UCMs Contravene Human Rights: Iranian Official

Alena Douhan, a Belarusian scholar serving as the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the negative impact of the unilateral coercive measures on the enjoyment of human rights, met with Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister for Legal and International Affairs Kazem Gharibabadi in Tehran on Tuesday.

The meeting was held on the sidelines of the International Conference on Unilateral Sanctions.

The Iranian diplomat said in the meeting that the sanctions are in contravention of the United Nations Charter and the fundamental principles of international law.

“States imposing unilateral sanctions are responsible for violating the human rights of sanctioned nations through these unlawful measures and must be held accountable,” Gharibabadi added.

He noted that in recent years, the UN special rapporteur has made considerable efforts to amplify the voices of victims of unilateral sanctions, thereby drawing greater international attention to the inhumane dimensions of such measures.

“Nonetheless, the missing link in all these efforts has been the realization of access to justice for the victims —a gap that the Tehran conference aims to help bridge,” Gharibabadi added, the Foreign Ministry’s website reported.

He further underscored that unilateral sanctions are being implemented in a deliberate, systematic, and targeted manner that not only infringe upon the human rights of present generations, but also undermine sustainable development in the sanctioned countries, thereby violating the rights of future generations as well.

Douhan, for her part, thanked Iran for hosting the important conference and reiterated the illegality of unilateral coercive measures and their long-lasting impact on human rights and national development. She also affirmed that access to justice is a fundamental necessity in this context.