Iran says UN Special Rapporteur only welcome as a tourist

On June 17 the UN anounced that it had appopinted the former foreign minister of the Maldives to be the UN Special Rapporteur on Iran.

A move which gave the Iranian government an opportunity to become better acquainted with accepted international standards on Human Rights.

So far Iran's response has not been positive and at the same time appears to have offended the government of the Maldives.....

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VIEW FROM IRAN

Iran parliament set to ban entry of UN Special Rapporteur on Iran

The Human Rights Committee of the Iranian parliament has decided to take measures to prohibit the entry of the newly appointed United Nations Special Rapporteur on Iran, MP Mohammad-Karim Abedi announced on Sunday.

On June 17, the UN Human Rights Council appointed former Maldivian foreign minister Ahmed Shaheed as Special Rapporteur on human rights situation in Iran.

On March 24, 2011, the UN Human Rights Council voted to appoint a special rapporteur to look into the situation in Iran.

In a U.S.-backed resolution adopted with 22 votes in favor, seven against and 14 abstentions, the 47-member council said the rapporteur would report to both the council and to the General Assembly.

Speaking to reporters on Sunday, Abedi said during the most recent meeting of the committee, it was emphasized that this person should not be allowed to enter the country.

Abedi, deputy chairperson of the Majlis Human Rights Committee, also said that the United States, Britain, and the Zionist regime are the greatest violators of human rights, and it would be better if the UN look into their human rights cases.

In addition, he pointed to the UN Fact Finding Mission’s report on war crimes committed by Israel during its 2008-2009 military offensive in Gaza, saying the UN failed to deal with the Zionist regime.

The Iranian lawmaker also said that the United States and Britain have dark human rights record as well.

MP Zohreh Elahian also said that Iran will not allow the UN Special Rapporteur to carry out his mission in the country.

Elahian, chairperson of the Majlis Human Rights Committee, made the remarks during a speech at the open session of the Majlis on Sunday.

The Islamic Republic of Iran full well knows the hidden agenda behind the human rights resolution that were adopted against it and will not bow to political pressure being exerted by certain other countries, she stated.

Elahian also said Iran has respect for the appointed rapporteur, who is a Muslim, but Iran is ready to welcome him as a tourist

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'Iran probes UN rights reporter entry'

A top Iranian judiciary official says the UN human rights special rapporteur has been appointed by the West, stressing that Iran is considering the possibility of his travel to the country.

In a move spearheaded by the United States, the UN Human Rights Council on Friday named former Maldivian Foreign Minister Ahmed Shaheed as its human rights investigator on Iran.

“If they (Western countries) investigate the issue of human rights in Iran in a fair and non-political way, they will understand that at the current juncture, the Islamic Republic is the only country that attaches the greatest significance to human rights principles,” Iranian Deputy Judiciary Chief Seyyed Ebrahim Raeisi told IRNA on Monday.

However, they will certainly make a mistake about Iran's human right issue if they pursue unfair approaches and are affected by opponents of the Islamic Republic who have secret links with political movements of the US and the arrogant system, he warned.

The senior Iranian judiciary official dismissed reports by foreign media against Iran and said such moves are pursuing political objectives.

Raeisi's remarks came a day after the Human Rights Committee of the Iranian Parliament (Majlis) decided to bar the UN human rights special rapporteur from entering the country.

“The United States, Israel and the UK are the biggest violators of human rights in the world and the United Nations Human Rights Committee should send their reporters to those countries instead of Iran,” said a member of the Majlis National Security and Foreign Policy Commission Mohammad Karim Abedi on Sunday.

Earlier this month, Iran's Foreign Ministry underlined the need for the international monitoring of human rights violations in Western countries and added that the ministry would actively pursue the case.

Iran slams the West for using human rights issue as a political means to pile up pressure on the Islamic Republic.

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VIEW FROM THE MALDIVES

Iran’s entry ban on Dr Shaheed dishonours Maldives foreign policy: Adhaalath

MALE, June 20 (HNS) – The Iranian parliament’s decision to prohibit the entry of UN Special Rapporteur on Iran, former Maldivian Foreign Minister Dr Ahmed Shaheed brings disgrace to the Maldives’ foreign policy and weakens the country’s reputation among Islamic states, religious conservative Adhaalath Party said today.

Sheikh Imran Abdulla, President of the party, said the decision “blotches the Maldives’ foreign policy” and that “Maldivians should be ashamed” because of the Islamic Republic’s decision.

“As far as I know this is the first time such a mission assigned to a Muslim country was returned. We, Maldivians, should be ashamed in front of the Muslim world,” he said.

“Tensions would rise between the Maldives and a state like Iran that has nuclear power. We, being a small Muslim nation, should take into consideration several matters before interfering in such matters of an Islamic state.”

Media reports, which referred to Iran’s official news agency, said the Human Rights Committee of the Iranian parliament made the decision to take measures to prohibit the entry of the newly appointed UN Special Rapporteur on Iran Dr Shaheed.

Imran, who believed that the Iranian parliament was forced to take the decision considering the country’s national security, said the country would study Dr Shaheed and his background before reaching such a decision.

“Iran would consider the relationship between Dr Shaheed and the Zionist state of Israel and the Maldivian [government’s] close ties with Israel. Iran would also study Dr Shaheef’s background,” he said.

The official news agency of Iran quoted MP Mohammad-Karim Abedi, Deputy Chairperson of the Human Rights Committee of the Iranian parliament, as saying that the United States, Britain, and the Israel were the greatest violators of human rights, and it would be better if the UN look into their human rights record.

Chairperson of the parliamentary Human Rights Committee Zohreh Elahian was also quoted by the news agency as saying that Iran is aware of the hidden agenda behind the human rights resolution that was adopted against it and will not bow to political pressure being exerted by other countries.

“Iran has respect for the appointed rapporteur, who is a Muslim, but Iran is ready to welcome him as a tourist,” she was quoted by the news agency.

The UN Human Rights Council Friday named Dr Shaheed as its human rights investigator on Iran, the first in nearly a decade.

The UN Human Rights Council established the independent post of special rapporteur on human rights in Iran on March 24, a move spearheaded by the United States that will subject Iran’s human rights record to evaluation.

Dr Shaheed’s appointment at the 17th session of the UN Human Rights Council was announced by the council’s spokesperson Cedric Sapey at the end of the three-week session.

Resolution 16/9, which established the post of Special Rapporteur on the Situation of Human Rights in Iran, calls upon “the Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran to cooperate fully with the Special Rapporteur and to permit access to visit the country as well as all information necessary to allow the fulfilment of the mandate”.

The resolution further requests Dr Shaheed to report to the UN General Assembly in New York this coming September with his interim findings, and then to submit a full report to the Human Rights Council in March 2012.

Even if the new rapporteur is not allowed into Iran, he would still be expected to contact the government frequently about allegations and produce an annual report incorporating testimony from activists and alleged victims of abuse.

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