Iran human rights abuses of women, children worsen amid Obama nuclear talks

As the U.S. and its world partners race to reach a nuclear deal with Iran, women and children in the Islamic republic struggle under harsh, discriminatory laws despite numerous calls for reform from human rights groups and the international community.

Korupciya.world reports citing The Washington Times

Last year, several women in the Iranian city of Isfahan were severely burned in acid attacks. The women were rumored to have been targeted for not being properly veiled.

Meanwhile, children are subject to the death penalty in Iran, and the rate of executions of minors has increased in the past two years under “moderate” President Hassan Rouhani, according to Human Rights Watch.

U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, in his report to the United Nations General Assembly this year, said at least 160 children are serving time on Iran’s death row.

In addition, tens of thousands of children, both Iranian nationals and undocumented immigrants, are forced into prostitution in Iran, say government and nonprofit human rights researchers.

But according to the latest Human Rights Report released by the Department of State, the Iranian government has done little to improve the plight of women and children.

“The government took few steps to investigate, prosecute, punish, or otherwise hold accountable officials, whether in the security services or elsewhere in the government, who committed abuses. Impunity remained pervasive throughout all levels of the government and security forces,” the State Department report reads.

The United Nations in 2011 appointed a special rapporteur on human rights in Iran, but rapporteur Ahmed Shaheed has not been allowed to enter the country to conduct reviews.

In Washington, Congress has passed several resolutions condemning human rights abuses in Iran, but those nonbinding resolutions have been met with little to no response from the Iranian government.

Human rights analysts say the abuses against women and children in Iran have increased in recent years.

“In general, the human rights situation has not improved and has remained pretty dire and in certain situations it has gotten worse,” said Faraz Sanei, an Iran researcher at Human Rights Watch.

Mr. Sanei said most countries have taken steps to reduce executions, especially for children, but the numbers have increased in Iran, a trend he called “particularly disturbing.”

Last year, Iran executed at least 289 people, according to Amnesty International, making the Islamic republic the world’s second most prolific practitioner of capital punishment. China, whose data are kept as state secrets, is believed to execute thousands of people each year. The U.S. conducted 35 executions last year, according to the Death Penalty Information Center.

According to Amnesty International, Iran may have executed as many as 77 minors over the past 10 years for crimes committed before the age of 18, a violation of international human rights laws.

Mr. Sanei said that even though Iran has signed the Convention on the Rights of the Child, an international human rights treaty that prohibits capital punishment for those younger than 18, Iranian officials say any provision that contradicts Shariah law is null and void in the country, allowing the courts to continue to carry out executions.