UN: Iran Should Improve Human Rights Alongside Nuclear Issue Resolution

On Monday, September 23, the head of the UN Human Rights Council urged Iranian officials to improve the human rights situation in Iran while resolving nuclear issues. Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein welcomed the nuclear agreement between Iran and six world powers in Vienna, stating, "I urge Iran to also make proportional progress in the field of human rights." According to Reuters, he expressed that "the increasing use of the death penalty, concerns about the right to a fair trial, and the continued detention of journalists, bloggers, and human rights defenders remain major concerns." Human rights organizations report that Iran is among the countries with high execution rates alongside China and Saudi Arabia, and activists, labor rights advocates, journalists, and religious critics of the Islamic Republic are systematically suppressed. The International Federation for Human Rights has predicted that if the current rate of executions continues, Iran will set a record for executions in 1394 (2015) after 1368 (1989). According to this site, Iranian officials confirmed the execution of 246 individuals from December 2014 to July 2015. The resolution of Iran's nuclear program, accompanied by extensive visits from European trade delegations in recent months, has raised concerns that the human rights situation in Iran may be overshadowed and forgotten. However, the President of Austria stated during his recent visit to Iran that he would discuss human rights issues with Iranian officials. In another part of his speech, the head of the UN Human Rights Council called on European countries to adopt comprehensive policies to develop migration pathways in response to the refugee crisis. Ra'ad Al Hussein demanded an end to the detention and "mistreatment" of refugees, especially children, who he said have fled from war or persecution in governments like Syria. He addressed the 47 member countries of the Human Rights Council, stating, "It is necessary to develop regular migration and resettlement pathways—two actions that will prevent deaths and block the path of traffickers." These remarks come as Germany has resumed border inspections to control the large influx of refugees into the country. EU interior ministers are set to hold a meeting on Tuesday to discuss the refugee crisis. Ra'ad Al Hussein also criticized some global powers such as China and Russia for silencing their critics. He condemned China for detaining and interrogating over a hundred lawyers in recent months and criticized Russia for placing civil groups receiving foreign resources under new laws in the country.