Foreign Ministry spokesperson Marzieh Afkham on Friday condemned the latest UN resolution on alleged human rights abuses in Iran and said UN mechanisms have turned into a “political tool in the hands of the West.”
Afkham said “It is a matter of regret that the UN’s human rights mechanisms and tools are abused by certain western countries, some of which blatantly violate human rights themselves,” Fars news agency reported on Friday.
The UN General Assembly on Thursday approved non-binding resolutions criticizing alleged human rights situations of North Korea, Iran and Syria.
“The resolution calls on Iran to stop a range of (alleged) abuses including torture, gender discrimination and the targeting of activists and journalists.” the Associated Press reported.
The resolution builds on reports by UN human rights rapporteur on Iran Ahmed Shaheed, which have been dismissed by Iranian official as “biased” and “spurious”. Ambassador to the United Nations Hossein Dehqani also protested against the resolution calling it “political, prejudicial and unbalanced.”
Dehqani said the resolution does not acknowledge the “positive developments” in Iran since 2013 when President Hassan Rouhani came to office.
