AJC Welcomes UN Human Rights Council Action on Iran

News provided by

Mar 24, 2011, 10:56 ET

NEW YORK, March 24, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- AJC welcomed the UN Human Rights Council decision to appoint a special rapporteur to investigate human rights in Iran.

(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20100816/AJCLOGO)

"The UN Human Rights Council action is long overdue and sends an unmistakable message that widespread abuse against Iranians by their own government will no longer be ignored by the world body," said AJC Executive Director David Harris.

AJC, which has called for stronger UN action on Iran, especially since the stolen presidential elections in 2009, applauded the U.S. administration's role in working with other governments to approve the measure by a vote of 22 to 7, with 14 abstentions. The resolution was co-sponsored by the U.S. and Sweden.

"We salute Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and U.S. Ambassador Eileen Donahoe in Geneva for helping spearhead this landmark action by the UN Human Rights Council," said Harris. "Following the recent suspension of Libya's membership in the Human Rights Council, this vote on Iran conveys another strong message that the Geneva-based body is beginning to wake up from its lethargy and look seriously at some significant violators of human rights, such as Libya and Iran. American leadership has been critical to this change."

The resolution on Iran marked the first time since the Council was created in 2006 that it has appointed an investigator with a mandate to monitor and report on a specific country.

SOURCE American Jewish Committee