UN commission to study human rights in Poland

March 12, 1982

The United Nations Human Rights Commission agreed to investigate human rights in Poland, expressed deep concern at reports of summary executions in Iran, and called for a political settlement in El Salvador.

US chief delegate Michael Novak said the resolution on Poland was the first action taken against a communist nation in the commission's history. Most members of the commission are from communist third-world countries.

The commission asked UN Secretary-General Javier Perez de Cuellar to ensure that members of the Bahai religion are given equal rights in Iran.

The commission also said that the people of El Salvador must decide their own future without outside interference and that supplying of arms to government forces or guerrillas must be halted.