Iran rejects UN rights resolution as 'politically-motivated'

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Marzieh Afkham on Thursday dismissed the recent UN rights resolution against the Islamic republic as "politically- motivated", Press TV reported. Afkham said that the resolution was drafted based on websites run by the West and notorious terrorist groups. On Wednesday, the United Nations General Assembly condemned human rights violations in Iran, which was approved with 86 votes in favor, 36 against and 61 abstentions. The Islamic republic strongly rejects the instrumental and political use of human rights by Western countries against independent states, Afkham was quoted as saying. Western countries, which claim to be advocating human rights, have a "systematic and appalling" record of rights violations, she said. Iran has dismissed several times the reports by the UN human rights institutions, saying that they did not reflect the realities on the ground in the country.