Iran has dismissed as “untrue” a recent statement by the UN human rights chief, in which he has criticized what is said to be Tehran’s lack of interactions with his office in recent years.
In a Friday statement, the Iranian Judiciary’s Human Rights Council said the September 13 statement by Zeid Ra’ad al-Hussein, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, is “surprising” and “regrettable” as he is already aware of Tehran’s cooperative measures over the past few years
At the 33rd session of the Human Rights Council on September 13, Ra’ad Hussein claimed Iran has “given no access” to his office (OHCHR) since 2013.
“This is particularly regrettable given the reports we continue to receive of fundamental problems” with the situation of human rights in Iran, the UN official further said.
The Iranian council further outlined the steps taken by Tehran over the past years to promote its cooperation with the OHCHR, saying “it is regrettable that the UN high commissioner and his colleagues, who are well informed of such measures, say they are not in the know.”
In one of the measures listed in the statement, Tehran has sent numerous invitations to the former and current high commissioners, and held four rounds of discussions with OHCHR officials on different topics.
The Iranian Judiciary’s human rights arm further emphasized that Tehran respects its international commitments, adding that the Islamic Republic’s “fundamental policy is based on transparency as well as constructive and logical interactions.”
Iran expects international rights officials to take the realities into account while addressing the human rights situation in different countries and avoid making “politically-motivated” statements by “adopting a professional and unbiased” approach, the Iranian rights body said.
It also rejected the allegations that Tehran refuses to cooperate with the United Nations special rapporteur on human rights situation in Iran.
Iran has on numerous occasions slammed the UN and the Western states for exploiting the issue of human rights to put pressure on the Islamic Republic.
In the latest such measures in May, Ahmed Shaheed, the UN special rapporteur on the human rights situation in Iran, accused the Islamic Republic of human rights violations, voicing concern over the alleged increase of execution of drug traffickers.
The Iranian Foreign Ministry dismissed the report as “biased” and “politically-motivated.”
“Reports of this kind are compiled based on the viewpoints of a few countries and with the aim of targeting other countries through exploiting international human rights mechanisms,” the ministry stated.
