HCHR_ Khaled Shawani, the Minister of Justice of Iraq, who traveled to Tehran at the head of a delegation, met with Naser Seraj, the Vice President of the Judiciary for International Affairs and the Secretary General of the High Council for Human Rights of the Islamic Republic of Iran, on Monday evening, June 2, 2025, and discussed various legal and judicial issues.
At the beginning of this meeting, while welcoming the Iraqi delegation, Seraj thanked Baghdad for hosting the Iranian delegation and said: “The relations between the two countries of Iran and Iraq are strategic, and we hope that these relations will strengthen and deepen every day, especially in relation to legal and judicial issues”.
The Vice President of the Judiciary for International Affairs, pointing out that relations between the two countries have strengthened in recent years, especially during the presidency of Hojjatoleslam Walmuslim Mohseni Ejei and Faegh Zidan, the heads of the Judiciary in Tehran and Baghdad, added: “Recently, 10 Iraqi judges were in Iran, and we’re planning to send 10 Iranian judges to Iraq in the future”.
Stating that the High Council for Human Rights has an official history of more than 20 years, the Vice President of the Judiciary said: “The head of the Judiciary is the head of the HCHR of the Islamic Republic of Iran, and the Secretary General of this Council is appointed by the Head. 20 high-ranking officials of the Islamic Republic of Iran, including the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court and the Attorney General of the country, and other officials, are members of this Council. 10 duties are set out for the HCHR in the Law, and the HCHR can take measures in human rights aspects of all matters, and it has close relations with all domestic and international institutions and organizations”.
Seraj continued: “Human rights have become a tool in the hands of some countries, through which they put pressure on independent countries. While human rights were introduced in Islam 1400 years ago, and if it had been implemented, the Zionist regime would not have been able to martyr or injure this many Palestinians”.
He emphasized: “When this executioner (Netanyahu) entered the US Congress, American officials stood for several minutes and applauded this criminal. They are united in their disbelief, but unfortunately, Islamic countries are divided and do not act in harmony”.
The Secretary General of the HCHR reminded: “The Zionist regime targets children and women, bombs schools and hospitals, but no one does anything. Even breathing has become difficult for the people of Gaza”.
He continued, referring to the crimes committed by the MKO in Iran and Iraq, which are no less than the crimes of the Zionist regime, saying that: “The MKO in Iran alone martyred 17,000 officials and civilians in Tehran and other cities. This group was once on the terrorist list of Europe and America. Now the question is this: why was it removed from this list? This is American and Western human rights”.
The Vice President for International Affairs of the Judiciary also stated: “Iran and Iraq are one hundred percent sure and in agreement that the MKO are criminals”.
Relations between the Islamic Republic of Iran and Iraq are strong and long-standing
Following the meeting, saying that the meeting between Iran and Iraq in Baghdad was very useful, the Iraqi Minister of Justice Khaled Shawani stated: “Relations between the Islamic Republic of Iran and Iraq are strong and long-standing”.
He added: “The Ministry of Justice of Iraq, along with the government of Iraq, is trying to strengthen relations with the Iranian side. We are not only friendly and brotherly countries, but also have strategic relations. During this visit, we talked about legal and international issues with Judge Rahimi and had a meeting with Mr. Montazeri, the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, and discussed bilateral legal and judicial cooperation”.
The Minister of Justice of Iraq emphasized: “We want the relationship between the Justice Departments to be on par with political relations. We would like to have joint mechanisms with the Justice Department and the Judiciary”.
He also said: “The Iraqi government attaches great importance to the common issues of human rights, law and justice between the two countries. The implementation of Iraq's obligations to international conventions is the responsibility of the Iraqi Justice Department. The level of human rights in this Iraqi government has increased. We hope to have cooperation in the field of human rights, especially since these two countries were subjected to a sinister attack in the field of human rights”.
In another part, Shawani said: “We in Iraq suffer from the efforts of some organizations that have sinister and specific goals and want to shape public opinion as they wish. The representative of the Zionist regime issued a false report against us and we said that it is you who are violating the laws and human rights in the worst way. According to Iraqi laws, we should not have relations with the Zionist regime and any normalization of relations is criminalized and we will never even respond directly to this regime”.
Signing a Memorandum of Understanding on Cooperation in the Field of Human Rights between the HCHR and the Ministry of Justice of Iraq
Following the meeting of the high judicial officials of Iran and Iraq in order to achieve fruitful cooperation in the field of human rights, a Memorandum of Understanding on Cooperation in the Field of Human Rights was signed between the HCHR of the Islamic Republic of Iran and the Ministry of Justice of Iraq within the framework of legal regulations and in accordance with the national laws and regulations of both countries.
The purpose of this Memorandum of Understanding, which has 10 clauses and will be in effect for 5 years, is to exchange knowledge, expertise, mutual cooperation and benefit from the experiences of the two countries in order to strengthen the mechanisms for the protection of human rights at the national and international levels.
The main human rights issues agreed upon between the two countries in this meeting are as follows:
- Exchange of experiences and expertise to defend human rights.
- Cooperation in combating intellectual extremism and condemning terrorism and terrorist groups.
- Benefiting from the experience of the parties in the process of managing prisons and empowering them.
- Exchange of publications, research and books in the field of children's education and the rights of minorities and women.
- Benefiting from the experiences of the two countries in monitoring reports and periodic reviews related to human rights.
- Carrying out media awareness activities regarding human rights by the parties.
Recognizing the important and effective role that non-governmental organizations registered in both countries play in consolidating and strengthening human rights and citizens' rights, the parties emphasized supporting these organizations and establishing and strengthening them in accordance with the laws of the two countries.