Iran Un Experts Call For De Escalation And Accountability

Iran: UN experts call for de-escalation and accountability Press releases Special Procedures 04 March 2026 GENEVA -- UN human rights experts* today condemned the unlawful military attacks launched by the United States of America and Israel against Iran. "Unprovoked attacks by the US and Israel — launched amid diplomatic negotiations and without authorisation from the Security Council — violate the fundamental prohibition on the use of force, sovereign equality, territorial integrity, and the duty to peacefully settle disputes under Article 2 of the UN Charter.

They also violate the right to life," the experts said. They also expressed serious concern over Iran's retaliatory strikes across the Gulf and broader Middle East, reminding that any use of force in self-defence must meet the requirements of necessity and proportionality. "We cannot pick and choose when international law applies. Unlawful military intervention is not a solution to the nuclear issue, countering alleged terrorism, or the human rights situation in Iran," the experts said.

They warned that the strikes are part of a broader pattern of unlawful unilateral actions by the US and Israel destabilising the entire region including by causing the arbitrary displacement of thousands. They also expressed concern about the multiple attacks launched by Israel on Lebanon, in clear and repeated violation of international law and the ceasefire agreement, displacing, injuring and killing civilians. The experts called on all parties to immediately cease hostilities and resume diplomatic dialogue, stressing that there is no viable alternative to the peaceful settlement of disputes.

"These attacks do not strike military abstractions - they strike people," they said. "Civilians are bearing the brunt of this war with their lives, their safety, their environment and their health. In a country that has already lost thousands to violent repression following the nationwide protests that began on 28 December 2025, these attacks deepen an already profound human tragedy." The experts condemned the strike on a girls' primary school in Minab, Hormozgan Province, that has killed over 160 schoolgirls and injured many others.

Attacks on other densely populated areas, the Iranian Red Crescent, and numerous other hospitals, including Tehran's Gandhi Hospital and Khatam al-Anbia Hospital, have also been reported. "The targeting of civilians, educational facilities, and medical institutions constitutes a grave violation of international humanitarian law and human rights law," they said. "Unlawful military intervention must not be seen as the solution to the grievances of the Iranian people, nor would any future nuclear deal that does not address these wider grievances be mistaken for one," the experts said.

"Calls by the US and Israel for Iranians to seize control of their own government are reckless and put countless civilian lives at risk." "Iranian authorities have weaponised Internet restrictions, with connectivity now collapsed to approximately 1 per cent of normal levels. During armed conflict, communications shutdowns isolate ordinary people, preventing them from understanding or documenting what is happening in their own country," they said.

The experts reiterated their call for the release of all those arbitrarily detained following the nationwide protests, as well as for disclosure of the fate and whereabouts of all those forcibly disappeared. Reports indicate that conditions inside some Iranian prisons have become critical, with wards being locked, and prisoners facing acute shortages of food and medical care. "Prison conditions, combined with the current telecommunications shutdown, place detainees at a heightened risk of serious human rights violations, with little prospect of outside scrutiny," they said.

They expressed serious concern about the potential for a sharp rise in executions and the prosecution of individuals on national security grounds, including espionage charges targeting those perceived as having foreign connections or who have spoken out against the State. The experts called for the immediate cessation of fighting. "Any path forward must be grounded in the rule of law, the will of the Iranian people, and full accountability for the violation of international law, by all parties," they said.

"The rights, safety, and voices of the Iranian people must be placed at the centre of efforts to end this crisis, without external interference." *The experts: - Mai Sato, Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran - Cecilia M.

Bailliet, Independent Expert on human rights and international solidarity - Astrid Puentes Riaño, Special Rapporteur on the human right to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment - Alexandra Xanthaki, Special Rapporteur in the field of cultural rights - Farida Shaheed, Special Rapporteur on the right to education - Surya Deva, Special Rapporteur on the right to development - Margaret Satterthwaite, Special Rapporteur on the independence of judges and lawyers - Gina Romero, Special Rapporteur on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association - Nicolas Levrat, Special Rapporteur on minority issues - Richard Bennett, Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Afghanistan - Tomoya Obokata, Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of slavery, including its causes and consequences - Mary Lawlor, Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders - Ben Saul, Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms while c...

Alice Jill Edwards, Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment - Francesca Albanese, Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Palestinian territories occupied since 1...

Morris Tidball-Binz, Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions - Siobhán Mullally, Special Rapporteur on trafficking in persons, especially women and children - Gabriella Citroni (Chair-Rapporteur), Grażyna Baranowska (Vice-Chair), Aua Baldé, and Ana Lorena Delgadillo PérezWorking Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances - Bina D'Costa, member, Working Group of experts on people of African descent - Claudia Flores (Chair), Ivana Krstić (Vice Chair), Dorothy Estrada-Tanck, and Haina Lu, Working Group on discrimination against women and girls - Reem Alsalem, Special Rapportier on violence against women and girls - Paula Gaviria Betancur, Special Rapporteur on the human rights of internally displaced persons - Elizabeth Salmón, Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea - Mariana Katzarova, Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Russian Federation Special Rapporteurs/Independent Experts/Working Groups are independent human rights experts appointed by the United Nations Human Rights Council.

Together, these experts are referred to as the Special Procedures of the Human Rights Council. Special Procedures experts work on a voluntary basis; they are not UN staff and do not receive a salary for their work. While the UN Human Rights office acts as the secretariat for Special Procedures, the experts serve in their individual capacity and are independent from any government or organisation, including OHCHR and the UN.

Any views or opinions presented are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of the UN or OHCHR. Country-specific observations and recommendations by the UN human rights mechanisms, including the special procedures, the treaty bodies and the Universal Periodic Review, can be found on the Universal Human Rights Index https://uhri.ohchr.org/en/

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