UN Accuses Iran of Human Rights Violations

On November 21, 2003, the United Nations approved a resolution submitted by the Canadian government condemning Iran for human rights violations, including torture, suppression of freedom of expression, and discrimination against women and minorities. The resolution passed with 73 votes in favor, 49 against, and 50 abstentions. Most European and Latin American countries, as well as the United States and Canada, supported the resolution, while Islamic countries, along with Russia, China, and India, opposed it. The UN Human Rights Commission, based in Geneva, has passed multiple resolutions regarding Iran's human rights record from 1984 to 2001, which were subsequently addressed by the General Assembly. However, a draft on Iran's human rights violations failed last year in Geneva and was not voted on by the Assembly. The Canadian-drafted resolution accuses Iran, under Shiite rule, of blatant religious discrimination against minorities, including Baha'is, Christians, Jews, and Sunni Muslims. It also expresses concern over public executions and amputations, arbitrary detentions of political dissidents, suppression of press freedom, and organized discrimination against women and girls 'both in law and in practice.' The death of a Canadian-Iranian photojournalist, Zahra Kazemi, who died in June this year in Tehran due to head injuries sustained during her arrest, soured relations between Tehran and Ottawa. The draft submitted by Canada does not mention Kazemi by name but refers to the repression carried out by the judiciary and security forces against journalists, parliament members, students, clerics, and academics. The resolution expresses 'serious concern' over 'violent confrontations with student protests,' including the imprisonment and mistreatment of detainees. Gilbert Laurin, Canada's special envoy, stated at the meeting on Thursday, 'What we witnessed in Kazemi's case reflects the situation of Iranian journalists and the lack of freedom of expression to the people of Canada.' The number of student activists imprisoned during ten days of protests in June in Iran reached 4,000. Only a few of these individuals were released after Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei called for leniency from the judiciary towards prisoners. The powerful Guardian Council in Iran, responsible for ensuring that parliamentary laws comply with Islamic Sharia law, has resisted many of the reformist President Mohammad Khatami's efforts. Canada's supporters for this resolution included the United States, the Czech Republic, Iceland, Ireland, the Netherlands, Portugal, Sweden, Andorra, and Micronesia.