New Delhi: A day before the special session of the UN human rights council on Iran’s “deteriorating” human rights situation, external affairs minister S. Jaishankar met with the Iranian deputy foreign minister Ali Bagheri in Delhi on Wednesday, where they discussed bilateral issues and the stalled Iranian nuclear deal.
“We discussed bilateral cooperation, regional issues and Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA),” Jaishankar posted in a tweet on his meeting with the senior Iranian official.
Pleased to receive Iranian deputy Foreign Minister for Political Affairs @Bagheri_Kani .
Discussed our bilateral cooperation, regional issues and JCPOA. pic.twitter.com/9T4mKerkxw
— Dr. S. Jaishankar (@DrSJaishankar) November 23, 2022
The timing of the meeting acquires significance as it takes place just a day before the on-day special session of the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva to discuss “the deteriorating human rights situation in the Islamic Republic of Iran”.
However, it is unknown whether this topic came up during the meeting.
The special session will consider a draft resolution, sponsored by European Union, that will condemn the crackdown by Iranian security forces on protests triggered by the death of Jina Mahsa Amini, who was taken into custody for not wearing a veil over her hair.
The draft resolution also calls for setting up an “independent international fact-finding mission” to investigate the allegations of human rights violations related to the protests.
India has, so far, not commented at all on the protests. On two occasions, the MEA spokesperson was asked about the protests over the last two months, but he demurred from sharing any comment.
On November 2, the UN Security Council held an informal meeting on the Iranian protests. India did not give a statement at that meeting.
A week ago, on Nov 16, the UNGA’s third committee voted on a draft resolution that mentioned the death of Mahsa Amini and urged Iranian officials to “cease the use of excessive force against peaceful protesters, including women and children”.
It was passed with 80 votes in favour to 28 against, with 68 abstentions. India had voted ‘No’.
The Iranian government has claimed that Amini’s death was caused by a long-standing illness and accused western countries of orchestrating the protests across the country.