Appeal to Iran at UNHRC to stop bloody crackdown

Western diplomats and the U.N. human rights chief appealed Thursday to Iran's government to halt a violent and bloody crackdown against protesters at a special Human Rights Council session to discuss a bid for greater scrutiny of the country's deteriorating rights situation.

Iran's envoy, in response, was defiant and unbowed, blasting a politically motivated initiative.

The Human Rights Council was set to debate and vote on a proposal, presented by Germany and Iceland and backed by dozens of other countries, to set up a team of independent investigators to monitor human rights in Iran as protests continue.

The protests were trigged by the death in mid-September of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini, who died while being held by the morality police for violating a strictly enforced Islamic dress code.

The session in Geneva is the latest international effort to put pressure on Iran over its crackdown, which has already drawn international sanctions and other measures.

Karimi acknowledged the "unfortunate decease" of Amini and said "necessary measures" were taken afterward, including a creation of a parliamentary investigative commission.

She accused Western countries of stoking riots and violence by intervening in Iran's internal affairs.

The U.N. human rights chief, Volker Türk, said his office had gathered information that some 14,000 people, including children, have been arrested, and cited figures from "reliable sources" that the death toll from the crackdown against protesters has now exceeded 300, including at least 40 children.

"This is unacceptable," he said.

Referring to a elite Iranian unit and a paramilitary volunteer group, Turk said: "The security forces, notably the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and Basij forces, have used live ammunition, birdshot and other metal pellets, tear gas and batons."

The proposal by Germany and Iceland aims to ratchet up scrutiny that for years as been carried out by the council's "special rapporteur" on Iran, whose efforts have been shunned by the Islamic Republic's leaders.

Western diplomats say Tehran has led a quiet push in Geneva and beyond to try to avoid any further scrutiny through the new council resolution being considered on Thursday.

The proposal would set up a "fact-finding mission" to investigate rights violations "especially with respect to women and children" linked to the protests that erupted on Sept. 16.

It also demands that Tehran cooperate with the special rapporteur, such as by granting access to Iranian territory, including places of detention.

The team would be expected to report back to the council in mid-2023.

Amini remains a potent symbol in protests that have posed one of the most serious challenges to the Islamic Republic since the 2009 Green Movement protests drew millions to the streets.

At least 426 people have been killed and more than 17,400 people have been arrested, according to Human Rights Activists in Iran, a group monitoring the unrest.