Two days after US and Israeli strikes on Iran ignited a widening confrontation, members of the UN rights body aired grievances and geopolitical mistrust, revealing sharp divisions as Tehran retaliates across the region.
As the United Nations Human Rights Council began its second week in Geneva, member states added time to their Monday morning gathering to respond to this weekend’s attacks by the United States and Israel on Iran, and Iran’s retaliatory strikes on regional targets.
The statements from the nearly 50 members of the council come two days after the UN’s 15-member Security Council met in New York, where UN secretary general António Guterres denounced the use of force by the three countries. The Security Council was set to reconvene on Monday afternoon in New York under the chair of Melania Trump, the US president’s wife.
Following the initial attacks on Saturday by US and Israeli forces, UN human rights chief Volker Türk delivered a statement deploring the operations as well as the riposte by Iran. He called for restraint and a return to the negotiating table, a reference to nuclear talks between the US and Iran, last held in Geneva on Thursday and which had been expected to resume in Vienna this week.
By Monday afternoon, the conflict’s casualty toll had risen in Iran to at least 555 people killed, according to the national Red Crescent society. The deadliest single incident took place at a girls’ elementary school in southeastern Iran, in which at least 153 people died. Over 30 people died in Israeli air attacks on southern Lebanon targeting Hezbollah. A missile strike in central Israel reportedly killed 10 people, while four US soldiers had been killed in operations in the region. Gulf states, including Iraq, Bahrain, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates also reported a number of deaths and several dozen casualties from Iranian strikes.
Geopolitical nuances
Statements made in Geneva on Monday revealed current geopolitical alignments and strategic calculations. Michele Cervone d’Urso, ambassador and deputy permanent representative of the European Union said it was following developments with “utmost concern” and called for “maximum restraint, protection of civilians and full respect of international law,” without naming any countries responsible for the military conflict. Experts, including former Human Rights Watch director Kenneth Roth, have denounced the US and Israeli military attack on Iran as an act of illegal aggression, uncalled for by either the UN Security Council or as self-defence to an imminent attack. US Democrat lawmakers have stressed that the US operations were carried out without Congressional approval.
France referred to an earlier joint pronouncement with Germany and the United Kingdom over the weekend, criticising the “indiscriminate attacks by Iran” while the Netherlands said Iran had to “cease its attacks on our partners in the Gulf”. Spain’s representative was the only European to condemn the “unilateral action by the United States and Israel”, while also rejecting attacks by Iran.
Venezuela, which became a reference over the weekend for political analysts speculating on Washington’s perceived regime-change plans for Iran, may have surprised a few attending the council’s discussions. Its representative, who until the capture of president Nicolás Maduro in January by US forces, was known for fiery declarations against Washington, failed to criticise the US military actions, while underscoring Caracas’ “commitment …to oppose aggression, intervention and neo-colonial practices” and mentioning how “our president and his wife were abducted”.
Nearer to the frontlines in what many fear risks becoming a regional conflict, countries which recently have moved closer to Israel, condemned Tehran’s strikes on their countries, often where US forces have been based. Kuwait, where three US fighter jets mistakenly shot down yesterday, accused Iran of its “violent, blatant violation of our sovereignty, international law, UN Charter and principles of good neighbour relations.” It also affirmed its right to self-defence under the UN Charter.
Qatar, where the largest US military base in the region is located, and which was hit by two Iranian ballistic missiles, warned that the rising use of force “will lead the world to greater damage and division”.
Speaking on behalf of the Arab Group in the Council, Saudi Arabia, long engaged in a proxy war with Iran over influence in the Middle East, said the attacks by Iran constituted an “extremely grave violation of international humanitarian law” at a time that regional countries sought to bolster dialogue.
China, which has maintained close trade ties with Iran, relying heavily on Iranian oil imports, was critical of the US-Israeli attacks on its partner, saying that it “tramples upon the purposes and principles of the UN Charter” and “brutally violates Iranian peoples’ human rights”. Cuba, which has received credit lines from Iran over the past decade, also condemned the US attacks.
Lebanon, where 31 people were killed in the capital by Israeli forces following an Iran-allied Hezbollah militant attack on Haifa, condemned the recent attacks in the region, stating that they “undermine the sovereignty and security of brotherly Arab states”
Throughout the day, Iran, which does not sit on the council, sent letters to a host of UN leaders and experts pleading with them to condemn the attacks by Israeli and US forces.
