Iran

Iran: Aotearoa New Zealand’s response to recent developments in Iran

The New Zealand Government has taken a strong stance on recent developments in Iran, including in response to the death of Mahsa Amini while detained by Iranian security forces, violent and malign actions by Iranian authorities against peaceful protesters, and Iran’s support of Russia’s illegal invasion of Ukraine.

These actions have been undertaken bilaterally, jointly with other countries, and in relevant multilateral forums, demonstrating the high level of importance that New Zealand attaches to these issues.

Since late-September 2022, New Zealand has:

• Unequivocally condemned the tragic death of Mahsa Amini and the subsequent use of violence against peaceful protestors, including through Ministerial statements (including jointly with other countries(external link)), press releases(external link), social media posts(external link), in multilateral(external link) forums, and directly to Iranian officials(external link) both in Wellington and in Tehran.
• Suspended bilateral mechanisms for engagement with Iran, including the bilateral human rights dialogue(external link).
• Co-sponsored(external link) the November 2022 United Nations Third Committee (on Human Rights) resolution(external link) on human rights in Iran.
• Co-sponsored(external link) the March 2023 United Nations Human Rights Council resolution(external link) on the human rights situation in Iran.
• Played an early and central role in calling(external link) for a special session at the UN Human Rights Council on the human rights situation in Iran, building support for and co-sponsoring(external link) the November 2022 resolution(external link) which established a fact-finding mission to investigate alleged human rights violations in Iran.
• Spearheading successful efforts(external link) to remove Iran from the membership(external link) of the UN Commission on the Status of Women.
• Delivering a statement on the situation in Iran(external link) on behalf of the CANZ group (Canada, Australia, Aotearoa New Zealand) to a November 2022 United Nations Security Council Arria Formula meeting.
• Supporting statements and initiatives condemning different aspects of the Iranian government’s responses to the protests in Iran, including on internet shutdowns(external link), the lack of media freedom in Iran(external link), and violence against women online(external link).
• Condemned(external link) Iran’s use(external link) of the death penalty, including through a joint Foreign Ministers’ statement(external link) with Canada and Australia, and as part of a cross-regional group of countries(external link) at the UN Human Rights Council.
• Implemented(external link) travel(external link) bans(external link) on 55 Iranians connected to the death of Mahsa Amini and the violent response to subsequent protests.
• Sanctioned(external link) eleven(external link) Iranian(external link) individuals and seven Iranian entities involved in the manufacture and supply of drones in support of Russia’s illegal invasion of Ukraine.
• Removed Iran from the list of less developed countries in New Zealand’s Generalised System of Preferences(external link), meaning it no longer receives tariff preferences on its exports to New Zealand.

Aotearoa New Zealand will continue to assess the situation and respond accordingly and appropriately to events as they unfold, with the tools available to us and where we assess they can have the most impact.