Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian has accused Western countries of “inciting” unrest in Iran.
In a speech before the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva, Amir-Abdollahian defended the Iranian authorities’ handling of the protests that erupted last September following the death of the young woman, Mahsa Amini, while she was in police custody.
Amir-Abdollahian pointed out that Tehran has formed a committee to investigate all aspects of the “riots,” identify those responsible for the unrest, and “verify allegations and accusations against security forces.”
The foreign minister said that respect for human rights is a “fundamental value rooted” in the ruling establishment in Iran, adding that the Iranian authorities had “sympathized with Amini’s family.”
“No state or a group of states should entitle themselves to claim exclusive ownership or custody of human rights. Nor should any State coerce others into submitting to any self-styled interpretation of human rights,” said Amir-Abdollahian.
“I would like here to outline a few points concerning human rights and the way this lofty concept is projected, and unfortunately manipulated, for political purposes of a limited number of states,” he added, according to a statement released by the Foreign Ministry.
In November, the Human Rights Council approved sending an investigation committee to Iran to probe all violations related to the suppression of protests. Later in December, the UN decided to expel Iran from the UN Committee on Women's Rights.
According to the Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA), 530 demonstrators, including 71 minors, were killed in Iran. Authorities have also arrested about 20,000 during an oppressive campaign to quell the protests.
For her part, German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock denounced human rights violations and the suppression of protests in Iran.
Baerbock also demanded that any further executions be halted in Iran.
