The Iranian protests that were triggered by the murder of a young lady in police custody will be the focus of the United Nations next week as the US looks for ways to support genuine, independent investigations into Iranian human rights violations.
A paper outlining the event, seen by Reuters, states that the US and Albania will hold a non-formal U.N. Security Council meeting on Wednesday. Shirin Ebadi, the Iranian campaigner and recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize, and Nazanin Boniadi, an actress, are scheduled to speak.
According to the memo, the discussion would focus on Iran’s continuous persecution of women, girls, and those who belong to racial and religious minorities. It will highlight chances to support trustworthy, impartial inquiries into the Iranian government’s breaches of human rights.
Other U.N. member states and rights organizations are welcome to the conference, which will also feature remarks from independent U.N. investigator on Iranian human rights, Javaid Rehman.
Since the death of 22-year-old Kurdish woman Mahsa Amini in police detention last month, Iran has been engulfed in protests. Since the 1979 revolution, the discontent has evolved into a public uprising by Iranians from all societal strata, providing one of the most audacious challenges to the clerical government.
Iran has attributed the turmoil to its foreign adversaries and their agents.
The United States and its allies were accused of abusing their platform “to push their political agenda,” according to Iran’s delegation to the United Nations in New York.
We view the U.S.’s claims to support Iranian women to be misleading and lacking in good faith, given its duplicity, adoption of a double standard, and selective implementation of human rights, it stated.
According to rights organizations, thousands of people have been detained nationwide and at least 250 protestors have been killed. Women have been actively involved in the protests, taking off and burning their headscarves. More rage has been stoked by reports of several adolescent females being slain while participating in protests.
The note about the conference stated, “The gathering will highlight ongoing unlawful use of force against protestors and the Iranian regime’s pursuit of human rights activists and dissidents abroad to abduct or assassinate them in violation of international law.”
The Iranian government was asked to address the “legitimate grievances of the population, notably with respect to women’s rights,” said U.N. spokesperson Stephane Dujarric on Friday.
Security personnel must refrain from any unnecessary or disproportionate use of force against peaceful protestors, Dujarric told reporters. “We condemn all events that have resulted in death or serious harm to protestors,” Dujarric said. “Those responsible must answer for their actions,”
