TEHRAN – Families of martyrs from Iran’s 12-day imposed war have taken their case to the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva on Monday, demanding accountability for war crimes and justice for the rights of victims.

According to Iran’s Human Rights Headquarters, relatives of those killed in the Israeli regime’s recent assault on Iran also attended the 60th session. The attacks left more than 1,000 Iranian civilians, including children, dead.

Ali Amini, whose brother and nephew were among the victims, addressed the Council while holding a sports photo of his nephew Amirali. “I lost both my brother and my nephew,” he said. “On the first night of the attack, an Israeli missile struck their home without warning and killed them.” As he spoke, images of children killed during the 12-day war were displayed.

Also present was Alireza Sedighi Saber, the brother of martyred scientist Dr. Mohammadreza Sedighi Saber, who was killed with his entire family in an Israeli strike on Ashrafieh.

Iran’s Permanent Representative in Geneva, Ali Bahreini, told the Council that Israel launched an “unprovoked and illegal military assault” on Iran in the early hours of June 13, 2025, followed by U.S. attacks on June 22. He said the strikes deliberately targeted civilian neighborhoods, infrastructure, and scientific sites, calling them a “flagrant violation” of the UN Charter, humanitarian law, and human rights. Despite this, he said, Iranians had “stood united and resilient.”

Mohammad Sargazi, Chairman of the Iranian Parliament’s Legal and Judicial Committee, criticized international silence in the face of Israeli crimes. Speaking at a side event on the human rights consequences of the conflict, he said survivors present represented not only thousands of affected families but the entire 90 million population of Iran, who “witnessed one of the most brutal examples of aggression in modern times.”

“The right to life, especially for women and children, is being trampled daily,” he said. “If the world cannot stop this regime, then it cannot claim to defend human rights at all.”