Region | Iran
Report details UN concerns on Iran human rights
UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon expressed concerns on Monday about possible human rights abuses in Iran and urged the country to do more to combat discrimination against women and minorities.
- Agencies
- Published: 09:11 October 21, 2008
United Nations: UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon expressed concerns on Monday about possible human rights abuses in Iran and urged the country to do more to combat discrimination against women and minorities.
While praising Tehran for improvements made in fields such as education and the provision of health services, Ban used a new report on human rights in Iran to list a number of areas where progress was needed.
One of the minority groups suffering discrimination in Iran was the Baha'i community, Ban said.
Baha'is say hundreds of their followers have been jailed and executed since Iran's 1979 Islamic revolution. Tehran denies it has detained or executed people for their religion.
There have also been reports of "an increase in rights violations against women, university students, teachers, workers and other activist groups," Ban said in the report, which was issued to all 192 UN member states.
Ban also reiterated UN concerns about the death penalty, including the execution of juveniles.
He said, "There were at least some cases of stoning and public execution, despite moves by the authorities to curb such practices … Cases of amputation and flogging and suspicious deaths and suicides of prisoners while in custody were also reported."
Regarding the place of women in Iranian society, the report said criminal and civil laws contained "discriminatory provisions that are in urgent need of reform." Ban also said that gender-based violence was "widespread" in Iran.
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