Tehran rejects UN extension of Iran rights rapporteur's mandate

Iran on Friday rejected the United Nations Human Rights Council (OHCHR)'s resolution extending for a further year the mandate of the UN Special Rapporteur on the human rights situation in the Islamic Republic Ahmed Shaheed. Tehran described the resolution as unjustifiable, counter-productive, selective, politically motivated move. It added that the move shows the double standards applied by the UN organization in dealing with human rights situation in different countries. Iran questioned the need for the extension of Shaheed's mandate as it already cooperates with all relevant international organizations and provides a periodical report about the human rights situation in the Islamic Republic to the OHCHR. The UN Human rights Council decides on Thursday to extend the mandate of the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Iran for a further period of one year. The resolution presented by several western countries adopted by 26-2 vote and 17 abstentions. The resolution requests the Special Rapporteur to submit reports on the implementation of his mandate to the Human Rights Council at its twenty-fifth session and to the General Assembly at its sixty-eighth session. It also calls upon the Government of Iran to cooperate fully with the Special Rapporteur and to permit access to visit the country as well as to provide all information necessary to allow the fulfillment of the mandate. The resolution welcomed the report and recommendations of the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Iran submitted to the Human Rights Council and expressing serious concern at the developments noted in that report as well as the lack of access permitted to the Special Rapporteur to travel to Iran. The resolution recalling Human Rights Council resolutions 5/1, on the institution-building of the Council, and 5/2, on the code of conduct for special procedures mandate holders of the Council, of 18 June 2007. It is guided by the Charter of the United Nations, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the International Covenants on Human Rights and other relevant international human rights instruments. Recalling Human Rights Council resolutions 16/9 of 24 March 2011 and 19/12 of 22 March 2012, General Assembly resolution 67/182 of 20 December 2012 and all previous resolutions of the General Assembly on the situation of human rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran, and regretting the lack of cooperation of the Islamic Republic of Iran with the requests of the Council and the Assembly made in those resolutions.