To mark Human Rights Day today, the Australian Lawyers Alliance (ALA) calls on the Australian Government to take stronger action in response to Iran's violations of human rights.
"The ALA condemns the ongoing violence and suppression of free speech in Iran. We strongly denounce capital punishment and the violent oppression of legitimate protests," said Ms Genevieve Henderson, National President, Australian Lawyers Alliance.
"It is alarming that almost 75 years after the Universal Declaration of the Human Rights was signed we are still seeing these horrific abuses of people's rights and freedoms."
Protests in Iran were sparked two months ago when the Iranian people took to the streets in response to the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini who died in police custody following her arrest by the 'morality police' for failing to cover her hair properly. The Human Rights Activists' News Agency reports that more than 450 protesters have been killed since the protests began. Currently, more than 18,000 people have been detained, including children, with the very real threat of a death penalty being imposed on many of them.
"We must not look away and be complicit in crimes against those who are exercising their human rights," said Ms Henderson. "The ALA calls on the Australian government to renounce the Islamic Republic of Iran for human rights violations and to desist contact between Australian Parliament delegations and Iranian official counterparts.
"We have a duty to exert international pressure and to condemn actions that are contrary to international human rights principles."
Human Rights Day recognises the day the United Nations General Assembly adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) in 1948.
