The United Nations Office at Geneva
Multimedia Newsroom
At the bi-weekly press briefing in Geneva, UN Human Rights spokesperson Ravina Shamdasani made the following statement on Iran.
“Some sources suggest that as many as 23 children have been killed and many others injured in at least seven provinces by live ammunition, metal pellets at close range, and fatal beatings. A number of schools have also been raided, and children arrested by security forces. Some principals have also reportedly been arrested for not cooperating with security forces,” Shamdasani said.
“On 11 October, the Minister of Education confirmed that an unspecified number of children had been sent to “psychological centres” after they were arrested allegedly for participating in anti-State protests,” she said.
“Under human rights treaties accepted by Iran, the Islamic Republic has an obligation to protect children’s right to life under any circumstances, and to respect and protect their right to freedom of expression and peaceful protest,” Spokesperson stated.
Along with the mass arrests of protesters, the Un Human Rights Office has also received reports of the arrests of at least 90 members of civil society including human rights defenders, lawyers, artists, and journalists. On 12 October three lawyers were arrested as they demonstrated outside the bar association in Tehran.
“A large number of human rights defenders, journalists, students, lawyers, opposition politicians and environmentalists are among those held at Evin prison in Tehran, where a fire broke out on 15 October. Details of the incident remain unclear, but there were also reports of explosions and gunfire, and officials say at least eight prisoners died and 61 were injured.”
A number of prisoners were reportedly beaten during the incident by the security forces and transferred to other detention centres.
Un Human Rights repeat previously expressed concerns about patterns of ill-treatment, torture and medical neglect of prisoners. Violations of due process including keeping prisoners incommunicado in solitary confinement with no access to a lawyer are common.
“The continued unnecessary and disproportionate use of force against protesters must stop. Arresting people solely for exercising their rights of peaceful assembly and freedom of expression constitutes an arbitrary deprivation of liberty. We call for the immediate release of all those arbitrarily detained. We remind authorities that under international law they have obligation to protect inmates’ physical and mental health and well-being,” she said.
“We call on the Iranian authorities to hold prompt, impartial and independent investigations into all alleged violations, including the killing of children, and to ensure those responsible are prosecuted. Broadly, we urge the authorities to address the underlying causes of the grievances of the population instead of using violence to suppress the protests,” she said in conclusion.
For more information and media requests, please contact: In Geneva: Ravina Shamdasani - + 41 22 917 9169 / ravina.shamdasani@un.org Jeremy Laurence + +41 22 917 9383 / jeremy.laurence@un.org or Marta Hurtado - + 41 22 917 9466 / marta.hurtadogomez@un.org In Nairobi Seif Magango - +254 788 343 897 / seif.magango@un.org
Tag and share - Twitter: @UNHumanRights and Facebook: unitednationshumanrights
- Exterior shot: Palais des Nations, Geneva.
- Wide shot: wide shot press conference
- SOUNDBITE (English)—Ravina Shamdasani, Spokesperson for the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR): “Some sources suggest that as many as 23 children have been killed and many others injured in at least seven provinces by live ammunition, metal pellets at close range, and fatal beatings. A number of schools have also been raided, and children arrested by security forces. Some principals have also reportedly been arrested for not cooperating with security forces.”
- Cut away: wide shot press conference
- SOUNDBITE (English)—Ravina Shamdasani, Spokesperson for the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR): “On 11 October, the Minister of Education confirmed that an unspecified number of children had been sent to “psychological centres” after they were arrested allegedly for participating in anti-State protests.”
- Cut away: participants
- SOUNDBITE (English)—Ravina Shamdasani, Spokesperson for the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR): “ Under human rights treaties accepted by Iran, the Islamic Republic has an obligation to protect children’s right to life under any circumstances, and to respect and protect their right to freedom of expression and peaceful protest.”
