UN Women calls for a "safe and violence-free environment" for women protesters in Iran
Following the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights' expression of serious concern over the repression of protesters in Iran, the spokesperson for the UN Secretary-General and the UN Special Rapporteur on Women called for the rights of protesters to be respected.
UN Women, which works for gender equality and women's empowerment, issued a statement saying that the organization "stands with Iranian women in their rightful demands to protest injustice and for the freedom to control their bodies, including choosing the type of clothing they wear."
This UN body has also supported Iranian women in their basic human rights within the framework of the UN Charter.
The UN Women statement called on the Islamic Republic's authorities to support Iranian women in expressing their full human rights and to provide them with a safe environment free from fear of violence, prosecution, or harassment.
The organization, while offering its condolences to Mahsa Amini's family, referred to the recent statement by the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, calling for an independent, immediate, and impartial investigation into Ms. Amini's death, making the findings public, and prosecuting all those responsible for her death.
At the same time, the spokesperson for the UN Secretary-General also referred to Antonio Guterres' recent meeting with Ebrahim Raisi on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York and announced that Guterres emphasized the need to respect human rights, including freedom of expression and peaceful assembly.
“We are increasingly concerned by reports of increasing casualties, including of women and children, related to the protests [in Iran],” the UN Secretary-General’s spokesperson wrote.
He also warned the Islamic Republic's security forces to avoid escalating tensions and using force against protesters, and called for a swift, impartial, and effective investigation into the death of Mahsa Amini.
Previously, Ebrahim Raisi had claimed in New York that an investigation into this matter was underway, but civil society activists and human rights organizations, considering similar previous cases, are questioning this claim by the Islamic Republic.
On Tuesday, Ravina Shamdasani, a spokeswoman for the Geneva-based UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, announced that thousands of people have joined anti-government protests across Iran in recent days, but security forces have in some cases used live ammunition against protesters.
On October 21, the Islamic Republic's government media announced the death toll at 41, but civil society organizations and human rights groups say the number of victims is much higher, with some of them being women and children, and hundreds of people injured.
Immediately after the death of Mahsa Amini in the custody of the Ershad patrol, UN Special Rapporteur Javed Rehman announced that the organization's Human Rights Council should pass a resolution condemning the compulsory hijab in Iran.
Amnesty International also issued a statement, writing that "confronting the deadly repression of protests over the death of Mahsa Amini requires urgent global action."
Source: Radio Farda
