GENEVA, March 27 (IPS) – More than three weeks after the United States and Israel launched attacks on Iran, the conflict is spreading and intensifying in the region and beyond, with civilians bearing the brunt. Families across the region celebrated Eid and Nowruz in fear and uncertainty, and faced further hardships.
The situation is extremely dangerous and unpredictable, and has caused chaos across the region, affecting Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Jordan and beyond.
Since the start of hostilities, Iran has launched a large number of drones and missiles against military bases, residential areas and energy facilities in these Gulf states and Jordan. The attacks and interceptions have caused terrible civilian casualties, including dozens of deaths and injuries.
Meanwhile, ports, energy facilities, airports, water infrastructure and diplomatic complexes have suffered damage, disrupting essential services and increasing risks to all citizens.
Many of the attacks in this conflict raise serious concerns under international law, which prohibits attacks targeting civilians and their infrastructure and attacks on military targets where harm to civilians is disproportionate.
I also need to underline the serious impacts of this conflict on many other countries in the wider region, including Iraq and Syria, as well as the Occupied Palestinian Territory.
Recent missile attacks near nuclear sites in both Israel and Iran underscore the enormous danger of further escalation. The state is constantly grappling with disaster.
Civilians in Lebanon are caught in a human rights and humanitarian disaster. Government figures detail more than a thousand people killed in Israeli military strikes over the past three weeks, including 79 women, 118 children and 40 medical workers. I am deeply concerned by the attacks on apartment buildings, which in some cases have killed entire families.
Meanwhile, Iran and Hezbollah have continued to launch missiles and drones at Israel, causing loss of life, damage to civilian infrastructure and displacement.
Inside Iran, civilians are seeking shelter from airstrikes in all 31 provinces of the country. According to Iranian government figures, approximately 1,400 civilians have been killed and more than 20,000 injured.
There is an increasing pattern of attacks affecting residential areas, civilian infrastructure and other sites protected under international law. Housing, hospitals, schools, cultural sites, transport networks and energy infrastructure have all been affected.
As Iranians survive these attacks, they also face another wave of brutal state repression, including arbitrary arrests, executions, intimidation, and censorship. Internet has been down for more than three weeks.
This conflict is having serious implications beyond the region as well.
Iran’s disruption of shipping through the Strait of Hormuz is disrupting global supply chains, with severe impacts on some of the world’s poorest people.
Fossil fuels, medicine, food and fertilizers are some of the important goods that are stranded in the ocean. This is disrupting global energy markets and supplies; And it has the potential to create serious hunger and health care crises. The World Food Program has warned that up to 45 million more people could face severe hunger if the conflict does not end soon.
Its impact is most devastating in low-income countries, particularly across South Asia. Developing economies are generally less able to absorb price shocks.
Many states have already started energy-saving measures. For example, Bangladesh has closed universities and begun fuel rationing, while the Philippines has imposed a state of national energy emergency. The crisis could also reduce the flow of money from migrant workers that keeps families and communities alive.
Efforts are ongoing to ease the closure of the strait by releasing oil reserves and relaxing sanctions. But they have not made much difference and the broader consequences remain unpredictable.
UNCTAD’s analysis shows that insurance premiums and marine fuel costs are rising, driving up prices across the board and around the world.
The United Nations Economic and Social Commission for West Asia estimates that the conflict has already caused about $63 billion in economic losses across the Arab region.
Conflict can never be normal or standard. But this conflict has unprecedented power to entangle countries across borders and around the world. Complex dynamics can create national, regional or global crises at any time, with catastrophic impacts on citizens and people everywhere.
The only guaranteed way to stop this is to end the conflict, and I urge all states, and especially influential ones, to do everything in their power to achieve this.
Our deeply interconnected world requires all countries to commit to full respect for international law and the UN Charter.
We cannot go back to war as an instrument of international relations.
When a few powerful states are trying to undermine the multilateral system, we need the rest of us – the vast majority – to stand up to it. While the conflict continues, I call on all parties to ensure full respect for international humanitarian and human rights law.
Attacks on civilians and civilian infrastructure must stop. If they are carried out deliberately, such attacks may constitute war crimes.
I stand in solidarity with the citizens of the entire region who are demanding peace.
IPS UN Bureau
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