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 | UNICEF
Somalia: child hunger surges as humanitarian aid dries up – UNICEF
The global funding crisis for vital lifesaving work is taking a growing toll on the most vulnerable children in Somalia, where hundreds of health and nutrition facilities have been forced to close, the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) warned on Friday
1
1
1
Edited News | OCHA
As the deadliest Ebola outbreak in DR Congo’s history continued spreading on Friday, UN responders renewed their urgent appeal for immediate international support, with existing funding for lifesaving work critically low.
1
1
1
Edited News | WHO
DRC: In the fight against Ebola, bikers transporting dead bodies hold key to community engagement - WHO
From the frontlines of the deadliest-ever Ebola Bundibugyo outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), the UN’s World Health Organization (WHO) shared details on Tuesday of a massive push for community engagement, a day after yet another ambulance attack.
1
1
1
Edited News | UNFPA
Sudan: The harrowing reality of giving birth in a war zone
Sudanese women about to give birth are losing their babies and sometimes their own lives because of a lack of specialist healthcare support, amid the ongoing war, UN humanitarians said on Friday.
1
1
1
Edited News | OCHA , WHO
Colombia earthquake: International teams ready to support, says UN
As earthquake rescue efforts across western Colombia continued on Tuesday, UN agencies said that they stood ready to help “with everything we've got” if and when the request came from the authorities.
2
1
2
Edited News , Press Conferences | HRC
Myanmar's military has carried out a sustained campaign of deliberate attacks on civilians – including airstrikes on homes, schools and camps for displaced people, alongside arbitrary detention, torture and sexual violence – Human Rights Council-appointed investigators said on Tuesday.
1
6
1
1
Edited News | UNOG
In a new twist on panda diplomacy, UN Geneva welcomed five young peacocks to the Palace of Nations on Friday, a gift of India that preserves a tradition of keeping the stately birds in the grounds, that predates both the global body and its ill-fated predecessor, the League of Nations.
1
1
1
Edited News | WFP
Afghanistan’s hunger crisis intensifies as millions go without food aid – WFP
Afghanistan’s dire hunger crisis now affects 14 million people including babies fed on weak tea and a little bread by their despairing and dirt-poor parents.
In a new alert on Tuesday, the UN World Food Programme (WFP) said that one in three Afghans is now in the grip of acute food insecurity and that it lacks the resources to contain the deepening crisis.
1
1
2
Edited News | IOM
From fake jobs to forced crime: IOM sounds alarm on human trafficking behind online scams
A job offer can conceal a criminal network and a single click can lead to a nightmare. Lured by false promises of legitimate employment abroad, hundreds of thousands of people are being trafficked each year, held captive and forced to carry out online scams.
Ahead of World Day Against Trafficking in Persons marked on 30 July, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) is raising the alarm over a rapidly expanding multibillion-dollar criminal industry that turns job seekers into victims of forced cybercrime.
1
1
1
Edited News | UN WOMEN
In Sudan’s El Obeid, women risk drone attacks by day and rape by night to access water
As war intensifies in the city of El Obeid in North Kordofan state, filling up a jerrycan of water comes at a high risk for women and girls: by day, drones strike water points and by night, women who venture out to fill a bucket risk rape. UN Women warns of a dual terror that has turned access to water into a deadly gamble.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
UN Human Rights spokesperson Shabia Mantoo made the following remarks on stranded Hormuz seafarers abandoned for months at sea, at the bi-weekly press briefing in Geneva.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
At the bi-weekly press conference in Geneva, Thameen Al-Kheetan, spokesperson for the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, and Danielle Bell, head of UN Human Rights’ Ukraine team, spoke of the deepening impact of the war on the civilian population.