UK urges Iran to halt executions at UN Third Committee

If you’re trying to follow how the UN handles human rights, here’s the update from New York: on 19 November 2025 the United Kingdom told the UN’s Third Committee that Iran must halt executions immediately. The statement was delivered by Andrew Sigley and published by the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office on 20 November 2025. The UK also thanked Canada for leading the annual resolution on Iran.

The Third Committee is the part of the UN General Assembly that debates social and human rights questions. Its resolutions are not legally binding, but when many countries back one, it signals strong global concern and can shape how governments behave and how UN experts prioritise cases.

A moratorium means a pause. Courts stop issuing death warrants, prisons stop carrying out executions, and the state reviews laws and cases. It is not abolition, but it saves lives while reforms are argued out. That is what the UK asked Iran to do: stop now, reassess, and meet international standards.

The UK’s message was plain: Iran’s use of the death penalty is being used to frighten people and crush dissent. According to the statement, ethnic minority communities are hit hardest. That pattern has been widely reported by rights groups and matters because equal protection under the law is a basic promise every state makes at the UN.

The statement linked this to the Woman, Life, Freedom movement - the protests that grew after the 2022 death of Mahsa Amini. The UK said a twelfth protester connected to that movement was executed in the past year, and many more protesters and human rights defenders remain on death row. For students tracking events, those are claims you can cross‑check against NGO case lists and court notices.

Women and girls were a second focus. The UK said Iranian authorities are expanding surveillance to monitor and target women, including human rights defenders, both online and in daily life. It also argued that Iran has not effectively criminalised sexual and gender‑based violence or ensured equal access to justice, leaving survivors without clear, safe routes to report abuse.

Freedom of religion or belief came up too. Referring to a recent 12‑day war, the statement said state‑linked media increased scapegoating and incitement against religious minorities, particularly Baha’is and Christians. The UK affirmed that these communities should be able to practise their faiths freely and without state interference, as set out in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

Another warning concerned transnational repression - attempts to intimidate or harm journalists, activists and researchers beyond Iran’s borders. The UK said it will work with international partners to counter this activity. For us as readers, this is a reminder that human rights risks do not stop at a country’s frontier; people can be targeted in exile and in diaspora communities.

Why did the statement open by thanking Canada? Because Canada traditionally sponsors the UN resolution on human rights in Iran at the Third Committee. Countries negotiate the text and then vote on it. While it does not create binding law, it records the UN’s view, keeps individual cases on the record and can increase pressure for change.

If you’re studying this, keep three ideas in mind: a moratorium is a pause that can save lives; UN General Assembly resolutions carry political weight even when they are not enforceable in court; and minority protections - for women, ethnic groups, Baha’is and Christians - are test cases for whether rights apply to everyone. We’ll be watching how Iran and UN member states respond in the days ahead.