Iranian Foreign Ministry and Judiciary Representatives to Travel to Europe for 'Human Rights Dialogues'

Majid Takht-Ravanchi, the Deputy Foreign Minister of Iran, stated on Monday that a delegation consisting of representatives from the Foreign Ministry and the Judiciary will head to Brussels in the next two to three weeks to participate in negotiations with the European Union regarding various issues, including 'human rights dialogues.' According to ILNA, Takht-Ravanchi emphasized that the initiation of human rights dialogues with the EU is part of a gradual and procedural lifting of the EU's human rights sanctions against Iran. He noted, 'These dialogues are part of the comprehensive discussions we are having with the Europeans. In the coming weeks, likely within two to three weeks, we will have a meeting titled high-level political dialogues with the EU, where regional, political, economic, environmental issues, and all related topics will be discussed with the EU. Alongside these, human rights issues will also be addressed.' The Deputy Foreign Minister added, 'In the next two to three weeks, a delegation at the level of deputies will be sent to Brussels to participate in these dialogues. This delegation for human rights dialogues will consist of representatives from the Foreign Ministry and the Judiciary who will follow up on human rights discussions.' He also stated, 'We have a principle in human rights dialogues that we say human rights discussions should not be political but technical. This principle will be adhered to in this round of discussions.' While Majid Takht-Ravanchi announced the dispatch of a joint government and Judiciary delegation for human rights dialogues in Brussels, earlier, the spokesperson for the Islamic Republic's Foreign Ministry had also mentioned that discussions on human rights could be one of the 'fundamental' axes of the upcoming negotiations between Iran and Europe in Brussels. However, Bahram Qasemi, the spokesperson for the Iranian Foreign Ministry, clarified, 'But these dialogues are not necessarily centered around human rights; we will discuss many issues with the Europeans.' In the month of Mordad this year, Sadegh Larijani, the head of the Islamic Republic's Judiciary, requested that the 'Human Rights Headquarters, Supreme National Security Council, and Foreign Ministry' open discussions about human rights with the Europeans. He also stated that discussions about human rights with Europe should be conditional on being 'bilateral' and added that 'Europe must explain various instances of human rights violations.' Mohammad Javad Larijani, the Secretary of the Judiciary's Human Rights Headquarters, also mentioned that human rights negotiations with the EU are based on the 'system's' request, but these negotiations will be conditional on certain matters. Iran and the EU had previously engaged in negotiations regarding human rights during Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani's presidency under the framework of 'critical dialogue with Iran.' These negotiations continued during Mohammad Khatami's presidency as well.