TEHRAN – Iran has dismissed as
politically motivated a recent report by UN Secretary General António Guterres on human rights in Iran, saying the Islamic Republic remains committed to promoting human rights, irrespective of the fact that the report was based on false claims made by terrorists.
Asked by IRNA to comment on Guterres’ report, Foreign Ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh said Iran has sent its detailed comments and arguments on each and every paragraph of the UN chief’s report to his office but Iran’s response has been regrettably neglected.
The report “is based on false claims and documents based on unreliable sources, and therefore, the main text of the report is mainly based on the contents of the claims and accusations of hostile groups and terrorist cults,” he said.
Speaking before the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva on Tuesday, UN deputy human rights chief Nada al-Nashif presented Guterres’ latest report, which strongly criticized Iran over executions in the country and other issues.
“The secretary general is deeply concerned by the increase of executions, including for drug-related offenses,” al-Nashif said.
Guterres also claimed that Iran has used coercive measures against dissidents.
The Foreign Ministry spokesman explained that the Islamic Republic continues to be fully committed to promoting human rights due to its religious beliefs and legal obligations and is ready to cooperate with UN human rights bodies.
He said the report fails to mention the responsibility of those behind anti-Iran sanctions and refuses to acknowledge the negative and destructive effects of inhumane U.S. sanctions against the country.
In a statement on Tuesday, the Iranian Judiciary’s High Council for Human Rights also criticized the UN chief’s statement, saying it was a “non-reflection of the country’s human rights developments and achievements.”
It said granting the mandate of compiling a country-specific report to the secretary-general on human rights, while there is an international expert mechanism in this regard, is basically “unreasonable and illogical as well as both unnecessary and unprofessional.”
Meanwhile, Khatibzadeh also described a recent UN General Assembly resolution about the situation of human rights in Iran as “politically motivated” and “unfair.”
“As has been repeatedly stressed, such resolutions are politically motivated, biased, and unfair,” adding that the resolution was unconstructive and lacked support from the majority of member states.