NEW DELHI: India voted against a resolution at the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) condemning Iran’s violent crackdown on recent protests and extending international investigative mandates.
The resolution was adopted at the Council’s 39th special session with 25 votes in favour, seven against and 14 abstentions. Besides India, China, Pakistan, Indonesia and Iraq voted against the measure. European Union members led the support, joined by the United Kingdom and Iceland, along with several Latin American countries.
The resolution expressed concern over what it described as “widespread and systematic” violations following protests that began on December 28, 2025, citing reports of thousands of deaths, including children, mass arrests and injuries to civilians. It extended the mandate of the Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on Iran by two years and renewed the mandate of the Special Rapporteur for one year, while calling for an “urgent investigation” into alleged abuses.
India’s vote comes amid sensitive diplomatic and strategic considerations.
New Delhi is in talks with the United States over an extended sanctions waiver for the Chabahar port project in Iran, which expires in April 2026. The port is central to India’s connectivity with Afghanistan and Central Asia, bypassing Pakistan. The United States is not a member of the UNHRC and has disengaged from the body.
Iran’s Ambassador to India, Mohammad Fathali, welcomed New Delhi’s stance. “I extend my sincere gratitude to the Government of India for its principled and firm support of Iran at the UN_HRC, including opposing an unjust and politically motivated resolution,” he said in a social media post, adding that the vote reflected “India’s commitment to justice, multilateralism, and national sovereignty.”
Sources said India’s position was guided by its long-standing opposition to country-specific resolutions and investigative mechanisms.
“India does not believe naming-and-shaming improves human rights outcomes,” a source said. India neither endorsed Iran’s actions nor disputed reports of abuses, with sources describing the vote as based on “process and principle.” Sources also said New Delhi viewed the special UNHRC session as “unwarranted.”
India has previously abstained on similar resolutions. In November 2022, it abstained on the resolution establishing the Fact-Finding Mission on Iran, and again in April 2024 on extending its mandate. Officials said those decisions were shaped by broader Council dynamics at the time.
Iran’s Permanent Representative to the UN in Geneva, Ali Bahreini, told the Council that 3,117 people had died, “of which 2,427 were killed as a direct result of terrorist operations.”
UN Special Rapporteur Mai Sato said authorities reported more than 3,000 deaths, while “some civil society estimates go up to tens of thousands, though these figures cannot be verified.”