Canada’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Lawrence Cannon, has issued a statement welcoming the adoption by the UN General Assembly’s Third Committee of a resolution condemning Iran’s appalling human rights abuses (as I reported here):
The adoption of this resolution is a clear signal of the international community’s concern for the human rights of people in Iran. It sends a message of hope to the victims of state-sponsored brutality and to the human rights defenders who seek to effect positive change in Iran. At the same time, the Iranian regime is called upon to respect fully its human rights obligations, in law and in practice.”
With this resolution, and those presented in previous years, international attention has been drawn to the flagrant human rights abuses in Iran. We continue to call on the Iranian government to take concrete steps to respect the human rights of all people in Iran.
UK government’s commitment to the resolution
A UK government official has commented:
This resolution was tabled by Canada, and received strong backing and support from the UK and its EU partners. The UK was part of a strong lobbying campaign against a possible no action motion, and we are delighted to see the resolution passed by such a clear margin. This is a very strong signal of deep international concern at human rights violations in Iran, and sends a very clear message to the Iranian government.
Protection for Baha’is and other minorities
The adoption of this resolution at a time when the intensity of persecution by the Iranian authorities of the Bahá’ís and other minorities is increasing will provide a measure of protection for the victims. But it will not, sad to say, solve the underlying causes of persecution. This solution can only come from inside Iran itself.
One of the interesting signs coming from Iran is the increasingly public support for the rights of the Baha’is by prominent individuals, such as Dr Shirin Ebadi. They may not accept Baha’i beliefs. They may not even accept that the Baha’i Faith is a legitimate religion, but at least some of these voices are beginning to say that Baha’is should have rights as citizens of Iran.
Technorati Tags: Baha’i, Bahai, Canada, UN, General Assembly, Third Committee, human rights, Iran
Related posts:
{ 1 trackback }
Comments on this entry are closed.