The United Nations General Assembly’s Third Committee (Social, Humanitarian and Cultural) approved a draft resolution on 15 November 2016, which pertained to the human rights situation in Iran.

The draft resolution on the human rights situation in Iran was approved by a vote of 85 in favour, to 35 against with 63 abstentions. By its terms, the General Assembly would, among other things, call for greater accountability for human rights abuses in Iran.

The draft resolution, introduced by Canada’s representative, also urges the Assembly to call on Iran to ensure that no one was subjected to torture or other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment. It urges Iran to cease enforced disappearances and the widespread and systematic use of arbitrary detention. It also strongly urges Iran to eliminate, in law and practice, all forms of discrimination and other human rights violations against women and girls.

The text furthermore: “Calls upon the Islamic Republic of Iran to launch a comprehensive accountability process in response to all cases of serious human rights violations, including those involving the Iranian judiciary and security agencies, and calls upon the Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran to end impunity for such violations”.

The full text of the draft resolution approved by the Third Committee is available on the UN’s website: http://www.un.org/ga/search/view_doc.asp?symbol=A/C.3/71/L.25