India on Friday voted against a resolution at the United Nations Human Rights Council that called for an urgent investigation into human rights violations in Iran during the recent protests and sought to extend the mandates of a fact-finding mission and special rapporteur.
New Delhi provided no explanation for the decision, but it was in keeping with India’s long-held belief that country-specific resolutions are not helpful.
A UNHRC country mandate is a mechanism established by the Council to monitor, investigate and report on the human rights situation in a specific country. The task is carried out by special rapporteurs or working groups.
India, China and Pakistan were among seven countries that voted against the resolution, which was adopted with 25 members voting in favour and 14 abstaining.
The resolution deplored “the violent crackdown of peaceful protests resulting in the deaths of thousands of persons, including children, and large numbers of injured individuals, as well as the arrest of thousands”.
The resolution urged the government of the Islamic Republic of Iran to respect, protect and fulfil its human rights obligations and take all measures necessary to stop and prevent extra-judicial killings, other forms of arbitrary deprivation of life, enforced disappearance, sexual and gender-based violence, arbitrary arrest and detention, incommunicado detention and torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, including those against peaceful protesters.
Iran’s ambassador to India, Mohammad Fathali, publicly thanked New Delhi for its vote against the resolution in Geneva.
In a post on X, he said: “I extend my sincere gratitude to the Govt. of India for its principled and firm support of I.R. of Iran at the UN_HRC, including opposing an unjust and politically motivated resolution. This stance reflects India’s commitment to justice, multilateralism, and national sovereignty.”
H.E. Dr. Mohammad Fathali
The special session was convened at the request of Germany, North Macedonia, the Republic of Moldova and the United Kingdom with the support of 21 member states.
Iran’s representative told the session that had its sponsors cared genuinely for the human rights of Iranians, they would not have imposed sanctions that affected the lives of Iranians and supported Israel’s war against Iran.
Former foreign secretary Nirupama Rao said that India’s “no” vote was shaped by longstanding scepticism towards country mandates and special rapporteurs.
“There is a strategic subtext too: Caution about legitimising tools that could, in another political climate, be turned against India on Kashmir or internal security,” Rao said.
“Overall, the vote fits India’s broader Iran policy: Preserve working relations, avoid moral grandstanding, and prefer quiet diplomacy to megaphone censure.”