Wednesday, February 15, 2012

Iran

UN General Assembly Cites Iran For Rights Abuses

Basij activists break up a women's rights demonstration in Tehran in June (kosoof.com)

December 20, 2006 -- The United Nations General Assembly has voted to express "serious concern" about a long list of human rights abuses in Iran and to call on Iranian authorities to ensure full respect for such rights.

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December 20, 2006

The resolution was adopted on December 19 by a vote of 72-50, with 55 abstentions, in the 192-country assembly.

Before the vote, Iranian diplomats unsuccessfully tried to block the resolution.

The resolution faults Iranian authorities for "harassment, intimidation, and persecution" of human rights advocates, political opponents, religious dissenters, journalists, parliamentarians, students, academics, Internet bloggers, and labor union members.

It criticizes Iran's justice system, which it says has "persistently failed" to meet international standards, and expresses concern over the use of torture and cruel or degrading punishment such as flogging and amputations.

It also decries violence and discrimination against women and girls in Iran, and discrimination and human rights violations against ethnic and religious minorities.

(Reuters, AFP)

Women In Iran

Women in Tehran (epa file photo)

CALLING FOR MORE RIGHTS: Although women played key roles in Iran's 1979 Islamic Revolution, the place of women in post-revolutionary society has been a vexing question. Iranian women have struggled to bring attention to their calls for greater rights in their country's rigid theocratic system, calls that have often clashed with the values proclaimed by conservatives in society. (more)

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