UN Tool Expresses Serious Concern Over Human Rights Situation in Iran

The UN Secretary-General expressed serious concern over the human rights situation in Iran in his latest report presented to the seventy-sixth session of the UN General Assembly.

Antonio Guterres, in his latest report prepared based on reports from government and non-governmental organizations, media outlets, and interviews with individuals, stated that the human rights situation in Iran over the past year (from June 2020 to June 2021) has caused “serious concern” due to “the government’s lack of serious effort to further comply with international rights,” “the intensification of the economic crisis due to increased sanctions,” and “the COVID-19 pandemic.”

This report, which was finalized on August 4 (September 13 by the Persian calendar), has now been presented to the seventy-sixth session of the UN General Assembly.

Mr. Guterres also stated in this report that domestic factors that hinder the rule of law and weaken justice and accountability mechanisms have brought impunity to some and led to the continuation of human rights violations in Iran and the possibility of an increase in such cases in the future.

In this report, the UN Secretary-General cited among the most important cases of neglect of human rights in Iran the “failure to provide medical services to victims” and “widespread violations in the suppression of November 2019 protests.”

Mr. Guterres also considered intimidation, arbitrary detention, and criminal prosecution of protesters, human rights defenders, lawyers, and civil activists, sometimes leading to execution, as well as deep discrimination against women and minorities as among the most important cases of human rights violations in Iran.

Furthermore, the UN Secretary-General criticized the severe suppression of peaceful public protests by military and security forces, as well as high rates of torture and mistreatment of women, men, and children, physical and psychological pressure to extract forced confessions, solitary confinement, and prolonged detention.

Mr. Guterres also referred in his report to the continued detention of environmental activists and called for greater attention by the government to the rights of foreign and dual national prisoners, women, minorities, freedom of expression, right to peaceful assembly, right to access living standards, and medical and preventive services during the COVID-19 pandemic.

In another section of the UN Secretary-General’s report, the Islamic Republic was criticized for having one of the highest execution rates in the world, and it was stated that at least four children were executed in Iran in the past calendar year.

The UN Secretary-General called on the Islamic Republic’s government to abolish capital punishment and declare a prohibition on the execution of juvenile offenders in all circumstances.

Mr. Guterres called on the Islamic Republic to respect international fair trial standards and provide access to legal counsel to all defendants, including those accused of crimes “against national security.”

In another section of this report, the Islamic Republic’s government was called upon to allow swift, complete, and transparent investigations by an independent and impartial body regarding the use of excessive and lethal force during protests, deaths in detention, and reports of torture and other mistreatment.

This text raised multiple other requests regarding human rights from the Islamic Republic, including “further measures” to eliminate all forms of discrimination against women and girls, minorities, migrant workers, and their family members.

The UN Secretary-General had previously also called on the Human Rights Council in July of this year, referring to the case of political prisoners and minorities in Iran, for an end to security pressures and the policy of “silencing” government opponents.

In that report, criticism was made of the approaches of Iran’s judiciary, with a request that Iran stop executing individuals who committed crimes in their childhood and join the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women.

The Human Rights Headquarters affiliated with the Islamic Republic’s judiciary described this report as “politicization” and “unreliable,” accusing Antonio Guterres of relying on fabricated sources and exaggerating statistics.

Source: Radio Farda