UN urges Iran not to impose death penalty on juveniles

UN SPOKESPERSON: ” A MATTER OF URGENCY”


UNITED NATIONS  2 September 2008 

The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) has urged Iran not to impose the death penalty on juvenile offenders, following reports that two minors were recently put to death, in violation of the country’s obligations under international law.

Reza Hedjazi is believed to have been executed on 19 August and Behnam Zaare on 26 August. They are reported to have been 15 and 16, respectively, when they committed their crimes.

“These executions appear to be in clear violation of international law which contains an absolute prohibition of the death penalty for juvenile offenders,” OHCHR spokesperson Rupert Colville told a news conference in Geneva. Mr. Colville pointed out that the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the Convention on the Rights of the Child, both of which Iran has ratified, prohibit the death penalty for crimes committed by people below the age of 18.

OHCHR is also concerned that two other juvenile offenders, Mohammad Fadaaee and Amir Amrollahi, also face an imminent risk of execution.  “We urge the Government of Iran to stay the executions of both of them in strict compliance with its international human rights obligations, and not to impose the death penalty for juvenile offenders in the future,” said Mr. Colville.

OHCHR is also concerned over reports of a recent increase in the number of executions in Iran, noting that more than 220 people, including six juvenile offenders, are believed to have been executed this year.

Prior reference:  UN human rights chief asks Iran to stay execution of four juvenile offenders

ASSOCIATED PRESS – September 2,  2008:

GENEVA: The United Nations criticized Iran on Tuesday for executing juvenile offenders for crimes committed when they were as young as 15. It was the first public denunciation by the U.N.’s human rights department since Navi Pillay, the new high commissioner for human rights, took office.

Her spokesman said the global body is “very concerned and saddened at reports from the Islamic Republic of Iran concerning the recent execution of two juvenile offenders.”

Reuters 

GENEVA, Sept 2 (Reuters) – The U.N. human rights office voiced concern on Tuesday at a recent rise in executions in Iran and implored the Islamic Republic to stay death sentences handed down for all convicts accused of committing crimes as minors. Two men, named as Mohammad Fadaaee and Amir Amrollahi, face imminent risk of execution on murder charges, but carrying out the death penalty would violate international law ratified by Tehran, as they were juveniles as the time, it said. “We urge the government of Iran to stay the executions of both of them in strict compliance of its international human rights obligations and not to impose the death penalty on juvenile offenders in the future,” United Nations human rights spokesman Rupert Colville told a news briefing. Iran has executed at least 30 juvenile criminals since 1990, including seven in 2007, according to activists who say Saudi Arabia and Yemen are the only two other countries to do so. On July 8, major human rights groups including Amnesty International urged Iran to commute sentences against nearly 140 juvenile offenders known to be on death row at the time.  U.N. human rights officials raised the issue as a “matter of urgency” while in Iran earlier this year, Colville said.