UN Human Rights Commissioner Criticizes Death Sentences in Iran
Zeid Raad Al Hussein, High Commissioner of the United Nations Human Rights Council, called on Iran during the 30th session of the council to improve the human rights situation in the country. He also advocated for opening legal pathways for refugee migration.
The 30th session of the UN Human Rights Council will be held in Geneva starting Monday, September 14 (September 23 in the Persian calendar) for three weeks.
Zeid Raad Al Hussein, who was selected as High Commissioner of the UN Human Rights Council following Navi Pillay, emphasized in his opening remarks at the session that while welcoming the nuclear agreement with Iran, the Islamic Republic must also improve itself in the field of human rights.
The Jordanian prince added: “The indiscriminate issuance of death sentences, the limited right to fair trial, and the continued detention of journalists, bloggers, and human rights activists are the main reasons for our concerns.”
The UN Human Rights Commissioner also criticized the Chinese government for the detention and imprisonment of over 100 lawyers in recent months. He also reproached Russia for its new law that labels non-governmental organizations supported by foreign entities as “infamous.”
“Legal pathways for migration must be expanded”
Regarding the refugee crisis, Zeid Al Hussein called on Europe to show compassion toward refugees and implement comprehensive policies to open legal migration pathways.
He called for an end to the detention and “mistreatment” of refugees, particularly children who, according to him, have fled war and massacres in their own countries, including Syria.
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The UN Human Rights Commissioner stated: “We need more legal pathways for migration and refugee resettlement; these two categories must be protected from the harm of traffickers.”
He praised the “wave of humanitarianism” that emerged among Europeans following the publication of the image of a Syrian child’s body on Turkish shores, while simultaneously criticizing Russia and China for their silence on the matter.
This round of the UN Human Rights Council session will last three weeks. The agenda includes examining the situation in Syria and the condition of hundreds of thousands of refugees who have fled the country. The issue of North Korea is also on the main agenda.
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At this session, reports from independent inspectors regarding human rights violations in Syria and North Korea will be reviewed. According to these reports, the living conditions of citizens in Syria have worsened daily, and after four years of internal conflict, no solution to the Syrian crisis has yet been found.
Furthermore, these reports accuse the North Korean government of genocide.
The review of the situation in Ukraine, Somalia, Sudan, as well as the internal conflict in Sri Lanka are also on the agenda of this session.
