UN General Assembly adopts resolution on human rights violations in Iran
The majority of the members of the UN General Assembly voted in favor of a resolution on human rights violations in Iran. Iran called the resolution “politically motivated.” The resolution was proposed by Canada.
The United Nations General Assembly on Monday (December 17) adopted a resolution on human rights violations in Iran by a vote of 84 to 30. The resolution criticized Iran for its “alarmingly high number” of executions, particularly for drug-related crimes, as well as its continued arbitrary detentions.
The resolution, drafted by Canada, was previously adopted by the Third Committee of the UN General Assembly on November 14. The resolution was prepared based on reports by Javed Rahman, the UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in Iran, and Antonio Guterres, the UN Secretary-General, on the human rights situation in Iran.
The resolution refers to the repression of religious minorities in Iran, such as Christians, Gonabadi Dervishes, Jews, Sufis, Sunnis, Zoroastrians, followers of the Righteous (Yarsani), and members of the Baha'i community, and also expresses concern about the continued execution of minors.
According to IRNA, the Islamic Republic's representative to the United Nations described the resolution as "politically motivated" before voting for its adoption and called on the members of the General Assembly to vote against it.
Russia, Afghanistan, China, Cuba, Pakistan, Oman, Syria and Iraq were among the countries that opposed the resolution. 67 countries, including Qatar, Kuwait and Morocco, also abstained from voting on the resolution.
Bahram Qassemi, spokesman for the Iranian Foreign Ministry, had previously described the draft resolution as "based on a selective, discriminatory, biased and politically motivated approach" when it was approved by the General Assembly's Third Committee.
Hillel Neuer, executive director of the non-governmental organization Human Rights Watch, welcomed the resolution's passage on Twitter, writing: "Today the world sent a strong message: We condemn the brutal repression of Iran, which continues unabated. UN Watch stands with the Iranian people, who want nothing more than to have their voices heard and their government held accountable for the crimes it has committed."
Neuer also emphasized in a statement that Human Rights Watch calls on the international community to use the opportunity presented by the resolution to “redouble its condemnation of the Iranian government’s increasing human rights violations against all citizens of the country and to demand change.”
The statement also referred to the death of Vahid Sayadi Nasiri, a political prisoner who recently died in Qom prison after a hunger strike, and stated: "The death last week in prison of Vahid Sayadi Nasiri, who was imprisoned for posting critical posts about the government leaders in Tehran on Facebook, emphasizes the urgent need for the international community to take action to condemn Iran for its human rights violations."
