The head of Iran’s judiciary says welcoming the United Nations rapporteur on human rights would not be in line with Islamic Republic policy.
The Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA) reports that, in a television interview, Ayatollah Sadegh Larijani said Iran will work with the UN on the issue of human rights, but Iranian policies will not let it accept an investigator.
“In the discussion of human rights, we will certainly interact with the United Nations but within a logical framework, not as a tool against our country.”
On Friday, June 17, Ahmad Shaheed, a former Maldives foreign minister, was appointed as special rapporteur on human rights for Iran.
Ayatollah Larijani, the judiciary chief, went on to say that the West had accused Iran of human rights violations, but in Iran’s neighbouring countries supported by the West, “there is no talk of human rights.” He added that “[H]uman rights have been turned into a political tool to use against anyone they disagree with.”
Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi also reacted to the appointment by saying the issue of human rights has become a “political tool.”
“We know of countries where even the minimum consideration for human rights is not being adhered to,” Salehi said. “However, no public fuss is made about these countries.”
A number of Iranian parliamentarians have also declared that Iran will not accept the UN investigator on human rights.
In the most heated response, Ministry of Defence official Brigadier General Massoud Jazaeri said the human rights rapporteur should head for the United States “because according to available statistics and data, the greatest crimes against humanity are being organized and carried out in the U.S.”
He added that “savage U.S. soldiers” are even now revealing their “savagery” by destroying people`s lives around the world.
He contended: “Currently the U.S. is a centre for dozens of illegal prisons where one can witness torture, the violation of the most basic rights of human beings, the physical abuse of citizens and racial discrimination.”