- Cut away: camera
- SOUNDBITE (English)—Ravina Shamdasani, Spokesperson for the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR): “ “A large number of human rights defenders, journalists, students, lawyers, opposition politicians and environmentalists are among those held at Evin prison in Tehran, where a fire broke out on 15 October. Details of the incident remain unclear, but there were also reports of explosions and gunfire, and officials say at least eight prisoners died and 61 were injured.”
- Wide shot: wide shot press conference
- SOUNDBITE (English)—Ravina Shamdasani, Spokesperson for the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR): “The continued unnecessary and disproportionate use of force against protesters must stop. Arresting people solely for exercising their rights of peaceful assembly and freedom of expression constitutes an arbitrary deprivation of liberty. We call for the immediate release of all those arbitrarily detained. We remind authorities that under international law they have obligation to protect inmates’ physical and mental health and well-being.”
- Wide shot: wide shot press conference
- SOUNDBITE (English)—Ravina Shamdasani, Spokesperson for the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR): “ “We call on the Iranian authorities to hold prompt, impartial and independent investigations into all alleged violations, including the killing of children, and to ensure those responsible are prosecuted. Broadly, we urge the authorities to address the underlying causes of the grievances of the population instead of using violence to suppress the protests,”
- Cut away: wide shot press conference
Similar Stories
1
1
1
Edited News | WHO
No evacuation order given before Kamal Adwan Hospital strike, says WHO
One of the last partially functional health centres in northern Gaza was reportedly hit again overnight into Friday by several strikes, leaving four health workers among the casualties and the dead, according to the UN World Health Organization (WHO).
2
1
2
Edited News , Press Conferences | OCHA
More than 280,000 people have been uprooted in northwest Syria in a matter of days following the sudden and massive offensive into Government-controlled areas led by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), which is sanctioned by the Security Council as a terrorist group.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
UN Human Rights Chief Volker Türk has called on the Georgian authorities to respect and protect the rights to freedoms of expression and peaceful assembly following several nights of protests that were marred by violence, and dispersed using disproportionate, and in some cases unnecessary, force by the police in the capital, Tbilisi.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk said today he was extremely concerned about the recent escalation in hostilities in northwest Syria, which further compounds the suffering endured by millions of civilians.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , WHO , OCHA
Syria escalation: Civilians face deadly attacks, health care in distress and aid access compromised
The ongoing escalation of violence in northwest Syria linked to the wider conflict in Gaza and Lebanon has left civilians dead and injured, hospitals “overwhelmed” and attacks on healthcare on the rise, the UN warned on Tuesday.
2
1
4
Press Conferences , Edited News | OCHA
Multiple unending conflicts, climate change and a glaring disregard for long-established international humanitarian law are set to leave a staggering 305 million people in need of lifesaving assistance next year, the UN’s top aid official warned on Wednesday.
Embargo Wednesday, 4 December 2024 at 0600 CET / 0000 ET
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
The UN Rights Office on Friday warned about the plight of civilians in Ukraine after further attacks on the country’s energy infrastructure.
1
1
1
Edited News | ITU
An international panel has been set up to protect undersea communications cables that are crucial for international trade and security, the UN International Telecommunication Union (ITU) said on Friday. The creation of the International Advisory Body for Submarine Cable Resilience comes amid an ongoing investigation into the severing of two fibre optic cables in the Baltic Sea, in less than 24 hours between 17 and 18 November.
2
1
2
Press Conferences , Edited News | ITU
An estimated 5.5 billion people have access to the internet in 2024, an increase of 227 million people based on revised estimates for 2023, the UN specialized agency for telecommunications, ITU, said on Wednesday.
2
1
2
Press Conferences , Edited News | UNAIDS
Launch of World AIDS Day Report 2024—Take The Rights Path
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
A joint report issued this morning by the UN Human Rights Office and the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) paints a disturbing picture of the media landscape in the country since the Taliban takeover. UN Human Rights Chief Volker Türk says.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR
UN human rights chief Volker Türk lent his weight to growing ceasefire calls in Lebanon on Tuesday, amid reports that the senior Israeli cabinet members were due to meet on a deal to end more than a year of conflict with Hezbollah militants, sparked by the war in Gaza