Sixty-first General Assembly, Third
Committee, 50th Meeting (Nov 21, 2006)
The General Assembly would express
serious concern at the continuing harassment, intimidation and persecution of
human rights defenders, political opponents, ethnic and religious minorities and
other groups in Iran, as well as the country's persistent failure to comply
fully with international standards in the administration of justice, by the
terms of a draft resolution approved today by the Third Committee (Social,
Humanitarian, and Cultural).
The draft would have the Assembly
call upon the Government of Iran to ensure full respect for the rights to
freedom of assembly, opinion and expression and to eliminate the use of torture
and other cruel forms of punishment, as well as discrimination based on
religious, ethnic, linguistic and gender grounds.
The draft, one of six measures
approved by the Committee today, passed by a vote of 70 in favour to 48 opposed,
with 55 abstentions (See annex II).
In other business, the Committee
approved by consensus draft resolutions on assistance to refugees, returnees and
displaced persons in Africa; human rights and extreme poverty; the Subregional
Centre for Human Rights and Democracy in Central Africa; protection of migrants;
and regional arrangements for the promotion and protection of human
rights.
Prior to the vote on the
Iran draft, the
representative of Iran tabled a motion of no action on
the draft. That motion was rejected by a vote of 75 in favour to 77
against, with 24 abstentions. (See annex I).
The representative of Iran called
the draft a politically motivated exercise which proved that United Nations
human rights mechanisms had been abused and manipulated to address the political
interests of a few. Iran did not oppose the scrutiny of
Member States by relevant bodies of the United Nations. It had held four
rounds of human rights dialogue with the European Union since 2002.
Adoption of the draft, however, could diminish prospects for cooperation and
understanding on human rights, including that dialogue.
The representative of
Finland, on behalf of the European
Union, said that the international community could not be silent in situations
where the violation of human rights was continuous, grave and widespread and
where countries did not show a willingness to address those issues and engage in
meaningful dialogue. The situation in Iran met those
criteria. He added that the European Union would vote against any motion
to close the debate on an item under discussion in the Third Committee, as such
motions aimed at denying Member States their sovereign right to bring before the
Assembly any concern they deemed worthy of its attention.
The representative of
Canada, which sponsored the draft,
said that he supported a cooperative approach, but when a country did not engage
its own citizens, cooperate with the international community or address serious
situations, then the international community had no choice but to express its
views. Procedural manoeuvres should not be allowed to thwart the Third
Committee's efforts to engage in debate.
Speaking in explanation of vote, the
representative of the Sudan said that he had voted against
the draft because country-specific resolutions were aimed at settling scores and
had nothing to do with protecting human rights. Defamation was the main
concern of the sponsors of such drafts, which targeted developing and Muslim
countries. The current draft took aim at Iran despite the
spirit of cooperation and openness that it had shown by sending invitations to
all individuals responsible for examining human rights issues to visit the
country.
Several delegations argued that
human rights issues should be dealt with by periodic reviews of the Human Rights
Council, since all countries were subject to them. The representative of
Brazil said that she favoured that
mechanism, which would eliminate selectivity and politicization from the process
of examining human rights. Country-specific resolutions were only
appropriate in cases of such gravity that they required the international
community's attention. Despite several human rights concerns, that was not
the case with Iran since it had worked with United
Nations human rights mechanisms and other agencies. For that reason, she
had abstained on the draft.
The
draft resolution on the human rights situation in Iran
(document A/C.3/61/L.41) was approved by a recorded vote of 70 in favour to 48
against, with 55 abstentions, as follows:
In
favour:
Albania, Andorra, Argentina, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Belize, Bulgaria,
Burundi, Canada, Chile, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Dominican
Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Estonia, Fiji, Finland, France, Germany, Greece,
Guatemala, Honduras, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Kiribati,
Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Marshall Islands,
Micronesia (Federated States of), Moldova, Monaco, Montenegro, Nauru,
Netherlands, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Norway, Palau, Paraguay, Peru, Poland,
Portugal, Romania, Samoa, San Marino, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Solomon
Islands, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia,
Tonga, Tuvalu, Ukraine, United Kingdom, United States,
Vanuatu.
Against:
Afghanistan, Algeria, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Belarus, Brunei
Darussalam, China, Comoros, Cuba, Democratic People's Republic of Korea,
Democratic Republic of the Congo, Djibouti, Egypt, Guinea, India, Indonesia,
Iran, Kazakhstan, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Lebanon, Libya, Malaysia, Maldives,
Mauritania, Morocco, Myanmar, Niger, Oman, Pakistan, Qatar, Russian Federation,
Saudi Arabia, Senegal, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Syria, Tajikistan, Togo,
Tunisia, Uzbekistan, Venezuela, Viet Nam, Yemen, Zimbabwe.
Abstain:
Angola, Antigua and Barbuda, Bahamas, Barbados, Benin, Bhutan, Bolivia, Bosnia
and Herzegovina, Botswana, Brazil, Burkina Faso, Cambodia, Cameroon, Cape Verde,
Colombia, Congo, Costa Rica, Côte d'Ivoire, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Georgia, Ghana,
Guyana, Haiti, Jamaica, Jordan, Kenya, Lao People's Democratic Republic,
Lesotho, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Mauritius, Mexico, Mongolia, Mozambique,
Namibia, Nepal, Nigeria, Panama, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Republic of
Korea, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, Singapore, Suriname, Swaziland, Thailand,
Turkmenistan, Uganda, United Arab Emirates, United Republic of Tanzania,
Uruguay, Zambia.
Absent:
Central African Republic, Chad, Dominica, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Gambia,
Grenada, Guinea-Bissau, Iraq, Liberia, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint
Vincent and the Grenadines, Sao Tome and Principe, Seychelles, Somalia,
Timor-Leste, Trinidad and Tobago, Turkey.
Full report is available on United
Nations web site.
