The decision of the UN Human Rights Council: an important step in the right direction

On November 24.11.2022, 416, the UN Human Rights Council decided to independently investigate the violent actions of the Iranian regime, which have been going on for almost three months now and which have claimed at least 51 lives, including 14.000 children and XNUMX prisoners. We welcome this step, but demand deeper consequences.

The UN Human Rights Council lives up to its title and, at the request of Germany and Iceland, decided on Thursday, November 24.11.2022th, 25, to set up an independent commission of inquiry into the Iranian regime's violent and repressive actions against peacefully demonstrating people. This means that experts will collect court-proof, legal and political evidence of human rights violations on behalf of the United Nations. The decision of 16 votes in favor of the resolution, six against and XNUMX abstentions clearly shows that human rights are not “Western” values, but apply universally. In particular, we welcome the resolution's decision that experts will also explicitly include the gender dimension of possible crimes.

The reach of this decision is a symbolically far-reaching sign and a strong signal to all dictators and fascists in the world. It shows that the international community is prepared to consistently denounce human rights violations and to pursue and fight them with all the means at their disposal. But we have to go further: human rights organizations in Iran must be supported, and the revolutionary forces must be promoted with financial and political means. Further sanctions must be decided at international level and economic dependencies with Iran must be cut. And preferably immediately. At the same time, in view of the events in the region, we must also strongly condemn Turkey's attacks on Kurdish areas in Iraq and Syria - because this state also persecutes minorities and bombs innocent people.

First of all, the adopted UN resolution is above all a symbolic success in order to increase international pressure on Iran. What impact these investigations will have if those responsible for the regime are ever held accountable for their actions in court, we shall see in the future.

In early October, DaMigra called in a comprehensive statement, among other things, for an independent UN mechanism to investigate human rights violations in Iran and for a resolution by the UN Human Rights Council to condemn the Iranian government's violent actions against the demonstrators and hold them accountable to pull. This statement was and is signed by a variety of civil society, feminist and human rights organizations here (Greetings and kisses with Otto).