UN Third Committee Condemns Widespread Human Rights Violations in Iran

The Third Committee of the UN General Assembly on Wednesday, November 17, condemned gross and systematic human rights violations in Iran by approving a resolution.

The Third Committee resolution was passed with 79 votes in favor, 30 votes against, and 71 abstentions.

In this resolution, the Third Committee of the UN General Assembly expressed grave concern about the alarming number of death sentences, widespread and systematic arrests and arbitrary detentions, deliberate deprivation of prisoners’ access to treatment and medical services, mistreatment of prisoners in Evin Prison, harassment, persecution and intimidation of opponents and human rights defenders, use of torture to extract confessions, and suspicious deaths of prisoners.

The UN resolution emphasized the necessity of credible, independent and impartial investigations in response to all serious human rights violations in Iran, including enforced disappearances, extrajudicial executions and destruction of evidence of such crimes, and called for an end to impunity for such crimes in the Islamic Republic.

The Third Committee resolution also expressed serious concern about the continued implementation of capital punishment in the Islamic Republic of Iran for minors, and called on the Islamic Republic of Iran to stop executing minors, including those who were under 18 years old at the time the crime was committed.

The resolution stated that the execution of individuals who were under 18 years old at the time of the crime violates the International Convention on the Rights of the Child.

The Third Committee resolution also called on the Islamic Republic of Iran to stop the widespread and systematic use of arbitrary detention and imprisonment and to release all individuals detained for exercising their fundamental freedoms, including those detained solely for participating in peaceful protests.

The resolution referred to those detained in the peaceful protests of December 2019 and November 2020.

The Third Committee resolution further called on the Islamic Republic government to annul severe and unjust sentences, including death sentences and long-term internal exile, and to end reprisals against human rights defenders, political activists and their families, and media activists covering the protests.

Meanwhile, Zahra Ershadi, Iran’s ambassador and deputy permanent representative to the United Nations, at the Third Committee session of the UN General Assembly, considered this resolution “a manifestation of selective and political distortion of existing realities” and said that such action is in line with “a hostile and deliberate policy of inciting Iran-phobia.”

Iran’s deputy permanent representative to the United Nations further described voting on this resolution as “a dishonest and indefensible political move.”

At this session, several countries close to the Islamic Republic criticized the issuance of such human rights resolutions about a country.

Cuba’s representative noted in this regard that “politicizing human rights” causes instability in governments.

North Korea’s representative also said that the use of such resolutions targeting specific countries are “striking examples of politicization and double standards.” Subsequently, Syria’s representative called for respect for the territorial integrity of countries.

Source: Radio Farda