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Human Rights Council mulls call for probe into Iran crisis
UN human rights chief Volker Türk called on Thursday for an independent investigation into ongoing deadly violence against protesters in Iran, where security forces have used “live ammunition, birdshot and other metal pellets, teargas and batons”, he told the Human Rights Council in Geneva.
Meeting in special session at the request of Germany in response to ongoing protests in Iran that were sparked by the death in September in police custody of 22-year-old Jina Mahsa Amini, Mr. Türk criticized the “the fortress mentality of those who wield power” in Iran, before insisting that the “unnecessary and disproportionate use of force” must end.
“It pains me to see what is happening in the country,” he told the packed chamber. “The images of children killed. Of women beaten in the streets. Of people sentenced to death.”
The UN High Commissioner highlighted how the security forces, “notably the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and Basij forces have used live ammunition, birdshot and other metal pellets, teargas and batons” against the protest movement as it has spread into a reported 150 cities and 140 universities in all provinces of Iran.
Before calling for an independent probe into all rights violations, the High Commissioner noted that his Office had received “multiple communications” from Iran about the episode, “including domestic investigations”. These efforts “have failed to meet international standards of impartiality, independence and transparency”, Mr. Türk said.
Responding to the High Commissioner’s comments, Iran’s representative, Khadijeh Karimi, Deputy of the Vice President for Women and Family Affairs, insisted that after Ms. Amini’s death, “necessary measures” had been taken to seek justice by the Government. These included the formation of an independent, parliamentary investigation commission as well as a forensic medical team.
“However, before the formal announcement of the probe analysis, the biased and hasty reaction of a number of Western authorities and their interventions in internal affairs of Iran, turned the peaceful assemblies into riots and violence,” she maintained.
Also speaking at the Special Session – the Council’s 35th since it was founded in 2005 - Javaid Rehman, Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Iran insisted that in the past week, efforts to silence the protesters had intensified, including against children.
At least 60 to 70 persons have been killed, he said, including five children, mostly from Kurdish areas. He also described as “alarming” the situation in the Kurdish cities of Piranshahr, Javanrood and Mahabad.
“The Iranian Government has consistently presented unsubstantiated reports and reiterated assertions claiming that Jina Mahsa did not die as a result of any violence or beatings,” he said. “In other reports, the Government refutes the killings of children by security forces, claiming that they committed suicide, fell from a height, were poisoned or killed by anonymous ‘enemy agents’.”
These are three of an estimated 400 who have been killed because they stood up for their right to determine their own life.
Since Ms. Amini’s death following her arrest by Iran’s so-called Morality Police on 13 September, more than 300 people have been killed, including at least 40 children, according to latest UN human rights office information.
At least 15,000 people have been arrested too “and the Iranian regime is now threatening protesters with the death penalty,” said Germany’s Foreign Minister, Annalena Baerbock: “And why? Only because these women, men and children want to enjoy the rights we all want to enjoy: to live in dignity and without discrimination.”
Echoing that message, United States Ambassador (Human Rights) Michèle Taylor told the Council that the people of Iran were “asking for something so simple, something that most of us here take for granted: the opportunity to speak and to be heard. We applaud their courage, especially the women, girls and young people who are bravely demanding respect for their human rights and accountability for abuses.”
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STORY: Special Session on Iran – Human Rights Council
TRT: 3 mins 48s
SOURCE: UNTV CH
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH / NATS
ASPECT RATIO: 16:9
DATELINE: 24 November 2022 GENEVA, SWITZERLAND
SHOTLIST
- Exterior wide shot, flag alley, Palais des Nations.
- Exterior wide shot, Human Rights Council, UN Geneva.
- SOUNDBITE (English) — Volker Türk, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights: “It pains me to see what is happening in the country. The images of children killed. Of women beaten in the streets. Of people sentenced to death.”
- Medium-wide, delegates including those from Iraq, Iran, Solomon Islands and Ukraine.
- SOUNDBITE (English) — Volker Türk, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights: “The security forces, notably the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and Basij forces have used live ammunition, birdshot and other metal pellets, teargas and batons.”
- Medium-wide, myriad delegates including from Costa Rica, Croatia, Oman and Paraguay.
- SOUNDBITE (English) — Volker Türk, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights: “My Office has received multiple communications from the Government on the events, including domestic investigations into Miss Amini’s death. We remain concerned that the investigations have failed to meet international standards of impartiality, independence and transparency.”
- Medium: delegate from Iran.
- SOUNDBITE (English) — Volker Türk, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights: “I therefore call for independent, impartial and transparent investigative processes into alleged violations of human rights that are consistent with international standards.”
- Wide, panel of speakers including Human Rights Council President Federico Villegas.
- SOUNDBITE (English) — Khadijeh Karimi, Deputy of the Vice President for Women and Family Affairs of the Islamic Republic of Iran: “After the unfortunate decease of Miss Mahsa Amini, necessary measures were undertaken, including (the) planned formation of an independent, parliamentary investigation commission as well as a forensic medical team. However, before the formal announcement of the probe analysis, the biased and hasty reaction of a number of Western authorities and their interventions in internal affairs of Iran, turned the peaceful assemblies into riots and violence.”
- Medium-wide, panel of speakers including Javaid Rehman, Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran and on behalf of the Coordination Committee of Special Procedures
- SOUNDBITE (English) Javaid Rehman, Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran: “In the past seven days alone, crackdown on protests has intensified with at least 60 to 70 persons killed, including five children, most of them from Kurdish areas. The situation in the Kurdish cities of Piranshahr, Javanrood and Mahabad is alarming.”
