On November 18, 2024, the Islamic Republic of Iran, along with 35 other countries, voted against the draft resolution on the “Moratorium on the Use of the Death Penalty.”
This resolution was adopted during the 79th session of the United Nations General Assembly with the support of 131 countries. In contrast, 36 countries, including Iran, the United States, China, India, and Saudi Arabia, opposed it, while 21 countries abstained from voting.
The resolution expressed concern about the disproportionate impact of the death penalty on impoverished individuals, religious and ethnic minorities, and human rights defenders. It called for a suspension of all executions with the goal of ultimately abolishing the death penalty. It also urged member states to ensure fair trials, prohibit the imposition of the death penalty on individuals under 18, pregnant women, and those with mental or intellectual disabilities, and improve the conditions of prisoners sentenced to death.
Amnesty International previously reported that executions in Iran disproportionately target the Baloch ethnic minority. According to the report, although Baloch people constitute only about 5% of Iran’s population, they account for 20% of recorded executions.
In 2023 alone, at least 184 Baloch prisoners were executed in 26 different cities across Iran. The prisons in Zahedan and Birjand recorded the highest number of executions, with 54 and 31 cases respectively. Among those executed, at least four were women.
