An Iranian diplomat has been appointed as chair of the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) Social Forum in November 2023. UNHRC Chairman Vaclav Barek introduced the appointment of an Iranian international coverage knowledgeable in a letter dated May 10, 2023. Permanent Ambassador Ali Bareini, Islamic Republic of Iran’s consultant to the United Nations, was chosen from amongst a number of regional candidates.
The UN Human Rights Council 2023 Social Forum, scheduled to be held in Geneva on 2 and three November, will give attention to the contribution of science, know-how and innovation to selling human rights, together with post-pandemic restoration.
“Slap within the face”
Mariam Claren, the daughter of imprisoned German-Iranian human rights activist Nahid Taghavi, was shocked by the choice. “As the daughter of a political prisoner who has skilled first-hand the regime’s arbitrariness and human rights violations for greater than two years, I critically query the values of the United Nations,” she advised DW.
Nahid Taghavi was arrested in October 2020 and charged with disrupting nationwide safety and spreading anti-national propaganda. In a speedy trial that lacked proof for her expenses, she was sentenced to 10 years in jail. “I do not perceive how a rustic with so many atrocities and human rights violations can chair the UNHCR discussion board,” Claren mentioned.
In response to the nationwide protests sparked by the violent demise of 22-year-old Zina Martha Amini in police custody, and in gentle of the continued crackdown on civil society in Iran, Mr. Claren mentioned, “Every day in Iran… “People are being executed. More than 20,000 politicians have been executed.” Prisoners are saved in jail, and those that demand primary rights are shot on the streets. ”
In her view, giving Iran the chair of the social discussion board is “a slap within the face for all Iranians and freedom lovers.” Many males at present face the demise penalty in Iran.
Conflicting messages from UNHRC
In its November decision towards Iran, the UNHRC known as for an unbiased investigation into the Iranian management’s violence towards peaceable demonstrators.
Hadi Ghaami, director of the New York-based Iranian Center for Human Rights, mentioned: “While the UN Human Rights Council is investigating the deaths of tons of of peaceable protesters inside Iran, The appointment of an Iranian official as chairman of the discussion board displays stunning moral blindness.”
Majid Kazemi and others prone to execution in Iran
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To keep the legitimacy and credibility of the UNHRC, Mr. Ghami’s group is asking on governments world wide to enchantment to UNHRC President Vaclav Barek of the Czech Republic and demand an instantaneous revocation of Iran’s appointment.
Long-term influence of pandemic on Iran unknown
Little effort has been made to cease the unfold of the virus, particularly in prisons. Iranian poet and movie director Bakhtash Abutin handed away in January 2022 after contracting the coronavirus. His household mentioned he was taken to the hospital too late.
Jafar Azimzadeh, a union member and one of many few activists nonetheless prepared to speak to international media, recovered from the virus in jail. “The stress has elevated tremendously over the previous few months,” he advised DW, including that the crackdown on civil society was unprecedented.
“Women, life, freedom!”: Iran marks three months of protests
Zina Mahsa Amini’s violent demise in September sparked the most important protests in a long time towards the Islamic Republic’s repressive rule. The Iranian state responded in full pressure.
Image: Luisa Guriamaki/AFP/Getty Images
Image: Kenzo Tribouillard/AFP
A revolt towards the regime started on September 17 at Amini’s funeral within the Kurdish hometown of Sakkes. The ladies took off their scarves, waved them within the air, and shouted, “Jin, ziyan, azadi!” — in English, “Women, life, freedom!” This name grew to become the slogan of the rising protest motion. On October 26, hundreds of individuals visited the Aichi Cemetery to commemorate the fortieth day since Amini’s demise, as seen right here.
Image:UGC/AFP
historic rebellion towards the ayatollahs
Amini’s demise marked the start of a historic motion. Protests towards the repressive authorities are shaking all elements of the nation, like right here in Tehran on the finish of September. And it isn’t restricted to ladies; folks of all ages, ethnicities, and genders take part. This is the most important rebellion towards the regime for the reason that 1979 Islamic Revolution.
