World Human Rights Day
Seventy-four years ago on this day, December 10, 1948, while about three years had passed since the end of World War II, the United Nations General Assembly approved the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
According to many, this declaration is the most important document adopted by the United Nations. In the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, for the first time, member states with different religions, cultures and backgrounds agreed on inalienable human rights. Although many believe that this declaration cannot be considered a text accepted by all existing cultures.
The Universal Declaration begins by pointing out that “the inherent dignity of all members of the human family is the foundation of freedom, justice and peace in the world.”
This declaration also emphasizes that human rights are universal, meaning that all human beings have these rights equally, regardless of age, gender, ethnic and national affiliation, skin color, language, place of residence and occupation.
The aforementioned declaration has 30 articles, which include civil and political rights such as the right to life, liberty, freedom of speech and privacy and economic, social and cultural rights such as social security, health and education.
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights has been translated into more than 500 languages in the world, which somehow has the record of translating a text into different languages of the world.
The research group of OFOHR holds a meeting entitled “The Place of Human Rights in contemporary World” in accordance with “World Human Rights Day”. In this specialized meeting, Dr. Mohammad Sadatinejad gives a speech on the topic of “Negative effects of using human rights as a political tool against countries” and Dr. Mohammad Ali Basiri on the topic of “The role of international organizations in justifying human rights violations.”
The text of Dr. Sadati Nejad’s speech
Abusing Human rights as a political tool: Negative impacts and damages
One of the main challenges today for human rights, is abusing human rights as a political tool against targeted countries such as Iran, China, Russia, and other independent States. Some western States, like US, UK, Germany, France and EU are abusing human rights as a political tool to coerce other states to submit to their wills and to follow their rules or at least to increase their costs.
In this line, I would like to review the approach of these countries in the Human Rights Council since its establishment in 15 March 2006 by resolution 60/251. The review confirms that the same reason that the Commission on Human Rights was dismantled is going to be repeated.
As you know, the commission as a subsidiary body of ECOSOC established in 1946. It composed of 53 members. Though some western cycles want to pretend that the reason for dismantling the Commission, was because its membership included countries with poor human rights records but It therefore was replaced by the UN Human Rights Council in 2006, because it was negatively affected and undermined as a result of extreme politicization,
After 16 years, unfortunately the Council also is suffering from the same challenge. As a result of severe politicization of the human rights and the Council, the number of Special Sessions is increasing of which the last one (35th) focused on Iran. Only in 2021, 5 special sessions were held. This is while the Special Sessions are considered to be for urgent human rights issues and crisis. The situation in Iran was an internal issue and several mechanisms established by Iran to address the issue and more than 20 reports sent to the human rights mechanism to elaborate on Iran`s activities to address the human rights aspects. But without listening to Iran and in a hasty approach some western States like Germany pushed to hold a Special Session on Iran.
Reviewing the trend of holding the Special Session confirms that though it was originally considered to be held for deteriorating human rights situation in Palestine and other conflict zone areas, gradually it became a tool for targeting countries and situations that are against the western policies. From all of 35 Special Session only 2 of them held about global crisis like the crisis of food and financial crisis in 2008 and 2009. In 2011, in a year, four Special Sessions were held about Syria to put pressure on the Syrian government. While there are many other conflict zones around the world like the situation in Yemen and no Special Session was held about it. Or during the Covid 19, there was no Special Session about the situation of covid and its human rights emergencies.
Reviewing the Mandates created by the Human Rights Council is also another evidence which confirms the claim of my statement. From 13 country mandate holders established since the creation of the Human Rights Council, none of them is about western countries. They are about Iran, Belarus, Mali, Eritrea, Cambodia, Somali, Myanmar, Syria, Brandi, Afghanistan, DPRK. One cannot say that here are no human rights violations in the west countries. They are also violating the human rights of other nations. Imposing Unilateral Coercive Measures against Iran and other nations is one example. Selling arms to our region and supporting terrorism and terrorist groups is another example. In these countries, there are also situations of violating the rights of African decedents, Muslims, refugees, migrants, etc. But because of the composition of the Council and their pressure on members, they do not let such mechanism and mandates to be put in place for the violation of their countries.
