UNITED NATIONS, New York The Iranian Foreign Ministry's Director for Human Rights Department, Hossein Rezvani, said here on Thursday afternoon that the current political momentum and the trend of reform in Iran have been institutionalized and are irreversible.
Addressing the UN General Assembly's Third Committee, he stressed that it is a process rooted in the will of the people and enjoying the consensus of the establishment.
Rezvani, who spoke at the session in response to an annual report released by the UN Special Representative on Human Rights, Maurice Copithorne, touching on the human rights situation in the Islamic Republic of Iran, said that President Mohammad Khatami's popular government is determined to promote an environment in which members of his administration and the people would be part of a mutual learning process in the enjoyment of freedom.
Considering the current situation in the country, any initiative by the European Union (EU) on the subject of human rights must be constructive, encouraging and providing incentives and impetus to consolidating the ongoing reform program in Iran, he said, stressing that the traditional and seemingly endless monitoring of the human rights situation in Iran through annual resolutions does exactly the opposite.
A constructive approach to the issue of human rights in Iran requires close cooperation between the sponsors of resolutions and the Iranian government, with the end in view of working out a decision in the third committee to end this unhealthy and unproductive experience.
Elsewhere in his speech, Rezvani said that in accordance with traditionally established procedure and in compliance with prearranged and pre-designed program of work, the human rights situation in certain countries, including that of the Islamic Republic of Iran, is once again on the agenda of the third committee.
The disturbing point which immediately pops up in the mind of any impartial observer acquainted with the current situation is whether this traditional method of assessing the human rights situation in Iran is the result of a participatory, comprehensive, consensual and updated process of decision-making, or whether it is in fact a biased and routine exercise, devoid of merit or a just criteria, and vigorously pursued without considering today's realities and evolving circumstances for the sake of pursuing the political interest or ulterior objectives of a few, the Iranian envoy asked.
"Based on prevailing, factual circumstances, there is no doubt that my country, the Islamic Republic of Iran, would have been taken out from the list of countries whose human rights situation deserved some sort of international scrutiny," he reiterated.
As stressed during previous sessions of this August body, as well as that of the Commission on Human Rights, on account of the dimension, scope, sustainability and inclusiveness of ongoing popular, democratic and pluralistic reform programs initiated by the Khatami administration and advancements and improvements achieved so far, the human rights situation in Iran now is such that a new, innovative and constructive approach should be taken by the international community in its assessment in line with its desired goals of encouragement and cooperation.
The merit, as well as the Raison D'etre, of the resolutions have long diminished, rapidly removing their legitimacy and credibility, if ever they had, he said, adding that the irrefutable evidence supporting this valid observation is the result of votes at the 54th Session of General Assembly and that of the 56th of Commission on Human Rights which clearly indicated that the overwhelming majority of United Nations member states do not support the abovementioned annual political reviews.
Briefing the audience on certain outstanding developments and achievements in the field of human rights in Iran, Rezvani quoted some observations made by Copithorne in the Islamic Republic of Iran in his statement to the third committee on November 1.
(IRNA)