effort in Voiceover Creation

Recording voice overs can be time-consuming and expensive. With VEED's Urdu Text to Speech tool, you can generate professional-quality voice overs instantly. Our tool eliminates the need for extensive voice recording sessions or searching for voice actors, saving you valuable time and effort. Check out all our AI video editing tools .

Accessibility and Inclusivity for Urdu Content

Make your content accessible to a wider audience by providing Urdu voiceovers. This is particularly beneficial for individuals with visual impairments or those who prefer audio content. By incorporating Urdu voiceovers, you ensure that your message reaches a diverse audience and promotes inclusivity.

Frequently Asked Questions

Urdu Text to Speech (TTS) is a technology that converts written Urdu text into spoken words using artificial intelligence. With VEED's Urdu TTS tool, you can transform your written Urdu content into natural-sounding voiceovers.

VEED's Urdu Text to Speech tool utilizes advanced AI algorithms to ensure accurate pronunciation of Urdu words. Our technology is designed to capture the nuances of the Urdu language, resulting in high-quality and lifelike speech output.

Yes, VEED's Urdu Text to Speech tool offers customization options for voice characteristics such as speed. You can adjust these settings to match the desired style and tone of your content, providing a personalized and tailored experience.

Using VEED's Urdu Text to Speech tool is simple. Just input your text into the tool and generate the speech output. You can then download the voiceover and incorporate it into your videos, presentations, or other multimedia projects.

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What they say about VEED

Veed is a great piece of browser software with the best team I've ever seen. Veed allows for subtitling, editing, effect/text encoding, and many more advanced features that other editors just can't compete with. The free version is wonderful, but the Pro version is beyond perfect. Keep in mind that this a browser editor we're talking about and the level of quality that Veed allows is stunning and a complete game changer at worst.

I love using VEED as the speech to subtitles transcription is the most accurate I've seen on the market. It has enabled me to edit my videos in just a few minutes and bring my video content to the next level

Laura Haleydt - Brand Marketing Manager, Carlsberg Importers

The Best & Most Easy to Use Simple Video Editing Software! I had tried tons of other online editors on the market and been disappointed. With VEED I haven't experienced any issues with the videos I create on there. It has everything I need in one place such as the progress bar for my 1-minute clips, auto transcriptions for all my video content, and custom fonts for consistency in my visual branding.

Diana B - Social Media Strategist, Self Employed

Explore More Than Our Urdu Voiceover Software

VEED is so much more than just an Urdu text-to-voice software. It’s an all-in-one professional video editor that lets you create stunning videos in just minutes. Plus, you can make use of our video templates ; create multiple videos for marketing—fast and pain-free. Save your video as a custom template that you can repurpose on social media. Create sales videos, talking head clips, and more!

Hey, Mom, would you like to help me translate Sophocles into Urdu?

In his solo show, ‘amm(i)gone,’ at woolly mammoth, adil mansoor embarks on a project with his mother while exploring the tension between his queerness and her muslim faith.

The ancient classic “Antigone” is rich with moral quandary, as the titular character nobly faces the prospect of death to do what she believes is right: honoring her brother with a proper burial. But as Adil Mansoor deftly observes in his one-man show, “Amm(i)gone,” now playing at Woolly Mammoth, the why behind that decision is just as important as whether you’d make the same choice. He’d bury his brother — and so would his mother. But they’d do it for different reasons: she as an act of care for a loved one, and he out of an abstract sense of social justice.

The Style section

Exploring these kinds of subtle nuances and finding common ground among differences are key themes in “Amm(i)gone,” Mansoor’s meta-production (co-directed with Lyam B. Gabel), which, in a brisk 80 minutes, chronicles what happens when he and his mother decide to translate “Antigone” into Urdu together. Mansoor, surrounded by an abstract set of wood cutouts and mosaics, outlines their task through dialogue, video and audio recordings, and projected imagery.

He chooses “Antigone” intentionally — he observes how both the title character and his mother, a devout Muslim, prioritize the afterlife over their time on Earth. And he figures, correctly, that she’ll like the play. (As she puts it at one point, “Why don’t you make theater like this?”)

Language and theater nerds will delight when Mansoor briefly dives into Sophocles’text, at one point using a projector to compare how three different translations (including theirs) tackle a key exchange between Antigone and her sister, Ismene. In another scene, an audio recording shows his mother astutely unpacking a particular line reading from a 2015 London production , inferring that the actor’s interpretation reveals that she doesn’t actually believe in the morality of what she’s urging her sister to do. But “Amm(i)gone” — which, like the recent Olney Theatre Center one-man show “Avaaz,” explores complicated cultural relationships between mother and son — is less about their dramaturgical undertaking and more about their broader connection.

Mansoor and his mother’s deep love is “threatening to break us,” as Mansoor puts it. He clearly holds deep respect for her, referring to her only as Ammi, the Urdu word for mother, for privacy, and concealing her face in old photographs that predate her hijab-wearing with cloth and embroidery. He loves her scholarly curiosity and her fashion sense. (In an amusing aside, he details a stunning outfit involving real wood cutouts, seashells and magenta culottes.) But their chief conflict is between his mother’s increasing devotion to her Muslim faith and Mansoor’s queerness, which she is aware of but which he generally leaves unacknowledged in her presence.

