UN resolution condemns Human Rights violations in Iran

 

UN resolution condemns Human Rights violations in Iran

• The United Nations General Assembly Third Committee passed a resolution condemning Human Rights violations in Iran. The resolution highlights the significant cases of Human Rights violation including discrimination against women, arbitrary arrests, and violations of the rights of religious and ethnic minorities. The resolution also sites the persecution of journalists and restriction of the media.

  Drafter by Canada, the resolution was passed with 84 votes for and 30 against, with 60 countries abstaining.

  Iraq, Pakistan, Armenia, and Turkmenistan, all neighbors of Iran, voted against the resolution.

  On the other side, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, and UAE condemned the Human Rights violations in Iran along with Western and European countries.

  Israel was among the countries that voted for the resolution. The Israeli ambassador to the UN said: “This resolution only mentions part of the truth about the Human Rights violations in Iran. There are other concerning cases that have not been mentioned.”

  The Israeli ambassador mentioned the violations of the rights of refugees and the LGBT in Iran.

  The Iranian ambassador to the UN criticized Canada’s Human Rights record, as the country that prepared the first draft of the resolution. The Iranian ambassador said Canada violates the rights of its indigenous people and has a history of genocide.

  He claimed that the Islamic Republic’s constant attempts to improve Human Rights faces attacks from the supporters of the resolution.

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• China must end the forced labour schemes and mass incarcerations of ethnic minorities
• Iran must free 2012 Sakharov laureate Nasrin Sotoudeh and halt imminent execution of Ahmadreza Djalali

On Thursday, the European Parliament adopted two resolutions taking stock of the human rights situation in China and Iran.

Forced labour and the situation of the Uyghurs in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region in China

Parliament strongly condemns the Chinese government-led system of forced labour – in particular the exploitation of Uyghur, ethnic Kazakh and Kyrgyz, and other Muslim minority groups – in factories within and outside internment camps in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region. It also denounces the continued transfer of forced labourers to other Chinese administrative divisions, and the fact that well-known European brands and companies have been benefiting from forced Chinese labour.

MEPs are deeply concerned about the increasingly oppressive regime that many religious and ethnic minorities, in particular Uyghurs and Kazakhs, are facing in mainland China. These “violate their human dignity, as well as their rights to freedom of cultural expression and religious belief, to freedom of speech and expression, and to peaceful assembly and association”.

They also deeply deplore the continued persecution and the serious and systematic human rights violations that amount to crimes against humanity, while urging the Chinese government to put an immediate end to the practice of arbitrary detention without charge, trial or conviction for criminal offences of members of the Uyghur and other Muslim minorities. MEPs call on the Chinese government to end the “mass incarceration” of ethnic minorities in camps and detention centres and demand the immediate and unconditional release of those detained.

The text was approved by 604 votes in favour, 20 against and 57 abstentions. For all the details, it will be available in full here. (17.12.2020)

Iran, in particular the case of 2012 Sakharov Prize Laureate Nasrin Sotoudeh

MEPs strongly condemn the arbitrary detention, sentencing and, recently, return to prison of woman human rights defender, lawyer and 2012 Sakharov Prize laureate Nasrin Sotoudeh in Iran. They urge Iranian authorities to immediately and unconditionally release her and allow her to receive the healthcare she requires.

In addition, the resolution condemns the recent executions in Iran of France-based journalist Ruhollah Zam, editor of the Amad News Telegram channel, and wrestler Navid Afkari, while urging Iran to immediately halt the imminent execution of Swedish-Iranian academic Ahmadreza Djalali. It calls on EU Foreign Policy Chief Josep Borrell and all EU countries to urgently intervene to try to halt plans to execute Mr Djalali, quash his death sentence and secure his immediate release.

The text asks all EU member states to jointly issue public statements and undertake diplomatic initiatives to monitor unfair trials and visit prisons where human rights defenders and other prisoners of conscience, including EU nationals, are being detained in Iran. It also demands targeted EU measures against Iranian officials who have committed serious human rights violations, including the recent executions of Ruhollah Zam and Navid Afkari, as well as against those involved in gross human rights abuses, such as judges who have handed the death sentence to journalists, human rights defenders, political dissidents and activists.

The text was approved by 614 votes in favour, 12 against and 63 abstentions. For all the details, it will be available in full here. (17.12.2020)

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European Union condemns in 'the strongest terms' Iran’s execution of journalist

n a resolution supported by 614 votes, the European Parliament condemned Iran for violating human rights.

The European Union demanded Iran’s release of European citizens of Iranian origin.

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The EU also called for the necessity of stopping the death penalty execution against the Swedish-Iranian academic, Ahmed Reza Jalali.

The countries of the Union also condemned the deterioration of human rights in Iran, stressing that the matter has become a source of severe European concern.

The European Union called on Iran to stop carrying out executions and hold accountable those responsible for human rights violations. A member of the European Commission, Helena Daly, said that the Union calls on Iran on every occasion to respect its obligations under international treaties related to the political and civil rights of citizens.

“Nasrin Sotoudeh was re-arrested two weeks after her release. She suffers from difficult health conditions. We demand once again for her release and for her to be able to return to her family,” she said.

"The European Union is closely following the development of the human rights situation in Iran, which has been deteriorating regularly over the past year. Iran’s execution of Iranian dissident Ruhollah Zam is a very frightening act. The European Union condemns this act in the strongest terms and reiterates its strong initial opposition to the death penalty under any circumstances. Once again, we demand its cancellation," she added.

Daly added that Iran executes 200 people a year. "We believe that Iran must respect the accused’s rights and the necessity to stop using confessions recorded in pressure to prove charges against suspects. We demand that all those responsible for human rights violations, including the violence that was used against the demonstrators, be held accountable."