The Iranian flag. Photo: Wikimedia Commons.

The American Jewish Committee (AJC) has asked the United Nations Human Rights Council to renew the mandate of the UN’s Iran human rights abuse investigator. AJC called on all 47 council member sates to vote for renewal next week in Geneva, Switzerland.

Special Rapporteur Dr. Ahmed Shaheed currently holds the post and has continuously highlighter the “widespread systemic and systematic violations of human rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran” that have worsened since the creation of his position two years ago. A recent report by the UN Secretary General also cited human rights abuses in Iran such as the suppression of freedom of speech and arbitrary arrests.

“The Special Rapporteur mandate is an essential tool for the international community to address the Iranian government’s egregious human rights violations. Its renewal should have the full support of all members of the Human Rights Council,” said E. Robert Goodkind, chair of AJC’s Jacob Blaustein Institute for the Advancement of Human Rights, in a statement.