New Zealand suspends human rights dialogue with Iran
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - New Zealand’s foreign affairs ministry announced on Monday that it will be suspending its bilateral human rights dialogue with Iran in light of the authorities’ “violent” crackdown on protesters in the country.
Iran has been engulfed in turmoil for the past seven weeks since the death of Mahsa (Zhina) Amini while in the custody of Tehran’s morality police on September 16, igniting an unprecedented nationwide protest movement that has brought Iranians from all corners together to call for the overthrow of the Islamic regime.
“This decision sends a strong signal that bilateral approaches on human rights are no longer tenable with Iran, when they are denying basic human rights and violently suppressing protests of those who stand up to them,” New Zealand’s Foreign Minister Nanaia Mahuta said in a statement on Monday, noting that Wellington “continues to be appalled by the use of force by Iranian authorities in response to peaceful demonstrations.”
New Zealand and Iran established bilateral Human Rights Dialogue aimed at advancing human rights issues and concerns in 2018, and held the first round of talks in 2021. Another round of talks was set to be held later this year.
Mahuta said that the use of violence by Iranian security forces shows that the country’s stance on human rights was “deteriorating, not improving,” adding that the “unacceptable” suppression of demonstrations in the country must come to an end.
A New Zealand couple, who were held in Iran since July, were finally allowed to return to their country on Thursday, following efforts from the Kiwi government to ensure their safe exit. Wellington has insisted that no deal was done to get the couple out of Iran, but refuses to provide any details about how the exit was secured.
Thousands of people including ordinary citizens, rights activists, lawyers, journalists, as well as many school and university students have been detained in one of the most violent crackdowns Iran has unleashed since the revolution of 1979.
The Oslo-based Iran Human Rights Organization (IHR), which covers human rights violations across Iran, said on Friday that at least 253 people, including 34 children have been killed in the ongoing nationwide protests.
The Kiwi government has advised all citizens to avoid travelling to Iran “due to the potential for violent civil unrest, the risk of arrest or detention and the volatile security situation in the region,” also calling on New Zealanders in Iran to leave the country.
By Zheen Saman
Iran has been engulfed in turmoil for the past seven weeks since the death of Mahsa (Zhina) Amini while in the custody of Tehran’s morality police on September 16, igniting an unprecedented nationwide protest movement that has brought Iranians from all corners together to call for the overthrow of the Islamic regime.
“This decision sends a strong signal that bilateral approaches on human rights are no longer tenable with Iran, when they are denying basic human rights and violently suppressing protests of those who stand up to them,” New Zealand’s Foreign Minister Nanaia Mahuta said in a statement on Monday, noting that Wellington “continues to be appalled by the use of force by Iranian authorities in response to peaceful demonstrations.”
New Zealand and Iran established bilateral Human Rights Dialogue aimed at advancing human rights issues and concerns in 2018, and held the first round of talks in 2021. Another round of talks was set to be held later this year.
Mahuta said that the use of violence by Iranian security forces shows that the country’s stance on human rights was “deteriorating, not improving,” adding that the “unacceptable” suppression of demonstrations in the country must come to an end.
A New Zealand couple, who were held in Iran since July, were finally allowed to return to their country on Thursday, following efforts from the Kiwi government to ensure their safe exit. Wellington has insisted that no deal was done to get the couple out of Iran, but refuses to provide any details about how the exit was secured.
Thousands of people including ordinary citizens, rights activists, lawyers, journalists, as well as many school and university students have been detained in one of the most violent crackdowns Iran has unleashed since the revolution of 1979.
The Oslo-based Iran Human Rights Organization (IHR), which covers human rights violations across Iran, said on Friday that at least 253 people, including 34 children have been killed in the ongoing nationwide protests.
The Kiwi government has advised all citizens to avoid travelling to Iran “due to the potential for violent civil unrest, the risk of arrest or detention and the volatile security situation in the region,” also calling on New Zealanders in Iran to leave the country.
By Zheen Saman