On November 15, the UN’s Third Committee condemned the Iranian regime’s human rights violations for the 65th time. This resolution passed the UN General Assembly in early December with the support of 85 countries. The fact that this has happened on average more than once a year since the mullahs seized power in 1979 should be a constant reminder to the word that human rights in Iran are virtually non-existent.
The Regime attempts to downplay these international condemnations by accusing the Iranian Resistance of providing false information to the UN and other global bodies.
Of course, if the information was false, then it should be pretty easy to prove. All Iran would have to do is allow the UN Special Rapporteur for Human Rights in Iran to visit the country, but the mullahs have constantly refused to do that. It’s hard to see why if the mullahs believe they are protecting human rights.
Previous resolutions
The first UN resolution against the Iranian Regime for human rights abuses was adopted in the early 1980s by Dr Kazem Rajavi, a human rights advocate and the first Iranian ambassador to UN’s Permanent Mission in Geneva after the 1979 revolution. When he saw how the Regime was treating the Iranian people, he left his post and joined the Resistance. For this, he was gunned down by the Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) outside his home in Geneva in 1991.
In the years since Rajavi first brought international attention to this problem, the UN has passed 64 more resolutions against the Regime, which have built a stable foundation for the international isolation of the mullahs, with more countries choosing to support the Iranian people every year.
Each new document shows a definite change in the world’s attitude towards Iran, from a gentle suggestion to a firm demand, which demonstrates that the international community is only getting more determined to deal with the Regime.
In the latest resolution, which comes at a time of deep domestic unrest, the UN highlights concerns over the “alarmingly high frequency” of executions, “the widespread and systematic use of arbitrary detention,” and poor prison conditions, including “deliberately denying prisoners access to adequate medical treatment,” and “cases of suspicious deaths in custody”.
Maryam Rajavi, President of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) praised the resolution for “condemning the systematic and gross violations of human rights by the theocratic regime ruling Iran”. While the NCRI offered some ways for the international community to address the problem plaguing ordinary citizens in Iran, including demanding an end to “systematic assassination plots against opponents abroad”, supporting the rights of Iranian people to individual freedoms, and calling for free and fair elections.
Reza Shafiee, a member of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the NCRI, wrote: “International pressure on the Iranian regime is a helping hand for citizens struggling in Iran for their basic rights. The regime is in desperate need of legitimacy abroad and each resolution in support of Iranian people is a nail in its coffin.”
