BBC: UN condemns Iran's response to post-election unrest

BBC: UN condemns Iran's response to post-election unrest

A key UN committee has voted to approve a non-binding resolution condemning Iran for its crackdown on protesters following June's disputed elections.

The resolution also repeated annual criticism of Iran's human rights record, including the use of torture and an increasing execution rate.

It urged Tehran to end persecution of political opponents and release those imprisoned for their political views.

Iran's UN ambassador dismissed the resolution as politically motivated.
Mohammad Khazaee said such measures had "created an atmosphere of confrontation and polarisation" at the UN.

Friday's text was approved by 74 votes to 48 with 59 abstentions, which the US said was "the largest vote margin on such a resolution on Iran in the UN ever".

'Deep concern'

Deputy state department spokesman Robert Wood said it demonstrated the international community was "deeply concerned" about the human rights situation in Iran.

The resolution expresses "deep concern at serious ongoing and recurring human rights violations" in Iran.

But it said there was "particular concern" at the Iranian government's response to the 12 June elections and the "concurrent rise in human rights violations".
It comes as the major powers said they were disappointed with Iran's response to an offer of a deal over its nuclear programme.

President Mahmoud Ahmandinejad was declared the winner of June's election, resulting in large scale protests by supporters of opposition candidates who said the poll had been rigged.

The UN committee criticised the subsequent "harassment, intimidation and persecution, including by arbitrary arrest, detention or disappearance" of opponents of the government.

It also condemned alleged abuses of those in prison and "numerous deaths and injuries" in the crackdown.

The BBC's Barbara Plett in New York says some of those countries which did not vote for the resolution did have concerns about the state of political rights in Iran, but objected to the practice of singling out specific countries for condemnation.

Saudi Arabia broke ranks with Muslim nations and voted in favour of the resolution, possibly because it accuses Iran of backing Shia rebels in neighbouring Yemen, says our correspondent.

On Friday, following meetings in Brussels, the six world powers negotiating with Iran said they were disappointed by Tehran's failure to respond positively to a recent deal on its nuclear programme.

Iran has rejected the offer, which would allow it to continue to develop a nuclear reactor by exporting uranium to other countries to be enriched.

VOA: Iran - Human Rights Remain A Concern

In testimony before Congress, U.S. Deputy Secretary of State James Steinberg said the possibility of Iran's developing a nuclear weapon endangers international security in multiple ways: "The danger that it [a nuclear weapon] would be either deliberately or inadvertently transferred to a terrorist or non-state actor is a very serious concern; that it would be used to threaten its neighbors would be a concern; that it would be used as a cover for it to engage in more aggressive behavior in the region.

We can think of so many reasons why this is such a grave danger that that's why we put such a high priority on preventing them getting it."But Iran's nuclear ambition is not the only concern the U.S. has about the Iranian government, said Mr. Steinberg; another is how the government treats its own people:
Iranian police sit on motorcycles as they face protesters during a demonstration in Tehran."The Iran[ian] government's terrible repression of peaceful protesters, opposition politicians and journalists following the election revealed to the world much about the character of that government and has increased its isolation."
Deputy Secretary Steinberg said that Tehran's crackdown on dissent after June's presidential election is part of Iran's broader record of human rights abuses, which has grown significantly worse throughout the past year. The U.S. State Department's annual report on human rights in Iran documents the Iranian government's restrictions of fundamental freedoms, said Mr. Steinberg, and it cites multiple instances of the government's use of torture and other forms of inhumane treatment to quell dissent.
Quoting President Barack Obama, Mr. Steinberg said, "The Iranian people have a universal right to assembly and free speech. If the Iranian government seeks the respect of the international community, it must respect those rights, and heed the will of its own people. It must govern through consent, and not coercion.