India absent from UN resolution against Iran

Geneva: India has distanced itself from a United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) resolution proposing to set up a fact-finding mission to investigate the alleged human rights violations of protesters following protests in Iran that began on September 16.

“In this 35th special session, the UN Human Rights Council has decided to set up a new fact-finding mission to investigate alleged human rights violations in Iran following the protests that began on September 16, 2022,” the council tweeted.

The resolution comes amid protests by 22-year-old Mehsa Amini, who was detained by Iranian police on September 16 for not wearing a hijab properly. She later died. The protesters had alleged that Amini was subjected to violence while in custody. Apart from India, Malaysia, Indonesia and the UAE also abstained from voting on the resolution. On the other hand, Pakistan and China rejected the resolution. However, this resolution has been passed in the UNHRC. During the voting by the 47-member council, 25 votes were cast in favor of the resolution, six against and 16 members abstained from voting. After the resolution was passed, the UNHRC has set up a fact-finding mission.