German foreign minister to push for Iran resolution at Human Rights Council

BERLIN

Germany's Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock plans to attend a special session of the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva to press for a human rights resolution on Iran, her spokesman said on Wednesday.

In the resolution to be discussed on Thursday, the Iranian government will be asked in a resolution to "stop repression and violence against its own people," Foreign Ministry spokesman Christofer Burger told journalists in Berlin.

The aim is to call on those in power in Tehran to uphold the country's legal obligations on human rights and to "respect and protect the human rights of women and girls in particular," added Burger.

He also reiterated that German officials were pressing for an independent investigation into possible human rights violations in Iran.

While 47 UN member countries are represented at the council, it is uncertain whether a majority of them support the motion submitted by Germany and 50 other nations to condemn Iran, according to Burger.

"It will still be a lot of work to get this majority there," the spokesman acknowledged, adding: "It is still open whether this will succeed."

Germany has repeatedly voiced concern about the excessive use of force by Iranian security forces against protesters after the mid-September death of 22-year-old woman Mahsa Amini in the custody of Iran's morality police.