According to the Balochistan Human Rights Group, the United Nations Human Rights Council convened today, Thursday, April 3, 2025, in Geneva to review the human rights situation in Iran. During the session, representatives from Belgium, Brazil, and Switzerland expressed concerns over the rise in executions, suppression of free speech, violations of women’s rights, and pressure on religious minorities. They urged the Iranian government to cooperate more with international human rights bodies.
The Belgian representative described the increasing number of executions and restrictions on civil liberties as alarming. Brazil emphasized the need to end persecution against the Baha’i community and to enhance women’s participation in society. Switzerland, supporting the resolution, called for an extension of the UN fact-finding mission’s mandate to further investigate the suppression of protesters in Iran.
At the conclusion of the session, the UN Human Rights Council, in its 58th annual meeting, passed a resolution extending the mandates of the Special Rapporteur and the Independent Fact-Finding Mission on Iran for another year. The resolution was adopted with 24 votes in favor and 8 against.
Drafted by Iceland, Germany, North Macedonia, Moldova, the United Kingdom, and Northern Ireland, the resolution urges the Islamic Republic of Iran to end structural impunity for officials responsible for repression and fully cooperate with UN investigators. The council emphasized that granting impunity to officials and security forces perpetuates cycles of violence and denies justice to victims.
The resolution strongly condemns the crackdown on protesters, ethnic and religious minorities, and the alarming increase in executions. It also criticizes the use of the death penalty as a tool to instill fear and suppress political dissent, stating that sentencing individuals to death for crimes that do not meet the threshold of the most serious offenses is a blatant violation of international law.
During the debate, various countries voiced their stances on the resolution. In opposition, Iran’s representative dismissed the council’s focus on Iran’s human rights situation as a waste of resources, calling for attention to be redirected to the situation in Gaza. However, international reports indicate increased repression, widespread arrests, and intensified security pressures on civil and political activists in Iran
