UN rights council eyes probe of Iran crackdown

The United Nations’ top rights body will preserve an urgent assembly this week to recollect launching an worldwide research into the lethal crackdown on mass protests rocking Iran.

The UN Human Rights Council is because of host a unique consultation on Thursday on “the deteriorating human rights scenario”, following a request by using Germany and Iceland.

The assembly follows two months of protests in Iran sparked with the aid of the dying of 22-12 months-old Mahsa Amini, after she was arrested for an alleged breach of the u . S .’s strict dress policies for ladies primarily based on Islamic sharia regulation.

At least 378 people, such as forty seven kids, were killed in the crackdown considering the fact that Amini’s loss of life, according to the Norway-primarily based organization Iran Human Rights (IHR).

The demonstrations have spread across the u . S . A . And grown into a extensive movement in opposition to the theocracy that has ruled Iran for the reason that fall of the shah in 1979.

Thousands of non violent protesters have additionally been arrested, in line with UN rights experts, which includes many ladies, children and journalists, and 6 people have to date been surpassed demise sentences over the demonstrations.

‘Gender dimensions’

During Thursday’s consultation, diplomats will recall a draft decision provided with the aid of Germany and Iceland calling at the council to create a high-stage international investigation to probe all alleged violations linked with the continuing protests in Iran.

The so-called impartial international truth-locating project need to include “the gender dimensions of such violations” in its investigations, in keeping with the text.The draft resolution, that could still change, calls for the investigators to “gather, consolidate and examine proof of such violations, and to keep proof,” so that you can future prosecution.

German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock, who may be present for the consultation, confused these days on Twitter that such an research is important due to the fact we “understand how important it’s miles for the sufferers that the ones responsible are held responsible.”

The draft textual content referred to as on Tehran to “cooperate completely” with the investigators, who it stated must gift a complete report in March 2024.

Rights companies hailed the unique session.

“We’re seeing such severe abuses in reaction to the protests,” Lucy McKernan of Human Rights Watch instructed AFP.

“It is incumbent at the council to react,” she stated, voicing wish that international locations might returned the research, “so that at least within the destiny there may be a hazard of duty”.

The support of 16 of the Human Rights Council’s forty seven contributors — greater than a third — is required to convene a special session.

Germany and Iceland have thus far acquired the backing of 50 countries for their request for Thursday’s consultation, consisting of 17 council individuals.

Enough votes?

But simply days earlier than the event, it remained unclear if they will muster the votes needed to bypass their resolution.

The Human Rights Council has seen developing push-returned from countries such as China, Russia and Iran towards regularly Western-led efforts to hold person international locations to account for alleged violations.

Last month Western countries and their allies suffered a crushing defeat in the council while their attempt to genuinely get the difficulty of China’s alleged widespread abuses in its Xinjiang location on the schedule was thwarted.

But Iran might also have a harder time blocking Thursday’s decision.

It does not preserve the equal sway over some of the council participants as Beijing does.

And even as China has in no way even featured on the council’s time table, the body appointed a so-known as special rapporteur on Iran as a long way lower back as 2011, and has voted each 12 months on account that then to resume that mandate.

Thursday’s assembly can even provide a primary opportunity for the new UN rights leader Volker Turk to speak before the council.

He is due to open the consultation at 0900 GMT, observed through statements by means of the special rapporteur and probable representatives of Iranian civil society.