UN Secretary-General References Suppression of Minorities, Women, and Detention of Recent Protesters in Iran

With the controversial presence of Iran’s Islamic Republic Minister of Justice at the UN Human Rights Council, the UN Secretary-General in his latest report to the council referenced discrimination against women and pressure on religious minorities, as well as the detention of thousands of protesters in recent demonstrations in Iran.

At the thirty-seventh session of the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva, Switzerland, António Guterres testified to the body in a report that the suppression of journalists and human rights activists in Iran continues.

He also wrote about the situation of religious and ethnic minorities, noting that they continue to face restrictions and no improvement has been observed in their condition.

Guterres’ reference was to the detention and pressure on Bahá’ís, Gonabadi Dervishes, and other minorities.

The UN Secretary-General also referenced the detention of approximately four thousand protesters following the demonstrations of last December and called on the Islamic Republic of Iran’s government to pay attention to the legal right of protesters to assemble and protest.

In the widespread December demonstrations, people gathered in more than 80 cities across Iran, with at least 25 people killed and 3,700 arrested.

In his report, Guterres cited Iran’s government plan to halt the death sentence for drug traffickers as a positive measure, but noted that in 2017 alone, 482 people were executed in Iran.

Seyyed Alireza Avai, Iran’s Islamic Republic Minister of Justice, in his speech at the UN Human Rights Council, which took place after the release of the UN Secretary-General’s report, made no reference to the criticisms regarding the human rights situation in the Islamic Republic of Iran.

Source: Voice of America