UN launches inquiry into Iran’s violent suppression of protests
On Friday, the UN Human Rights Council called for an "urgent investigation" into alleged violations during Iran's violent crackdown on weeks-long protests, which UN officials have described as the deadliest since the 1979 revolution.
The decision followed an emergency session convened at the behest of western states led by Iceland, the United Kingdom, Germany, Moldova and North Macedonia. “This council and the world cannot look away,” an Icelandic official told the Geneva-based council on behalf of the group, News.Az reports, citing foreign media.
Despite opposition from Iran and its allies, the resolution was approved, with 25 countries in favour, while 7 voted against and 14 abstained.
It tasks the Fact-Finding Mission on Iran, a council-backed independent group of experts, with conducting the inquiry and reporting back to both the council and the UN General Assembly in New York this fall. It also extends the mandate of the mission and of the UN special rapporteur on Iran for a period of one year.
Demonstrations initially erupted on 28 December over rising living costs before quickly morphing into nationwide protests against the government. The UN and independent groups have reported a violent crackdown, including protesters shot dead by security forces and hospitals raided to arrest the wounded.
Casualty figures remain hard to verify amid the country’s longest-ever internet shutdown, but estimates range between 3,000 and 16,000 people killed, alongside up to 24,000 arrests.
By Ulviyya Salmanli
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