The Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on Iran confirmed that civilians in the country suffered serious human rights violations and “crimes against humanity committed by their government,” while finding "reasonable grounds" to believe that the United States committed “war crimes” in the context of its ongoing conflict with the Islamic Republic.
In a report released Monday, the mission concluded that killings by security forces “occurred on a massive scale in all provinces” of Iran, during the Government's “violent crackdown” on mass protests that stretched from last year into this year.
The mission also reported that at least 221 children – some as young as two years old – were killed and that security forces attacked health care facilities, “beating and arresting wounded protesters and arresting some health care workers, discouraging victims from seeking life-saving care.”
The mission added that tens of thousands of people were subjected to arbitrary detention, where they faced "torture, solitary confinement and denial of legal advice, while families were left without any information about the whereabouts of their loved ones, amid circumstances that raise concerns about enforced disappearances."
The mission noted the execution of at least 29 men in connection with the protests following summary trials - five of whom were publicly executed - and warned that more than 70 people, including five women and three boys, still face imminent risk of execution.
The report concluded that “many of these grave violations amount to crimes against humanity – including murder, imprisonment, torture and other inhumane acts committed as part of a widespread and systematic attack against civilians.”
‘Reasonable grounds’
Following the attacks launched by the United States and Israel on Iran in February, the mission found "reasonable grounds to believe that the United States committed a war crime by launching indiscriminate attacks that killed or injured civilians or damaged civilian objects."
These attacks included Tomahawk missile strikes targeting the clearly identifiable Tree of Tayyiba Elementary School in Minab, killing more than 150 people, including about 120 children, as well as another air strike in which precision missiles launched clouds of tungsten pellets over a clearly identifiable sports complex and residential area in Lamard, killing 22 civilians.
The mission urged both Iran and the United States to immediately cease "all violations and crimes," provide full compensation to the victims, and ensure that such acts are not repeated.
Calls for peace, justice
The independent experts – who are not UN staff and do not represent any organization – reiterated the UN’s call to all combatants to immediately cease hostilities and work towards a permanent peace.
“They should also ensure that allegations of violations of international human rights law and international humanitarian law by all parties are independently investigated and those responsible held to account,” the report reads.