TEHRAN - The lawmakers, who represent religious minorities in the Majlis, censured on Sunday an anti-Iran resolution by the United Nations General Assembly, calling the move a “politically-motivated” stance. 

In their statement, the representatives said the Canada-drafted UN resolution against Iran, although seemingly about human rights, is inherently a political statement and serves as a tool to exert more pressure on Iran.

On December 18, the UN General Assembly passed the resolution calling on Iran to stop committing human rights abuses. The measure proposed by Canada passed on a vote of 81-30, with 70 abstentions.

Part of the resolution called on Iran to release prisoners detained during the November protests. 

The representatives strongly condemned the resolution for its instrumental use of fundamental human rights concepts and described it as a “one-sided” and “biased” approach with double standards aimed at isolating Iran in the international arena.

Also in a statement on Thursday, Foreign Ministry spokesman Abbas Mousavi denounced the resolution as “politically-motivated”.

Mousavi said the resolution was partial, confrontational, based upon selective approaches, and meant to severe political objectives.

Mousavi said an obvious reason proving illegitimacy of the resolution was that it had been endorsed by the front of Zionism and the reactionary regional regimes, who ignore all kinds of human rights norms, sponsor terrorism and extremism, and violate the basic human rights.

“The political and instrumental use of human rights and the employment of double standards in this area are in contravention of the sustainable promotion of human rights,” the spokesman said.

“Despite this fact, the attitude of supporters of the resolution is adoption of ‘double standards’ on the status of human rights in the countries and referral of the issue to the international circles, particularly to the United Nations. Accordingly, we deplore the fact that the UN mechanisms have been subject to such abuses,” he added.

Mousavi also said the destructive approach that supporters of the resolution have adopted against Iran contains multiple errors and flaws, such as the instrumental and political employment of human rights, ignoring the values, the creeds, and the distinguishing cultural features of various societies, ignoring the facts under the influence of an anti-Iran media propaganda, and the disregard for and silence on the widespread violation of the Iranian nation’s human rights as a result of the cruel and illegal sanctions.

“The Islamic Republic of Iran is a democratic religious administration that has taken steps to promote and advance human rights at the national, regional and international levels within the framework of the religious and moral commitments and in conformity with its Constitution, normal regulations and the international treaties, and also feels practically obligated to observe them,” the spokesman added.