‘Grave risks’: Return to US-Iran hostilities is huge setback for civilians, UN rights chief says
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UN human rights chief Volker Turk said the resumption of hostilities between the US and Iran in the Middle East risked severe disruption to the flow of food, medicines, and other essentials in the Middle East and beyond.
PHOTO: REUTERS
- The UN human rights chief called the return of US-Iran hostilities a major setback for civilians, risking severe disruption to food, medicine, and essential supplies.
- US air strikes targeted Iranian sites near the Strait of Hormuz, which Iran claimed to have closed, escalating regional conflict.
- Iran responded with missile attacks on a US base in Jordan, casting doubt on a June MoU to end the war and raising humanitarian concerns.
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GENEVA - The UN human rights chief said on July 14 the resumption of hostilities between the United States and Iran was a significant blow to civilians in the region that risked severe disruption to the flow of food, medicines, and other essentials.
The fighting “undermines peace efforts and deepens instability, with grave risks for human rights across the entire region,” the UN high commissioner for human rights Volker Turk said in a statement.
“The return to wider hostilities in the Middle East between the US and Iran is a huge setback for civilians in the region and beyond,” he added, urging restraint.
In the latest overnight strikes, the United States attacked Iranian targets for five hours in a battle for control of the Strait of Hormuz, which Tehran said it had closed, in the third successive night of US strikes on Iran.
On July 14, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said a US air base in Jordan had been targeted with ballistic missiles. The strikes have increased doubts that a memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed in June will lead to a permanent halt in the war.
Turk raised alarm about the potential human rights impact of the closure of the Strait of Hormuz.
“It is a vital lifeline on which millions are reliant. Disruptions to the flow of food, medicines, and other necessary commodities have severe socio-economic and humanitarian consequences, both regionally and globally,” he stated. REUTERS
