The United Nations Office at Geneva
Multimedia Newsroom
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
UN Human Rights Spokesperson Liz Throssell on Iran Executions in 2024
“Most of the executions last year were for drug-related offences, but dissidents and people connected to the 2022 protests were also executed. There was also a rise in the number of women executed,” she said.
“It is high time Iran stemmed this ever-swelling tide of executions,” the spokesperson said.
The UN Human Rights Office opposes the death penalty under all circumstances. It is incompatible with the fundamental right to life and raises the unacceptable risk of executing innocent people. “And to be clear, it can never be imposed for conduct that is protected under international human rights law,” Throssell said.
“We understand that at least 31 women were reportedly executed in 2024. Now, that marks the highest number in 15 years,” she said.
“The majority of cases involve charges of murder. A significant number of the women were victims of domestic violence, child marriage or forced marriage. A number of them were convicted of murdering their husbands.”
“The UN Human Rights Chief Volker Türk urges the Iranian authorities to halt all further executions, and to place a moratorium on the use of the death penalty with a view to ultimately abolishing it. Some 170 States have either abolished the death penalty or imposed a moratorium on its use,” Throssell said.
END
In Geneva:
Ravina Shamdasani - + 41 22 917 9169 / ravina.shamdasani@un.org
Liz Throssell + 41 22 917 9296 / elizabeth.throssell@un.org
Jeremy Laurence - + 41 22 917 9383 / jeremy.laurence@un.org
Thameen Al-Kheetan - + 41 76 223 77 62 / thameen.alkheetan@un.org
Tag and share - Twitter: @UNHumanRights and Facebook: unitednationshumanrights
STORY: UN Human Rights Spokesperson Liz Throssell on Iran Executions in 2024
TRT: 01:55
SOURCE: OHCHR / UNOG
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: English/NATS
ASPECT RATIO: 16:9
DATELINE: 07 January 2025 GENEVA, SWITZERLAND
SHOTLIST
- Exterior shot : Palais des Nations
- SOUNDBITE (English)— Liz Throssell, Spokesperson for the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR): “We are deeply troubled by the marked increase in executions in Iran last year. At least 901 people were reportedly executed in 2024, including some 40 in one week alone in December. At least 853 people were executed in 2023.”
- Cut away: briefing room
- SOUNDBITE (English)— Liz Throssell, Spokesperson for the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR): “Most of the executions last year were for drug-related offences, but dissidents and people connected to the 2022 protests were also executed. There was also a rise in the number of women executed.”
- Cut away: briefing room
- SOUNDBITE (English)— Liz Throssell, Spokesperson for the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR): “It is high time Iran stemmed this ever-swelling tide of executions.”
- Cut away: briefing room
- SOUNDBITE (English)— Liz Throssell, Spokesperson for the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR): “And to be clear, it can never be imposed for conduct that is protected under international human rights law.”
- Cut away: briefing room
- SOUNDBITE (English)— Liz Throssell, Spokesperson for the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR): “We understand that at least 31 women were reportedly executed in 2024. Now, that marks the highest number in 15 years.
- Cut away: briefing room
- SOUNDBITE (English)— Liz Throssell, Spokesperson for the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR): “the majority of cases involve charges of murder. A significant, number of the women, were victims of domestic violence, child marriage or forced marriage. A number of them were convicted of murdering their husbands.”
- Cut away: briefing room
- SOUNDBITE (English)— Liz Throssell, Spokesperson for the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR): “The UN Human Rights Chief Volker Türk urges the Iranian authorities to halt all further executions, and to place a moratorium on the use of the death penalty with a view to ultimately abolishing it. Some 170 States have either abolished the death penalty or imposed a moratorium on its use”
Similar Stories
1
1
1
Edited News | UNIFIL
UN peacekeepers are supporting civilians who’ve chosen to stay in the south amid deadly dangers from Israel-Hezbollah clashes, UNIFIL spokesperson Kandace Ardiel tells us.
1
1
1
Edited News | UNHCR , WFP
Middle East war fallout: Hundreds of thousands flee Lebanon to Syria; vital food aid blocked – UN agencies
The trauma of mass displacement and humanitarian supply chain disruptions throughout the world are among the devastating impacts of the war raging in the Middle East, UN humanitarians warned on Tuesday.
1
1
1
Edited News | UNRWA
Bitterness, sadness and pride for UNRWA staff, says departing chief
Asking the softly spoken, veteran humanitarian worker Philippe Lazzarini how he feels as he comes to the end of his second term as the head of the UN agency for Palestinians, UNRWA, is perhaps an unfair question.
1
1
1
Edited News | IFRC , UN WOMEN , UNHCR , UNICEF , WHO
Middle East war causes civilian terror and disrupts aid, but some relief efforts resume.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR
UN Human Rights Chief Volker Türk addressed the Human Rights Council, delivering a video statement on the strike that hit a girls school in Minab, Iran recently, calling for accountability and protection of children.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
A new UN Human Rights report published on Tuesday details the human rights impacts of the expanding reach of gangs in Haiti. According to data verified by the Office, at least 5,519 people were killed in Haiti, and 2,608 were injured between 1 March 2025 and 15 January 2026.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
UN Human Rights spokesperson Marta Hurtado on Tuesday described the deadly impact of drone strikes in Sudan.
1
1
1
Edited News | WHO , OHCHR
Sudan: Hospital strike highlights surge in drone attacks on civilians
The death toll from a horrific attack on a hospital in Sudan’s Darfur has risen further, amid a “sharp increase” in drone attacks against civilians this year, UN agencies said on Tuesday.
1
1
1
Edited News | UNCTAD
Middle East conflict impacts global trade, raising oil and commodity prices due to disruptions.
3
1
3
Press Conferences , Edited News | WMO
WMO State of the Global Climate 2025 report - UNDER EMBARGO 0400 GMT (0500 CET) Monday, 23 March 2026
UN weather agency warns of record ‘climate imbalance’ as planetary warming accelerates
All-time high greenhouse gas concentrations in our planet’s atmosphere continue to drive heat records on land and sea, with long-lasting consequences for humanity, the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) has warned.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
A UN Human Rights Office report released today on Israel’s settlement expansion in the occupied West Bank.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
UN Human Rights Spokesperson Thameen Al-Kheetan made the following remarks on Tuesday concerning the deadly blast at a drug rehabilitation centre in Kabul: