Russia and China counter UNSC’s push to punish Iran over violent crackdown of protests

Russia and China have banded together to show support to Iran amid a push by the West to punish the nation over its violent crackdown on the anti-government protesters this week. The development came on Thursday as the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) held a special session to address the “deteriorating human rights situation in the Islamic Republic of Iran,” with a special focus on the condition of women and children.  

The UNHRC meeting was aimed at voting on the resolution to promote accountability for the alleged violations of human rights in Iran and the regime’s atrocities against its citizens. Of the 47 member nations in the council, 25 voted in favour of creating a new fact-finding mission to investigate the alleged cases of human rights violations amid the raging anti-regime protests in Iran. However, China was one among the six members to vote against the resolution. Meanwhile, Russia remained suspended from the UNHRC council due to its invasion of Ukraine. However, Moscow did label the meeting “counterproductive” whilst claiming that the establishment of such a mission was “illegitimate”, reported Newsweek. This is indicative of the deepening of the allegiance between the three countries.  

‘Human rights an excuse’ says Russia

Russia’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations Office in Geneva, Gennady Gatilov issued a statement regarding Thursday’s special UNHRC session and claimed that such initiatives had no regard for human rights stating that “their goal is to pin labels and put pressure on unwelcome states, using human rights as an excuse," Tass reported.  

A senior international defence researcher at the RAND Corporation, Timothy Heath said the interaction between China, Russia and Iran is significant and should be monitored due to the situation that each nation faces. He cited Russia’s failing war effort, Iran’s economic and domestic situation, and China’s regional challenges as the reason behind their growing ties. “There's a good chance they will feel growing incentives to collaborate and assist one another, or else (they'll have to) watch each other fall one by one,” Newsweek quoted him as saying.  

Russia has been increasingly dependent on Iran’s drone supply for its warfighting effort in Ukraine and has avoided any disturbance of its relationship with the regime. Meanwhile, Tehran has not taken a strong stance in condemning Russia’s war in Ukraine.  

It is to mention that the United States and the European Union have imposed sanctions targeting Iran for its treatment of the anti-regime demonstrators, while Russia and China remained defiant against such measures.