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Iran-Israel crisis: UN rights office appeals for urgent de-escalation
Israel began targeting nuclear and military sites across Iran last Friday, prompting a barrage of retaliatory strikes on Israeli cities.
“The UN human rights office urges de-escalation and urgent diplomatic negotiations to end these attacks and find a way forward,” said Ms. Al-Nashif. “We are following closely and are aware of reports that many thousands of residents are fleeing parts of the capital, Tehran, as a result of warnings covering broad areas.”
Latest reports from the region indicate that more than 200 people have been killed in Iran and 24 in Israel to date. The violence continued unabated overnight in both countries.
Addressing the Human Rights Council in Geneva at a scheduled meeting to discuss Iran’s rights record, the Deputy High Commissioner highlighted serious concerns that populated areas have been hit in the escalation.
“It is imperative that both sides fully respect international law, in particular by ensuring the protection of civilians in densely populated areas and of civilian objects,” she said. “We urge all those with influence to engage in negotiation as a matter of priority.”
Nuclear watchdog update
In a related development, the UN-backed nuclear watchdog said on Wednesday that two Iranian centrifuge production facilities had suffered major damage after being targeted.
“The TESA Karaj workshop and the Tehran Research Centre, were hit,” it said in an update. “At the Tehran site, one building was hit where advanced centrifuge rotors were manufactured and tested.
At Karaj, two buildings were destroyed where different centrifuge components were manufactured,” said the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).
Speaking at the Council after the Deputy High Commissioner, Iran’s Permanent Representative of Iran, Ambassador Ali Bahreini, condemned the Israeli strikes:
“There has been no violation worse than [the] 13 June act of aggression against Iran,” he said, pointing to “continuous blind attacks on residential areas, bombardment of vital supplies, explosion of drinking water resources and reckless strikes on nuclear facilities are immediately impacting the civilians and people of Iran.”
Such “deliberate targeting” of his country’s nuclear facilities risked exposing local communities to a “possible hazardous leak”, the Iranian ambassador continued. “This is not an act of war against our country, it is war against humanity.”
In a short statement to the Council from which Israel announced its withdrawal earlier this year, Mr. Bahreini called for accountability and international condemnation of the Israeli attacks.
“This impunity must come to [an] end,” he said. “Israel activities are not just against one or two countries. It is acting against all humanity and their actions target all human rights.”
Council agrees its position on a more modern payment service framework in the EU
Today, member states’ representatives (Coreper) approved the Council’s stance on new rules to modernise the payment services environment in the EU, while reducing payment fraud and improving efficiency. Source link
Iran-Israel Crisis: United Nations Rights Office calls for an urgent de-escalation
Israel began to target nuclear and military sites across Iran last Friday, which caused a reprisal strike barrage on Israeli cities.
“The United Nations Human Rights Office urges de -escalation and urgent diplomatic negotiations to end these attacks and find a way to follow”, ” said Ms. Al-Nashif. “We follow closely and are aware of the reports according to which several thousand residents flee from parts of the capital, Tehran, following warnings covering large areas.”
The latest reports in the region indicate that more than 200 people have been killed in Iran and 24 in Israel to date. Violence continued tirelessly overnight in both countries.
Addressing Human Rights Council In Geneva at a meeting provided to discuss the Iran’s rights file, the assistant high-commissioner underlined serious concerns that populated areas were affected in climbing.
“It is imperative that the two parties fully respect international law, in particular by guaranteeing the protection of civilians in densely populated areas and civil objects”, ” She said. “We urge all those who have an influence to initiate negotiations in priority.”
Nuclear surveillance update
In a related development, the nuclear guard dog supported by the UN said on Wednesday that two Iranian centrifuge production facilities had suffered major damage after being targeted.
“The Tesa Karaj workshop and the Tehran Research Tehran have been affected,” he said in an update. “On the Tehran site, a building was affected where advanced centrifuge rotors were manufactured and tested.
