Iran says UNHRC resolution lacks ‘legitimacy’

TEHRAN, Iran

Iran on Wednesday dismissed a United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) resolution extending the mandate of the special rapporteur on the human rights situation in the Islamic Republic, saying the resolution lacks “international legitimacy and consensus”.

On Tuesday, the UN rights body adopted the resolution by 21-12 votes and 14 abstentions to extend the rapporteur’s mandate for one more year.

Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh said the resolution was the result of "dispersed votes" with European countries making the push.

"What has happened in the last 10 years (since March 2011) in the UNHRC resolutions is practically a one-sided accusation by the founders of the resolution and the supporters of the special rapporteur agenda against Iran," Khatibzadeh said in a statement.

The special rapporteur is supposed to submit a report on the implementation of the mandate to the council at its 49th session and to the UN General Assembly at its 76th session, the UNHRC said in a statement.

The council also called upon Tehran to "cooperate fully with the special rapporteur and to permit access to visit the country and to provide all information necessary to allow the fulfillment of the mandate".

Khatibzadeh said the reports of the UNHRC special rapporteur "do not refer to deaths of dozens of innocent children and hundreds of patients due to difficultly in accessing medicine and medical equipment," in reference to US sanctions.

"Countries that violate the rights of other nations cannot be in the position of claimant or judge of the human rights situation in a country, but they must be held accountable for their crimes in gross violation of human rights," he said.

The UNHRC had in March 2011 adopted a resolution re-establishing the mandate of a special rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Iran, after a gap of nine years.