No joke: Iran to chair UN human rights forum

This Thursday, Iran will chair the UN Human Rights Council Social Forum. The announcement was made by the non-governmental organization UN Watch in a message published on its X account (formerly Twitter).

UN Watch condemned the UN's decision and asked the rest of the countries not to attend the event scheduled for November 2 and 3. "We are now calling on all countries to walk out of the room tomorrow when the Islamic Republic of Iran becomes Chair of the United Nations Human Rights Council Social Forum," UN Watch wrote.

Likewise, the organization highlighted that the UN intends to legitimize a regime "who beats, blinds, tortures and rapes women for demanding their rights." "No joke: this Thursday, the Islamic Regime in Iran will become Chair of the U.N. Human Rights Council Social Forum," the organization uploaded a video along with the post calling out Iran for its human rights violations.

Civilian repression

According to an Amnesty International report published in 2022, thousands of people were arbitrarily detained or unjustly prosecuted throughout the year for peacefully exercising their human rights, and many remained wrongly imprisoned.

"The authorities further repressed civil society, subjecting hundreds of human rights defenders, lawyers, journalists, political dissidents, activists, conservationists, writers, artists, musicians, university students and schoolchildren. to arbitrary detention and/or unjust prosecution," explained Amnesty International.

In fact, in July 2023, the Independent International Fact-Finding Mission in Iran called to end the repression against protesters and guarantee the rights of Iranians, especially women and girls.

"According to reports received by the Fact-Finding Mission, at least 26 individuals have been sentenced to death in connection with the protests since November 2022, while dozens more have been charged with or face offenses carrying the death penalty. At least seven men have been executed following hasty proceedings, amid serious allegations of rights violations, including of confessions extracted under torture," said the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, which published the international mission's report.

Just last week Armita Geravand, a young woman who had been attacked by the morality police after failing to comply with the obligation to wear a hijab, died from her injuries. Geravand's case was reminiscent of Mahsa Amini's death in September of last year. The 22-year-old Iranian died after being tortured by Iranian authorities for not wearing her hijab correctly.