Latest news with #UNHumanRightsCouncil
Maroc
an hour ago
- Politics
- Maroc
HRC: Morocco Calls for Placing Human Rights at Heart of Anti-corruption Efforts
Morocco's Ambassador and Permanent Representative to the United Nations Office in Geneva, Omar Zniber, called on Friday for placing human rights at the heart of all anti-corruption initiatives. "A human rights-based approach remains the cornerstone of any effective anti-corruption strategy," Zniber stated at the opening of a high-level side event on "Human Rights and Anti-Corruption in Practice," held on the sidelines of the 59th session of the UN Human Rights Council (HRC) in Geneva. "From Morocco's perspective, prevention must lie at the center of all efforts to eliminate this scourge from our societies," he noted at the event held by the core group behind the resolution on "The Negative Impact of Corruption on the Enjoyment of Human Rights." The diplomat underlined that the Marrakech Declaration, adopted in 2011, remains a "key roadmap" for states aiming to align anti-corruption efforts with human rights objectives. He further urged stronger synergy between the HRC's work and the monitoring of the declaration's implementation. He also highlighted Morocco's "significant progress" in the fight against corruption as part of its national effort to promote and protect human rights. He cited Morocco's 2011 Constitution, which introduced laws penalizing conflicts of interest, insider trading, and financial crimes, alongside the establishment of the National Authority for Integrity, Prevention, and Anti-Corruption. Reflecting on the impact of corruption, the diplomat warned that it "undermines social cohesion, erodes trust in public institutions, exacerbates inequality, and fosters conditions for the most serious human rights violations." "Effective policies to prevent and combat corruption are essential to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals by 2030," he said, adding that "States carry the primary responsibility to prevent and remedy human rights violations arising from corruption." This fundamental obligation was highlighted by the founding report of the Human Rights Council Advisory Committee in 2015, whose recommendations have since been incorporated into the Council's biannual resolution presented by Morocco on behalf of the core group, which also includes Argentina, Austria, Brazil, Ethiopia, Indonesia, Poland, the United Kingdom, and Ecuador, the diplomat recalled. This year's resolution builds on progress made since 2015, aiming to clarify states' procedural and substantive obligations in upholding human rights within anti-corruption frameworks. The side event was co-organized by the resolution's sponsors, the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, Transparency International, and the UNCAC Coalition. It sought to foster stronger links between the implementation of the UN Convention against Corruption and international human rights mechanisms, offering practical tools and sharing experiences to help bridge the gap between anti-corruption efforts and human rights protection. MAP: 19 June 2025
The Hindu
an hour ago
- Politics
- The Hindu
Iran rules out nuclear talks under Israeli fire
Iran said on Friday (June 20, 2025) it would not discuss the future of its nuclear programme while under attack by Israel, as Europe tried to coax Tehran back into negotiations and the United States considers whether to get involved in the conflict. A week after it began attacking Iran, Israel's military said it had carried out new strikes on dozens of military targets overnight, including missile production sites and a research organisation involved in nuclear weapons development in Tehran. Iran launched at least one new barrage of missiles early on Friday (June 20, 2025), striking near residential apartments, office buildings and industrial facilities in the southern city of Beersheba. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said on Friday (June 20, 2025) there was no room for negotiations with Israel's superpower ally, the United States, 'until Israeli aggression stops'. He was holding talks with top European diplomats in Geneva on Friday about the crisis that centres on concerns about his country's nuclear programme. He arrived at a hotel in the Swiss city for a meeting with his counterparts from France, Germany and the U.K. and the European Union's foreign policy chief. It is the first face-to-face meeting between Western and Iranian officials since the start of the conflict. Two diplomats said before the meeting that Mr. Araghchi would be told the U.S. is still open to direct talks. Diplomats say expectations for a breakthrough are low. Just before meeting the European diplomats, Mr. Araghchi made a brief appearance before the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva. He said that Israel's 'attacks on nuclear facilities are grave war crimes', and insisted that 'we are entitled… and determined to defend our territorial integrity, national sovereignty and security with all force.' Ahead of the meeting, Mr. Araghchi said his country has 'nothing to discuss' with the United States as long as Israel continues its strikes on Iran, but is open to 'dialogue' with others, though not negotiations. The war has seen Israeli airstrikes target Iranian nuclear and military sites, and Tehran firing back. French President Emmanuel Macron said the European diplomats would make a 'comprehensive, diplomatic and technical offer of negotiation' to Iran. Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz warned on Friday (June 20, 2025) of further action against Iranian ally Hezbollah, a day after the Lebanese militant group suggested it would come to Iran's aid. Israeli air attacks have killed 639 people in Iran, according to the Human Rights Activists News Agency, a U.S.-based human rights organisation that tracks Iran. The dead include the military's top echelon and nuclear scientists. Israel has said at least two dozen Israeli civilians have been killed in Iranian missile attacks.
