UN rights chief expresses concern over growing conflict risks in the Middle East
The head of the UN human rights office OHCHR said on Monday that he’s “deeply worried” about the growing risk of greater conflict in the Middle East.
The statement from Volker Türk follows recent deadly attacks in Lebanon, the Golan and the killing of a top Hamas official in Iran, which are linked to the war in Gaza.
Mr. Türk noted that civilians, especially women and children, have experienced “unbearable pain and suffering” due to the intense bombardment and air strikes over the past 10 months in Gaza.
He said the protection of civilians and human rights must be prioritised.
The High Commissioner added that everything which can be done “must be done” to ensure the recent acts of violence do not further escalate as it is bound to have “terrible consequences for civilians.”
Iran’s protest crackdown disproportionately targets minorities, new report finds
The Iranian Government-led crackdown on protesters has had a disproportionate impact since 2022 on the country’s ethnic and religious minorities, particularly Kurdish and Baluch citizens, according to new details released by the UN Human Rights Council-appointed International Fact-Finding Mission, released on Monday.
The independent experts from the mission said this was the “direct result of long-standing discrimination” that must end immediately.
The protests in Iran began with what the experts described as the clearly “unlawful” killing of Jina Mahsa Amini in September 2022, a 22-year-old Iranian-Kurdish woman, following her arrest for not complying with Iran’s laws on mandatory hijab.
Most of the demonstrators involved in the movement that lasted well into 2023 were those from ethnic and religious minorities. According to the Mission’s advocacy paper, the significant military and security presence in minority-populated border areas established an ideal environment for the State to crack down on the protests, which led to many deaths and injuries.
Some of the human rights violations against minorities included unnecessary use of lethal force, arbitrary arrests, torture and more.
Subsequent trials “were marred by fair trial and due process violations.”
The Fact-Finding Mission said that accountability for Iranian security forces’ actions remains “elusive” with a lack of any meaningful criminal investigation into the abuses.
UN refugee agency shocked by violent protests in United Kingdom
As violent anti-immigrant protests continue in the United Kingdom the UN refugee agency UNHCR said in a tweet on Monday that they were “shocked” by the violence, “including targeted attacks against asylum seekers.”
Protests in the UK started last Tuesday after three children were stabbed to death and others injured during a brutal attack in the northwest English town of Southport.
Subsequent social media posts falsely claimed the alleged attacker was an asylum seeker, which has led to protests and rioting in towns across England and Northern Ireland, including attacks on hotels where asylum seekers were staying, according to news reports.
UNHCR said the spread of dis- and misinformation “fuelled by hatred and prejudice, has real-life consequences and must be addressed.”
The UK Prime Minister, Keir Starmer, declared on Monday that these demonstrations are not protests but rather acts of wanton violence and everyone involved will experience the full force of the law.
Music composed and produced by Joachim Harris. All rights reserved
Source of original article: United Nations (news.un.org). Photo credit: UN. The content of this article does not necessarily reflect the views or opinion of Global Diaspora News (www.globaldiasporanews.com).
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