The United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) on Friday welcomed the establishment of the Minnesota Truth Council and urged other states and jurisdictions to act similarly.

The office stated, “Victims must know the full truth about the violations, receive comprehensive reparation and be protected from further violence or retaliation. In any democracy rooted in the rule of law, such violations must never be ignored or left unaddressed.”

Minnesota Governor Tim Walz signed an executive order establishing the council on Wednesday. The council will investigate and document the effects of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) operations “Metro Surge” and “Post-Admission Refugee Reverification and Integrity Strengthening” (PARRIS).

The combined operations ran from December 2025 into February 2026. Renee Good, Alex Pretti and Julio Cesar Sosa-Celis were shot during these operations, the first two fatally. The council will not investigate these shootings. but refer those events to law enforcement and focus instead on charges of widespread use of chemical agents against peaceful protestors, harm to children, unwarranted stops and arrests and other civil rights violations, and economic harm.

The council will collaborate with Advocates for Human Rights to collect the stories of what happened during the ICE operations. It has until December 1, 2026, to deliver its final report to the governor, the majority and minority leaders of the Minnesota legislature, and Minnesota’s congressional delegation.

Governor Walz stated: “Minnesotans demand and deserve a public record that reflects the violent, cruel, inhumane, and deeply disturbing actions of federal immigration agents.”

While the council will not investigate the three deaths that happened during the surge, the OHCHR pushed for a proper inquiry into the deaths. The OHCHR referred to the Minnesota Protocol on the Investigation of Potentially Unlawful Death (2016), which sets guidelines for the investigation of suspicious deaths, especially when state agents are suspected of responsibility. The Minnesota Lawyers International Human Rights Committee took a leading role in drafting the protocol.