Tehran, IRNA – Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister for Legal and International Affairs Kazem Gharibabadi has said that the reports from the Special Rapporteur do not accurately represent the realities of human rights in Iran, emphasizing that Iran is committed to fulfilling its international human rights obligations.
During his speech in Geneva on Friday at the 48th session of the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) Working Group, which focused on defending Iran’s fourth national report, Gharibabadi emphasized that the Islamic Republic of Iran places great importance on this mechanism, adding that as a "global forum", it has created significant opportunities for the protection and promotion of human rights through the establishment of constructive and meaningful dialogue.
He discussed the achievements and challenges in human rights using credible information while avoiding “confrontational and political behavior”.
The national report from the Islamic Republic of Iran outlines various measures and initiatives that the country has implemented to promote human rights across all aspects, including civil, political, economic, social, and cultural rights since the third reporting period, he added.
“The Islamic Republic of Iran, while respecting the recently appointed Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Iran, views the appointment of a country-specific Special Rapporteur as a politically motivated measure that is part of an ongoing campaign against Iran, driven by a limited number of member states of the Human Rights Council,” Gharibabadi noted.
Gharibabadi underlined, “A closer examination of the performance and reports of Special Rapporteurs on Iran since 2011 reveals that their reports fail to reflect the realities of human rights in the country. Instead, these reports are largely based on inaccurate information, unreliable sources, and biased perspectives, driven by political motives.”
He further noted, “The Special Rapporteurs have deliberately ignored the progress made in human rights in Iran and have consistently sought to portray a distorted and misleading image of the human rights situation. Despite this unacceptable approach, the Islamic Republic of Iran has consistently engaged with the Special Rapporteurs through in-person and virtual meetings, responses to draft reports, and written correspondences.”
He underscored, “The Special Rapporteurs must adhere to their codes of conduct and demonstrate respect for the political structure and legal frameworks of the country concerned. Only by doing so can they foster trust and mitigate the perception that their mandates are politically charged.”
Gharibabadi added, “This mission was established as a result of lobbying and political bargaining by certain Western states. Since its inception, it has produced numerous unsubstantiated, biased, and politically motivated anti-Iran reports, as well as positions that lack any sound legal foundation.”
“The Islamic Republic of Iran has prepared over 50 well-documented and substantiated reports on matters related to the unrests in 2022, many of which were specifically drafted to respond to the claims made by the so-called Fact-Finding Mission,” he noted.
“Regretfully, the mission has disregarded these reports and relied solely on sources, data, and reports provided by groups, individuals, and media outlets hostile to Iran. This mission, unfortunately, in its reports, did not mention the very high damages caused by rioters against public and private property, the killing of dozens of law enforcement forces, as well as the discovery of various weapons, and the arrest of a number of terrorists during the unrest,” he underlined.
Gharibabadi stated, “The establishment and renewal of the so-called Fact-Finding Mission’s mandate occurred despite the extensive protective and accountability-based measures undertaken by the Islamic Republic of Iran during the 2022 unrest. In this regard, a special committee was formed by the President of the Islamic Republic of Iran to investigate the causes of the unrest, assess the damages to private and public property, evaluate the harm to civilians and law enforcement personnel, and propose measures for compensation and remediation. This committee submitted its comprehensive report, along with necessary recommendations and solutions, to the president in March 2023.”
He underscored “Some of the accountability measures implemented by the Islamic Republic of Iran, which effectively negate the need for such a politically motivated and spurious mission, include: The pardon of nearly all defendants and convicts involved in the unrest; Compensation for individuals who suffered harm; Judicial proceedings against those who committed violations or illegal acts while on duty. These efforts remain ongoing, with compensation payments and judicial follow-ups continuing to address the aftermath of the unrest.”
“We firmly believe that engineering such mechanisms, like the so-called Fact-Finding Mission, reflects political objectives rather than a genuine concern for human rights. This is evident that in the silence and inaction of international human rights mechanisms vis-a-vis crimes against humanity, war crimes, and genocide committed by the Zionist regime of Israel, which has slaughtered over 47,000 innocent individuals, the majority of whom were women and children, it is paradoxical that such mechanisms are established for a country like Iran- a nation that rose against a dictatorship supported by self-proclaimed defenders of human rights to establish a system based on popular sovereignty and democratic institutions, and which has made significant progress in the realm of human rights- and all the while the rights of its people are systematically violated through oppressive, unlawful, unilateral sanctions and support for terrorist activities by the very same proponents of human rights. It is high time for the mission of such politically motivated mechanisms to come to an end,” he highlighted.
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