In Karaj, two buildings were destroyed when various centrifuge components were manufactured, “said the International Atomic Energy Agency (Aiea).
Speaking to the council after the assistant high-commissioner, the permanent representative of Iran, the ambassador Ali Bahreini, condemned Israeli strikes:
“There was no worse violation that [the] June 13 Act of aggression against Iran, “he said, pointing towards “Continuous blind attacks against residential areas, the bombing of vital supplies, the explosion of drinking water resources and reckless strikes on nuclear installations immediately have an impact on civilians and the inhabitants of Iran.”
Such “deliberate targeting” of the nuclear installations of his country has risked exposing local communities to a “dangerous leak possible”, continued the Iranian ambassador. “It is not an act of war against our country, it is war against humanity. »»
In a brief statement to the Council, hence Israel announced his withdrawal earlier this year, Mr. Bahreini called for responsibility and international conviction of Israeli attacks.
“This impunity must come [an] end, “he said. Israeli activities are not only against one or two countries. It acts against all of humanity and their actions target all human rights. »»
Originally published at Almouwatin.com
DR Congo: Human rights violations could amount to war crimes, UN experts say
Volker Türk told the Human Rights Council that the investigation and analysis undertaken by his office, OHCHR, had revealed “an apparent total disregard for the protection of civilians during and after military operations.”
The OHCHR’s Fact-Finding Mission in the eastern DRC is also investigating other alleged violations of international humanitarian law, “many of which may amount to war crimes,” he said.
Arbitrary Arrests
After capturing cities and villages in early 2025, the M23 Rwanda-backed rebels arbitrarily arrested police officers and large numbers of other civilians, including children, the UN human rights office reported.
According to witnesses, those captured were, and are, still being held in “inhumane conditions,” and many were forcibly recruited into the ranks of the M23.
The Mission is also investigating alleged arbitrary arrests and enforced disappearances of suspected M23 supporters by the military intelligence arm of the DRC armed forces.
Extrajudicial Killings
OHCHR also reported that members of the M23 carried out summary and extrajudicial executions, which likely amount to war crimes, said Mr. Türk.
The Mission is also investigating alleged summary executions by members of the DRC armed forces and DRC-backed Wazalendo militias.
UN human rights is also investigating reports of death threats, detention and other reprisals against human rights defenders, journalists, and members of civil society perceived as critical of the M23; including the alleged killings of at least two activists.
Sexual Violence
The Mission received reports of “horrific” use of sexual violence by all parties as a means of reprisal against communities, relatives of perceived opponents, and people from other ethnic groups, said Mr. Türk.
In North and South Kivu, nearly 40 per cent of survivors of sexual and gender-based violence are children. The UN International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF) estimated that during the most intense phase of the conflict, a child was raped every 30 minutes.
Mr. Türk called on “all parties to the conflict to commit immediately to a ceasefire and resume negotiations, and to respect international humanitarian and human rights law.”
More Gazans killed trying to get food, healthcare near to ‘full disaster’
“We are walking the fine grey line between operational capacity and full disaster, every day,” said Dr Thanos Gargavanis, WHO trauma surgeon and emergency officer, speaking from the enclave.
The veteran UN medic’s comments came amid new reports on Tuesday morning that more Palestinians had been killed trying to access food, this time near an aid distribution site in Khan Younis in southern Gaza.
The mass casualty event left “hundreds of casualties, completely overwhelming Nasser Medical Complex” in Khan Younis, said WHO’s Representative in the occupied Palestinian territory, Dr Rik Peeperkorn.
No-go zone
Across Gaza today, health services are “barely available” and difficult to access, Dr Peeperkorn said, since more than 80 per cent of Gaza’s territory is under evacuation orders.
“The shrinking humanitarian space makes every health activity way more difficult than the previous day,” Dr Gargavanis added.
Nasser Medical Complex is the largest referral hospital in Gaza and the only remaining main hospital in Khan Younis. It is situated within the evacuation zone announced by the Israeli military on 12 June.
