Iran Seeks to End Mandate of the Fact-Finding Mission

Iranian officials launched a diplomatic campaign on the sidelines of the UN Human Rights Council meetings in Geneva to end the mission of the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Iran.
Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian wanted to ensure that a new Rapporteur would not be assigned after the current UN official, Javaid Rehman.
He also aimed to end the mandate of the Fact-Finding Mission for Iran, which the Human Rights Council approved to investigate repression of the massive protests in Iran.
The FM accused Western countries of applying "double standards," noting that they condemn Iranian repression but do not care enough about human rights violations against Muslims in the Gaza Strip.
In November 2022, Germany succeeded in passing a decision to launch an independent probe into the deadly campaign that resulted in the death of 500 demonstrators and the arrest of more than 20,000, according to human rights organizations.
German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock urgently called for extending the mandate of the UN experts investigating human rights in Iran.
During her participation in the spring session of the Human Rights Council in Geneva on Monday, Baerbock addressed the Iranian government, saying, "I want to be crystal clear to those who claim that calling out violations is an interference in internal affairs: Human rights aren't something western, northern, eastern or southern. They are universal."
She explained that the Fact-Finding Mission established by this Council has investigated the repression, the violence, and the crimes committed in Iran since the beginning of the protests.
"It is collecting and preserving the evidence. It is giving the victims –women, girls – a voice."
The German government is requesting support to extend the mission's mandate so that it can finish its job, Baerbock said.
The mission is expected to present its report, which will likely be discussed on March 15.
Western officials believe it is currently challenging to discuss this issue within the Human Rights Council, as the focus is on the situation in Gaza.
- Fact-finding mission
In his speech at the Human Rights Council, Amirabdollahian condemned the formation of the fact-finding mission after the death of Mahsa Amini.
He referred to the calls for investigating the death of Amini, while no serious action has been taken at the international level to stop the killing of thousands of innocent women and children in Gaza.
The United Nations General Assembly elects the 47 member states to serve a three-year term on the Human Rights Council.
The Council's decisions, such as extending the mandate of human rights experts, are put to vote before the end of the session, which will continue until April 5.
Earlier this month, Deputy High Commissioner for Human Rights Nada al-Nashif visited Tehran and held discussions behind closed doors with Iranian officials.
Activists and human rights groups in Iran criticized Nashif's visit to Tehran.
Iranian human rights activist Ladan Boroumand called ambassadors to boycott Amirabdollahian's speech.
- Gaza war
Activists expressed concerns about officials' attempts to exploit the Gaza war to end the mission of the UN Rapporteur, which began in 2011.
The Iranian authorities did not grant the Special Rapporteur permission to visit Tehran.
During an interview with Voice of America, Rehman said that the authorities fear he will expose them.
Earlier this month, the Special Rapporteur said that the Israel-Hamas war has emboldened "repression" inside the country, noting that Iran was responding to a loss of credibility after mass protests set off by the September 2022 death of Amini.
On the summit's sidelines, the Iranian FM met with the head of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), Mirjana Spoljaric Egger.
Iranian agencies quoted him as saying: "Leaders of the Palestinian factions are considering democratic ways and a political deal among all Palestinian groups and movements to run the post-war Gaza. Supporting this approach is supporting a democratic approach."
Also in Geneva, Amirabdollahian held talks with his Jordanian counterpart, Ayman Safadi.
The Jordanian Foreign Ministry stated on the "X" platform that the meeting focused on efforts to stop the Israeli aggression against Gaza and prevent further escalation in the region.
The two ministers also discussed the situation in Syria, especially the danger of drug smuggling from Syria to Jordan.
Safadi stressed that his country is determined to take all necessary steps to end drug smuggling.

Russia carried out its second big attack on Ukraine's energy infrastructure this month on Thursday, with national and local officials reporting blasts and emergency power cuts across the country affecting hundreds of thousands of people.
"Energy infrastructure is once again targeted by the enemy's massive strike," Ukrainian Energy Minister German Galushchenko wrote on Facebook.
Ukraine's national grid operator Ukrenergo introduced emergency power cuts amid the attack, Galushchenko said.
Ukraine's top private power company DTEK said the power cuts impacted the capital as well as Kyiv, Odesa, Dnipropetrovsk and Donetsk regions.
Russia previously staged 10 massive attacks on the country's energy infrastructure, which hobbled the system and spurred fears of long power cuts ahead of the winter months, Reuters said.
During the Thursday missile attack on the western Rivne region, governor Oleksandr Koval said 280,000 consumers experienced power cuts. He also reported interruptions in water supply without elaborating on damage.
The mayor of the western town of Lutsk reported power cuts after several strikes, adding that the services were working to connect water and heating infrastructure to alternative power sources.
Kharkiv regional governor Oleh Syniehubov said a missile strike on the city damaged a business facility and windows in an apartment building.
The missile attack on the northeastern Sumy region targeted infrastructure, regional authorities said.
Debris in Kyiv fell on the territory of a business and dealt minor damage to several buildings and a truck, the Kyiv city military administration said.

Iran Seeks to End Mandate of the Fact-Finding Mission