Zarif and the Bitter Irony of Human Rights

Mohammad Javad Zarif, the Foreign Minister of the Islamic Republic of Iran, has described two recently adopted resolutions by the Third Committee of the United Nations General Assembly regarding human rights as "bitter ironies of our time." This article critiques Zarif's assessment of the resolution concerning the "human rights situation in the Islamic Republic of Iran" and does not address the resolution condemning foreign intervention in Syria. This is not the first time that Zarif has resorted to distorting the truth and denying the dire human rights situation in the Islamic Republic when faced with criticism from media or international bodies. Last May, he claimed in an interview: "We do not imprison anyone in Iran for their beliefs... Those who commit crimes, those who violate the laws of the country, cannot hide behind titles like journalist or political activist." Zarif's remarks were met with critical responses from many independent journalists and human rights activists. However, for various reasons (including his official position in the political power structure or proximity to the top figure of the political system), he continues to tread a path in the realm of human rights that includes justification and, further, distortion and minimization of criticisms and questions. As he recently described the reports of the Secretary-General and the Special Rapporteur of the United Nations, and ultimately the issued resolution, as "bitter irony." What does the resolution say? The resolution, which was adopted last Thursday (November 19, 2015) with 76 votes in favor, 38 against, and 68 abstentions from UN member states, although it has tried to positively and empathetically address some changes in the political power structure in Iran following Rouhani's presidency, inevitably points to the continued violations of human rights in Iran. For example, the resolution welcomes the following: - Rouhani's promises regarding women's rights and freedom of expression and belief - Some legal reforms - Government support for victims of domestic violence and efforts to reduce violence against women - Improvement in the status of mother tongue education However, it simultaneously refers to a list of human rights violations and expresses concern about them, including: - The number of death sentences, public executions, and executions of individuals under 18 - Mistreatment and violence against prisoners and defendants - Failure to meet necessary standards for fair trials - Illegal detentions - Inadequate medical care for prisoners - Continued house arrest of Green Movement leaders - Restrictions and threats against journalists, political activists, civil society activists, and human rights defenders - Discrimination and restrictions for religious and ethnic minorities - Failure to address the accusations against the perpetrators of events following the 2009 elections - Ambiguity in the conduct of the parliamentary elections in 2016 and the possibility of independent oversight over them. Zarif speaks of the "bitter irony of our time" in the recent human rights resolution; however, it is unclear which part of the list criticized and questioned by Ahmed Shaheed and the United Nations led to such an evaluation and the distortion and minimization of the Islamic Republic's Foreign Minister. Does Zarif not consider the following as human rights violations? - Over 1740 days of house arrest for Mousavi, Karroubi, and Rahnavard, and the continuation of restrictions against them; - Suppression of journalists (including the arrest of Eisa Saharkhiz, Hadi Heydari, and three other journalists); - Imposition of restrictions and pressure on dervishes, Sunnis, Baha'is, and other religious and ideological groups (the death sentence for Mohammad Ali Taheri is a well-known example); - Inadequate medical attention for prisoners, especially political defendants (the death of Shahrokh Zamani in prison, or insufficient attention to the conditions of Narges Mohammadi, Nasser Hashemi, Siraj Mirdamadi, Omid Kokabi, Arzhang Davoodi, and Saeed Rezavi Faqih, are just a few well-known cases); - Heavy judicial sentences in non-public and incompetent courts by revolutionary court judges (such as 11.5 years in prison and 99 lashes for Fatemeh Akhtesari, and 9 years in prison and 99 lashes for Seyyed Mehdi Mousavi, two postmodern poets; 9 years in prison for Mahmoud Salehi, a labor activist; 12 years in prison for Ali Shariati, a political activist supporting the Green Movement; and 15 years in prison for Arash Sadeghi, a student activist); - Arrest of political activists without following legal procedures (which has been numerous in recent months); - Failure to address complaints from political and civil activists against the perpetrators of the 2009 election coup (disregarding Mustafa Tajzadeh's complaint is just one famous example); - Lack of conditions for free and fair competition in parliamentary elections (for example: attacks on reformists' speaking events); imposition of supervisory oversight in parliamentary elections; and disregard by the rulers for requests for independent national and international oversight over the election process; and... The listed items above are just a small portion of the evidence of human rights violations in the Islamic Republic. A situation that is denied and criticized by a prominent diplomat of the Islamic Republic. The failure to respect human rights in other countries in the region (including Saudi Arabia) and the world does not constitute a valid reason or justification for the rulers of the Islamic Republic to evade accountability for the blatant human rights violations in Iran. Zarif's efforts to realize the JCPOA and reach an understanding with the West on nuclear energy is one issue, and his unfair judgment and unrealistic assessment of the human rights situation in Iran is another. Perhaps the Islamic Republic's diplomatic apparatus expects the West not to be strict on human rights issues because of Tehran's concessions on nuclear energy; however, Zarif cannot expect Iranian civil society activists to turn a blind eye to human rights violations and remain silent because of the nuclear agreement. If there is a "bitter irony" — and there is — it is not in the recent human rights resolution, but in the distortion of the truth and minimization of reality by the Foreign Minister of the moderate government.