The UN Human Rights Council will hold an urgent special session on Friday over Iran’s violent crackdown on protesters and rights violations.
GENEVA: The United Nations Human Rights Council will hold an urgent special session on Friday to address the deteriorating human rights situation in Iran.
Council spokesman Pascal Sim confirmed the session follows a formal request from Britain, Germany, Iceland, Moldova and North Macedonia.
In a letter seen by AFP, the five countries cited “credible reports of alarming violence, crackdowns on protesters and violations of international human rights law across the country”.
The request secured backing from more than one-third of the council’s 47 members, the threshold required to convene a special session.
The move comes after the UN Security Council in New York met last week to discuss Iran, which is facing historic anti-government protests and a severe state crackdown.
Monitors report that thousands have been killed in the government’s response to the unrest.
The full scale of the crackdown has been difficult to ascertain due to an unprecedented internet shutdown, now in its 11th day.
Despite information blackouts, the Iran Human Rights NGO says it has verified that 3,428 protesters were killed by security forces.
The group warned the true death toll is likely far higher, a figure media cannot independently confirm and Iranian officials have not specified.
