Tehran – Tehran on Tuesday said it would not accept a visit by the newly appointed United Nations human rights special rapporteur to Iran.
‘We have in the past cooperated with other UN rights envoys but as far as this case is concerned, the appointment was a politicized action and ignored all acknowledged general norms,’ Foreign Ministry spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast said.
‘Therefore the visit is unacceptable for Iran.’
Ahmed Shaheed, a former Maldivian foreign minister, is the first UN envoy to Iran to have the role of rapporteur since President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad came to power in 2005.
Tehran had earlier called the appointment ‘purely politically motivated through US pressure and therefore unjustifiable.’
The parliament’s Human Rights Committee also said Shaheed should not be allowed into the country. The committee said the UN should first examine human rights violations in the United States and Israel before criticizing Iran’s record.
The UN has several times voiced concern by what it saw as grave violations of human rights in Iran.
The UN has appointed rapporteurs for several nations regularly cited as human rights abusers, such as North Korea and Myanmar, or failed states, like Somalia.
source: http://www.freedomessenger.com/archives/29878
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