The nearby Al-Amal Hospital – operated by the Palestinian Red Crescent Society (PRCS) – continues to provide services to patients already there, but it is unable to admit anyone else because of ongoing military operations.
“It is what we call a completely minimal functional hospital,” Dr Peeperkorn said.
Deadly impact of fuel shortages
Only 17 of Gaza’s 36 hospitals are currently partially functional, medical supplies are critically low and no fuel has entered the Strip for more than 100 days.
The latest mass casualty event is just the latest involving Gazans trying to access aid amid ongoing severe restrictions placed on the amount of aid allowed into the Strip by Israel.
On Monday, more than 200 patients arrived at the Red Cross Field Hospital in Al Mawasi – the highest number received by the facility in a single mass casualty incident. Of that number, 28 patients were reportedly declared dead, WHO’s Dr Peeperkorn said.
Just one day earlier, on 15 June, the same hospital received at least 170 patients, who reportedly had been trying to access a food distribution site.
“The recent food distribution initiatives by non-UN actors every time result in mass casualty incidents,” WHO’s Dr Gargavanis insisted.
A boy receives medical care after being caught in a missile attack in Gaza.
Private aid plan fallout
Since late May, the UN and humanitarian partners have been sidelined in Gaza as a new aid distribution model backed by Israel and the United States began operations under the framework of the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), which uses private military contractors.
The WHO trauma surgeon highlighted a “constant correlation” between the locations of food distribution spots and the mass casualty incidents in Rafah, in Khan Younis and along the Netzarim corridor.
Asked about the type of injuries sustained by those seeking aid, and who is responsible, Dr Gargavanis stressed that WHO is not a forensic agency.
“We’re not in a position to clearly identify from the nature of the injury” who has caused it, he said. “What we can say, though, is that we’re talking of gunshot wound injuries, and we’re talking of very few incidents of shrapnel injuries.”
The UN has repeatedly warned that the new aid distribution system does not meet humanitarian principles of humanity, impartiality, independence and neutrality. The global body has also called for aid restrictions to be lifted.
Dr Peeperkorn insisted that the WHO must be facilitated to move supplies into Gaza in a cost-effective manner “via all possible routes” to prevent further shutdowns of medical services. He said that 33 WHO trucks with supplies are waiting at Al Arish in Egypt to be granted passage into the enclave, with another 15 standing by in the occupied West Bank.
The DeepTechers Programme | EIT
DeepTechers Programme Announced: Accellerating Talent, Tech and Global Impact
EIT Hub Israel has announced the launch of The DeepTechers – a three-day programme taking place in Munich from 21 to 23 October 2025. Designed for professionals building and scaling deep tech ventures, it brings together key players from venture capital, corporates, academia and accelerators to foster international collaboration and innovation.
With curated matchmaking, strategic workshops and expert mentorship, the programme equips participants with tools and connections to build long-term partnerships. Sessions will include over 30 organisations such as BMW, Siemens, Audi, Infineon, Roche, Festo and AstraZeneca, providing hands-on insights into commercialisation, internationalisation, regulation and funding in deep tech.
Shaping the Future of Deep Tech
The event focuses on high-impact deep tech sectors including quantum technologies, robotics, smart manufacturing, semiconductors, medical devices, energy solutions and space technologies. These emerging fields has transformative potential in addressing global challenges.
This initiative is aligned with the Deep Tech Talent Initiative (DTTI) – a pioneering programme aiming to skill one million people in deep tech across Europe. As part of the New European Innovation Agenda, DTTI helps address the continent’s talent gap and supports the green and digital transition.
Funding Opportunities
The programme is open to senior-level professionals from the deep tech ecosystem. Registration runs from 10 June to 18 August 2025. The programme fee is €2 000, with partial or full funding available through EIT Global Outreach based on participant category. Professionals from non-EIT affiliated organisations may apply for scholarships covering up to 100% of programme costs. Successful applicants will be expected to contribute to programme impact through post-event activities, such as blog posts, testimonials or community follow-ups.
