<i>Thousands of women murdered in honour killings yearly: UN </i>
Some 5,000 women are murdered in honour killings every year, the UN's top human rights official said Thursday, calling it an "extreme symptom of discrimination" against women.
"It has been estimated that as many as one in three women across the world has been beaten, raped or otherwise abused during the course of her lifetime," said Navi Pillay in a statement.
"And the most common source of such violence comes from within the family. Amongst the most extreme forms of abuse is what is known as 'honour killing'," added the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights.
She pointed out that the problem is exacerbated by the fact that in some countries, legal systems "exempt individuals guilty of honour killings from punishment."
"Honour killings are, however, not something that can be simply brushed aside as some bizarre and retrograde atrocity that happens somewhere else," she said, stressing that under international laws, there is a "clear state responsibility" to ensure that women are not discriminated against.
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