What Happened at the Recent UN Human Rights Council Meeting?

The 38th session of the UN Human Rights Council concluded on Friday, July 5, after three weeks of work on various human rights issues. During this session, criticisms regarding the human rights situation in Iran were raised, and Javid Rahman, a Pakistani-British lawyer, was introduced as the new special rapporteur on human rights in Iran. The UN Human Rights Council, after three weeks of working on various human rights topics, concluded its 38th session on Friday, July 5. This council hosts representatives from different countries and dozens of human rights defenders, aiming to review the human rights situation worldwide and find solutions to improve the living conditions of all humans regardless of color, race, or nationality. Iran is one of the countries that has frequently been mentioned in recent years in the council's sessions by human rights defenders who aim to be the voice of those Iranian citizens whose voices, they claim, go unheard. One of these defenders, Hassan Naib Hashem, who represented the organization 'All Human Rights for All in Iran' in Geneva, stated about the recent session: 'In the first week, special rapporteurs presented their reports, and one of the most important issues regarding Iran was executions. The special rapporteur on executions presented his report, and we discussed the report of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights regarding Iran and Iran's lack of cooperation. The special rapporteur on freedom of expression spoke, as did the special rapporteur on health, who addressed health issues in Iranian prisons, and we also discussed the poor conditions in Fashafouyeh and Qarchak prisons.' Human rights defenders took the opportunity to speak about other issues as well, from executions, arrests, and prison sentences for political and civil activists in Iran to the right to freedom of expression, women's rights, and the rights of religious and ethnic minorities in Iran, which, according to human rights activists, are being violated. These issues have also been raised in previous reports by UN special rapporteurs on Iran. However, Soroush Fadaei, a human rights activist and Baha'i residing in the UK, believes this is not enough: 'Previous special rapporteurs, despite their efforts to provide a fair report on the situation of various groups in Iran, including Baha'is, have not seen any change in the situation. I hope the new rapporteur can help improve the situation for all minorities, including Baha'is, using a new approach. I think the main problem is access to individuals he can speak with.' During the recent Human Rights Council session, representatives from the Islamic Republic were also present, but in response to the criticisms raised regarding Iran, they preferred to remain silent and spoke about the situation in the Middle East during the moments they had to speak; about Yemen, Syria, and Israel. This position, according to Hassan Naib Hashem, has been consistently repeated by Iranian officials in recent years: 'The stance of Iranian officials is entirely political and has been so throughout the years, and they only respond when the special rapporteur on Iran presents his report, always repeating that this report is not objective and real, and of course, they do not allow the special rapporteur to travel to Iran.' Meanwhile, the Iranian delegation at the Human Rights Council did not respond to questions from Radio Farda's correspondent in Geneva. On the last day of the 38th session of the Human Rights Council in Geneva, Javid Rahman, a Pakistani-British lawyer, was officially introduced as the UN special rapporteur on human rights in Iran, and no representative from the countries present at the session objected to this, not even Iran. Nevertheless, Iranian officials have repeatedly called this position 'illegitimate' and stated that they do not recognize it. Iman Ebrahimi, a representative of the 'International Development Education Organization,' who spoke with Iranian officials at the Human Rights Council, said about their position: 'When we talk to Iranian officials, they respond by saying that this is not the case at all and that the situation in Iran is exaggerated in foreign media and on the internet. Iranian representatives do not accept the criticisms; they attend the session, hear the criticisms, and if they get upset, they ultimately leave the meeting.' The UN Human Rights Council decided in April 2011 to appoint a special rapporteur to investigate the human rights situation in Iran. Following this decision, Ahmad Shaheed, a diplomat and human rights activist from the Maldives, was appointed as the UN special rapporteur on human rights in Iran in June 2011. Ahmad Shaheed held this position for five and a half years and, during this time, accused Iranian officials of 'violating human rights' in his numerous reports. These reports were described by Iranian officials as 'lies, unreliable, and based on statements from individuals opposed to the regime.' Mostafa Mohammadi, a representative of the 'Defense of Victims of Violence' organization based in Geneva, also criticized previous reports by Ahmad Shaheed regarding Iran: 'Some of these issues occurred in Iran, but part of it should be viewed with an intercultural perspective, meaning that cultural diversity should be considered. I do not reject the essence of this report, but I think there are criticisms of his report. The view towards Iran is an extreme one. It sees Iran as completely closed and filtered and views the situation as critical.' Javid Rahman, the newly appointed UN special rapporteur on human rights in Iran, stated in his first interview with Radio Farda that he hopes to travel to Iran. He added that most of his research focuses on Islamic law and international human rights law and emphasized that improving the human rights situation in Iran is on his agenda. In this context, Javid Rahman stated that he would request to travel to Iran from the Iranian government. The UN Human Rights Council last extended the mandate of the UN special rapporteur on human rights in Iran on March 3, 2018. Over the past seven years, this resolution has been approved each time in this council. Genevieve Jordan, a doctor and human rights activist who attended the Human Rights Council as a representative of the 'World Citizens Association,' considers the special rapporteur position for Iran to be useful: 'I think it can be beneficial to have someone appointed to provide an accurate picture of the human rights situation and the living conditions of the people in Iran. When we become aware of human rights violations, we will not forget those responsible for them, and this is an important issue.' The Iranian government has not only denied Ahmad Shaheed and Asma Jahangir permission to travel to Iran over the past seven years but has also refused to allow UN thematic rapporteurs, including the special rapporteur on religions, the special rapporteur on torture, the special rapporteur on arbitrary detentions, and the special rapporteur on extrajudicial executions to travel to Iran to investigate the issues raised by human rights defenders regarding 'human rights violations' in Iran. This is a point that Mostafa Mohammadi also criticizes: 'This criticism is valid. I do not know what the reason for the Iranian government is, and I have not had any interaction with Iranian officials, but if I see them, this question will certainly be one I will ask: why?' And now Javid Rahman has been selected for the position of special rapporteur on Iran. The Pakistani-British lawyer and Brunel University professor hopes to be able to travel to Iran.