Iran Slams Shaheed’s Human Rights Report as Politically-Motivated
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Iran’s Foreign Ministry dismissed concerns raised by the UN special rapporteur on human rights in Iran, saying the anti-Iran comments by Ahmed Shaheed have been provoked by foreign political pressures and will only undermine human rights efforts in the world.
Foreign Ministry Spokesman Bahram Qassemi on Saturday deplored Shaheed’s report to the 71st session of the UN General Assembly as a document based upon a resolution that had been passed with political motives to fulfill the objectives of certain countries.
Qassemi added that such reports will not only fail to promote the status of human rights in the world, but also undermine it, especially with the international community’s concurrent muted response to the brazen violations of human rights by certain countries and the terrorist groups they support, most notably in Yemen and Syria.
The Iranian spokesman also decried Shaheed’s report for containing “ambiguous” phrases, expressing concern on the basis of “inauthentic information” and attempting to present a distorted image of human rights in Iran.
Qassemi further reiterated that Tehran basically disapproves of appointment of a special rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Iran.
In his recent report, Shaheed, a former diplomat from the Maldives, has voiced concern about Iran’s activities that “constitute a derogation from international human rights obligations.”
In June 2011, the UN Human Rights Council, under pressure from the US and its allies, named Shaheed as its human rights investigator on Iran. On March 24, 2016, he was appointed to the position for the sixth year.
Tehran insists that the appointment of a UN special rapporteur on Iran's human rights situation is a selective, politically-motivated and unacceptable move.
