Iran Expresses Regret Over UN General Assembly Resolution

The spokesperson for Iran's Foreign Ministry described the UN General Assembly resolution passed on Thursday condemning human rights violations in Iran as "fundamentally rejected and regrettable," stating that the resolution was prepared using "biased and unverified sources in a one-sided manner." The UN General Assembly, on Thursday, passed a resolution calling on the Islamic Republic of Iran to stop human rights violations, including "torture, gender discrimination, and targeting activists and journalists." Marzieh Afkham, the spokesperson for the Iranian Foreign Ministry, reacted to this resolution on Friday, December 19, saying: "The Islamic Republic of Iran fundamentally rejects the formation, approval, and content of such resolutions." According to ISNA news agency, she added: "It is regrettable that the human rights mechanisms and tools of the UN are misused by some Western countries, which are sometimes themselves considered human rights violators both domestically and internationally." Ms. Afkham also stated that this resolution was prepared using "biased and unverified sources in a one-sided manner." She emphasized: "The Islamic Republic of Iran has responded to the claims made in this resolution in a reasoned and documented manner, and if neutrality and avoidance of double standards had been the basis for the decision-makers of the resolution, they would undoubtedly have realized the unnecessary nature of it." Hossein Dehghani, Iran's ambassador and head of its mission to the UN, described the UN General Assembly resolution on Thursday as "political, discriminatory, and biased." Although UN General Assembly resolutions are non-binding, they can have a significant impact on global public opinion. Ms. Afkham, continuing her remarks, referred to Iran's presence in the Human Rights Council, stating: "In this session, a wide range of countries actively participated in discussions and presented their recommendations, which must be taken seriously." The Iranian delegation to the Human Rights Council has postponed the decision on accepting or rejecting human rights proposals from 108 countries in the council until March 2015. The proposals submitted by 108 countries to Iran include several issues such as "abolishing the execution of children, abolishing the punishment for homosexuality, abolishing stoning, internet freedom, lifting press censorship, and expanding freedom of expression." The spokesperson for Iran's Foreign Ministry also stated: "In a situation where the main regional crisis is the crimes of the Zionist regime and organized terrorism and extremism, the approval of this resolution insists on a wrong and dysfunctional policy." Ms. Afkham concluded her remarks by stating: "The Islamic Republic of Iran is a religious democratic system that, alongside its religious commitments and adherence to its constitution and ordinary laws and international treaties, is seriously committed to the development and promotion of human rights at the national, regional, and international levels." The UN Human Rights Committee had passed a resolution on November 18, expressing deep concern over human rights violations in Iran, especially the "very high number of executions" by the Islamic Republic. Ahmed Shaheed, the UN Special Rapporteur on human rights in Iran, who has not been allowed to enter the country in recent years, has repeatedly warned about the "widespread executions" in Iran in his reports. The Iranian representative deemed this resolution "meaningless and unconstructive," stating that it did not take into account the "positive developments that have taken place under Hassan Rouhani's government." Ban Ki-moon, the UN Secretary-General, stated in a report on September 12 that Hassan Rouhani's promises regarding greater freedoms in Iran have not led to any significant progress in human rights and freedom of expression. Shirin Ebadi, an Iranian lawyer and Nobel Peace Prize laureate, stated in an interview on November 11 that the human rights situation in Iran during Hassan Rouhani's presidency is "as bad as" during Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's presidency and in some cases "has even worsened."