TEHRAN- General Kazem Gharibabadi, secretary of Iran’s High Council for Human Rights, has called for an urgent meeting of the UN Human Rights Council to discuss the recent burning of the Holy Quran in Sweden.

Gharibabadi made the demand while speaking with Michelle Bachelet, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights on Thursday, in Geneva. 

He vehemently denounced the act and asked the UN council to take quick remedial measures.

Gharibabadi stressed that the act of desecration does not comply with freedom of expression and instead promotes violence and hatred.

On June 30, the Foreign Ministry reacted to the despicable act of burning the holy Quran by a Swedish fanatic and summoned the Scandinavian country’s chargé d’affaires to Tehran.

The ministry condemned the insult against the most important Islamic sanctities, saying the Swedish government’s silence and passive behavior embolden violators of one of the basic and obvious principles of human rights, namely the principle of respect for religious and divine values, the Foreign Ministry said in a statement. 

A Swedish court had given permission for two men to burn a copy of the Quran outside of Stockholm’s main mosque last week.

The act provoked great outrage in the Muslim world. 

Gharibabadi lambasted the UN human rights procedures for having double standards and urged the Human Rights Council to follow its fundamental objective.

He is currently leading Iran’s delegation at the 53rd session of the Human Rights Council, which is set to conclude on July 14.