The United Nations Human Rights Council announced on Monday that it would hold an urgent session this month on Iran, where a brutal crackdown on mass protests has left hundreds dead. The United Nations’ highest rights body said, a special session on the human rights situation in Iran would be held on the 24th of November.
The decision comes after the German and Icelandic ambassadors to the UN in Geneva submitted a request for such a meeting on Friday. The support of 16 of the Human Rights Council’s 47 members which are more than a third, is required to convene a special session outside the three regular ones held each year.
The UN body said, so far, 44 countries, including 17 Council members, have backed the call. The request follows eight weeks of protests in Iran, sparked by the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini, after she was arrested for an alleged breach of the country’s strict dress rules for women in the country. At least 326 people have been killed in the crackdown on the protests, according to the Oslo-based group Iran Human Rights.