Monthly Archives: March 2011

Iran Battles U.S. At UN Human Rights Council

Rights situation in Iran has been drawing the focus at the the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva.  Credit:Omid Memarian / IPS
Rights situation in Iran has been drawing the focus at the the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva. Credit:Omid Memarian / IPS

GENEVA, Mar 21, 2011 (IPS) – Forty-nine United Nations member-states have co-sponsored a resolution asking for a special mechanism to monitor Iran’s human rights situation, which is expected to be voted later this week at the UN Human Rights Council (HRC).

Instead of responding to the criticism in the four-week long sixteenth session of the Council, the Islamic Republic of Iran’s delegation chose to bash the human rights situation in the United States, the country leading the effort to intensify pressure on Iran.

Eileen Chamberlain Donahoe, the U.S. representative to the Council, told IPS that establishing a special monitoring mechanism for Iran by the HRC is very significant. “Because the council in the past has been resistant to taking initiative on what we call country specific human rights situation,” she said.

“There is a general sense that countries are often fearful of being criticized and therefore they would protect other countries from being criticized by the council so that when it comes their turn to being criticized maybe others stick with them,” she added. Continue reading Iran Battles U.S. At UN Human Rights Council