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Washington, DC – The National Iranian American Council (NIAC) issued the following statement following the UN General Assembly’s passage of a human rights resolution on Iran: “NIAC applauds the UN General Assembly’s passage of an annual resolution calling on Iran to address human rights violations that have been chronicled in recent reports by Ahmed Shaheed, the Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in Iran. The measure passed last night with strong support, 86-36, with 61 abstentions. “The resolution, which NIAC publicly supported, highlights critical systemic violations of human rights within Iran and calls on Iran to address them. Areas of concern include limitations on freedom of expression and press freedom, gender discrimination, detentions of political prisoners, religious intolerance, and Iran’s high rate of executions. Other NGOs pushed for public passage of the resolution as well, including through a twitter campaign. “The UN’s resolution also acknowledges recent pledges from Iran’s new President, Hassan Rouhani, to improve many areas of Iran’s human rights record. Since Rouhani’s election, there have been some signs of improvement, including the release of human rights activist Nasrin Sotoudeh and other political prisoners. However, there have not yet been any systemic changes to Iran’s human rights situation, as detailed in Dr. Shaheed’s latest report. “Dr. Shaheed’s latest report also details the deleterious impact of international sanctions on ordinary Iranians. Sanctions have contributed to increased inflation and Iranian unemployment, making it difficult for Iranians to obtain basic needs, and exacerbated shortages of life-saving Western medicine. “NIAC reiterates its call on the Iranian government to swiftly and systemically improve the human rights situation in Iran and address the violations raised in Dr. Shaheed’s report. Given recent diplomatic success with Iran on the nuclear issue, there is a clear opportunity to utilize existing diplomatic channels to press forward on other issues including human rights. ### The National Iranian American Council (NIAC) is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization dedicated to advancing the interests of the Iranian-American community. We accomplish our mission by supplying the resources, knowledge and tools to enable greater civic participation by Iranian Americans and informed decision-making by policymakers. |
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