RNA - Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Bahram Qassemi was reacting on Thursday to the 40-page report presented by Asma Jahangir to the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva.
In the report, the UN rapporteur criticizes Iran over a range of allegations, including execution of juveniles, imprisonment of religious minorities, torture of political prisoners and child marriage.
Qassemi further said, “Many of the countries initiating and supporting such an approach against the Islamic Republic of Iran at the Human Rights Council are grappling with countless human rights problems and they have a dark and inhumane rights record.”
“This is a compelling reason for the invalidity of the approach adopted against our country in the report by Ms. Asma Jahangir,” he added.
Qassemi criticized the UN rapporteur for turning a blind eye to Iran’s achievements in the area of human rights, adding that before the official release of the report, Tehran had provided comprehensive explanations in response to the allegations, none of which have been considered in the released document.
The spokesman stressed Iran’s resolve to have “constructive interaction” with the new UN human rights rapporteur and called on Jahangir to avoid repeating the “unprofessional” mistakes of her predecessor.
Such double-standard approaches in dealing with the issue of human rights “will seriously harm the credibility of the UN-affiliated rights bodies, and will deepen the countries’ distrust of the effectiveness of [such mechanisms] in the promotion of human rights,” Qassemi concluded.
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