The U.N. General Assembly Committee on Human Rights has approved a resolution expressing deep concern about human rights violations in Iran. The resolution passed with 76 votes in favour of the resolution, and 35 votes against. Sixty-eight member-states abstained, Fox News reported.
The non-binding resolution was drafted by Canada, and submitted to the General Assembly for consideration. It was reportedly based on a report by a U.N. investigator who said executions in Iran have been rising at "an exponential rate'' since 2005 and could top to 1,000 this year."
Hossein Dehghani, Iran's deputy ambassador, however, said the resolution represents "a selective and politicised distortion of facts.''
He told the committee Thursday that the vote comes at a time when the recent Iran nuclear deal "opens a new horizon for cooperation with the international community on other issues."
Impact Iran, a coalition of Iranian and international human rights advocates, meanwhile, lauded the U.N. resolution, reiterating U.N.'s call on Iranian authorities "to end their illegal use of the death penalty, torture, discrimination against women and minorities and repression of the rights of expression, association, and assembly,'' Israel national news reported.
"Many U.N. member states are hopeful that the nuclear accord will create an opportunity for the human rights situation in Iran to improve. Unfortunately, the situation so far continues to be dire,'' Mani Mostofi, director of Impact Iran, said in a statement following Thursday's vote.
"Today's resolution sends a strong message to the people in Iran that the international community remains committed to defending their rights,'' he said.
The resolution reportedly welcomed pledges by Iranian President Hassan Rouhani on "important human rights issues, particularly on eliminating discrimination against women and members of ethnic minorities and on greater space for freedom of expression and opinion.''
But it also noted that Iran continues to execute minors in violation of international conventions it has signed. It said some juvenile executions were for offences not considered "most serious crimes.''
Iran is also notorious for its regular executions of citizens who are convicted of murder, rape, armed robbery, drug trafficking, adultery and espionage. Reuters said that the Islamic Republic has an "alarming high frequency" of the death penalty.
On Nov. 15, Iranian intelligence officials arrested at least 15 members of the Baha'i Faith in the cities of Tehran, Isfahan and Mashhad. Authorities also closed 23 Baha'i-owned businesses, Impact Iran disclosed in a statement.
In addition, Hadi Heidari, a prominent cartoonist, was arrested on Nov. 16. His last cartoon expressed grief over the recent attack in Paris.
An Amnesty international report also said that Iran has launched an "execution spree" early this summer, executing an average of three people per day with nearly 700 people executed in the first half of 2015 alone, many for political crimes or on trumped-up charges.
