A lawmaker said a merely political approach will not help refute the anti-Iran allegations of international human rights bodies.
Jalal Rahimi Jahanabadi, a reformist lawmaker, made the statement in an interview with ICANA on Monday, stressing the need for Iran to adopt a new approach to address the issue as the UN special human rights rapporteur on Iran, Ahmad Shaheed, will be replaced soon.
Rahimi said Iran should have closer contact with the United Nations Human Rights Council.
“With regard to allegations of human rights violations in Iran, we should adopt a [better] technical approach and try to find solutions,” he said.
“Many international bodies are tools of [western] world powers to impose pressure [on those states they want], but we should use the power of logic and boost diplomatic efforts to decrease these pressures.”
The MP pointed to Iran’s diplomatic success in ending a 12-year dispute over its nuclear program and disproving allegations about its atomic work, with the July 2015 nuclear deal.
Rahimi also said Iran’s representatives in human rights bodies should know the international arena better.
“If our advocates ... are not familiar with the international atmosphere and do not know how to interact effectively with human rights bodies, the country will face problems,” he said.
New Rapporteur
Shaheed, a former Maldivian foreign minister who was named as UN human rights investigator on Iran in 2011, said on his Twitter account last Wednesday that he will step down in November, one year before the end of his term. Shaheed said Asma Jahangir, a Pakistani lawyer, will replace him.
Jahangir has served as former UN special rapporteur on freedom of religion, former special rapporteur on extrajudicial executions, chair of the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan, president of the Supreme Court of the Pakistan Bar Association and member of the UN Fact-Finding Mission on Israeli Settlements.
Tehran says the appointment of a UN special rapporteur on Iran’s human rights is a selective and politically-motivated move, which results from the heavy influence of western governments in the UN.
Iran has dismissed as “biased” reports by Shaheed on human rights situation in Iran, saying promotion of human rights will materialize only through cooperation and dialogue.