Iraqi News
3 hours ago
- Politics
- Iraqi News
Iranian foreign minister says Israel attack ‘betrayal' of diplomacy with US
Geneva – Iran's foreign minister on Friday condemned the Israeli attacks against the Islamic republic as a 'betrayal' of diplomatic efforts with the US, saying Tehran and Washington had been due to craft a 'promising agreement' on the Iranian nuclear programme. 'We were attacked in the midst of an ongoing diplomatic process,' Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi told the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva ahead of a crunch meeting with European foreign ministers. Araghchi, making his first trip abroad since the strikes began, denounced Israel's attack as an 'outrageous act of aggression'. US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff had planned to meet Araghchi in Oman on June 15 but the meeting was cancelled after Israel began the strikes days before. 'We were supposed to meet with the Americans on 15 June to craft a very promising agreement for peaceful resolution of the issues fabricated over our peaceful nuclear programme,' said Araghchi. 'It was a betrayal of diplomacy and unprecedented blow to the foundations of international law,' he said. Israel began its campaign on Friday saying the operation was aimed at halting Tehran from obtaining an atomic bomb, an ambition Iran denies having. Iran said Sunday that Israeli strikes had killed at least 224 people, including military commanders, nuclear scientists and civilians. It has not issued an updated toll since then. Iranian strikes launched in response have also caused damage in Israel, where at least 24 people have been killed and hundreds wounded, according to the government. Araghchi described the attacks by Israel as an 'unjust war imposed on my people' that had killed 'hundreds'. Pointing to the risk of radiation after strikes on atomic plants, he said: 'Attacks on nuclear facilities are grave war crimes.' 'Iran rightfully expects each and everyone of you to stand for justice and rule of law,' he added.
Express Tribune
4 hours ago
- Politics
- Express Tribune
Europe pushes diplomatic solution to Iran-Israel war in Geneva
Mourners attend a funeral for those killed in Israeli strikes on Iran, in Qazvin, Iran, June 19, 2025. PHOTO:REUTERS Listen to article European powers hoped to offer a "diplomatic solution" as they met with Iran in Geneva on Friday, according to French President Emmanuel Macron, as Israel again came under Iranian missile fire. The meeting, which is expected to focus on Iran's nuclear programme, comes as US President Donald Trump mulls the prospect of entering the war between the two foes. Israel, saying Iran was on the verge of developing nuclear weapons, launched a massive wave of strikes a week ago, triggering an immediate retaliation from Tehran. French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot will meet his Iranian counterpart Abbas Araghchi in Geneva "to make a complete diplomatic and technical offer for negotiations", Macron told reporters. France and its allies Germany and Britain were "putting a diplomatic solution on the table", he added. On the ground, Israel's military said it struck dozens of targets in Tehran overnight, including what it called a centre for the "research and development of Iran's nuclear weapons project". In Israel, sirens sounded in the afternoon after missiles were launched from Iran for the second time on Friday, and rescuers reported two injured, including a 16-year-old in serious condition. A military official said that "approximately 20 missiles were launched towards Israel" in the latest salvo. On Iranian state TV, a news anchor described footage of "Iranian missiles arriving" in the sky over Israel, as the channel broadcast the footage with military music playing in the background. Trump has said he would decide "within the next two weeks" whether to involve the United States in the fighting. Israel, the United States and other Western powers accuse Iran of seeking an atomic weapon, a charge that it denies. Britain's Foreign Secretary David Lammy said "a window now exists within the next two weeks to achieve a diplomatic solution", while agreeing with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio that "Iran can never develop or acquire a nuclear weapon". France's foreign ministry spokesperson Christophe Lemoine said that "military solutions are not long-term solutions" to ensure Iran respects its