Iran Rejects New UN Human Rights Resolution as 'Invalid' and 'Political'

In response to the recent resolution by the United Nations General Assembly criticizing Iran's record, the spokesperson for the Islamic Republic's Foreign Ministry on Wednesday, November 15, deemed it 'invalid', 'unreliable', and 'political'. On Tuesday, a new resolution was passed in the Third Committee of the UN General Assembly with 83 votes in favor and 30 against, which criticized the ongoing violations of the rights of religious and ethnic minorities and the organized state discrimination against minorities in Iran. This new resolution also expressed concern over the high number of executions, the poor conditions of prisons, torture, and arbitrary detentions in Iran. According to the UN website, this resolution titled 'The Human Rights Situation in the Islamic Republic of Iran' was presented by Canada. As in the past, the spokesperson for the Islamic Republic's Foreign Ministry on Wednesday also considered this resolution critical of Iran's human rights record as 'invalid' and 'unacceptable'. According to the Mehr news agency, Bahram Qasemi, the spokesperson for this ministry, on Wednesday also accused Western countries of using the issue of human rights in a 'selective, instrumental, and political' manner. Previously, Ishaq Al Habib, Iran's Deputy Permanent Representative to the UN, who was present at the Third Committee meeting, criticized the adoption of this resolution, stating that countries like Canada have a foreign policy characterized by 'double standards and discrimination'. Iran has consistently labeled any critical report on its human rights situation as 'invalid' and has even denied UN special rapporteurs entry into the country. Iranian officials have always rejected the reports of UN special rapporteurs, accusing them of 'bias' and 'prejudice', while defending their human rights record against international criticism. Meanwhile, the human rights record of the Islamic Republic of Iran has been criticized multiple times by the UN Human Rights Council. Additionally, according to Reporters Without Borders, Iran is one of the five largest prisons for journalists in the world. Iran and China top the list of countries in terms of the number of executions, and human rights organizations, the UN Human Rights Commission, and non-governmental organizations have repeatedly warned and criticized the high number of executions in Iran. In September of this year, Asma Jahangir, who succeeded Ahmed Shaheed last year, stated in her first report that no significant improvement had been made in Iran's human rights record and that restrictions on freedom of expression and discrimination against women and religious minorities continue. This report led to a denial and strong reaction from Iranian officials at the time, but Ms. Jahangir stated in an interview with Radio Farda that Tehran had failed to present any substantiated objections to her report.