Having to “disappear parts of myself” is a phenomenon Mansoor is familiar with: He has to flash back to memories of himself at age 5, dressed in red finery imitating a Pakistani bride, to remember embracing his “full self” around his family.

Mansoor has a gentle, natural way about the stage, gleeful when excited and reflective or even reverent when sharing personal moments. His love of language shines through as he analyzes the deeper meaning in a simple phrase from his mother, such as, “I can tell you about my mornings,” or admires her beautiful lyricality when she flips seamlessly between English and Urdu.

Scene transitions in “Amm(i)gone” can sometimes feel abrupt, even jerky. The play also sometimes repeats the same idea to get its point across . Its highly confessional, personal nature is part of its power and appeal; Mansoor’s climactic breakdown as he outlines a conversation he wishes he could have with his mother is heart-wrenching. But knowing that Mansoor was viewing the experience through the lens of making future art from the beginning (in one scene, he plays a recording of his first conversation with his mother, where he presents the initial translation idea) casts a performative, even calculated shadow on the play.

Mansoor has finished creating “Amm(i)gone,” but his and his mother’s translation work goes on, in private. “I don’t know how to be alive with my mom,” he confesses at one point. In time, hopefully he’ll get there — offstage, away from that peeping audience.

Amm(i)gone , through May 12 at Woolly Mammoth in Washington. Approximately 80 minutes with no intermission. woollymammoth.net .

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Gaza protests: UN rights chief flags ‘disproportionate’ police action on US campuses

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The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights on Tuesday  said he was troubled by “a series of heavy-handed steps” taken by some universities in the United States to disperse and dismantle Gaza war protests.

In recent days, demonstrations unfolding through tented encampments on school grounds – sparked by students at New York’s prestigious Columbia University who are demanding authorities divest from Israel due to its occupation and military assault on Gaza – have spread nationwide.

University authorities from the west to east coast have taken different approaches, ranging from Columbia’s initial response to authorise police to clear protests by force to continuing negotiations and allowing the encampments to remain.

Columbia protests intensify

Columbia’s protesters ignored an ultimatum from the university to leave the camp or risk suspension on Monday. Early on Tuesday morning, students took over historic Hamilton Hall on campus, barricading themselves inside.

The building was one of those occupied in civil rights and Viet Nam war protests by students in 1968.

The university president announced earlier on Monday that dialogue with protesters had failed, and the institution would not bow to demands to divest from Israel.

Universities should 'properly manage' protest response: Guterres

Speaking to reporters in New York on the Gaza crisis, UN Secretary-General António Guterres was asked about the US protests.

“First of all I think it is essential in all circumstances to guarantee the freedom of expression and the freedom of peaceful demonstration but at the same time it is obvious that hate speech is unacceptable ”, he said.

It should be left up to university authorities themselves to “properly manage” the situation and decide on the appropriate response to the protests, he added. 

Right to protest is ‘fundamental’

In his statement on Tuesday, UN rights chief Volker Türk said that freedom of expression and the right to peaceful assembly were “fundamental to society”, particularly when there is sharp disagreement on major issues as there is in relation to the conflict in the Occupied Palestinian Territory and Israel.

He noted that in recent weeks, thousands of university students in the US have been protesting the war, and many demonstrations have taken place without incident.

But, there have also been hundreds of arrests following interventions on some campuses by security forces. Many have subsequently been released while others still face charges or academic sanctions.

Action taken by authorities and law enforcement officials to restrict such expression needs to be carefully scrutinised to ensure they do not go beyond what is demonstrably necessary to protect the rights and freedoms of others or for another legitimate aim, such as the maintenance of public health or order, Mr. Türk said.

Incitement to violence ‘must be strongly repudiated’

“ I am concerned that some of law enforcement actions across a series of universities appear disproportionate in their impacts ,” he stressed.

The rights chief emphasised that any clearly anti-Semitic conduct and speech was totally unacceptable and deeply disturbing. Anti-Arab and anti-Palestinian conduct and speech are equally reprehensible, he said.

“ Incitement to violence or hatred on grounds of identity or viewpoints – whether real or assumed – must be strongly repudiated ,” he continued. “ We have already seen such dangerous rhetoric can quickly lead to real violence .”

He said any violent conduct should be addressed on a case-by-case basis rather than through sweeping measures “that impute to all members of a protest the unacceptable viewpoints of a few”.

Human rights law

“Here, as elsewhere, responses by universities and law enforcement need to be guided by human rights law , allowing vibrant debate and protecting safe spaces for all.”

The High Commissioner emphasised that any restrictions to fundamental freedoms of expression must be guided by “legality, necessity and proportionality” and applied without discrimination.

“US universities have a strong, historic tradition of student activism, strident debate and freedom of expression and peaceful assembly,” Mr. Türk said.

“It must be clear that legitimate exercises of the freedom of expression cannot be conflated with incitement to violence and hatred.”

• United States