US, Australia, Canada, New Zealand and UK call on Iran to stop crackdown on veils

September 16 () –

The United States, Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the United Kingdom on Monday called on Iran to end its crackdown on the use of the hijab as part of the anniversary of the death two years ago of Iranian young woman Mahsa Amini in police custody for not wearing her veil properly.

“At least 500 people have been killed and more than 20,000 arrested in the Iranian security forces’ brutal crackdown on dissenting protests in 2022 and 2023, but the global ‘Women, Life, Freedom’ movement remains united,” the countries said in a statement.

In this regard, they recalled that the independent fact-finding mission on Iran established by the UN Human Rights Council determined that “many of the human rights violations perpetrated against protesters amount to crimes against humanity.”

“The Iranian government has yet to address these allegations and has failed to cooperate with this internationally recognised mandate,” they stressed, expressing their support for women and girls in Iran, as well as human rights defenders.

They also denounced that the “renewed offensive” to force women to wear the veil “has provoked a new wave of harassment and violence.” “The Iranian government has strengthened its surveillance infrastructure to arrest, detain and, in some cases, torture women and girls for their peaceful activism,” they stressed.

They also condemned the “recent increase in executions” in the country, which “have largely occurred without fair trials.” “We urge the Iranian government to put an end to its human rights violations now,” they stressed.

Finally, the countries have pledged to hold Tehran accountable for its policies and use “all relevant authorities to promote accountability,” including through sanctions and visa restrictions.

The young woman died in 2022 ‘after being arrested by the Morality Police’ for allegedly wearing her veil incorrectly. Her case sparked unprecedented protests inside Iran and generated widespread denunciations from the international community.