Iran Criticizes UN's 'Indifference' to the Impact of Sanctions on the People

Iran criticized the human rights processes of the United Nations, labeling them as 'dual and political', stating that these processes have ignored the sanctions that are 'contrary to the economic and social rights of the Iranian people'. According to the official news agency of the Islamic Republic, IRNA, Mohammad Hasani Nejad, Iran's representative in the UN Third Committee, described the 'annual presentation of four similar reports' on the human rights situation in Iran as merely reflecting the 'selective approaches and double standards' of the organization. Hasani Nejad warned that the continued trend could 'undermine the credibility and integrity' of UN human rights processes, calling the recent report against Iran's human rights situation 'unacceptable' and solely based on 'political considerations'. He criticized the UN Secretary-General's report for not making even the slightest reference to the reinstatement of illegal and illegitimate US sanctions against the Iranian people. His remarks referred to the Secretary-General's report from September regarding the human rights situation in Iran, which condemned Iran's actions in violating human rights and disregarding the rights of minorities in the country. The report by Antonio Guterres mentioned the suppression of protests in December, the crackdown on protests in the Tehran bazaar, the treatment of dual nationals, executions, torture and mistreatment, the situation of Gonabadi dervishes, laws against women and girls, the status of minorities, and other issues. Iranian officials, including Bahram Ghasemi, spokesman for the Foreign Ministry, have deemed this report 'lacking credibility and value'. Following the return of the first round of US sanctions against Iran, Iran's permanent representative to the UN also stated that these sanctions are a 'clear violation' of international law and that the international community has a duty to stand against this lawlessness. Gholamali Khoshroo wrote in a note published in August on the British newspaper Guardian's website that the United States, by withdrawing from the JCPOA, not only violated the UN Security Council resolution but also punishes countries that adhere to this resolution. In this context, a UN special report also stated that US sanctions against Iran are 'unjust and harmful' and hurt ordinary people. Idris Jazayeri, in a statement on August 31, deemed the reinstatement of sanctions against Iran after the US withdrawal from the JCPOA as 'illegal', adding: 'International sanctions should have a legitimate purpose and be proportional. Sanctions should not violate the rights of ordinary citizens, but none of these considerations have been taken into account in this case [sanctions against Iran].' However, American officials claim that the goal of these sanctions, which are supposed to be the toughest in history, is 'not to harm the people of Iran'. Brian Hook, the head of the Iran Action Group at the US State Department, stated that the aim of US sanctions is not to affect trade in humanitarian areas, including food and medicine, and that the Iranian government provides 'misleading information' to the people regarding this issue.