Human Rights Council Meeting On Iran Could Be Historic For Victims Of Abuses

The UN Human Rights Council is holding in Geneva an urgent meeting on the deteriorating situation of human rights in Iran. At the session, the 47 member states could make a historic decision in support of justice for the victims of the Islamic Republic's brutal repression of the Iranian people.

 How can the council help the victims?

The session, held against the will of the Islamic Republic, will review the actions of Iranian security forces after 10 weeks of crackdown on nationwide protests sparked by the death of a 22-year-old woman in the custody of morality police.

The meeting is being held at the request of Germany and Iceland. Diplomats will debate a call for an independent international fact-finding mission into alleged human rights violations committed during the ongoing protests.

Has such a mission been formed before?

The Human Rights Council has appointed fact-finding commissions to investigate the situation in countries with governments notorious for their human rights violations, such as Syria, Belarus, Myanmar, Russia and North Korea.

What will happen if a fact-finding mission is approved?

 The council has already appointed a special rapporteur to review, three times a year, the situation of human rights in Iran. If an investigation team is appointed, it will specifically focus on cases of killings by security forces, sexual assaults and other abuse of detainees and the issuance of extrajudicial sentences.

The team would regularly report to the Human Rights Council and the UN General Assembly about the situation and, if necessary, practical actions will be taken.

What will be the benefits of the committee?

These independent and impartial UN efforts to collect, preserve and analyze evidence of grave human rights abuses are a critical step before those responsible can be held accountable and justice can be reached for the victims.

After the investigation, the UN sends firm warnings to the perpetrators of serious crimes that they cannot hide behind their government’s institutions.

Those who are holding key positions are also investigated as to whether they used military force and opened fire on peaceful civilian protesters.

This process gives hope for justice against human rights abuses. The evidence collected could pave the way for the formation of transnational judicial courts outside of Iran. It would also be used in UN-backed search for a so-called universal justification of human rights.

What is universal jurisdiction?

When a government does not have the will or the possibility to ensures citizens due judicial processes and fair and equal treatment under the law, like in Iran, the principle of "universal competence" is called upon.

According to this principle, victims of crimes who cannot obtain justice in their own countries can sue alleged human rights violators in other countries.

If the Human Rights Council sets up a fact-finding mission for Iran, victims of the Islamic Republic’s cruelty would for the first time have the possibility to seek justice and have those responsible punished.