TEHRAN - Kazem Gharibabadi, secretary general of Iran’s High Council for Human Rights has blasted international institutions for failing to take a stand against the degradation of human rights conditions in Western nations.

“The world suffers from fundamental challenges and dilemmas regarding human rights, mainly caused by the actions of countries that claim to be defending human rights and see themselves in the position of making demands of others and being immune from any criticism and responsibility,” Gharibabadi said in a letter on Saturday to Volker Turk, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights.

“In these circumstances, it is crucial for the international human rights institutions to uphold independence, impartiality, professionalism, and non-selectivity in order to protect and advance human rights. Adopting politically-motivated and selective approaches is harmful to human rights, does a terrible injustice to them, and undermines public confidence in human rights procedures,” added Gharibabadi who is also deputy Judiciary chief for foreign affairs.

He alerted the commissioner to “certain circumstances during the last six months in numerous nations involving the right to freedom of assembly and of association,” noting that “France often observes enormous public protests against the government’s policies.”

The human rights chief went on to say, “Up to two million people have taken part in demonstrations in some instances. The French government used extensive violence to disperse the protests rather than paying attention to their concerns and working to improve the situation. The French government’s response included using anti-riot equipment, beating civilians, and rounding up thousands of demonstrators.”

Gharibabadi also highlighted that “Britain amended the Public Order Bill to give police more authority to deal with demonstrators following outlawing environmental gatherings in 2019. The Public Order Bill, also known as the ‘repression bill,’ criminalizes assemblies under the pretext of denying public comfort and carries a sentence of up to 10 years in prison.”

In response to recent riots in Iran, the chief of Iran’s High Council for Human Rights stated, “Triggered by incitement and support from specific states, media outlets, and terrorist groups, recent gatherings in the Islamic Republic of Iran diverged from their peaceful nature and morphed into riots, causing violations of citizens’ fundamental rights, including but not limited to the right to personal liberty and security, the right to freedom of movement.”

He concluded the letter by reminding the commissioner of its duties and responsibilities, asking why it gives the cold shoulder to human rights’ infringement perpetrated by certain Western nations.