GENEVA (Reuters) – Germany and Iceland, representing dozens of countries, submitted a request on Thursday for a special UN Human Rights Council meeting on the ongoing protests in Iran to be held later this month. .
The request called for a session “to address the deteriorating human rights situation in the Islamic Republic of Iran, particularly with respect to women and children,” according to a letter signed by the two countries’ ambassadors.
Anti-government demonstrations began in September after the death of Mahsa Amini, a Kurdish woman detained by moral police for ignoring the Islamic Republic’s strict dress code imposed on women. They have since evolved into a popular uprising, and rights groups say hundreds of protesters have been killed in a government crackdown.
At least one-third of the voting members of the United Nations Human Rights Council supported the proposal. This means that the convocation is a formality, requiring a meeting outside the normal agenda of the United Nations Human Rights Council.
Dozens more have signed, bringing the total number of supporters to 44, according to the German diplomatic mission in Geneva.The list was not immediately provided.
The letter requested that the meeting be held on November 24th.
Iran opposes calling the meeting behind closed doors, a diplomat told Reuters. The Geneva diplomatic mission did not respond to an emailed request for comment on the debate scheduled for Friday.
Although the Council for Rights itself has no legal authority, its arguments enhance the scrutiny of alleged abuses, and sometimes evidence gleaned from its investigations is later used in international courts.
Reported by Emma Phage.Editing by Jonathan Ortiz
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