TEHRAN -- Iran censured the European Union and the United States at a session of the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva on Saturday.

Alireza Mo’ayeri, Iran’s representative to the United Nations office in Geneva, criticized European Union countries for their failure to take action to address the discrimination against religious and ethnic minorities in EU states and slammed the United States’ poor record on human rights issues.
The seventh session of the United Nations Human Rights Council started in Geneva on March 3 and will continue until March 28.
The Human Rights Council is an international body established to address human rights violations. The Council is the successor to the United Nations Commission on Human Rights.
Mo’ayeri stated that the Bush administration’s recent veto of an anti-torture bill is a clear sign of the United States’ disregard for international norms. He also expressed regret over the inhumane actions of the United States at the Guantanamo Bay detention camp and Abu Ghraib prison.
Mo’ayeri expressed concern over the rise in Islamophobia and disrespect for certain religious beliefs in EU countries.
He also criticized France for the social restrictions imposed on Muslims living in the country and its unfair treatment of religious minorities, certain cases of torture, mistreatment of prisoners, and police brutality.
He condemned Britain and Canada for their lax observation of human rights.
Mo’ayeri also expressed concern over the Danish newspapers’ sacrilegious insults directed at the Prophet Muhammad (S) and said that this is an example of the abuse of the right to freedom of expression