Media Home
UN Web TV
UN Audiovisual Library
UN PhotoOHCHR / MIDDLE EAST CIVILIANS
Download
There is no media available to download.
Share
STORY: OHCHR / MIDDLE EAST CIVILIANS
TRT: 02:43
SOURCE: OHCHR
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH / NATS
DATELINE: 10 MARCH 2026 GENEVA, SWITZERLAND
1. Various shots, Palais Wilson, UN Human Rights headquarters, Geneva
2. SOUNDBITE (English) Jeremy Laurence, Spokesperson for the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR):
“The strikes against vital civilian infrastructure in the Middle East – as well as their widening geographic spread– are further increasing risks for populations across the region, and beyond.
There have been extensive attacks on residential areas, as well as on essential services, including health facilities, educational institutions, cultural property, and water and energy infrastructure.
We are deeply worried about the health and environmental consequences people will suffer as a result of oil fires, including acid rain contamination.
The foreseeable impacts of these strikes on civilians and the environment raise serious questions as to compliance with international humanitarian law.
The impact of the crisis is also being felt further afield, with widening harm to people and their livelihoods worldwide. Migrant workers in the Gulf region are particularly vulnerable, with several already killed and injured and others trapped, unable to return home. Important flows of remittances to their families and countries are also at risk.
The plunge in commercial shipping activity across the Strait of Hormuz is having a severe impact on access to energy, food and fertilizer for people in the region and beyond – particularly for the world’s most vulnerable. Some countries are already experiencing educational, work and transport restrictions, as well as direct losses to the tourism and other sectors.
This apparent tit-for-tat dynamic, involving essential infrastructure with extremely significant civilian impacts, will only increase risks for civilian populations more broadly, with potentially dire consequences.
Under the laws of war, civilians and civilian infrastructure must be protected at all costs. All parties are bound by these rules and must be held to account if they do not. The UN Human Rights Chief says, the world is watching.”
UN Human Rights Office spokesperson Jeremy Laurence said today (10 Mar) that the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights expresses alarm at the deepening impact of the Middle East crisis on civilians.
“The strikes against vital civilian infrastructure in the Middle East – as well as their widening geographic spread– are further increasing risks for populations across the region, and beyond,” Laurence said.
“There have been extensive attacks in residential areas, as well as essential services, including health facilities, educational institutions, cultural property, and water and energy infrastructure," he added.
In Iran, a water desalination plant and fuel facilities were hit over the weekend, with oil spilling into the streets and fires igniting along roadside drainage lines. On Qeshm Island in Hormozgan Province, an attack on a water desalination plant reportedly disrupted water access for at least 30 villages.
Following the attacks, Iran's Red Crescent Society warned that the rainfall in the country could be "highly dangerous and acidic" and could cause chemical burns and serious lung damage.
Attacks across the region have also caused civilian casualties and affected civilian infrastructure. This includes a desalination plant in Bahrain, which provides crucial access to water for many.
“We are deeply worried about the health and environmental consequences people will suffer as a result of these oil fires, including acid rain contamination,” Laurence said.
“The foreseeable impacts of these strikes on civilians and the environment raises serious questions as to compliance with international humanitarian law,” he added.
“The impact of the crisis is also being felt further afield, with widening harm to people and their livelihoods worldwide. Migrant workers in the Gulf region are particularly vulnerable, with several already killed and injured and others trapped, unable to return home. Important flows of remittances to their families and countries are also at risk,” Laurence said.
“The plunge in commercial shipping activity across the Strait of Hormuz is having a severe impact on access to energy, food and fertilizer for people in the region and beyond – particularly for the world’s most vulnerable. Some countries are already experiencing educational, work and transport restrictions, as well as direct losses to the tourism and other sectors,” the spokesperson said.
The impact of an oil price surge will have a knock-on effect for macro-economic and social stability in many countries, particularly those already experiencing debt distress. Clearly, investment in renewable energy has become all the more critical.
“This apparent tit-for-tat dynamic, involving essential infrastructure with extremely significant civilian impacts, will only increase risks for civilian populations more broadly, with potentially dire consequences,” Laurence said.
“Under the laws of war, civilians and civilian infrastructure must be protected at all costs. All parties are bound by these rules, and must be held to account if they do not. The UN Human Rights Chief says, the world is watching.”
