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New Indian Express
2 days ago
- Politics
- New Indian Express
Surge in Iran executions worrying, says UN
GENEVA: The United Nations on Monday urged Iran to stop using the death penalty, citing a "worrying surge in executions" that has included at least 612 people being killed so far this year. "Reports that there have been several hundred executions in Iran so far this year underscore how deeply disturbing the situation has become and the urgent need for an immediate moratorium in the country on the use of the death penalty," said a statement from UN human rights chief Volker Turk. According to information gathered by the UN Human Rights Office, at least 612 people were reportedly executed in the first half of 2025. The figure is more than double the number during the same period in 2024, when the Iranian authorities reportedly carried out at least 297 executions, the statement said. Minorities are disproportionately affected, it added. "It is alarming to see the reports that indicate there are at least 48 people currently on death row -- 12 of whom are believed to be at imminent risk of execution," said Turk.
The Sun
2 days ago
- Politics
- The Sun
UN warns of worrying surge in Iran executions in 2025
GENEVA: The United Nations has called on Iran to halt executions following a sharp rise in capital punishments, with at least 612 people executed in the first half of 2025. UN human rights chief Volker Turk described the situation as 'deeply disturbing,' urging an immediate moratorium on the death penalty. The UN Human Rights Office reported that the number of executions has more than doubled compared to the same period in 2024, when at least 297 people were executed. Minorities are disproportionately affected, with at least 48 individuals currently on death row, 12 of whom face imminent execution. Turk highlighted concerns over judicial fairness, stating that many trials were held behind closed doors and failed to meet due process standards. Over 40% of executions this year involved drug-related offences, while others faced vague charges like 'enmity against God' and 'corruption on Earth,' often used to suppress dissent. Human rights groups, including Amnesty International, rank Iran as the world's second-most prolific executioner after China. Executions are typically carried out by hanging at dawn. NGOs accuse Iranian authorities of intensifying repression following the 12-day war with Israel, using executions to instil fear. – AFP
Scoop
5 days ago
- Politics
- Scoop
Afghanistan: UN Report Documents Human Rights Violations Of Forced Returnees
KABUL/GENEVA (24 July 2025) – A UN report published today documents the cases of individuals involuntarily returned to Afghanistan who have experienced serious human rights violations on the basis of their specific profiles. These violations have included torture and ill-treatment, arbitrary arrest and detention, and threats to personal security – at the hands of the de facto authorities. Since 2023, large numbers of Afghans have been involuntarily returned to the country, primarily by Pakistan and Iran. The report issued by the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan and the UN Human Rights Office found that groups of people returning to the country who were at particular risk of reprisals and other human rights violations by the de facto authorities were women and girls, individuals affiliated with the former government and its security forces, media workers and civil society. It is based on interviews conducted in 2024 with 49 individuals involuntarily returned to Afghanistan. 'Nobody should be sent back to a country where they face risk of persecution on account of their identity or personal history,' said UN Human Rights Chief Volker Türk. 'In Afghanistan, this is even more pronounced for women and girls, who are subjected to a range of measures that amount to persecution on the basis of their gender alone.' Interviewees affiliated with the former government and its security forces revealed that they had been forced to go into hiding since returning due to fears of reprisals, despite the de facto authorities' publicly stated amnesty for all who had previously fought against them in the conflict. For women involuntarily returned to the country, the situation is particularly severe. One former TV reporter who left the country after the takeover in August 2021 due to earlier Taliban threats described how, after her involuntary return to Afghanistan, she and other women in similar situation found there that there were no job opportunities, no freedom of movement, and no access to education beyond grade six for women and girls. 'I can unequivocally state that I am effectively under house detention,' she said. A former government official described how, after his return in 2023, he was detained for two nights in a house where he was severely tortured, including beatings with sticks, cables and wood, waterboarding, and was subjected to a mock execution. His leg was broken as a result. Sending people back to a country where they are at risk of persecution, torture or other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, enforced disappearance or other irreparable harm, is in violation of the principle of non-refoulement and a serious breach of international law. The report urges States to ensure that individualised assessments are carried out before any return of persons to Afghanistan, and to refrain from returning any individuals at real risk of serious human rights violations to Afghanistan. States are also called on to increase the availability of safe pathways for Afghans at risk to leave the country and to remain safely in their territories without fear of detention for purposes of expulsion. Many hundreds of thousands of Afghans have been involuntarily returned from Pakistan and Iran, placing enormous pressure on the limited resources available to the de facto authorities to address their needs more generally. The report also recommends that States increase financial support to ensure that sustainable reintegration is possible. 'While the de facto authorities have responded in a coordinated manner to the significant influx of returnees to Afghanistan in recent years, more needs to be done to ensure that all returnees are included in society and have their human rights upheld,' said Roza Otunbayeva, the Secretary-General's Special Representative for Afghanistan and head of UNAMA. 'The participation of all Afghans in the social, political and economic life of the country is critical to the development and prosperity of the nation. I urge the de facto authorities to uphold their obligations under international law and their responsibilities to the Afghan people.'