Besides, just recently, during the 51 Session of HRC in 2022, a Special Rapporteur on Russia was established. Attempt to establish a monitoring and reporting mechanism for China was defeated in voting.
It is evident that imposing country specific resolutions and mandates on the Human Rights Council have become a tool in the hands of western countries, in line with their political interests. They are targeting independent states in the Council, while they are silent about the violations in their allied countries,
Iran is one of the countries that has been systematically targeted by western States in the Council and the Commission since the Islamic Revolution. After the HRC was established, a Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran established in 2011, to monitor the situation in the Islamic Republic of Iran. A new mechanism of FFM was also established just a few days ago during the 35 Special Session on 24 November 2022.
This is while, there are already several parallel reporting and monitoring mechanisms about Iran. The politically motivated resolution by Canada in the General Assembly asks the Secretary General each year to monitor the situation of human rights in Iran and prepare two reports to the General Assembly and the Human Rights Council.
The politically motivated resolution by UK and Island in the Human Rights Council also establishes a Special Rapporteur on Iran and ask the SR to prepare two reports to the General Assembly and the Human Rights Council annually.
These reported mechanisms only produces twisted narratives and negative cliché about Iran. They ignore positive developments in Iran and only repeat the exaggerated reports produced and disseminated by anti-Iranian cycles.
The reports undermine the negative impacts of the unilateral coercive measures against Iran and are most of the time silent about their negative impacts while the SR on UCMs after her visit to Iran on 7-18 May 2022 elaborated on the sever negative impacts of UCMs on the human rights of the Iranians, in particular children and patients affected by rare diseases.
Iran believes that the situation of its human rights is like many other countries and there is not any specificity that needs to have a Special Rapporteur or FFM on Iran. On the other side, based on international human rights documents, all human rights are indivisible and interdependent. If one talks about civil and political rights, he/she shall talk about the economic, social and cultural rights as well, one cannot talk about civil and political violations of human rights without talking about violation of economic and social human rights by imposing unilateral coercive measures.
If a special session is holding on Iran, there should be a special session about violation of human rights of Yamani’s, Palestinians, Syrians, and about aggressions, occupations, racism, UCMs etc. as well.
Human rights is universal, and indivisible, interdependent. Adopting discriminative, selective and politically motivated approaches shall be avoided. Human rights mechanism shall have a balanced, unbiased and equal approach towards situation of human rights in all countries. UPR is one of the balanced mechanisms which addresses all human rights situations. All states and experts shall reject politicisation and selective approaches to target a few countries. This is against human rights and undermines human rights.
The text of Dr. Basiri’s speech
The role of international organizations in justifying human rights violations by states claiming human rights
In order to examine the role of international organizations to justify the violation of human rights by governments claiming human rights, the following points should be considered as important issues.
1- The most important goal of international organizations and international human rights has been to maintain international peace and security. In fact, three generations of human rights documents, the formation of the Human Rights Council has been a software step to achieve international peace and security.
2- The existing international system, international institutions, international law, especially the branch of international human rights, have all been the ideology of the victorious powers of the Second World War. Its main purpose is to maintain the position and long-term interests of these powers. According to these institutions, they constantly support the position and performance of these powers, even if they violate human rights with justification and negligence. For example, the United States of America, England, France, etc. have been repeatedly accused of violating human rights inside or outside their country, but international organizations such as the United Nations General Assembly or the previous Commission or the current Human Rights Council Either they didn’t pay attention, or they justified their performance, or they passed by it with negligence and formality.
