Iran protests: Special session of the UN Human Rights Council is held

The United Nations Human Rights Council is set to hold a special session on what it called "the deteriorating human rights situation in the Islamic Republic of Iran" in Geneva on Thursday. 

Germany and Iceland had called for the session on human rights violations when they submitted an official request last week, supported by 44 states so far. 

For nearly two months now, Iran has been witnessing women-led protests denouncing the traditional regime. 

What is Germany's position on the Iran protests?

German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock is flying to Geneva to call for a condemnation of the Iranian leadership for its actions against demonstrators, a spokesperson for the foreign ministry announced on Wednesday. 

"The Iranian demonstrators do not have a seat on the Human Rights Council in Geneva, and they do not have a voice at the UN," Baerbock said in a statement issued before she traveled.

"Today the UN Human Rights Council can raise its voice for the indivisible rights of the people in Iran. Today, the members of the Human Rights Council can make a stand against the injustice, the beatings and the shots with which the Iranian regime is trying to destroy peaceful protest."

Germany's top diplomat vowed to concentrate efforts on supporting those who are standing up for their rights with "courage and dignity."

"For more than two months, we have had to witness on daily basis how Iranians have been victims of brutal violence and state tyranny," Baerbock said.

She stressed that Iran had consistently denied UN envoys entry into the country, and called on Council members to vote for a resolution on creating an independent mechanism to investigate human rights violations.

"We owe it to the victims," she said.

Why are Iranians protesting?

The protests were triggered by the death of 22-year-old Iranian-Kurdish woman Jina Mahsa Amini, who was arrested by the Guidance Patrol, or the so-called "morality police," in Tehran.

She died shortly after in hospital under mysterious circumstances.

The nationwide demonstration has seen students and women burning their veils and cutting their hair in a show of defiance against the repressive Islamic Republic that came to power in 1979.

The protests have been met with a deadly crackdown by security forces. 

The UN estimates that over 300 people have died since they began in mid-September. 

The concern over human rights in Iran

On Tuesday, UN spokesman Jeremy Laurence cited human rights chief Volker Turk as saying that the rise in deaths, including among children, and the tougher security response "underline the critical situation in the country."

The UN called on Iranian authorities to address the demands for equality, dignity and rights, rather than "using unnecessary or disproportionate force to suppress the protests," Laurence said while talking to the media. 

There is also a growing worry about the treatment of those detained in the clampdown. 

Some 1,000 people have been charged in the capital Tehran alone. 

Human rights groups say there is overcrowding in the country's prisons and many detainees are being temporarily taken to detention camps run by the Ministry of Intelligence. 

Last month, the UN human rights office also expressed concern about Iran's treatment of detained protesters. 

Source: dvv/rt (Reuters, AFP)