As representatives of Iran and the United States reportedly prepared to sign a new peace agreement by the end of the week, the United Nations stressed the urgent need on Monday to open an aid corridor through the choked-off Strait of Hormuz to prevent a global hunger crisis that could lead to an additional 45 million people facing extreme hunger.
At the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva, UN Deputy High Commissioner for Human Rights Awa Dabo emphasized how the disruption of shipping in the narrow Strait of Hormuz and the US naval blockade of ships using Iranian ports has thrown the world’s energy supply network into disarray.
The crisis has seriously impacted aviation and restricted humanitarian aid flows, causing a broader crisis that continues to affect people across the region and beyond. Fertilizer shortages are another deepening concern.
“Economists warn that unless the Strait is opened, some of the world's most vulnerable economies could be thrown into chaos, increasing poverty and hunger for millions,” Dabo said.
She emphasized that it “is essential that all those involved in the blockade of maritime traffic restore the free flow of goods and energy supplies through the Strait of Hormuz immediately, to prevent a global energy and food security catastrophe.”
Dabo insisted that “at a bare minimum, specialized agencies, including the UN World Food Programme (WFP) and the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), must have the resources needed to prevent the projected global food security crisis”.
Earlier on Monday, Volker TĂĽrk, the UN human rights chief, welcomed the reported peace agreement and called on all warring parties to end hostilities and push for a lasting ceasefire.
“At this fragile moment, all sides need to exercise maximum restraint and work to consolidate the ceasefire and translate it into a comprehensive peace agreement,” Türk said while addressing the Human Rights Council.
His appeal followed UN Secretary-General António Guterres’s comments welcoming the announcement as a “critical step” toward ending the conflict.
According to a statement issued Sunday by the UN chief’s spokesman, the peace deal provides for an immediate and permanent ceasefire, reopening the Strait of Hormuz, and a framework for further negotiations.
The strategic strait is a key shipping lane through which about 20 percent of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas normally passes.
In Geneva on Monday, TĂĽrk also called for the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz and stressed that the conflict has had a devastating impact on human rights across the region and around the world.
TĂĽrk also urged those with influence to end the unbearable suffering of Palestinians and hold those responsible to account.
“In Gaza, Israeli forces have killed almost 1,000 Palestinians since the ceasefire was announced last October, the vast majority civilians. The Israeli authorities are pushing Palestinians into an ever-shrinking portion of the territory and imposing restrictions on lifesaving aid,” Türk said
“Some senior Israeli officials have spoken publicly of the removal of all Palestinians from Gaza, and of ending any possibility of a viable Palestinian state. All of this is totally illegal.”
Turning to Lebanon, the High Commissioner said that “the renewed escalation between Hezbollah and Israel […] has dragged the Lebanese people once again into a war that is not of their making and I hope yesterday’s announcement will also bring them much needed relief.”
He called for an immediate end to hostilities, Israel's withdrawal from Lebanese territory, and investigations into violations committed by all parties of international humanitarian and human rights law.
After the war against Iran began on February 28 with US and Israeli strikes across Iran, the Iranian military responded with attacks on Israel and US allied states in the Gulf.
Lebanon was also drawn into the war when Hezbollah fighters based in the country began firing on Israeli territory, reportedly causing two civilian deaths in northern Israel. Since March 2, Israeli airstrikes and large-scale ground incursions in Lebanon have killed more than 3,700 people and injured over 11,000.
In Iran, Israeli and US strikes have reportedly killed thousands of civilians, “including hundreds of children, and destroyed hospitals, schools, homes, and other infrastructure”, Türk told the Human Rights Council, deploring “the use of force against Iran by Israel and the United States”.
Since the war began on February 28, nearly 3,400 people have reportedly been killed in airstrikes by the Israel and the United States across Iran, leaving more than 32,000 injured and devastating millions of lives.
The US-Israeli air campaign in densely populated areas triggered massive displacement, with millions fleeing the capital Tehran in search of safety. At the beginning of the war, some 3.2 million people were temporarily displaced. In total, nearly 150,000 homes, shops, schools, and other civilian buildings have been damaged, directly affecting an estimated 400,000 people.
The UN human rights chief highlighted the mass killing of mainly Iranian schoolchildren on the first day of the war and called for the findings of the US investigation into the attack on the Minab school, which left more than 156 people dead, to be made public.
In his global update to the Human Rights Council, Türk warned that an “unprecedented, shameless onslaught against international law is causing appalling human suffering.”
“We must call it out, every time and everywhere, and work to contain and end it,” he stressed.
In his speech, the UN rights chief also addressed situations in Ukraine, Sudan, Haiti, and many other countries, regions, and territories.