3- Although the basis of human rights is based on the centrality of justice and the centrality of international politics is based on the centrality of power, always, especially in the past decades, whenever international human rights and international politics have come into conflict with each other, always international politics is based on power. Human rights based on justice have been overcome. In other words, because in international politics, the power of the big powers that claim human rights prevails, they turn human rights and the institutions in charge of them into their toys and tools and force them to either keep silent about human rights violations by them or even to justify their human rights violations.
4- Human rights instruments include the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the International Convention on Civil and Political Rights, the International Convention on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights along with some international human rights instruments, sometimes called the International Bill of Human Rights, which It was the founder and initiator of the great powers that won World War II, which forced other governments to accept it. The lack of adherence in cases that are not required by their national interests and security has happened many times in the past few decades, and no serious action has been taken by these responsible institutions against these great powers, or they have even justified their human rights violations.
5- These human rights instruments are divided into two categories: A- Statements issued by institutions such as the United Nations General Assembly or the Human Rights Council, which are not legally binding, although they have a propaganda and condemnation aspect from a political point of view. B- International conventions and treaties that are legally binding instruments under international law. Human rights organizations have made less practical and effective use of both cases, mainly against the great powers that violate human rights.
6- Unfortunately, the institutions established in the field of human rights, rather than paying attention to its human and moral content, are captive to holding meetings, reviewing reports, approving resolutions and announcements, political choices with financial support to work in their institutions and so on. The international community should pay attention to what is happening in some regions of the world, such as Yemen, Palestine, Afghanistan, Iraq, etc. in the past, present and future. An even fleeting look at the lives of millions of people from different human generations in those countries that have been involved in conflict and its effects for years and in the pathetic indifference of the world powers claiming human rights and the income from the sale of arms, have been victims, it is enough to understand the level of attention to human rights and the trust of the political leaders of the great powers and the human rights institutions created by them. In practice, for such cases, the United Nations General Assembly and Human Rights Council have not effectively intervened, and neither a statement nor a fact-finding committee has been formed.
7- Another example is the inaction of human rights organizations in front of the inhuman use of sanctions against weak nations. A tool that should be used to defend the people suffering from violations of international peace and security in these countries. Sanctions by great powers claiming human rights historically began at the international level since the time of the League of Nations. Sanction is a non-coercive alternative to military war, which is considered another type of war. In fact, it is an economic war that uses or threatens to use economic tools against a government to weaken its economy and with the aim of reducing its political-military power, which is actually a war. Sanctions limit the target country’s access to financial and technical resources, the ability to benefit from trade and other factors so that the sanctioning country achieves its goal. Victory in this war depends on a set of factors like a military war. Its effects will bring unwanted or unwanted political and social and especially humanitarian consequences on the sanctioned government in the present and future. However, the principle to consider is that if sanctions are applied without political intent, it will have effects against human rights and humanitarian rights on the sanctioned nation. The embargoing powers claiming human rights and the human rights organizations created by them are mostly either silent in these cases or justify the economic embargo and ignore its anti-human rights effects.
8- The imposition of unilateral economic and trade sanctions against Iran, Cuba, Venezuela, Russia, Turkey, China, etc. are clear examples of human rights violations. In addition to the clear violation of the right to development of nations and the violation of the economic and social rights of individuals, these sanctions violate the principle of the right to self-determination and the right to sovereignty of the members of the international community. Human beings are either silent in these cases or justify these actions for the benefit of great powers.
9- Some countries feel that they have been unfairly targeted by the United Nations Human Rights Council. Most of the resolutions of the United Nations Human Rights Council have targeted governments, developing countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America, etc. While richer and more powerful countries are never considered in this institution in cases of human rights violations. For example, there has never been any resolution directly pointing the finger of blame at U.S.A, England, or France, etc., for the abuse of human rights in Iraq, Afghanistan, Yemen, etc. against these countries. Or no human rights resolutions have been issued against these great powers because of their police brutality and racism against their own citizens. In the absence of condemnation of human rights, these cases are proof examples that human rights organizations actually justify human rights violations by governments claiming human rights.