Iran's top human rights official said all countries will benefit from the Islamic Republic's efforts against drug trafficking.
"Iran takes into consideration all the adverse consequences of drug trafficking", Mohammad Javad Larijani, secretary-general of Iran's High Council for Human Rights, said in a meeting with Zeid Ra'ad Al-Hussein, the UN high commissioner for human rights, in the Swiss city of Geneva on Friday, according to Press TV.
"The battle against drug smugglers is a serious issue in Iran that should be heeded at an international level because the whole world will in practice benefit from the fight," Larijani said.
Despite high economic and human costs, the Islamic Republic has been actively fighting drug trafficking over the past three decades.
Iran has spent more than $700 million to seal the borders and prevent the transit of narcotics destined for European, Arab and Central Asian countries. The war on drug trade originating from Afghanistan has claimed the lives of nearly 4,000 Iranian police officers over the past 34 years.
In December 2015, Interior Minister Abdolreza Rahmani Fazli and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime Executive Director Yury Fedotov signed an agreement in the Austrian capital Vienna to fight the flow of narcotics into Iran from neighboring countries, mainly Afghanistan.
Iran, which has a 900-kilometer border with Afghanistan, has been used as the main conduit for smuggling Afghan drugs to drug kingpins in Europe.
Larijani said Iran and the UNHCHR have always maintained positive cooperation and called for enhanced mutual interaction.
Front Line
Hussein said Iran lies on the frontline of the fight against the scourge of drugs.
He expressed his keenness to pay a visit to Iran and hold talks with judicial and human rights officials of the country.
The UN human rights chief regretted the the deplorable situation in the Middle East and the consequences of war and violence in the region.
Hussein said the UN plans to examine problems created for refugees, mainly Muslims from Middle East states, and to protect the rights of refugees and minorities in Europe.
Thousands of refugees, mostly fleeing war and poverty in the Middle East, are trapped in Greece, which has been the main gateway for refugees into wealthier European states.
The exodus has prompted several EU states and Balkan countries to impose restrictions on their borders.
The United Nations and other world organizations say the refugee crisis in Europe is quickly turning into a humanitarian disaster, calling for the implementation of a relocation plan for thousands of stranded refugees.