‘Behind each crisis, people are suffering,’ Türk tells Human Rights Council
“We are on an indefensible path of escalating conflict and open disregard for international human rights and humanitarian law,” said Volker Türk, addressing the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva.
Offering a global overview, he painted a stark picture of a world in crisis – with surging armed conflict, deepening climate disruption, emerging technological threats, and a worrying rise in authoritarianism.
Spiralling conflicts
Conflicts around the world are spiralling, as civilians are deliberately attacked and starvation and rape is used as weapons of war by parties. Yet, “accountability is often absent,” said Mr. Türk, who heads the office of human rights, OHCHR.
From Ukraine to Myanmar, conflicts are plunging countries deeper into chaos and lawlessness.
In Sudan, the number of arbitrary killings of civilians as rival militaries battle for control, tripled between February and April, OHCHR reports.
In Gaza, “Israel has weaponised food and blocked lifesaving aid,” Mr. Türk continued, calling for an “immediate ceasefire leading to a two-State solution, with Gaza as an integral part of a Palestinian State.”
Describing the military escalation between Israel and Iran as “deeply worrying,” Mr. Türk appealed “for de-escalation and urgent diplomatic negotiations to end these attacks and find a way forward.”
“This violence must end,” he said.
Civil society under attack
Around the world, at least 625 human rights defenders and media workers were killed or disappeared in 2024, OHCHR has reported.
“That is one every 14 hours,” the human rights chief said.
In many places around the world, civil society and the media are being vilified, harassed and silenced; yet it is civil society and the media who play a vital role holding power to account.
As investigating and reporting human rights abuses and violations are necessary tools to mitigate conflict and build peace, Mr. Türk said he was “deeply disturbed” by attacks on the international institutions, including the International Criminal Court (ICJ).
“Sanctioning judges and prosecutors at national, regional or international levels, for doing their jobs, is an assault on the rule of law and corrodes justice,” he said.
Persecuted minorities
From anti-immigrant rhetoric to hate speech targeting the LGBTIQ+ community, one in five people across 119 countries reported experiencing discrimination in the past year, OHCHR said.
“Discrimination is neither rare nor random, it is widespread,” said Mr. Türk.
For instance, data gathered by the UN shows that women face discrimination at more than double the level experienced by men.
Highlighting the war on women and girls in Afghanistan, the de facto authorities continue to enforce a systematic policy of erasing women and girls from public life, he continued.
In these troubled times, “we need governments and societies to stand up for human rights, in word and deed,” concluded Mr. Türk.
Afghan women face near total social, economic and political exclusion
But recently, the level of participation has reached a new low – zero.
Zero women in national or local decision-making bodies.
Zero girls projected to be in secondary education following a December 2024 ban.
These numbers are part of the index released Tuesday by gender equality agency UN Women which is the most comprehensive study on gender inequality in Afghanistan since the Taliban resumed de facto control in 2021.
It paints a sobering picture of the state of gender equality in Afghanistan.
“Since [2021], we have witnessed a deliberate and unprecedented assault on the rights, dignity and very existence of Afghan women and girls. And yet, despite near-total restrictions on their lives, Afghan women persevere,” said Sofia Calltorp, UN Women chief of humanitarian action, at a briefing in Geneva.
Second-widest gender gap in the world
The report released by UN Women noted that while the Taliban regime has presided over “unparalleled” gender inequality, disparities existed long before 2021.
“The issue of gender inequality in Afghanistan didn’t start with the Taliban. Their institutionalised discrimination is layered on top of deep-rooted barriers that also hold women back,” Ms. Calltorp said.
According to the index, Afghanistan currently has the second-worst gender gap in the world, with a 76 per cent disparity between women’s and men’s achievements in health, education, financial inclusion and decision-making.
Afghan women are currently realizing only 17 per cent of their potential, and recent policies by the de facto government — including the December 2024 ban on women in secondary education and the increasingly stringent restrictions on women’s movement — will perpetuate and perhaps worsen this under-realized potential.
