Spokesperson for the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Ravina Shamdasani revealed on Tuesday that 23 children have been killed in Iran’s ongoing mass protests.
This comes as Switzerland is considering whether to adopt the strengthened EU sanctions against Iran following Tehran’s crackdown against demonstrators outraged by the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini.
On Tuesday, Shamdasani said as many as 23 children have been killed and many others injured in at least seven Iranian provinces by live ammunition, metal pellets at close range, and fatal beatings.
“The continued unnecessary and disproportionate use of force against protesters must stop,” she warned.
The UN official accused the Iranian authorities of arbitrarily arresting protesters, adding that the Minister of Education confirmed that unspecified number of children had been sent to “psychological centers” after they were arrested allegedly for participating in anti-State protests.
Shamdasani said her Office has also received reports of the arrests of at least 90 members of civil society, including human rights defenders, lawyers, artists, and journalists, in addition to details concerning patterns of ill-treatment, torture and medical neglect of prisoners.
She reminded Iran that under human rights treaties, which are signed by Iran, there is an obligation to respect the right to freedom of expression and peaceful protest.
Last Monday, the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child condemned the grave violations of children's rights in the country and urged the authorities to stop all violence against children.
The Committee said security forces killed at least 23 children. It quoted many families saying that despite grieving for the loss of a child, they were pressured to absolve security forces by declaring that their children had committed suicide and making false confessions.
The Committee said it is also deeply concerned at reports that children have been arrested in schools and detained together with adults, and that some have been subjected to acts of torture.
It referred to a report issued on October 12 by the Ministry of Education saying that arrested children were transferred to psychological centers for correction and education to prevent them from becoming anti-social characters.
The Committee said grave violations of children’s rights in Iran need to be thoroughly investigated by competent, independent and impartial authorities and those responsible prosecuted.
The Federal Department of Economic Affairs, Education and Research (WBF) said it had noted the EU had extended sanctions to a included 11 individuals and four organizations in connections with the death of Amini and the reaction to the demonstrations.
“The Committee will continue to closely monitor the situation in Iran and liaise with other relevant human rights bodies to bring an end to the grave violations of the rights of Iranian children,” it said, according to Reuters.
Under existing measures, Switzerland has banned the export of weapons, nuclear goods and surveillance equipment, and also frozen financial assets of some Iranians linked to the government and the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps.
On Monday, EU foreign ministers added 11 Iranians and four institutions, including Iran's morality police chief, to a travel ban and asset freeze list for their role in the crackdown on protests after Amini's death.
Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Nasser Kanaani condemned the EU sanctions, describing them as "interference" in the internal affairs of his country.
