Western diplomats and the U.N. human rights chief appealed Thursday to Iran's government to halt a bloody crackdown against protesters at a special Human Rights Council session to discuss a bid for greater scrutiny of the country's “deteriorating” rights situation.
Iran's envoy, in response, was defiant and unbowed, blasting a "politically motivated" initiative.
The 47-member-state council was set to consider a proposal, presented by Germany and Iceland and backed by dozens of other countries, to set up a team of independent investigators to monitor human rights in Iran as the protests and crackdown continue.
The protests were triggered by the death more than two months ago of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini, who died while in the custody of the morality police for violating a strictly enforced Islamic dress code.
The session in Geneva is the latest international effort to put pressure on Iran over its crackdown, which has already drawn international sanctions and other measures.
German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock, who was on hand, said the situation presented “a test of our courage.”
“The United Nations were founded to protect the sovereignty of every state, but a regime that uses this power to violate the rights of its own people is violating the values of our United Nations,” she said.
“On many occasions, we have called upon Iran to respect these rights to stop the violence crackdown on protesters, the bloodshed, the arbitrary killing, the mass arrests, the death penalties," Baerbock said. "The only answer we received was more violence, more death.”
Khadijeh Karimi, deputy of the vice president for Women and Family Affairs in Iran, criticized the Western effort as part of a “politically motivated move of Germany to distort the situation of human rights in Iran."
“The Islamic Republic of Iran deeply regrets that the Human Rights Council is abused once again by some arrogant states to antagonize a sovereign UN member state that is fully committed to its obligation to promote and protect the human rights," Karimi said.
She trumpeted her government's efforts to foster the role of women in the workplace and higher education and accused Western countries of turning a blind eye to rights abuses in places like Yemen, Palestinian areas, or against indigenous peoples in Canada — which the Canadian government has acknowledged.
Karimi acknowledged the “unfortunate decease" of Amini and said “necessary measures” were taken afterward, including a creation of a parliamentary investigative commission. She accused Western countries of stoking riots and violence by intervening in Iran's internal affairs.
The U.N. human rights chief, Volker Türk, expressed concerns that Iran's government has not been listening to the world community.
“The people of Iran, from all walks of life across ethnicities, across ages, are demanding change. These protests are rooted in long standing denials of freedoms, in legal and structural inequalities, in lack of access to information and Internet shutdowns," he said.
“I call on the authorities immediately to stop using violence and harassment against peaceful protesters and to release all those arrested for peacefully protesting, as well as crucially, to impose a moratorium on the death penalty,” he added.
The proposal by Germany and Iceland aims to ratchet up scrutiny that for years as been carried out by the council's “special rapporteur” on Iran, whose efforts have been shunned by the Islamic Republic's leaders. Western diplomats say Tehran has led a quiet push in Geneva and beyond to try to avoid any further scrutiny through the new council resolution being considered on Thursday.
The proposal would set up a “fact-finding mission” to investigate rights violations “especially with respect to women and children” linked to the protests that erupted on Sept. 16. It also demands that Tehran cooperate with the special rapporteur, such as by granting access to areas inside Iranian territory, including places of detention.
The team would be expected to report back to the council in mid-2023.
Amini remains a potent symbol in protests that have posed one of the most serious challenges to the Islamic Republic since the 2009 Green Movement protests drew millions to the streets.
At least 426 people have been killed and more than 17,400 people have been arrested, according to Human Rights Activists in Iran, a group monitoring the unrest.
Activists said Iranian security forces on Monday used heavy gunfire against demonstrators in a western Kurdish town, killing at least five during an anti-government protest at the funeral of two people killed the day before.
