On November 20, during its 79th session, the UN General Assembly’s Third Committee voted on the resolution on the situation of human rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran. You can read the full draft resolution put forward by Canada via the UN Digital Library.
Voting Highlights
- The resolution was adopted with 77 YES votes, 28 NO votes, and 66 Abstentions. Although the number of YES votes was lower in 2024 (77 yesterday vs. 80 last year in December), this can be largely explained by states that were not present to vote but would have, in all likelihood, voted YES, such as Bulgaria and Cabo Verde. The voting results have been stable over the years, and the resolution continues to be largely supported, including in Eastern and Western Europe, Latin America, and by a number of Asian and African countries.
- The total vote remained relatively consistent compared to 2023’s Third Committee vote, with 3 less YES votes, 1 less NO vote, and 1 more abstention (80 Yes, 29 No, 65 Abstentions in 2023).
Key Diplomatic Shifts
- 3 countries shifted from “NO” to abstention: India, Lebanon, and the Philippines. It is noteworthy that India has been shifting from NO to ABST, confirming a change in position visible at least since the start of the “Woman, Life, Freedom” movement. This shift is evidenced by their votes at the HRC Special Session in November 2022 that saw the establishment of the FFMI (ABST) and at the ECOSOC to remove Iran from the Commission on the Status of Women in December 2022 (ABST). The votes opposing the resolution have not significantly increased but have benefited from the more authoritarian turn taken by a number of African countries lately and their rapprochement with Russia, which was the case for Chad and Niger, who shifted from ABST to NO.
- The resolution lost 2 of last year’s YES votes to absence (Bulgaria and Cabo Verde, even though the former co-sponsored the draft resolution), and 1 to abstention (Timor-Leste).
- 3 countries pivoted from abstention to a “NO” vote: Chad, Niger, and Sudan.
Diplomatic Statements
Several states emphasized the situation of women and girls’ rights in Iran:
- Hungary (on behalf of the European Union): “We are deeply concerned about the deteriorating situation for women and girls: the intensified targeted repression, discrimination, and the steps undertaken to further impose restrictive and punitive laws and policies on women and girls, and the lack of accountability and justice measures for human rights violations perpetrated against women and girls.”
- United Kingdom: “Two years on from nationwide protests that demanded gender equality, the authorities continue to violently discriminate against women and girls. The Islamic Republic has bolstered its surveillance apparatus to arrest, detain and flog women who defy the oppressive hijab law. The increased targeting of Baha’i women is an alarming escalation. The international Woman Life Freedom movement has the UK’s definitive support.”
- Brazil: “The protection of the rights to peaceful assembly and association as well as of participation must be strengthened. The application of the death penalty in the country and its disproportionate incidence on persons belonging to minorities should be addressed. We encourage Iran to put in place a moratorium on the use of the death penalty with a view to its abolition.”
- Ghana: “We encourage the authorities to foster a civil and political environment where every citizen can actively participate in the political, social and cultural life of the country. We understand the importance of upholding the rights and freedoms of all individuals, especially women and religious minorities, including the need to respect freedom of religion and belief and the value of protecting the rights of all communities.”
As anticipated, several countries who weren’t in favour of the resolution emphasized the importance of impartiality and non-selectivity in the promotion and protection of human rights, including Venezuela, who spoke on behalf of the Group of Friends in Defense of the UN Charter: “The group of friends calls for an end to the politicization of human rights. We believe that the only way of strengthening and guaranteeing full and effective realization of human rights is through strengthening multilateralism with strict adherence to the aforementioned principles. The Universal Periodic Review, the treaty bodies and the Special Procedures of the Human Rights Council are platforms that offer significant opportunities to this end, in a just and constructive way, on the basis of dialogue and cooperation, mutual respect and and adherence to the principles enshrined in the chart of the UN.”
You can find a more detailed thread of country statements at the Third Committee vote via Impact Iran’s Twitter/X, as well as the full meeting broadcast via UN Web TV.
Resolution Language in 2024
Notably, while the resolution still contains serious shortcomings, it is noteworthy that it now includes new language that we proposed during exchanges with the Canadian mission and in our Impact Iran joint submission, suggesting genuine consideration of some of our inputs as civil society:
- Paragraph 9: For the first time, the resolution condemns “in the strongest terms” the alarming increase in the application of the death penalty. The text denounces the use of the death penalty by Iran “as a tool for political repression, including against those exercising their rights to freedom of opinion and expression and peaceful assembly” and expresses concern at executions undertaken “in secrecy”.
- Paragraph 12: The resolution calls to ensure fair trial, including “full access to the content of the case file”.
- Paragraph 15: The text highlights “the lack of accountability and justice measures” for human rights violations.
- Paragraph 17: “Calls for urgent repeal of provisions of the Law on the Use of Firearms by Armed Forces in Necessary Incidents”
- Paragraph 24: For the first time the resolution refers to Ahwazi Arabs and Azerbaijani Turks and “expresses particular concern at the higher proportion of casualties among protesters in minority-populated cities and provinces, and at the disproportionate imposition of the death penalty on persons belonging to minorities, in particular the Balochi and Kurdish minorities”.
- Paragraph 28: The resolution expresses “particular concern” at the failure of the state to pursue accountability rather than simply calling on the state to conduct investigation in compliance with international standards. “Expresses particular concern at the failure of the Islamic Republic of Iran to conduct prompt, effective, independent, transparent, and impartial investigations”.