U.N. Committee Passes Resolution about Human Rights Violations in Iran

November 20, 2007

Author: Staff Writer

Source: Baha'i World News Service

http://www.bahaiworldnews.org/story/588

A committee of the United Nations General Assembly approved a resolution today expressing "deep concern" about "ongoing systematic violations of human rights" in Iran.

Put forward by Canada and co-sponsored by 41 other countries, the resolution took note of repression and persecution aimed by the Iranian government at groups ranging from women and women's rights defenders to the news media and labor groups, as well as various ethnic and religious minorities, including Iranian Baha'is.

The resolution passed the General Assembly's Third Committee by a vote of 72 to 50 with 55 abstentions on 20 November 2007. The vote essentially assures passage of the resolution in a final vote by the entire Assembly scheduled for December.

Its passage followed a call by Iran for "no action" on the motion, a vote that itself failed by 78 to 79, with 24 abstentions. That vote, also taken today, was seen as an important test of the General Assembly's will to examine human rights issues in specific countries when warranted.