Iran: UN human rights report based on terrorists’ allegations, ignores US violations

The head of the Iranian Judiciary’s High Council for Human Rights has dismissed the United Nations’ latest report on the human rights situation in Iran, saying it contains substantive flaws since it is politically-motivated and based on unsubstantiated allegations of terrorists tied to governments hostile to the Iranian nation.

Ali Baqeri-Kani, in a letter addressed to UN Secretary-General António Guterres, highlighted that the report entirely focuses on negative cases and refrains from attesting to the country's tireless efforts and measures to promote and uphold human rights.

While the report claims to be based on the information received from “non-governmental groups,” studies show that its only basis is the false allegations of terrorist groups affiliated with governments hostile to Iran and the Iranian nation. The main text of the report is also prepared on the basis of provisions of those unsubstantiated accusations. In other words, the report has practically fallen into a kind of unfair prejudice as for the human rights situation in Iran, the letter said.

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Baqeri-Kani went on to say that pursuant to the previous years’ practice, a very short period of time  has been systematically allocated to the main party of the report, i.e. the government of the Islamic Republic of Iran, to verify the allegations and accusations and to provide its documented answers and comments.

UN report overlooks Iran achievements, US crimes

He then pointed to the objective and tangible achievements in the protection of human rights in Iran, enumerating improvements in the fields of women’s rights, right to health, poverty eradication, access to safe drinking water and adequate food, the rights of migrants and refugees, the rights of minorities, freedom of expression and access to information among others.

“The politicized, unfair, unjust and unprofessional treatment with human rights concepts and issues does not open a knot and does not solve the problems of human beings, but rather downgrades human rights into a tool for advancing the illegitimate goals of superpowers,” Baqeri-Kani said.

He also lambasted the politicized approach towards human rights oversight, underlining that Iran has been tolerant and patient with Western countries that sold chemical weapons to ex-Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein during the 1980-1988 Iraqi imposed war on the country.

Baqeri-Kani added that the anti-Iran report comes as the US has endangered the lives of thousands of Iranian citizens and deprived them of their right to life by enforcing unilateral sanctions and extending the bans to include food and medicine.

He said the unlawful and cruel unilateral sanctions have resulted in the death of thalassemia patients, innocent epidermolysis bullosa (EB) patients – often known as butterfly children – as well as coronavirus patients due to lack of access to essential medications and medical supplies.

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“The report speaks of the responsibility of human rights offenders and violators, while nowhere does it refer to the illegal, cruel and criminal sanctions of the US regime,” he said.

“As a result, threats to the lives and property of individuals and violation of their rights by sanctions imposed on all sectors of economy, oil and gas, industry, agriculture, science and research, air and sea transport, construction, metals, finance and banking, and even food, medicine, medical and humanitarian equipment, has had no place in human rights logic of the report,” Baqeri-Kani added.

Baqeri-Kani further underlined that the report ignores the assassination of top Iranian anti-terror commander Lieutenant General Qassem Soleimani, the commander of the Quds Force of Iran’s Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC), along with his companions in a US terror drone strike authorized by US President Donald Trump near Baghdad International Airport on January 3.

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“The honorable Secretary-General should be questioned that how one may talk about the human rights situation in Iran, but not a single word be raised about the issue which, according to the report of Ms. Agnes Callamard [ the Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions], was a “clear violation of the right to life under Article 6 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights,” affected the entire Iranian nation and shocked and bereaved them,” he said.

Moreover, the report overlooks the fact that Canada has a dark history of widespread and diverse violations of the rights of its citizens, including its indigenous people, and even prevents the provision of consular services to its citizens of Iranian origin in a blatant violation of the inalienable human rights, the senior Iranian human rights official commented.

The official further said the report also does not pay any attention to Iran’s geopolitical position as a conduit for much of the world’s narcotics toward the West, and ignores Iran’s inability to acquire military and non-military anti-narcotics equipment for its fight against drug trafficking as a result of sanctions.

“The Iranian nation has been suffering extensively from the irreparable spiritual and material costs, including the martyrdom of more than 4,000 people and the disability of more than 12,000 military and law enforcement personnel,” he said.

Baqeri-Kani also criticized the removal of the Saudi-led military coalition that has waged a deadly war on Yemen from a UN’s blacklist of violators of children’s rights.

“From the point of view of any truth-seeking and justice-seeking conscience, the crime of removing the name of the Saudi regime from the blacklist is not less than the crime of this regime in killing innocent Yemeni children,” he said.

“According to international organizations, Saudi Arabia has used deadly weapons, purchased from some Western countries, to slaughter thousands of Yemeni children and adolescents in tragedies such as student bus bombings, airstrikes on homes, schools and hospitals, and by killing one child every seven minutes. It has become the world record holder for child massacres,” the official added.

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