UNITED NATIONS THIRD COMMITTEE INTERACTIVE DIALOGUE: SPECIAL RAPPORTEUR ON THE SITUATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS IN IRAN
STATEMENT BY YUNEI KIM, FIRST SECRETARY, AUSTRALIAN MISSION TO THE UNITED NATIONS
1 November 2024
Thank you to the Special Rapporteur for your report.
Australia remains gravely concerned by reports of unrelenting and egregious human rights violations in Iran.
We welcome the Special Rapporteur’s intention to closely address the human rights situation of women and girls in carrying out her mandate. We remain deeply concerned by Iran’s ongoing oppression of women and girls and persecution of women’s human rights advocates. We call on Iranian authorities to cease their mandatory hijab campaign and its violent enforcement.
Arbitrary arrests and detention continue to be employed by Iranian authorities to silence dissent. We are alarmed by reports that many protestors, human rights defenders, lawyers, and journalists have been subjected to cruel and inhuman conditions in Iran’s prisons. We are concerned by reported violations of internationally acceptable standards of fair trial or due process in Iranian courts.
Iran’s extensive use of the death penalty, including against women and girls, juvenile offenders, political opponents, protestors and ethnic and religious minorities, is deeply disturbing. We are alarmed that Iran continues to impose the death penalty for offences such as apostasy and for alleged corruption charges, in violation of its obligations under the ICCPR. We condemn in the strongest terms the recent execution of Iranian-German Jamshid Sharmahd.
We have consistently called on Iran to cease executions and establish a moratorium on the death penalty. Wrongful executions are irreversible and there is no conclusive evidence that capital punishment deters crime. We welcome the Special Rapporteur also focusing on the lethal use of force by authorities and deaths in custody – such as occurred during Iran’s violent suppression of the ‘Woman, Life, Freedom’ protests.
We share the concern of UN experts that ethnic and religious minorities in Iran, including Kurds, Baluch, Azerbaijani Turks, Ahwazi Arabs and members of the Baha’i faith, continue to face institutionalised discrimination and marginalisation.
Australia urges Iran to cooperate fully with the Special Rapporteur, grant unhindered access to the country and provide all information necessary to enable her to effectively discharge this important mandate.
We remain committed to advocating for the human rights of all people in Iran.
Australia asks the Special Rapporteur: what challenges have you faced as you commence your mandate and how can we best support you to address these?