Iran Decries Weaponization of Human Rights

Addressing the 76th Session of the United Nations General Assembly about Item 69: Report of the Human Rights Council, held on Friday, Ambassador and Deputy Permanent Representative of Iran to the UN Zahra Ershadi called on certain States to –once and for all– shelve and abandon weaponization of human rights, selectivity and double standards and instead, cherish human rights mechanisms such as the Universal Periodic Review.

What follows is the text of her speech:

“Mr. President,

Protection and promotion of human rights should be a common cause for all. We place a premium on genuine and non-political concern about human rights, mutual respect and dialogue.

It is an irrefutable fact that the only way to guarantee promotion and protection of human rights is through encouraging dialogue and cooperation based upon mutual respect and on an equal footing.

The Islamic Republic of Iran underscores the need for all Member States to remain open and inclusive to dialogue, respect the diversity of civilizations and the development paths independently chosen by countries, and refrain from imposing one’s own social system and model on others.

The Islamic Republic of Iran remains seriously concerned about the ever-increasing greed for targeting independent nations with country-specific resolutions. Counter-productive by nature, such resolutions pose a deadly threat to the cause of human rights.

My Government reiterates its call on certain States to – once and for all – shelve and abandon weaponization of human rights, selectivity and double standards and instead, cherish human rights mechanisms such as the Universal Periodic Review.

Reiterating our principled position on non-recognition and rejection of country-specific mandates, the Islamic Republic of Iran will continue its genuine interaction with the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights and other competent UN human rights mechanisms to collaborate on the protection and promotion of human rights.

While we observe our international obligations to help promote and protect human rights globally, we will continue to focus on serving our people, further deepen our truly democratic system of governance and institutionalize our human rights accomplishments.

We continue to witness the application of unilateral coercive measures, which are contrary to the purpose and principles of the UN Charter and international law, multilateralism and the basic norms of international relations.

Such measures violate human rights by hindering the well-being of the population in the targeted countries, in particular women and children. The cruel punitive measures are maliciously designed to hinder people’s access to much-needed medicine and drain Iran’s resources during the COVID-19 pandemic.

My Government would like to underscore the important role of the Human Rights Council in confronting and addressing vicious waves of racism, violent extremism and terrorism. The Human Rights Council has a role to play in raising global awareness about the imminent and fast mobility of the evil forces of violent extremism and terrorism.

Finally, Mr. President, we heard this morning yet again the baseless allegations made by the representative of the Zionist regime against my Country.

It is no secret that no matter how the child-killer Israeli regime attempts to raise unfounded allegations against Iran, it cannot hide its heinous crimes committed against the innocent Palestinian people on a daily basis. The ugly face of Zionism, racism and Apartheid cannot be whitewashed by cheap rhetoric.”