The American Jewish Committee (AJC) applauded a decision by the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) to establish an “independent international fact-finding mission” on Iran.
The mission will “thoroughly and independently investigate” human rights violations committed by the regime in its deadly crackdown on protests since the September 16 death of 22-year old Mahsa Amini while in the custody of the morality police.
“The Human Rights Council was created precisely for addressing the egregious human rights abuses the Iranian regime is committing with impunity,” said AJC CEO Ted Deutch. “Today’s Council decision reflects the international community’s outrage at the regime’s conduct, its commitment to listen to the brave Iranian people, and its determination to hold accountable those responsible for the pervasive violence.”
The AJC had previously called for a special UNHRC session on Iranian abuses. In late October, the organization sent a letter to President Joe Biden urging the United States to mobilize the international community to convene a special session of the UN Human Rights Council to address Iran’s violent response on peaceful demonstrations.
Two weeks ago, the AJC applauded Germany and Iceland for being leading voices among 17 council members calling for the special session.
The November 24 meeting discussed “the deteriorating human rights situation in the Islamic Republic of Iran, especially with respect to women and children.” It was the first time Iran was the subject of a Human Rights Council special session.
The UNHRC resolution to investigate Iran passed by a vote of 25 to 6 with 16 abstentions at Thursday’s special session on “the deteriorating human rights situation” in Iran.
The AJC praised the Council resolution for calling on Iran to end its “persistent discrimination against women and girls,” and for establishing the “fact-finding mission to focus on violations affecting women and children.”
“Mounting reports of the Iranian authorities’ extreme brutality are appalling,” Deutch said. “Iran’s leaders have scant regard for their peoples’ rights, they are unwilling to heed their calls for justice, and international pressure is essential if their abuses are to be curbed.”
Noting that the regime has killed hundreds of peaceful protesters, including targeted young children, and has forced victims’ families to lie about the circumstances of their deaths,” AJC praised the 25 countries on the 47-member world body that voted in favor of the resolution.
The resolution calls for an international fact-finding mission to “collect, consolidate and analyze evidence of such violations, and to preserve evidence,” for future legal proceedings. The mission reports back to the UNHRC in July 2023 and March 2024.
“Since the beginning of the protests in Iran in September, AJC has called international attention to the brutal measures employed by the Iranian regime against its own people,” the AJC said. “In a series of diplomatic meetings in the US and Europe, and letters to Human Rights Council member states, AJC encouraged them to convene a special session of the Council to address Iran’s human rights abuses.”
(Israel National News' North American desk is keeping you updated until the start of Shabbat in New York. The time posted automatically on all Israel National News articles, however, is Israeli time.)