Iran's crackdown must end,
UN and Western countries urge
The bloody crackdown on protests rocking Iran "must stop," theUNand Western countries before the Human Rights Council, which must decide whether it wants to launch an international investigation into the abuses of which Tehran is accused.
The Iranian people are asking for something so simple, something that most of us take for granted: the opportunity to speak and be heard," said U.S. Ambassador Michele Taylor, with members of her delegation holding up photos and names of the victims.
The 47 member states of the UN's highest human rights body are urgently discussing thedeteriorating human
rights situationat the initiative of Germany and Iceland.
« The unnecessary and disproportionate use of force must stop. The old methods and besieged fortress mentality of those in power simply don't work. In fact, they only make the situation worse. »
— A quote from Volker Türk, UN High Commissioner for Human RightsHe denounced those whoseek to delegitimize protesters, civil society representatives and journalists as agents in the service of enemies and foreign states, calling these methods ahabitual narrative of tyranny.
Over the past two months, the crackdown has left at least 416 people dead, including 51 children,
according to theNGOIran Human Rights (IHR), based in Norway.
This wave of protest – born of demands for women after thedeath of Mahsa Aminiarrested for miswearing the Islamic veil and which turned into a challenge to power – is unprecedented since the Islamic Revolution of 1979.
According to the Special Rapporteur of theUNon Iran, more than 15,000 people were arrested. Iran's judiciary has already handed down six death sentences in connection with the protests.
An investigation?The council must decide whether to appoint a team of high-level investigators to shed light
on all human rights violations related to the crackdown on protests.
This resolution, if adopted, means a great deal. We don't know if [...] it can save lives tomorrow. But what we know for sure is that it will mean justice, justice for the people," German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock told reporters in Geneva.
According to the draft resolution submitted by Germany and Iceland, this independent international fact-finding mission, which has little chance of visiting Iran, will have to collect evidence of violations and preserve it so that it can be used for possible future prosecutions.
"Woman, Life, Freedom". It is with this slogan so simple, and so strong, that Iranians have been recalling, for more than two months, the values they defend, said the French representative, Emmanuelle Lachaussée.
Tehran, for its part, is scrambling to try to find enough allies to derail the resolution, while the German foreign minister has encouraged countries that generally vote with Iran to have the courage to abstain. According to several diplomatic sources,
the resolution is expected to be adopted.
The Iranian representative sent by Tehran, Khadijeh Karimi, accused Western countries oflacking moral
credibilityto lecture Iran, denouncing US and European sanctions.
Not surprisingly, China, Venezuela and Cuba have given their support to Iran, with Chinese Ambassador Chen Xu championingas usual dialogue and cooperation [...] to promote and protect human rights.
Pakistan also stressed the importance of obtaining the consent of the country concerned to launch investigations, but Brazil, another leading developing country, announced that it would abstain during the vote.
Growing resistance – led by Russia, China and Iran – is building within the Council against the efforts often initiated by Western democracies to convict individual states for human rights violations.
These countries suffered a crushing defeat last month, when they tried to put on the Council's agenda
a debate on Beijing's crackdown on the Xinjiang region.
The Iranian people are asking for something so simple, something that most of us take for granted: the opportunity to speak and be heard," said U.S. Ambassador Michele Taylor, with members of her delegation holding up photos and names of the victims.
The 47 member states of the UN's highest human rights body are urgently discussing thedeteriorating human
rights situationat the initiative of Germany and Iceland.
« The unnecessary and disproportionate use of force must stop. The old methods and besieged fortress mentality of those in power simply don't work. In fact, they only make the situation worse. »
— A quote from Volker Türk, UN High Commissioner for Human RightsHe denounced those whoseek to delegitimize protesters, civil society representatives and journalists as agents in the service of enemies and foreign states, calling these methods ahabitual narrative of tyranny.
Over the past two months, the crackdown has left at least 416 people dead, including 51 children,
according to theNGOIran Human Rights (IHR), based in Norway.
This wave of protest – born of demands for women after thedeath of Mahsa Aminiarrested for miswearing the Islamic veil and which turned into a challenge to power – is unprecedented since the Islamic Revolution of 1979.
According to the Special Rapporteur of theUNon Iran, more than 15,000 people were arrested. Iran's judiciary has already handed down six death sentences in connection with the protests.
An investigation?The council must decide whether to appoint a team of high-level investigators to shed light
on all human rights violations related to the crackdown on protests.
This resolution, if adopted, means a great deal. We don't know if [...] it can save lives tomorrow. But what we know for sure is that it will mean justice, justice for the people," German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock told reporters in Geneva.
According to the draft resolution submitted by Germany and Iceland, this independent international fact-finding mission, which has little chance of visiting Iran, will have to collect evidence of violations and preserve it so that it can be used for possible future prosecutions.
"Woman, Life, Freedom". It is with this slogan so simple, and so strong, that Iranians have been recalling, for more than two months, the values they defend, said the French representative, Emmanuelle Lachaussée.
Tehran, for its part, is scrambling to try to find enough allies to derail the resolution, while the German foreign minister has encouraged countries that generally vote with Iran to have the courage to abstain. According to several diplomatic sources,
the resolution is expected to be adopted.
The Iranian representative sent by Tehran, Khadijeh Karimi, accused Western countries oflacking moral
credibilityto lecture Iran, denouncing US and European sanctions.
Not surprisingly, China, Venezuela and Cuba have given their support to Iran, with Chinese Ambassador Chen Xu championingas usual dialogue and cooperation [...] to promote and protect human rights.
Pakistan also stressed the importance of obtaining the consent of the country concerned to launch investigations, but Brazil, another leading developing country, announced that it would abstain during the vote.
Growing resistance – led by Russia, China and Iran – is building within the Council against the efforts often initiated by Western democracies to convict individual states for human rights violations.
These countries suffered a crushing defeat last month, when they tried to put on the Council's agenda
a debate on Beijing's crackdown on the Xinjiang region.
