Australia is pleased to once again cosponsor and vote in favour of the resolution ‘Situation of human rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran’.

Australia thanks Canada, as penholder, for its leadership of this resolution.

This resolution aims to reflect the current human rights situation in Iran without prejudice. As a member of the Core Group, we saw first-hand the importance Canada placed on ensuring all language in the resolution is evidence-based. We note the resolution draws heavily from reports of the Special Rapporteur on the Situation of Human Rights in Iran and the UN Secretary-General.

Australia is deeply concerned by the deteriorating human rights situation in Iran.

Australia stands with Iranian women and girls in their struggle for equality and empowerment, and we call on Iran to cease its oppression of women.

We are concerned by the circumstances surrounding the death of Mahsa Amini.

We also condemn the disproportionate use of force against protesters in Iran following Ms Amini’s death. This has resulted in the deaths and injuries of hundreds of people, including children.

We support the resolution’s calls – and those made by the Acting UN High Commissioner for Human Rights – for a prompt, thorough, independent, impartial and transparent investigation into all such instances, in order to hold those responsible to account.

Reports a protester has been sentenced to death in Iran are deeply disturbing.

Australia opposes the death penalty in all circumstances, for all people. It is for this reason that we were proud to co-present with Costa Rica this year’s Third Committee resolution calling for a Moratorium on the use of the Death Penalty. On Friday, the resolution was adopted with record support from almost two-thirds of Member States.

We call on Iran to heed this call by the international community, and establish a moratorium on all executions.

We also call on Iran to cease its longstanding oppression of the LGBTI community, and its unjustifiable discrimination against ethnic and religious minorities.

We have heard delegations suggest that country-specific resolutions in the Third Committee impede sovereignty.

The UN was founded, in part, to ensure that governments could never again commit the human rights violations that took place during World War Two.

UN Member States are indeed sovereign. But this does not mean that the international community cannot scrutinise their behaviour when it comes to human rights. Sovereignty is not a shield.

The international community cannot turn away, and suggest that deaths, violence, discrimination and oppression are internal matters. To do so would be to ignore the human rights of the individuals that we, the United Nations, are supposed to protect.

We call on all Member States to support this important resolution.