- One of the worst examples we can identify as a conscious distortion of reality is the way in which the UN Human Rights Council, in its February-March 2020 five-year report on the Islamic Republic of Iran, lavished praise on the despotic regime.
- Other extreme forms of punishment used in Iran are equally appalling: Execution by stoning, Execution by hanging, Execution by firing squad, Execution by beheading, Execution by throwing from a height, Amputation, Blinding, Flogging. – United Against Nuclear Iran
- Yet many people who boycott Israel refuse to boycott Iran. The irony is mind-boggling.
There are times when even the most steeled among us are shocked by things others say or do.
One of the worst examples we can identify as a conscious distortion of reality is the way in which the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC), in its February-March 2020 five-year report on the Islamic Republic of Iran, lavished praise on the despotic regime. A majority (85%) of the countries contributing to this travesty of the truth made a mockery of human rights values by treating the Islamic Republic as a shining example of those values in action -- something, as we shall see, it has never been. According to UN Watch:
"This includes 49 countries that glowingly praised the theocratic regime, and another 46 that expressed some praise for Iran's alleged achievements."
The same authority cites several comments (with videos) from a range of supportive countries. Russia says: "We highly rate Iran's cooperation with human rights treaty bodies and openness for dialogue as part of the UPR (Universal Periodic Review)."
China also chimed in:
"We commend Iran's efforts to eradicate poverty, enhance social security, protect the rights of vulnerable groups & hopes Iran will continue to drive economic & social development to provide a solid basis for the enjoyment of all human rights."
Venezuela's comment is briefer but no different, taking the Iranian regime's claims at face value:
"We welcome the answers provided by the government [of Iran] during the review in which it confirmed the country's steadfast commitment to protecting human rights."
These statements might be fair were they directed at many of the Western democracies which usually display a commitment to human rights values. The large-scale human rights abuses of Iran's theocracy, however, have been on display for more than forty years, with little respite. It is hard to know where to start.
Iran has for many years carried out the second-highest number of executions in the world, after the vastly more populous China. Both countries have been putting to death political dissidents and members of ethnic and religious minorities for decades.
Iran's political dissidents in prison are treated harshly; freedom of expressionand criticism of the regime are severely curtailed. Non-violent political opponents are often executed. The same is true of homosexuals. For 40 years, the Iranian government has made systematic use of torture in its prisons. Other extreme forms of punishment used in Iran are equally appalling:
- Execution by stoning
- Execution by hanging
- Execution by firing squad
- Execution by beheading
- Execution by throwing from a height
- Amputation
- Blinding
- Flogging
Last year, Iran executed seven children while another 90 children remained on death row Ironically, the UN special investigator on human rights in the country, Jeva'id Rehman, reported on the 2019 executions. That should not have been a secret from the UNHRC and is members. Under the regime, the death penalty can apply to girls as young as nine and boys of fifteen. Worse, the Iranian regime has ratified the Convention on the Rights of the Child, which forbids such treatment.
The regime also persecutes its ethnic and religious minorities. The ethnic groups consist of Azeris (16%), Kurds (10%), Lur (6%), Baluch and Arabs (both 2%), Turkmen and other Turkic tribes (2%), and other nomadic peoples comprising about 1% of the total population. Other minorities include Armenians and Assyrians, as well as an Afro-Iranian minority.
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