UN News Today 24 June 2026 |

Stranded Hormuz seafarers begin mass evacuation with UN’s help

As the UN International Maritime Organization (IMO) released more details of its plan to evacuate more than 11,000 seafarers stranded in the Strait of Hormuz, one mariner caught up in the emergency has described how positive thinking helped her to overcome the fear being attacked.

Third Officer Clarisse Bangga said that carrying out training drills  also helped ensure that every crewmember knew what was required of them.

But the mental toll of being trapped on a ship in the Strait where attacks have killed 14 seafarers since the Israeli-US Iran war began should not be underestimated, the Filipino national said:

“Honestly,  I don’t think anybody can really understand what it feels like to be on the war zone unless they’ve been there…you don’t know when the war will end, you don’t know when your vessel can go out safely. Every day, there are missile attacks, drone attacks, there are alerts, mobile alerts, and you really don’t know what will happen.” 

The evacuation plan overseen by the UN maritime agency is directly linked to ongoing talks between Iran and the United States on ending their conflict, in line with a Memorandum of Understanding signed by both countries last week. 

If successful, it will see the number of ships transiting through the Strait return to pre-war levels of around 130 per day, as opposed to the high twenties and thirties of recent days. 

The agency told UN News that it has begun contacting ships to launch the evacuation plan. Between 500 and 600 commercial ships will be involved in the operation, so that those on board can exit the Gulf’s waters safely. 

137 mothers, wives, daughters, and sisters killed every day 

Now, imagine if your home were a cage – a place of physical, psychological or economic pain.

That’s the case for hundreds of millions of women, about one in three of whom has experienced intimate partner or sexual violence, the Human Rights Council has been hearing – as part of its annual discussion on women’s rights.

The Deputy High Commissioner for Human Rights, Awa Dabo, pointed out that “137 mothers, wives, daughters and sisters (are) killed every day”; partners or relatives are responsible for 60 per cent of these killings.

And she insisted that violence against women must not be “treated as an unfortunate reality to be met with a shrug”:

“Today, an organized backlash against gender equality is reinforcing these patterns. And as technology, including AI, is increasingly misused to spread hatred anonymously, we are heading down a very dangerous path. Misogynistic content creeps into the phones of young men in every corner of the world, feeding their grievances.”

The Deputy UN rights chief insisted that domestic violence unfolds in bedrooms and kitchens, but it is no private matter.

And she called for “comprehensive, coordinated and well-funded systems to protect women and girls trapped in cycles of violence”. 

“When governments adopt legal protections against domestic violence, its prevalence nearly halves,” Ms. Dabo said.

An athlete shares her story of struggle for equality and respect 

Staying with the Human Rights Council in Geneva, where a top athlete has shared her struggle for equal pay and respect. 

At a discussion on empowering women and girls through sport, Céline van Till explained how hard work earned her a place on Switzerland’s junior horse-riding team, before a severe brain injury sustained during a sporting accident left her paralyzed.

Undaunted, Ms. van Till went on to become a four-time world champion and a double Paralympic champion at the Paris Games in 2024.

But she explained that more awareness-raising is needed so that people understand the massive challenges those with disabilities face. And more needs to be done to tackle the discrimination people like Ms. van Till suffer in everyday life, she insisted:  

“People do not recognize the real performance of persons with disabilities. We get built. We need to prove ourselves all the time just to be treated equally with respect. Only when I won European and world titles, I started receiving respect from others, but it is, of course, not the case for many other athletes with disabilities.”

Today, Ms. van Till promotes equal rights through sports, but also in politics and the Swiss Army, where she was the first officer to serve with a disability. 

As Vice President of Handicap International Switzerland, she continues to call for equal access to sport and competition for all, regardless of gender or disability, and at every level.

Daniel Johnson, UN News