Image: AFP
No hijab and no worry
In the Kurdish metropolis of Sanandaj in western Iran, the variety of ladies taking to the streets with out the obligatory hijab has elevated over the previous three months. They confirmed nice braveness, as anybody who violated the mandated veil risked flogging and imprisonment.
Image: SalamPix/abaca/Image Alliance
present your hair and angle
Despite the threats, ladies and ladies are usually not threatened. In October, schoolgirls eliminated their headscarves and shouted “Death to the dictator!” — means Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Massive protests broke out at universities, and college students, academics, and oil staff additionally went on strike throughout the nation. A common strike broke out within the Kurdistan Region in early December.
Image: SalamPix/abaca/Image Alliance
The regime responds with violence
In an try and crush the motion, the regime responded with large-scale violence. Police and the infamous Basij militia had been introduced in to quell the protests. Here, Tehran police approached a bunch of fleeing protesters with batons. Human rights teams estimate that greater than 400 folks have been killed by safety forces, together with many youngsters and younger folks.
Image: AFP
Witnesses mentioned police and militia members violently and shot at demonstrators, a few of whom had been shot within the again. Around 14,000 persons are mentioned to have been jailed for taking part within the demonstrations, in addition to the ladies who had been trapped in police vans in Tehran.
Image: SalamPix/ABACA/Photo Alliance
Tehran’s notorious Evin jail has change into a logo of repression. Political dissidents and mental rebels are held right here and compelled to outlive devastating situations, together with reported torture. In mid-October, a hearth broke out on the jail and witnesses reported listening to gunshots. It stays unclear what number of prisoners died or just disappeared.
Image:UGC
Climb with out sporting a shawl
Prominent figures from the humanities, tradition and sports activities worlds additionally joined the protests. At the FIFA World Cup held in Qatar, the nationwide soccer group refused to sing the Iranian nationwide anthem in the course of the opening match. When mountaineer Elnaz Rekabi, above, competed within the Seoul Games with out a hijab, her photograph went viral world wide. However, she shortly fell silent and apologized.
Image: Rhea Kang/AFP
The protests have obtained assist from world wide, with hundreds demonstrating in Tehran from Paris to San Francisco demanding regime change. In Istanbul, the Iranian exile minimize her hair quick in entrance of the Iranian consulate in solidarity with oppressed ladies in her residence nation. Prominent ladies, and a few males, have imitated this gesture everywhere in the world.
Image: Yasin Akgul/AFP/Getty Images
Global assist will not be solely within the type of protests. On December thirteenth, Berlin’s Brandenburg Gate was lit up with the phrases “Women, Life, Freedom” in Kurdish. In the United States, Time journal named an Iranian girl as its “Hero of the Year.”
Image: Markus Schreiber/AP/Photo Alliance
“No to the Islamic Republic”
Global protests (right here in Toronto) are placing stress on the federal government in Tehran. Additional sanctions are putting a heavy burden on the nation’s financial system. The change price of the rial has fallen by greater than 20% towards the euro and greenback since September, hitting an all-time low. Even earlier than the protests started, the nation was affected by a extreme monetary disaster.
Image: Creative Touch Imaging Ltd/NurPhoto/IMAGO
Executed for “enmity towards God”
Two imprisoned protesters have already been executed: rappers Mohsen Shekari and Majdreza Rahnavard (pictured right here). At least 38 different imprisoned protesters might be executed for mohalebe, or “enmity towards God.” Even youngsters may be executed in Iran.
Image: AFP/Getty Images
“Let’s sow the wind and reap the whirlwind”
Image: GIUSEPPE CACACE/AFP/Getty Images
Mr. Azimzadeh is the chairman of the Free Trade Union of Iran. The 57-year-old has been arrested a number of occasions over the previous 20 years. In March 2015, a revolutionary courtroom in Tehran sentenced him to 6 years in jail for assembling and colluding towards nationwide safety and spreading propaganda towards the regime.
“In all my years of being a commerce union activist, I do not keep in mind ever seeing so many commerce union activists in jail,” Azimzadeh advised DW. “Critical voices are instantly crushed,” he added, including, “It is sufficient to categorical criticism of the regime twice to be despatched to jail.”
