UN again cites Iran over human rights violations

The UN General Assembly and the Human Rights Commission have repeatedly condemned prior and ongoing abuses in Iran.

A United Nations (UN) committee on Tuesday urged the Islamic Republic of Iran to cease its widespread use of enforced disappearances and arbitrary detention, and also expressed serious concern about Tehran’s severe limitations on freedom of thought, conscience and practice of religion or belief.

The General Assembly’s human rights committee approved the measure by a vote of 85 in favor, 35 against and 63 members abstaining.

The assembly is almost certain to adopt the resolution when it is put to a vote next month.

However, the measure welcomed stated pledges by Iran’s President Hasssan Rouhani to eliminate discrimination against women and ethnic minorities, as well as granting greater space for freed of expression.

It also expressed concern over the “alarmingly high frequency” of Iran’s use of the death penalty, which it enacts is prescribed by Muslim Sharia law.

The GA also urged Iran to eliminate laws and practices that constitute human rights violations against women and girls.

The state of human rights in Iran has been criticized both by Iranians and international human right activists, writers and NGOs.

Iran’s Abysmal Human Rights Track Record

The UN General Assembly and the Human Rights Commission have repeatedly condemned prior and ongoing abuses in Iran in published critiques and several resolutions.

In April of this year, Amnesty International reported that there was a dramatic 54 percent increase in executions globally in 2015, with Iran, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia responsible for nearly 90 percent of the killings.

Executions in Iran rose 31 percent to 977, and Iran is one of the world’s largest users of the death penalty, ranking second behind China in 2014, according to the most recent figures from Amnesty.

In January, Amnesty International charged Iran with executing juveniles.

The London-based group also found that Iran has executed at least 73 juvenile offenders between 2005 and 2015, including at least four last year.

In late October, the United Nations’ special investigator on the human rights situation in Iran, Ahmed Shaheed, warned that executions in Iran have risen at an “exponential rate” since 2005. He said Iran puts more people to death per capita than any other country, adding that the majority of executions do not conform to international laws banning the death penalty for juveniles and non-violent offenders.

Most recently, the European Union (EU) announced in April extended sanctions against 82 Iranian officials until 2017 because of the Islamic Republic’s abysmal human rights violations record.

The 28-nation bloc has had asset freezes and travel bans in place against Iranians since 2011 because of violations of human rights.

By: World Israel News Staff
AP contributed to this report