In response to the statement issued against Iran on Friday morning by European countries, Esmaeil Baghaei Hamaneh said on Tuesday at the 45th session of the Human Rights Council, "The allegations raised in those statements are not corroborated by hard evidence or facts on the ground. They are mainly based on faulty generalization of twisted or incomplete information about certain individual cases."
"Human rights, civil, political, economic, social and cultural, are all interdependent, indivisible and interrelated. It has long been proven that external interferences are inherently antithetical to, and damaging for, the promotion of each and every one of these rights," he added.
He highlighted, "Iran’s determination for constant improvement of human rights in all its aspects is unwavering despite all the odds including systemic stigmatization as well as unlawful vindictive sanctions and belligerent bullying and pressure by the United States against the country."
Stating that the challenges Iran is facing in addressing the impact of COVID-19 pandemic are twofold, Baghaei Hamaneh said, "The challenges we’re facing are twofold due to inhuman unilateral coercive measures that are wickedly levied against Iran and are grossly violating the basic rights of my fellow Iranians to health and to life, including by blocking Iran’s access to medicine and medical devices."
He called the US criminal sanctions as truly the main cause of gross and widespread violations of human rights in the targeted nations, warning, "Those few States that instigated the initiative of making joint statement against Iran consciously chose to ignore this grave injustice and blatant wrongful act, knowing that they as well share responsibility for the consequences of the US lawless and criminal behavior due to their failure to honor their own commitments vis-à-vis Iran and because of their appeasement approach toward the US illegality."
"Iran is well aware of the substantial importance of constructive engagement with all responsible stakeholders that appreciate the value of interactive dialogue, and do not regard human rights as a bargaining chip to appease their friends and antagonize those who perceive as their adversaries," he added.
Noting that the Islamic Republic of Iran is interested in dialogue based on respect with the interested parties on the promotion of human rights, Baghaei Hamaneh said, "Our engagement with the UN human rights mechanisms including the Office of the High Commissioner is long standing and productive."
"The Judiciary in the Islamic Republic of Iran is independent and committed to due process in accordance with the applicable laws and regulations as well as Iran’s obligations under relevant international instruments we have accepted," he added.
He highlighted, "No country or groups of countries are entitled to impose their way of thinking or their legal systems on others," adding, "The domestic legal systems of countries are informed on the basis of the specificities of each society as well as relevant norms, rules and principles shared among nations, and should be respected as manifestation of their sovereignty."
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh has slammed the European Union’s unacceptable move to issue a joint statement against Iran at the Human Rights Council.
Such a statement with a selective and baseless stance lacks validity and credibility, the Iranian official said, adding that the EU statement fundamentally runs counter to the approach to promotion of human rights.
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