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Canada pushes for adoption of UN resolution on human rights in Iran |
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Wednesday, 09 November 2005 |
 Canadian Press, UNITED NATIONS, November 9 - Canada has introduced a UN
resolution expressing concerns over the violation of human rights in
Iran, Foreign Affairs Minister Pierre Pettigrew said Tuesday.
The General Assembly is expected to vote on it this week, perhaps as
early as Wednesday. The resolution, co-sponsored by 38 other countries,
calls upon the Iranian government to abide by its international
obligations on human rights, Pettigrew said in a news release.
It wants Iran to being about improvements in many areas, including
independence of the judiciary, intimidation and persecution of defence
lawyers and legal defenders, arbitrary detentions, freedom of
expression, freedom of the media, the treatment of women, the treatment
of persons belonging to religious and ethnic minorities and the
execution of persons under age 18.
"We have carefully followed the situation in Iran during the past year
and we believe there has been a marked deterioration in the
government's performance in protecting the human rights and fundamental
freedoms of its people," Pettigrew said.
"Positive developments in 2005 have been sparse and the lack of
progress and action by the government of Iran is cause for serious
concern."
Canada's relations with Iran have declined rapidly over the death of Montreal photojournalist Zahra Kazemi.
Kazemi died in an Iranian jail in July 2003, about three weeks after
being detained for taking photographs outside a Tehran prison during
anti-government protests. Lawyers for her family say she was beaten to
death.
Iranian authorities initially said she died of a stroke, but a
commission appointed by Iran's president found she died of a fractured
skull and brain hemorrhage caused by the impact of a hard object.
Iran's judiciary charged a low-ranking intelligence official, Reza
Ahmadi, with unintentionally killing her during interrogation. Ahmadi
was cleared of the charge at trial last July, with the court citing a
lack of evidence.
Iran has rejected calls for a new inquiry and turned down requests for an international forensic team to examine the body.
Last December, Canada was a main sponsor of a UN resolution on the
human rights situation in Iran. It called for the matter to be
re-examined this fall at the General Assembly.
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