South China Morning Post
6 days ago
- Politics
- South China Morning Post
Taiwan donation vow to Israeli settlement is cynical and foolish
The cynicism is breathtaking. Or maybe it's just foolishness. With Taiwanese leader William Lai Ching-te and his minions at the Democratic Progressive Party, it's often hard to tell. Advertisement While Israel is busy committing genocide in Gaza, and Jewish settlers and the military are running rampant across the occupied West Bank, Taipei has pledged to donate to an Israeli settlement for a health project there. At least 964 Palestinians in the West Bank have been killed between the start of the Gaza war in October 2023 and the middle of this month. About 1,400 Palestinian homes have either been demolished or face being torn down, according to the UN Human Rights Office. But rest assured the health project won't be serving Palestinians, nor has there been any pretence that it would. Now, Israel doesn't need the donation. The GDP per capita of Taiwan and that of Israel are comparable, with the island's only slightly higher. Couldn't Taiwan at least donate to some project inside Israel proper, and thus avoid any controversy? But that would be a waste of time for Israel. The whole point, of course, is to make Taipei donate inside the illegal military occupation! Why? Because the donation, if and when it is made, would be interpreted as Taiwan's tacit endorsement of the illegal Israeli occupation. Advertisement However, it would also be a direct breach of international law. The Israeli military occupation is universally recognised as illegal. A year ago, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) issued an advisory opinion stating that all states must prevent trade and investment relations that assist in the maintenance of the unlawful occupation by Israel.
21-07-2025
- Politics
Canada joins allies in demanding Israel stop 'dangerous' aid delivery in Gaza
Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand and 24 of her counterparts abroad have signed a joint statement saying the war in Gaza must end now, while calling on Israel to stop displacing Palestinians. The signatories — who include the foreign ministers of France, Japan and the U.K., as well as the European Union commissioner for equality, preparedness and crisis management — called Israel's aid distribution system dangerous. The ministers also condemned Hamas for continuing to hold hostages captured from Israel in the Oct. 7, 2023, attack and called for their immediate release. They said it's horrifying that over 800 Palestinians have been killed while seeking aid. That death toll is based on figures released by the UN Human Rights Office (new window) . The suffering of civilians in Gaza has reached new depths. The Israeli government's aid delivery model is dangerous, fuels instability and deprives Gazans of human dignity. We condemn the drip feeding of aid and the inhumane killing of civilians, including children, seeking to meet their most basic needs of water and food, the ministers wrote. The ministers decry proposals by Israeli officials to concentrate Palestinians in Gaza into one city. Permanent forced displacement is a violation of international humanitarian law, the statement notes. Enlarge image (new window) Ministers from 24 nations, including Canada, called on Monday for an end to the war. Photo: Associated Press / Jehad Alshrafi It also takes aim at the Israeli government's proposed expansion of settlements in the Palestinian territories it occupies, particularly as it seeks to divide the West Bank from East Jerusalem. This would critically undermine the two-state solution, the statement said, noting an increase in the building of settlements that Canada considers illegal, at a time when settler violence against Palestinians has soared. Israel rejects statement Oren Marmorstein, spokesman for Israel's Foreign Affairs Ministry, said Israel rejects the joint statement, calling it disconnected from reality and saying it sends the wrong message to Hamas. The statement fails to focus the pressure on Hamas and fails to recognize Hamas's role and responsibility for the situation. Hamas is the sole party responsible for the continuation of the war and the suffering on both sides, Marmorstein wrote in a social media statement. At these sensitive moments in the ongoing negotiations, it is better to avoid statements of this kind. Marmorstein said that Hamas is solely to blame for the lack of movement on a ceasefire and on releasing the hostages. He accused Hamas of deliberately increasing tensions and civilian harm at humanitarian aid stations. WATCH | Weekend attacks near aid sites kill at least 85: The ministers who signed the statement are calling on the Israeli government to lift all restrictions on aid delivery and to enable the UN and humanitarian NGOs to do their work safely and effectively. Most of the food supplies Israel has allowed into Gaza go to the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), an American contractor backed by Israel. Witnesses and health officials say that since the group's operations began in late May, hundreds of Palestinians have been killed by Israeli army fire while trying to reach aid distribution sites. Israel blocked aid for three months before setting up GHF sites, effectively shutting down hundreds of sites that had been operated by international agencies across Gaza. Israel says it had to take this step to prevent aid from reaching Hamas, which had been selling vital supplies and food to pay its fighters. But UN agencies say this was not happening to a large extent. While the United States, Qatar and Egypt did not sign the letter, the ministers who did sign say they support the efforts of those three countries to negotiate a ceasefire. The U.S. and Germany were the only G7 countries that did not endorse the statement. In addition to Canada, the signatories include Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, The Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom. The signatories added they are prepared to take further action to support an immediate ceasefire and establish a political pathway to peace in the region. David Baxter (new window) · The Canadian Press With files from The Associated Press
