UN Rights Mechanisms Exploited for "Political Games"

The Foreign Min istry spokesman said the human rights mechanisms of the United Nations are not meant to be exploited by western powers in their "political games" to put pressure on independent nations.

Bahram Qasemi was pointing to a resolution on the situation of human rights in the Islamic Republic approved by a UN committee on Tuesday, which accuses Tehran of human rights abuses.

Describing the document as "politically motivated", the spokesman said it has not taken into account the realities of Iranian people's lives and is based on a "selective, confrontational" mentality, according to the ministry's press release. The UN General Assembly's human rights committee approved the Canada-sponsored measure by a vote of 85 in favor, 35 against and 63 countries abstaining.

Qasemi said the anti-Iran resolution is "manipulation of human rights by western countries". He also said the fact that the co-sponsors of the resolution are the Israeli regime and Saudi Arabia and a handful of regional countries, which are alien to democracy and freedom, is a stark indication of its illegitimacy.

Qasemi said Iran believes the proper way of looking into human rights situation in countries is through the UN Human Rights Council's Universal Periodic Review, a process that involves a periodic review of the human rights records of all 193 UN member states.

  Testimony to Tehran's Will

"Active and constructive participation by Iran in this mechanism [which is] based on the equality of all countries testifies to Tehran's will to promote human rights and honor its international commitments through cooperation and dialogue," he said.

The resolution expressed serious concerns about what it called severe limitations on freedom of thought, conscience and religion or belief and asked the Iranian government to ensure transparent and inclusive presidential elections in 2017.

The document also objected to the "alarmingly high frequency" of the death penalty and urged Iran to eliminate laws and practices that it claimed constitute human rights violations against women and girls.

Gholamhossein Dehqani, Iran's deputy ambassador to the United Nations, said on Tuesday the resolution "reveals once again the lack of honesty on the part of those self-proclaimed champions of human rights", which themselves have gross human rights records.

Dehqani said Iran has been singled out because "it refuses to succumb to the political pressure of the main sponsors of this draft", which in the past have supported colonialism, slavery, racism and apartheid. In addition, the Iranian envoy said the Islamic Republic has taken measures in line with international standards of human rights, adding that Iran has always sought "respectful dialogue without recrimination or blame game".