TEHRAN – Head of the Iranian Judiciary’s High Council for Human Rights, Ali Bagheri-Kani, has strongly criticized UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres for ignoring U.S. violation of Iranians' rights through inhumane sanctions, while at the same time attacking Iran’s human rights performance.

In remarks on Monday, Bagheri-Kani condemned certain countries for attempting to pass an anti-Iran rights resolution at the United Nations General Assembly’s Third Committee, highlighting bleak rights records of the sponsors of the draft resolution.

He said Canada, which is the main driving force behind rights resolution against Iran, has a record of systematic violation of human rights, including against the country’s native population while being among top countries in terms of violence against women and girls.

“There is no logic behind inattention of the secretary general’s report to violation of the Iranian nation’s rights through imposition of sanction by the U.S. regime.”

“Those who are behind this resolution are the same countries, which have given refuge to terrorist groups that have killed thousands of Iranians ... or have been following suit with the United States’ “maximum pressure” campaign by implementing Washington’s unjust and illegal sanctions against the Iranian nation,” the official said, Press TV reported.

The human rights official then noted that the Canada-drafted resolution is based on a report by Guterres, which “suffers from many shortcomings and contradictions.”

“There is no logic behind inattention of the secretary general’s report to violation of the Iranian nation’s rights through imposition of sanction by the U.S. regime, which are also being observed by other Western countries, and their impact on the economic and livelihood situation of the Iranian people,” he added.

Last week, Iran censured the United States over its unilateral sanctions against nations, describing such measures as a serious violation of human rights.

Seyed Mohammad Sadatinejad, who is in charge of human rights issues at the Iranian mission to the UN in Geneva, urged Washington at the UN rights council to abandon such abuses and work instead to compensate for them.

In similar remarks in September, Iran’s ambassador and permanent representative to the UN office in Geneva said U.S. sanctions on Iran amount to “crimes against humanity”.

The imposition of unilateral sanctions is an international offence, Esmaeil Baghaei Hamaneh said in a statement to the regular session of the UN Human Rights Council.

Baghaei Hamaneh said those who imposed such sanctions and those who enforced them will both be held responsible in the international arena.

He also called for shared efforts and tough stance of the international community against the injustice.

MH/PA