Letter to Volker Turk The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights

******

In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful

*********

Excellency, 

I hereby address Your Excellency with the utmost solemnity to draw urgent attention to the egregious and unprovoked act of military aggression perpetrated by the Israeli regime against the Islamic Republic of Iran. This blatant breach of international law and violation of Iran’s sovereignty necessitates immediate acknowledgement and a decisive response from the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, in light of its profound repercussions on regional stability and the fundamental protection of human rights.

At approximately 02:40 a.m. local time on 13 June 2025, the occupying forces of the Israeli regime launched a wide-scale and coordinated military attack targeting civilians and civilian infrastructures of the Islamic Republic of Iran. This brazen act of aggression constitutes a flagrant violation of the fundamental principles enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations, particularly Article 2(4), and meets the threshold of the crime of aggression as defined under Articles 3 and 5 of the United Nations General Assembly Resolution 3314 (XXIX) of 1974.

As of the most recent official count, at least 224 innocent civilians, including women and children, have been martyred as a result of this unlawful military aggression. Yet, in the Opening Statement of the 59th Session of the Human Rights Council delivered on 16 June 2025, Your Excellency referred to the situation merely as a “military escalation between Iran and Israel.” This characterization is deeply alarming. It reflects a grave misrepresentation of both the facts on the ground and the legal responsibilities incumbent upon your Office. It amounts to an affront to the very foundations of the international legal order—principles that Western states have for decades purported to uphold, and upon which your mandate as High Commissioner is explicitly grounded.

We recall that General Assembly resolution 48/141, which established your mandate, obliges the High Commissioner to act “within the framework of the Charter of the United Nations, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and other international human rights instruments and international law, including respect for the sovereignty, territorial integrity and domestic jurisdiction of States.” The failure to recognize and unequivocally condemn this blatant violation of Iran’s territorial integrity undermines the credibility of the Office and its moral authority. This constitutes an unmistakable act of aggression — plain and unqualified. The international community looks to your Office for an unequivocal condemnation: no equivocation, no justification, and no refuge for the aggressor behind twisted concepts. Your mandate, as entrusted by the General Assembly, compels such clarity and resolve.

As such, the Islamic Republic of Iran insists that Your Excellency publicly and unambiguously characterize this act for what it is: a crime of aggression perpetrated by the Israeli regime, and affirm that Iran’s response, undertaken in self-defense, falls squarely within the scope of Article 51 of the UN Charter.

The Islamic Republic of Iran shall pursue this matter with unwavering determination and resolute commitment, demanding that your Office rigorously align its stance in full conformity with the foundational mandate conferred upon it under international law. We hereby affirm that no compromise or concession shall be tolerated with respect to the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Islamic Republic of Iran.

The Islamic Republic of Iran solemnly reaffirms its steadfast and irrevocable commitment to the exercise of its inherent to self-defense under Article 51 of the Charter of the United Nations. Iran shall persist, with full resolve, in executing all military measures deemed necessary to eradicate the ongoing threat imposed by the Israeli regime. These actions will be sustained unwaveringly until such time as this menace is thoroughly neutralized and the foundations of regional peace and security are firmly reestablished. 

Your prompt attention and action on this critical matter are earnestly anticipated.

Please accept, Excellency, the assurances of my highest consideration. 

Respectfully yours,

---