UN Human Rights Council rebukes Iran's past year record

56 members of UN Human Rights Council rebuked Iran for its human rights record in the past year and urged the Islamic Republic to make good on its commitment to improve human rights in Iran.

AFP reports that Iran and a number of its allies tried to block the statement from being read aloud in the Human Rights Council meeting yesterday in Geneva.

A number of countries including China, Cuba and Pakistan protested against the announcement which was prepared by Norway and the US. However, 16 members of UN Human Rights Council and all the 37 members of the European Union had signed the statement.

The announcement states that this UN Human Rights Council meeting cannot be held without making reference to the anniversary of the post-election events in Iran.

The announcement criticizes “the violent suppression of dissent, detention and executions without due process of law, severe discrimination against women and minorities including people of Baha'i faith, and restrictions of expression and religion.”

Zamir Akram, Pakistan representative in the Human Rights Council criticized the statement on behalf of the 56-nation Organization of the Islamic Conference saying it is not fair to single out one country in this manner in a discussion that was supposed to be about a landmark human rights conference in Vienna in 1993.

Catherine Ashton, EU foreign policy chief has recently expressed grave concern over the situation of human rights in Iran and stated that they have not forgotten Iranian protesters.

Iran’s foreign ministry told Spain, which currently holds the EU presidency, that Ashton’s statements were “politically motivated, biased, unreal and nonconstructive.”