Members enter into the United Nations Generally Assembly before a meeting at UN Headquarters in New York, November 29, 2012.
The deplorable condition of human rights in Iran was put under a spotlight at the United Nations.
The deplorable condition of human rights in Iran was put under a spotlight at the United Nations on November 27th, when the Third Committee of the General Assembly passed a resolution calling on the Iranian regime to eliminate “in law and practice” a multitude of human rights violations.
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UN Committee Blasts Iran's Human Rights Record
Eighty three countries voted in favor of the resolution; 31 voted against; and 68 countries abstained. The full UN General Assembly is expected to adopt the resolution formally in December.
In a statement, U.S. Permanent Representative to the United Nations Susan Rice said that the United States was pleased to co-sponsor the resolution on Iran, as well as resolutions on human rights conditions in North Korea and in Syria, which were also adopted.
“On Iran,” said Ms. Rice, “we share the General Assembly’s deep concern at serious ongoing and recurring human rights violations, including torture and such cruel, inhuman and degrading punishments as flogging, amputations and arbitrary executions. Lawyers, journalists, Internet providers, bloggers and netizens [citizens who use the internet] face harassment, intimidation and arbitrary detention in Iran, which also continues to violently repress women and minority groups.”
The resolution adopted by the Third Committee also expressed “particular concern” over the failure of the Government of Iran to conduct comprehensive investigations in response to cases of serious human rights violations involving the Iranian judiciary and security agencies, including at Kahrizak prison and elsewhere, following the disputed presidential election of 2009.
The vote on the resolution was taken just weeks after the death in detention of Iranian blogger Sattar Beheshti, who reportedly was viciously beaten in Evin prison. His death and persistent accounts of the deteriorating health of renowned Iranian human rights defender Nasrin Sotoudeh, who is on a hunger strike in Evin to protest prison conditions and the harassment of her family, have caused international outrage. They are also evidence that Iranian regime’s abuse of its citizens’ basic human rights continues unabated.
The United States, along with the many nations who voted to adopt the Third Committee’s resolution on Iran, urges the Iranian government to end its systematic violation of the fundamental rights of the Iranian people, and effectively implement its obligations under the human rights treaties Iran has ratified.
