The Secretary-General of the High Council for Human Rights of the Islamic Republic of Iran said: “Iran, as a responsible Country, had already formed a committee to investigate the last fall developments, and therefore there was no need to establish another fact-finding mission by the United Nations Human Rights Council.”
Dr. Kazem Gharibabadi, the Vice-President of the Judiciary for International Affairs and the Secretary-General of the High Council for Human Rights, who traveled to Geneva to attend the 53rd Session of the Human Rights Council, presented the report of the Session in an interview with Mizan.
Pointing out that a part of today's Session of the Human Rights Council was devoted to the preliminary and oral report of the so-called fact-finding mission that the Human Rights Council formed in the fall of last year, Gharibabadi said: “On behalf of the Islamic Republic of Iran, I explained and presented the positions of our Country regarding the developments of last fall as well as the politically-motivated action of the Human Rights Council.”
The Secretay-General of the High Council for Human Rights added: “Some important points were emphasized today, but the main topic was the position of the Islamic Republic of Iran regarding the formation of the so-called fact-finding mission. The establishment of such a mission by the Human Rights Council, while we witness full-scale riots and non-peaceful gatherings, had no technical and legal basis. This is despite the fact that some countries and human rights mechanisms continue to refer to the 2022 riots in Iran as peaceful gatherings.”
Elsewhere in his remarks, the Vice-President of the Judiciary for International Affairs said he presented documents and evidence to the Human Rights Council to show why Iran refers to the 2022 unrest as full-scale riots. He noted: “Among the evidence I presented were the number of weapons seized during the riots, the number of arrested terrorists, the high rate of injuries inflicted on law enforcement forces, and the statistics of the large amount of private and government property destroyed.”
Dr. Gharibabadi further said: “On the other hand, I also emphasized that the Islamic Republic of Iran itself is a sovereign and responsible Country. If someone’s rights have been violated in dealing with the riots, it is the responsibility of the Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran to address this issue. To that end, the President has formed a Special Committee to investigate all aspects of developments surrounding last year’s incidents and to receive and handle complaints from individuals and law enforcement forces for any physical and financial damages. This bears witness to the Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran’s sense of responsibility. Therefore, there was no need to create another fact-finding mission.”
Pointing out that during the 53rd Session, he emphasized that some countries, especially France, were in a very acute situation, the Secretary-General of the High Council for Human Rights said: “We have seen the French police use extreme and excessive violence to quash the peaceful protesters. Countless arbitrary arrests occur in Frace, including arrests of women and children. Even Emmanuel Macron, the French President and Minister of Justice, announced that parents of under-18 children who participate in the protests must either pay a fine of 30,000 euros or face a two-year prison sentence simultaneously.”
Gharibabadi further noted: While mentioning this fact, I emphasized that the Human Rights Council should now examine the situation in France during an emergency session. Why are the so-called champions of human rights and international human rights mechanisms silent now?”
He added: “On the other hand, I also challenged the fact that those who requested an emergency session for Iran last year and created this so-called fact-finding mission are also widely violating the rights of women and children within their territory. For example, more than 2,100 women are killed annually in the United States, England, France, and Germany, and more than one million women are subjected to physical or sexual violence in these four countries that sponsored the main anti-Iranian resolution last year.”
The Secretay General of the High Council for Human Rights revealed: “These very countries did the most injustice to Iranian women and children. During the Session, I said more than 85 German companies, as well as more than 50 or 60 French, British, American, and Dutch companies, helped Saddam’s regime to arm itself with chemical weapons.”
Dr. Gharibabadi said that more than 13 thousand people in Iran were martyred, and over 100 thousand others were injured due to the chemical weapons. He added that as a result of the imposition and implementation of cruel unilateral sanctions by the United States and the implementation of the sanctions by the same countries that sponsored the anti-Iranian resolution, the rights of Iranian people, especially women and children, are widely violated.
The Vice-President of the Judiciary for International Affairs and the Secretary-General of the High Council for Human Rights concluded: “We drew the attention of the members of the Human Rights Council to the fact that these countries do not have the authority to claim that they protect the rights of women and children, especially in the Islamic Republic of Iran.”