obligations under the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. Iran's Araghchi, however, rejected any prospect of talks with the United States so long as Israel continues its attacks. Addressing the UN Human Rights Council on Friday, Araghchi said Israel's attacks were a "betrayal" of diplomatic efforts to reach a nuclear deal between Tehran and Washington. "We were attacked in the midst of an ongoing diplomatic process," he said. In an interview with German publication Bild, Israel's top diplomat Gideon Saar said he did not "particularly" believe in diplomacy with Iran. "All diplomatic efforts so far have failed," said Saar, whose country had supported Trump's 2018 decision to abandon a previous nuclear agreement between Iran and world powers. The Iranians, according to Saar, have used negotiations "to gain time while making progress (in their nuclear programme), and I don't think they've changed their nature". The UN Security Council is also due to convene on Friday for a second session on the conflict, which was requested by Iran with support from Russia, China and Pakistan, a diplomat told AFP on Wednesday. The escalating confrontation is quickly reaching "the point of no return", Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan warned on Friday, saying "this madness must end as soon as possible". UN chief Antonio Guterres meanwhile pleaded with all sides to "give peace a chance". The International Atomic Energy Agency said that while Iran is the only country without nuclear weapons to enrich uranium to 60 percent, there was no evidence it had all the components to make a functioning nuclear warhead. "So, saying how long it would take for them, it would be pure speculation because we do not know whether there was somebody... secretly pursuing these activities," the agency's chief Rafael Grossi told CNN. "We haven't seen that and we have to say it." White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said Iran could produce an atomic bomb in "a couple of weeks". "If there's a chance for diplomacy the president's always going to grab it, but he's not afraid to use strength as well," Leavitt said. Any US involvement in Israel's campaign would be expected to involve the bombing of a crucial underground nuclear facility in Fordo, using powerful bunker-busting bombs that no other country possesses. In Iran, people fleeing Israel's attacks described frightening scenes and difficult living conditions, including food shortages and limited internet access. Government spokeswoman Fatemeh Mohajerani said authorities had restricted internet access to avoid "problems" like cyberattacks. Protests broke out in Tehran and other cities after Friday prayers, with demonstrators chanting slogans in support of their leaders, state television showed. "I will sacrifice my life for my leader," read a protester's banner, a reference to supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Switzerland announced Friday the temporary closure of its embassy in Tehran, adding that it would continue to fulfil its role representing US interests in Iran, while the United Kingdom announced it was withdrawing its embassy staff. The death toll in Israel from Iranian missile strikes since June 13 was 25 people, according to authorities. Iran said on Sunday that Israeli strikes had killed at least 224 people, including military commanders, nuclear scientists and civilians.
Shafaq News
5 hours ago
- Politics
- Shafaq News
In Geneva: Iran's nuclear talks reopen with European countries
Shafaq News/ On Friday, Iran and the European troika—France, the UK, and Germany—began renewed diplomatic efforts in Geneva for the first time since the war with Israel began. French President Emmanuel Macron announced that a 'comprehensive proposal' would be presented to Tehran and called for an immediate return to substantive diplomacy, urging Israel to refrain from targeting civilian infrastructure. The meeting began shortly after Iranian forces launched a missile barrage targeting Israeli cities, with a reported 30 heavy missiles fired from Iranian territory, targeting Haifa, Tel Aviv, Jerusalem, and Beersheba, in the conflict's eighth day. Earlier, addressing the UN Human Rights Council, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi condemned Israel's actions as violations of international law, asserting that Iran's nuclear sites—under IAEA oversight—had been unlawfully targeted, vowing that Tehran would defend its sovereignty.
