his is the News in Brief, from the United Nations.

Iran: Crackdown on protests needs independent probe: top rights expert

Amid ongoing protests across Iran sparked by the death last month of Mahsa Amini following her arrest by morality police, a top UN-appointed independent rights expert called on Thursday for a high-level probe into the matter.

Javaid Rehman, Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Iran, also expressed alarm that 27 children have been killed so far by security forces, “some of them by live ammunition, while others were beaten to death”.

In a statement, Mr. Rehman said that there had been “chronic impunity” surrounding Ms. Amini’s death.

This had culminated in protests “throughout the country calling for justice and accountability” for Ms. Amini, who died after being arrested for violating strict dress codes relating to her hijab.

Iranians were also “demanding respect for fundamental…rights and particularly freedom of expression” the human rights expert continued, before noting that the protest movement was being led by a range of social classes in different regions “with women and youth at the forefront”.

UN panel urges States meaningfully address stigma against indigenous women

Staying with human rights, a call on Thursday from a top UN panel to all countries to protect the human rights of indigenous women and girls everywhere.

The appeal from the UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) follows what it called “the numerous human rights violations and abuses still directed at indigenous women and girls” today.

These include gender-based violence, inequality and discrimination, limited access to justice, education, decent jobs and healthcare “simply because of who they are”, the panel said in a statement.

Concrete measures to help indigenous women and girls should include their meaningful participation in decision-making, the committee members said, adding that the world’s indigenous population is estimated at 476.6 million today.

No 'credible pathway’ to 1.5C limit without tough emissions measures: UNEP

Current efforts to reduce harmful emissions offer little hope of avoiding climate disaster, UN climate experts said on Thursday, as they appealed for a radical transformation of the energy sector, before it’s too late.

There’s “no credible pathway” to limiting average temperatures rising by more than 1.5C above pre-industrial levels, warned the UN Environment Programme (UNEP), and this was despite legally binding promises made at the 2015 Paris Climate Conference to cut emissions.

Latest data indicates that the world is on track for a temperature rise of between 2.4C and 2.6C by the end of this century.

But if a 45 per cent cut in emissions can be made, global warming will be limited to 1.5 degrees Celsius, UNEP said, while a 30 per cent reduction should keep average temperature rise to 2 degrees.

In addition to ending our reliance on fossil fuels, the UN agency urged a radical overhaul of the food sector, which accounts for one-third of emissions.

In a related story, a new UN report has found that forests, heaths and stretches of water are more sensitive to nitrogen pollution than previously thought.

The report, published under the UNECE Convention on air pollution, provides updated thresholds on harmful atmospheric nitrogen pollution.

Using data gathered over the last decade, leading European researchers examined a number of ecosystems and found that 40 per cent of them were more fragile to nitrogen emissions than expected.

The problem is linked to the massive use of fertilizers and organic matter in farming, according to the UN Economic Commission for Europe, which appealed to all governments to reduce the amount of nitrogen entering the environment.

Daniel Johnson, UN News.