Thank You Government of New Zealand!
Upon our organization contact with Ministry of Foreign Affairs of New Zealand about human rights situation, we received the following Email and the statement.
Good afternoon,
Thank you for your message.
New Zealand has a strong record of protecting and promoting human rights. We maintain a close interest in human rights developments in Iran and engage with Iran on these issues in bilateral and multilateral settings. While human rights used to be discussed in the context of our formal bilateral political consultations, New Zealand is one of only a few countries to have now agreed with Iran to commence a formal bilateral human rights dialogue. The first of these meetings has been delayed due to the Covid-19 Pandemic. In public, New Zealand recently supported a resolution expressing concern for human rights in Iran in the United Nations General Assembly Third Committee and we routinely advocate for human rights reforms through the United Nations Human Rights Council (please find attached a copy of the statement we delivered in March). We also participated in Iran’s Universal Periodic Review in 2019.
Best regards,
Daniela
Middle East and Africa Division
Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade
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Below is their statement
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43rd session of the Human Rights Council Interactive Dialogue with the Special Rapporteur on Iran 9 March 2020 |
Thank you Mister Vice-President,
New Zealand welcomes the report provided by the Special Rapporteur and endorses its recommendations.
We are pleased Iran has agreed to an inaugural bilateral Human Rights Dialogue with New Zealand. We look forward to participating in a respectful and candid dialogue, which also applies to today’s dialogue.
New Zealand is disappointed that the latest report of the Special Rapporteur has again confirmed that many of Iran’s human rights indicators have not materially improved over the past twelve months. We are deeply concerned by reports that Iranian security forces are responding to the exercise of civil and political rights with the use of excessive force and torture. We urge the Government of Iran to protect freedom of opinion and expression, and to end the intimidation, harassment, and arbitrary arrest of human rights defenders, lawyers, and journalists.
New Zealand is committed to the abolition of the death penalty as a matter of urgency worldwide. While we note the reduction in executions in Iran in recent years, we remain deeply concerned that Iran continues to apply the death penalty for a wide range of offences, including those committed by juveniles. We strongly support the Special Rapporteur’s recommendation that Iran abolish the death penalty.
New Zealand deplores the persecution of, and discrimination against, members of ethnic and religious minorities in Iran, including adherents to the Baháʼí faith who continue to be systematically discriminated against, targeted and deprived of the right to a livelihood and education. Finally, we strongly encourage Iran to take steps to protect and uphold the rights of women and girls.
Thank you, Mister Vice-President.
