The 193-member United Nations General Assembly on Thursday condemned human rights abuses in Iran. Iran resolution received 81 votes in favor, 37 against and 67 abstentions.
The resolution on Iran, which was drafted by Canada, criticized Tehran for cracking down on activists, journalists and dissidents and for its increased use of the death penalty.
UN General Assembly resolutions are non-binding but can carry political weight. The resolutions on human rights in Iran have become an annual event.
Similar resolutions on human rights in Syria and Myanmar are due to be voted on at a later date. In a relate news, According to the National Observer, Dec. 18, Canada’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Stéphane Dion joined the United Nations in calling on Iranian regime to improve its human rights record in a resolution passed by the General Assembly. “The text of the resolution reflects both the areas where human rights violations continue and those areas where Iran is taking steps to improve the human rights situation,” Dion said adding: “Canada and the international community remain deeply concerned about Iran’s human rights record. We call on the government of Iran to implement its human rights obligations to ensure the full enjoyment of human rights for all people in Iran,”. Under Stephen Harper’s former Conservative government, Ottawa severed diplomatic relations with Tehran in 2012 and declared Iran to be a state sponsor of terrorism. This policy remained in place even as Iranian regime negotiated with the Americans and Europeans to resolve its nuclear crisis.
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Mr. Yazdan-Nejad a relative of a member of the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI or MEK) in Camp Liberty was arrested at his home on September 10, 2007 by agents of the regime’s Ministry of Intelligence and Security (MOIS) and sentenced by the regime’s kangaroo courts to 13 years in prison for attending a ceremony to mark the 19th anniversary of the 1988 massacre of 30000 political prisoners in Iran. At the time he was a linguistics student in Payam-e Nour University. On October 26, Mr. Yazdan-Nejad was transferred out of Gohardasht Prison in Karaj, for medical treatment; but instead of taking him to a hospital, the regime’s agents transferred him to Ward 2A of Evin Prison, a notorious secluded ward which is run by agents of the regime’s Revolutionary Guards (IRGC).
He has not been given visitation rights to see his family at Evin Prison.
Mr. Yazdan-Nejad who has spent more than eight years in prison, including at least eight months in solitary confinement, had previously been arrested for visiting his sister, a member of the PMOI (MEK), in Camp Ashraf, Iraq.
Misaq’s father and mother have previously endured three years of imprisonment, and three of his uncles were killed by the regime for supporting the PMOI (MEK).
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The air pollution in Tehran on Saturday, December 19, 2015 reached the red level and caused all schools to shut down.
According to city officials all schools at all levels would be closed Saturday and Sunday and also on Monday due to the severity of the air pollution. The Air Quality Index on last Monday showed an average reading of 162 — a “red status” warning that the air is unhealthy for everyone, according to World Health Organization standards. A normal healthy level is between zero and 50.
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Barzan was arrested at the age of 17 in the western city of Sanandaj on May 29, 2010. He was convicted by the regime’s courts with “Moharebeh,” or waging war on God.
According to reports, Barzan’s father has said: “They took away his laptop, and after a while he was sentenced to execution for Moharebeh. He hadn’t killed anyone, nor was he tied to any group, and nor did he have a weapon.”
Barzan is currently spending his fifth year behind bars in Ward 4 of Hall 10 of Gohardasht (Rajai-Shahr) Prison, north-west of Tehran.
Iranian regime on Monday, December 14, hanged a 20-year-old man in public in the city of Noshahr, northern Iran. The man, only identified by the initials M. Kh., was 18 years old at the time when he allegedly committed his crime.
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The refugees in Camp Liberty have come repeated deadly rocket attacks by agents of the Iranian regime in recent years, most recently on October 29. At the behest of the mullahs’ regime in Iran, the Iraqi governmental committee tasked with suppressing the Camp Liberty residents led by National Security Advisor Faleh Fayyad has imposed a logistical and medical siege against the residents.
The following is the full text of the updated statement published on the website of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees:
Update No. 13
Update on the implementation of solutions for residents of Hurriya Temporary Transit Location (TTL)
• 2015 has seen the largest number of relocations out of Iraq in a calendar year since the international community and the Government of Iraq began efforts to find relocation opportunities for residents of the Hurriya Temporary Transit Location (TTL) in 2011.
• By the end of 2015, more than 1,100 residents will have been relocated to a situation of safety in third countries. This represents more than a third of the residents registered by UNHCR. By the beginning of 2016, it is expected that fewer than 1,970 residents will remain in the TTL.
• The situation with relocations is at its most buoyant since efforts began. Almost half of all relocations have taken place in the latter half of 2015. These outcomes have been achieved with the cooperation and flexibility of the residents who have proceeded with the relocation process despite difficult circumstances, including rocket attacks on 29 October 2015 which resulted in the deaths of 24 residents and injuries to dozens of others.
• UNHCR strongly condemned the rocket attacks; the High Commissioner for Refugees, António Guterres, stating: “This is a most deplorable act, and I am greatly concerned at the harm that has been inflicted on those living at Camp Liberty. Every effort must continue to be made for the injured and to identify and bring to account those responsible.”
• UNHCR deeply appreciates the measures taken by some countries to relocate residents to situations of safety and security. Albania’s exceptional contribution to this humanitarian endeavour merits special note. Albania has received more than three-quarters of the residents who have been relocated. Its efforts have contributed greatly to international efforts to find solutions for this group of people.
• Central to the recent success is the residents’ commitment to meeting the bulk of costs associated with relocations to Albania. This commitment to meet travel costs and living expenses is crucial to the ongoing implementation of solutions for the group.
• UNHCR urgently renews its calls upon states to find ways to offer long term solutions for the residents who remain at the Hurriya TTL. This appeal for help should be read in light of the potential for more attacks on the Hurriya TTL. As well as the attack of October 2015, the residents have been subjected to several rocket attacks, both in the Hurriya TTL and in Camp New Iraq (the former Camp Ashraf), which also resulted in deaths and injuries. These attacks, coupled with the current conflict in Iraq, leave residents of the Hurriya TTL open to significantly heightened security risks. This emphasizes the need for quick and pragmatic action on the part of States to ensure that these people are relocated to a situation of safety and security.
• UNHCR continues to call upon the Government of Iraq to take all possible measures to ensure the safety and well-being of residents, including ensuring access to life saving medical treatment and assistance with the provision of good and services to enable the residents to make arrangements for their own protection.
• UNHCR also recalls the Memorandum of Understanding between the Government of Iraq and the United Nations explicitly recognizes that residents benefit from the principle of non-refoulement.
UNHCR, Geneva, 14 December 2015
