Iran opposed to politicization of the human rights issue

By Zohreh Elahian

The United Nations Human Rights Council has recently designated former Maldives foreign minister Ahmed Shaheed as the Special Rapporteur to investigate the human rights situation in the Islamic Republic of Iran.

Iran has no problem with Mr. Shaheed, and the Iranian government is ready to invite him to visit Iran so he can familiarize himself with the country’s latest scientific and technological achievements and the level of the people’s participation in society. But if he wants to come to Iran as a UN Special Rapporteur, he will not be welcomed by the Iranian people and government.

From Iran’s perspective, the decision to appoint a UN Special Rapporteur in this case clearly shows that the UN has adopted a politicized approach toward the human rights issue, which is by no means accepted by the Iranian government.

Iran’s official policy is opposed to any effort to use the human rights issue as political leverage because such an approach runs contrary to the true nature of human rights.

Over the past few decades, the Islamic Republic of Iran has played an effective role at international conferences and meetings on human rights. Moreover, Iran has submitted numerous reports on the human rights situation in the country to the UN Human Rights Council. There is also a good deal of interaction between Iran and the governments of influential countries, such as Denmark and Japan, on the issue of human rights.

Iran plans to engage more in this area, and has positively cooperated with various governments on the issue, with Denmark being the latest example. A Danish delegation recently made a trip to Iran and met with officials tasked with addressing the issue of human rights and a number of Iranian scholars. They were surprised by Iran’s Islamic ideology, which places emphasis on the rights of various classes of people, including women and children.

Therefore, the new wave of political pressure imposed on Iran, in the form of various UN resolutions, is totally unacceptable and unjustified, and the Iranian government cannot agree to further cooperation under such political pressure, and neither would any other government in the world.

Based on the general policy of the Islamic Republic of Iran, which has been officially announced by the parliament’s Human Rights Committee, the Iranian government is not ready to allow the designated UN Special Rapporteur to visit the country because it is against the will of the Iranian people.

Iran’s message to the UN and the international community is that the country does not do anything under Western political pressure. This also applies to Iran’s nuclear program, which has made numerous breakthroughs despite all the pressure and sanctions imposed on the country.

Defending human rights based on the pure principles of Islam is regarded as one of the main duties of the Iranian government.

In line with this policy, the Iranian parliament is also trying to improve its position on the human rights issue, and Iranian MPs will try to increase the level of their diplomatic communication with their counterparts in other parliaments of the world. This policy can show the world the true picture of human rights in Iran.

MP Zohreh Elahian is the chairperson of the Majlis Human Rights Committee.


(2011-7-2/tehrantimes)