Iran's deputy foreign minister for international and legal affairs said on Monday that the Iranians welcome the exchange of views with the West and human rights organizations, but the proud nation would not accept any kind of interfering viewpoints.
Mohsen Baharvand told Iran newspaper that the Islamic Republic has differences with some human rights organizations and Western countries on the implementation of citizenship rights.
According to the official, there is no fundamental difference with Western countries regarding the observance of human rights, but the mechanism of implementing the human rights and the West's political misuse of the issue are among the subjects of disagreement.
There are some judicial procedures in Iran that should be reviewed to stop Western states' exploitation, he said, condemning that the West is grappling with apparent violation of human rights within its own societies.
Baharvand pointed to the West's attempt to resort to human rights as pressure leverage on countries that they do not have friendly ties with, noting that the Western powers' critical stance toward Iran comes from their political motivations.
Referring to his recent speech at the Geneva University, the deputy minister underlined that the globally accepted human rights principles need to have a mechanism, which enables the implementation and inspection of the principles at the international level; thus, targeting certain countries and ignoring others' blatant human rights violations seem to be completely discriminatory.
However, he accepted, there need to be some reforms in certain laws and procedures as well as a number of misconducts by a few people in charge of dealing with the Iranian nation.
The Islamic Republic of Iran believes in respecting human rights as the main element to strengthen trust-building between the people and the government, he stated, noting that the observation of human rights would help economic growth and security enhancement in every society.
The states, which pay great attention to human rights, are well aware that the issue affects all other aspects of life; therefore, the judiciary systems play a key role in bolstering trust and confidence in all countries, he said, reasoning that there is a direct link between the rule of law and the economic development.
In conclusion, Baharvand said that countries should avoid interfering in other states' internal affairs, including issues related to judiciary procedures, but they could exchange views in order to provide each other with a precise understanding of their justice systems.