Statement at the Arria-formula Meeting on Protests in Iran

Statement

Thank you very much Ambassador and I want to thank the US and Albania for convening this important discussion. I really want to thank our three briefers for their harrowing accounts of what is unfolding in Iran.

What happened to Mahsa Amini is unacceptable. No woman should lose her life because of how she chooses to dress. Mahsa’s parents deserve to know the truth about how their daughter died. I call on the Iranian government to allow for an independent investigation into the cause of her death and for the perpetrators to be held accountable.

I want to take this opportunity to commend the women and men, the people of Iran, including young people, who have exercised their fundamental right to peacefully assemble and protest.

We offer our condolences to the families and loved ones of Mahsa Amini and all those who have lost their lives in the protests since she was killed on the 16^th of September.

While the case of Mahsa Amini has rightly attracted world attention, unfortunately it is not unique in Iran. The status of women and girls in Iran is extremely worrying. Allegations of sexual violence against women and girls during the protests are deeply disturbing.

As the Special Rapporteur has reported, the Iranian authorities have long denied the women and men of Iran their fundamental rights, including their right to freedom of expression and right to assembly.

We are deeply concerned that women, journalists, human rights defenders, teachers and members of minority communities have been particularly targeted.

People in Iran have the right to peaceful protest. That right must be ensured in all circumstances. Iran has signed the Universal Declaration for Human Rights and adopted the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action which commits Iran to ensure the full implementation of the human rights of women and of the girl child as an inalienable, integral and indivisible part of all human rights and fundamental freedoms.

Iran is also a party to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. I call on the Iranian authorities to strictly abide by the principles enshrined in the ICCPR, including the right of peaceful assembly.

The international community will not remain silent. Last month the European Union sanctioned eleven people and four entities for their role in the death of Mahsa Amini and the violent response to the demonstrations which followed.

Ireland stands with the women and men of Iran, with the people of Iran. We say to you, your voices are being heard in the United Nations, indeed they are being heard around the world.

Thank you.

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