- Medium, German delegation.
- SOUNDBITE (English) Javaid Rehman, Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran: “The Iranian Government has consistently presented unsubstantiated reports and reiterated assertions claiming that Jina Mahsa did not die as a result of any violence or beatings. In other reports, the Government refutes the killings of children by security forces, claiming that they committed suicide, fell from a height, were poisoned or killed by anonymous ‘enemy agents’.”
- Medium-wide, U.S. delegation in foreground.
- SOUNDBITE (English) — Germany’s Foreign Minister, Annalena Baerbock: “Way more than 15,000 have been arrested and the Iranian regime is now threatening protesters with the death penalty. And why? Only because these women, men and children want to enjoy the rights we all want to enjoy: to live in dignity and without discrimination.”
- Medium-wide, delegates including Belarus, Belgium, Singapore and Slovakia.
- SOUNDBITE (English) — United States Ambassador Michèle Taylor: “The people of Iran are demanding something so simple, something that most of us here take for granted: the opportunity to speak and to be heard. We applaud their courage, especially the women, girls and young people who are bravely demanding respect for their human rights and accountability for abuses.”
- Medium-wide, civil society representatives.
- Medium, U.S. delegation holds up A3 sheets containing names of alleged victims and photos.
- Medium-wide, panning, delegates including Austria, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Eritrea, Malaysia and Saudi Arabia.
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As world’s water reserves change, countries must prepare for a new reality: WMO
New data showing that rivers were at their lowest level for decades last year provides further evidence that the climate crisis is real and countries must act immediately to protect themselves from the increasing threat to communities and livelihoods, the UN World Meteorological Organization (WMO) said on Thursday.
The key findings from WMO’s State of Global Water Resources 2025 report covering the hydrological cycle and extreme events in the five-year period to last year:
- 2025 was one of driest years for river discharge in 35 years
- Past seven years have seen abnorfmal river flows
- Water storage on Earth’s land surface has decreased in past decade
- Widespread glacier loss across all regions for fourth consecutive year
- Asia and Africa are regions most affected by water-related disasters
- Water data availability has improved, but gaps remain in hard-hit areas
Highlighting the long-term decline in the Earth’s freshwater storage and glacier melt, WMO Secretary-General Celeste Saulo explained that the planet’s water reserves used to act as a planetary “savings account” that absorbed the occasional dry season, avoiding a water crisis. “One of the central stories of the 2025 report is what is happening to that savings account? And the simple answer is that we are depleting it,” she told journalists in Geneva.
Groundwater reserves are equally stretched and have been in decline since 2014, WMO’s report states, with nearly two-thirds of monitored wells worldwide showing levels lower than the historical norm and indicating a shift “further toward deficit…not recovery”.
“At the same time, we are seeing more water-related disasters,” Ms. Saulo said, while also stressing that the currently strengthening El Niño “will increase the risk of drought in some areas, and flooding in others”.
Glaciers disappearing
In 2025, for the fourth consecutive year, every major glaciated region on Earth lost ice mass, leading to short-term hazards including floods and long-term water insecurity, according to WMO.
Responding to a question about whether the changing global water cycle might have contributed to the deadly Nepal-China flooding disaster, Ms. Saulo explained that melting ice and rock was just one factor in the chain of events that ultimately sent a massive and deadly wall of water and debris downstream on 26 August, killing at least 1,367 people.
“You asked if it could happen again? Absolutely; the problem in this region is that there’s 63,700 glaciers at the last count,” she told a Press Conference in Geneva. “Even if you’re looking with remote sensing with satellites at these glaciers, you might see some faults, you might see some slight shifting, that does not mean necessarily catastrophic collapse. So, in order to plan for this, it’s very, very difficult. But the international community is looking very hard at ways in which we can bring people together to solve some of these monitoring issues.”
Data indicates that glaciers shrank between 2023 and 2025 with cumulative losses of 1,400 gigatonnes of water – or about one third of annual fresh water needs.
Every major glacier region on Earth lost ice for the fourth consecutive year.
“All 19 glacier regions around the globe lost ice; in Central Asia, Iceland, the Russian Arctic and western Canada and the United States, it was among the three worst years on record,” said Wayne Jenkinson, WMO’s Director of Hydrology and Cryosphere.
Some regions with smaller glaciers such as Central Europe, the Caucasus, the western Canada and the United States may already have reached “peak water”, Mr. Jenkinson warned.
“After this point, the glacier gives less meltwater each year simply because there is less ice left to melt. That matters for every community downstream that relies on water during hot, dry summers,” he explained.
Narelle van der Wel, WMO’s Head of Cryosphere Monitoring, Predictions and Services, stressed that while some further glacier loss is unavoidable, the eventual scale of the decline is not predetermined.
“Some glacier loss is inevitable, but total loss of glaciers is not yet inevitable,” she said, pointing to emissions reductions as central to limiting future losses.
Preparing for moving baselines
The report does not attribute every observed change to climate change alone. WMO says pressure on water resources and natural variability also contribute.
Mr. Jenkinson said governments need to prepare for “moving baselines” as historical patterns become less reliable.
“The situation 30 years ago is not where we are today,” he said. Countries, he added, need to prepare “for those changes that have really already arrived”.
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