A United Nations expert on Wednesday stated severe human rights violations are taking place in Iran with more than a dozen children are sentenced to executions. UN human rights expert Javaid Rehman told the UN General Assembly's human rights committee that at least 90 child law offenders are on death row, reported Associated Press.
Rehman citing "credible information," said that while Iran's execution rate has dropped from 507 in 2017 to 253 in 2018, the country ranks one of the highest executions in the world. He also said, "conservative estimates indicate that at least 173 executions have been carried out."
Last year, the Islamic Republic executed seven offenders under the age of 18 in violation of human rights that prohibits the death penalty to children. Several reasons such as the worsening condition of the economy due to the sanctions have made "serious consequences for the realization of economic and social rights."
Lawyers and activists who have tried defending human rights victims have also been arrested over the years. "Between September 2018 and July 2019, at least eight prominent lawyers were arrested for defending political prisoners and human rights defenders, many of whom have received lengthy sentences," he said.
Apart from children, journalists, woman and people from the minority community have also been subjected to arrests by the state. Around 32 people mostly women have been arrested since 2018 for protesting against the rigid dress codes for women or compulsory veiling laws and face harsher sentences against their male counterparts.
However several Iranian law such as the amendment to the anti-narcotics law in 2017 has resulted in lesser number of executions in 2018. It also encouraged "enhanced dialogue" between Iranian authorities and the UN Office of High Commissioner of Human Rights on the issue but more work needs to be done.
