For the first time, US holds off on criticizing Iran at UN rights review

The United States for the first time ever spared Iran criticism for its human rights record at the 48th Session of the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) of the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) in Geneva on Friday.

It is an unprecedented move that is considered significant by human rights advocates, saying this could show disregard for Iran's human rights violations.

The UPR is an essential mechanism of the council aimed at improving the human rights situation for member states. Iran is one of 14 states reviewed by the UPR working group.

Based on log records, the United States has filed recommendations on the Islamic Republic since 2010, expect for this year.

Iran did face criticism this year from other member states including the United Kingdom, Sweden, Switzerland and Paraguay, denouncing the country’s treatment of women, its high rate of executions and crackdown on dissidents.

Ukraine took aim at Iran for supplying Russia’s war in Ukraine with drones and missiles. Germany condemned Tehran for committing gender discrimination and suppressing basic freedoms, urging the government to put an end to the death penalty.

Why the UPR matters

Human rights activists use the UPR to advocate for change and expose Iran’s human rights abuses on an international platform. The withdrawal of the United States from making recommendations is a blow to human rights advocacy, Nazanin Afshin-Jam an Iranian-Canadian activist told Iran International.

“I am shocked and devastated by this news,” said Afshin-Jam “We rely on Western liberal democracies, especially countries like the United States that champion human rights and freedoms, to act as moral compasses in holding regimes accountable."

Afshin-Jam, the founder of the Iranian Justice Collective (IJC), used to run an organization called Stop Child Executions, which focused on ending the execution of juveniles around the world. Part of their work included submitting findings to the UPR process, a critical tool for exposing human rights violations.

"The idea of the U.S. not submitting its findings on the Islamic Republic of Iran’s blatant and egregious human rights abuses is unprecedented. This is not the moment to pull back; it’s the moment to push forward and ensure accountability," she said.

Iran International has reached to the US State Department for a response and did not hear back in time for this report.

"Not a good sign"

Taimoor Aliassi , the UN representative of Kurdistan Human Rights Association in Geneva, told Iran Interantional he feels deceived by the US, which is breaking from its long-standing tradition of championing human rights.

“This is not a good sign for human rights,” said Aliassi, “The situation of human rights and minority rights is worsening in Iran. There’s a dramatic increase in the number of executions. It is really important for the United States to take this into consideration if they really want to deal with Iran and to make improvements or if they really intend to support the Iranian people.”

Prior to the UPR meeting in Geneva, Shadi Amin, the Director of 6rang, an Iranian Lesbian and Transgender network, lobbied member states to advocate for Iran’s LGBTQ community.

Nine member states urged Iran to not criminalize homosexuality, which is considered a crime punishable by death in Iran, but the United States, according to Amin is not a country Iranians should rely on anymore.

“The Iranian human rights community should try not to count on the US government in the future. The grassroots communities need to stand up and do something, because that's not acceptable what they [the US administration] are doing,” said Amin.

Iran’s delegation, led by Deputy Minister for International and Legal Affairs at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Kazem Gharibabadi, took to the podium Friday, saying that significant progress had been made to improve the lives of Iranians. Gharibabadi also referred to any criticism as politically motivated.

In 2024, The United Nations Fact Finding Mission said it uncovered murders, torture and rape, accusing Iran of committing crimes against humanity.