Systematic exclusion and social effects
This sort of systematic exclusion of women from society at all levels not only impedes progress on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and gender equality but also exacerbates poverty and instability more broadly, making it harder for the economy to diversify labour sources.
“Afghanistan’s greatest resource is its women and girls. Their potential continues to be untapped,” said UN Women Executive Director Sima Bahous.
Right now, only 24 per cent of women are part of the labour force, compared to 89 per cent of men. Continued protracted economic strife has led to the number of women in the workforce increasing.
“Overlapping economic, political, and humanitarian crises — all with women’s rights at their core — have pushed many households to the brink. In response – often out of sheer necessity — more women are entering the workforce,” Ms. Calltorp said.
Nevertheless, women are still predominantly working in lower-paid and less secure positions and are overwhelmingly responsible for all unpaid domestic work.
Ms. Calltorp noted that despite the “devastating” daily constraints that Afghan women face, they continue to advocate for themselves and their rights.
“[Afghan women] continue to find ways to run businesses and advocate for their rights – and the rights of all Afghans…Their courage and resilience spans generations,” Ms. Calltorp said.
Stark choices
Alongside a deteriorating gender equality landscape, the aid outlook in Afghanistan is increasingly bleak with only 18 per cent of the 2025 humanitarian response plan for Afghanistan funded.
This is having tangible impacts on the ground, leading UN agencies and partners to call for action and funds.
“Time and time again in Afghanistan, we have seen how donor support can be the difference between life and death…We make an urgent appeal to donors to increase flexible, timely and predictable funding,” they said.
Women, girls and other vulnerable groups are particularly impacted by these funding shortages — 300 nutrition sites for malnourished mothers and children have shut and 216 gender-based violence points have suspended work impacting over one million women and girls.
“The choices we make now will reveal what we stand for as a global community. If the world tolerates the erasure of Afghan women and girls, it sends a message that the rights of women and girls everywhere are fragile and expendable,” Ms. Calltorp said.
“Afghan women and girls haven’t given up, and we will not give up on them.”
Dr Congo: human rights violations could constitute war crimes, say the UN experts
Volker Türk said to Human Rights Council that the investigation and the analysis undertaken by his office, Ohchrhad revealed “an apparent total contempt for the protection of civilians during and after military operations”.
The Ochch’s mission of investigation in the DRC Orientale is also investigating other alleged violations of international humanitarian law, “many of which can constitute war crimes,” he said.
Arbitrary arrests
After capturing cities and villages at the beginning of 2025, the rebels supported by the M23 arbitrarily arrested the police and a large number of other civilians, including children, reported the United Nations Human Rights Office.
According to witnesses, the captured people were and are still held under “inhuman conditions”, and many have been recruited by force in the ranks of the M23.
The mission is also investigating alleged arbitrary arrests and the forced disappearance of alleged supporters of M23 by the military intelligence branch of the DRC armed forces.
Extrajudicial killings
The OHCHR also indicated that members of the M23 had made a summary and extrajudicial executions, which probably constitute war crimes, said Türk.
The mission is also investigating summary executions presumed by members of the DRC armed forces and Wazalendo militias supported by the DRC.
UN human rights are also investigating death threat reports, detention and other reprisals against human rights defenders, journalists and civil society members perceived as criticism of the M23; Including the alleged murders of at least two activists.
Sexual violence
The mission has received reports on the “horrible” use of sexual violence by all parties as a means of reprisals against communities, parents of perceived adversaries and people from other ethnic groups, said Türk.
In northern and southern Kivu, almost 40% of survivors of sexual and gender violence are children. The United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (Unicef) estimated that during the most intense phase of the conflict, a child was raped every 30 minutes.
Türk called on “all the parties to the conflict immediately committed to a ceasefire and to resume negotiations, and to respect the international law of humanitarian rights and human rights”.
Originally published at Almouwatin.com
