UN High Commissioner for Human Rights: The Judicial Process in Iran Has Fundamental Problems

On Tuesday, September 23, coinciding with the start of the 33rd session of the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights criticized the "lack of cooperation" from some countries, including Iran, with this council. Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein named Syria, Venezuela, Belarus, North Korea, and Eritrea as countries that refuse to cooperate with the UN Human Rights Council. He stated that these countries claim that "human rights are an excuse for interference in the internal affairs of countries," while the UN Human Rights Council is a "neutral" body that seeks to be the voice of victims of human rights violations. Mr. Ra'ad Al Hussein criticized the human rights situation in Iran, saying that reports received continue to indicate "fundamental problems" in the judicial process in Iran. The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights added that Iranian officials have not allowed inspectors from this international body to visit Iran since 2013 (three years ago). He expressed concern over the number of executions in Iran and the ongoing execution of offenders under 18 years of age. Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein continued, "Some countries may be able to close the offices of this body or refuse to cooperate with international inspectors, but they should know that they can never close our eyes to the truth. We will continue to make every effort to ensure that our reports on these countries are accurate." The United Nations and human rights organizations have repeatedly criticized the human rights situation in Iran over the past years and have urged Iranian officials to adhere to their international commitments in this regard. According to Amnesty International, 977 people were executed in Iran in 2015, a figure that this human rights organization described as "unprecedented." Based on this report, Iran has the second-highest number of executions in the world after China. The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, in his remarks on Tuesday, expressed concern over the situation in Syria since the onset of the crisis in that country, labeling Bashar al-Assad's government as the "record holder for human rights violations." He stated, "It is regrettable that the president of this country is a doctor but attacks hospitals, bombs residential and civilian areas, and has imprisoned tens of thousands of his citizens in 'inhumane conditions.'" Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein expressed concern over the spread of hunger and deteriorating health conditions in Venezuela, accusing the government of that country of suppressing peaceful protests and stating that the Venezuelan government has not cooperated with UN reporters and inspectors for the past two and a half years. He also warned about civilian casualties, extrajudicial killings, and human rights violations in southeastern Turkey. The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights also called for an end to the conflicts in the mountainous region of Nagorno-Karabakh and warned about the situation of thousands of displaced persons in that area. China, Uzbekistan, Ethiopia, Mozambique, and Gambia are other countries that the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights has criticized for their human rights situations. He criticized the Bahraini government's actions in detaining political activists and revoking the citizenship of some citizens of that country and called for a review of the human rights situation in Bahrain and Yemen. The UN Human Rights Council is composed of 47 countries that are elected periodically and review the human rights situation in various countries. Maintaining human rights values equally across all geographical areas, sustainable justice development, striving to implement international agreements, and preventing human rights violations are other objectives of the UN Human Rights Council.