US Protests Iran's Justice Minister's Participation in UN Human Rights Council

Nikki Haley, the US ambassador to the United Nations, protested the planned participation of Alireza Avaei, Iran's Minister of Justice, in the UN Human Rights Council, stating that this Iranian official is "responsible for some of the worst human rights violations in Iran." Haley said in a statement: "Mr. Avaei is responsible for some of the worst human rights violations in Iran, including the obstruction of political freedoms and the promotion of repression, violence, and the arbitrary killing of political prisoners." Alireza Avaei is set to attend the 37th session of the UN Human Rights Council in Switzerland. He is on the European Union's human rights sanctions list. Haley continued her statement by saying: "The Human Rights Council should be ashamed for allowing Mr. Avaei to speak to its members." The US ambassador criticized the UN Human Rights Council for allowing this Iranian official's presence, stating: "This council once again discredits itself by allowing repeat human rights violators to hijack the work of this council and mock its mission to promote global human rights." Haley called this move "only a reinforcement of the United States' call for necessary reforms in this council," adding that "with necessary reforms, this council can be seen as a suitable place for investing our time and money." The Human Rights Council session will begin on March 7 in Geneva. Although this annual gathering will last for nearly a month, leaders and senior officials from 100 countries and international organizations will be guests for the first three days. Alireza Avaei, the Iranian Minister of Justice, who is set to participate in this session, was included in the EU sanctions list in October 2011 along with 28 other officials. The group known as "Friends of a Free Iran" in the European Parliament also stated in a statement that they were "shocked" by the news of Mr. Avaei's presence at the UN Human Rights Council. The statement noted: "Mr. Avaei was previously the Attorney General and a member of the 'Death Commission' in Khuzestan province, having issued execution orders for many in Iran, including the massacre of 30,000 political prisoners in 1988, and Mr. Avaei's name has repeatedly been mentioned in relation to this massacre." Some opponents of the Islamic Republic claim that the current Iranian Minister of Justice played a "key role" during the executions of political prisoners in 1988. He served as the public and revolutionary prosecutor in Dezful and Ahvaz from 1979 to 1988. Gerard Perez, the head of the Friends of a Free Iran group in the European Parliament, stated in this statement: "Inviting Alireza Avaei to speak at the UN Human Rights Council is a disgrace and mocks democratic values. It is a disrespect to the victims of human rights violations in Iran. Instead of attending this council, Alireza Avaei should be interrogated at the International Criminal Court for the crimes he has committed over the past three decades." The informal group "Friends of a Free Iran" was established in 2003 and consists of 300 members of the European Parliament from various parties.