Russia Deems Iran Human Rights Investigation Illegitimate — Envoy

Gennady Gatilov stressed that such a decision had a "purely political context" and was aimed at blaming the Iranian authorities, simply because the West finds them distasteful

Russian Permanent Representative to the UN Office and Other International Organizations in Geneva Gennady Gatilov EPA-EFE/SALVATORE DI NOLFI

Russian Permanent Representative to the UN Office and Other International Organizations in Geneva Gennady Gatilov

© EPA-EFE/SALVATORE DI NOLFI

MOSCOW, November 25. /TASS/. Russia believes that the resolution to create an international mission to investigate the rumored human rights violations during the protests in Iran, adopted the day before under a relevant resolution of the UN Human Rights Council (HRC) at a special session in Geneva is not legitimate, Russia’s permanent representative to the UN office and other international organizations in Geneva, Gennady Gatilov, said on the Rossiya-24 TV channel on Friday.

He stressed that such a decision had a "purely political context" and was aimed at blaming the Iranian authorities, simply because the West finds them distasteful.

"We consider this illegitimate, because such things should be created with the consent of the country concerned. In this particular case, no consultations or agreements on the creation of such a mechanism with Iran have been held or implemented. All this is aimed at exerting political pressure on Iran," Gatilov pointed out.

The authors of this initiative would be better served to focus on the problems of their own countries, Russia’s envoy believes. Otherwise, "this all looks like a clear case of double standards."

"What happened on Capitol Hill (January 6, 2021, supporters of former President Donald Trump broke into the building of the US Congress in an attempt to prevent the approval of election returns - TASS) is regarded by them as an attack on democracy, while the same incidents in other countries are presented as ‘the right to express an opinion’. Clearly, we are seeing double standards and a politicization of the situation," he concluded.

The corresponding resolution, which was actively promoted by the United States and other Western countries, was approved by 25 delegations out of the 47 HRC members; 6 countries, including Armenia, China and Cuba, voted against, and 16 states abstained.

Unrest in Iran

The current unrest in Iran began on September 16 after the funeral of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini. According to the official version, the police detained the young woman for improperly wearing her headscarf. During interrogation, she suffered a heart attack from which she died. However, rumors on social media said that Amini had been beaten by police. On October 7, Iran’s National Forensic Medicine Organization released an official report stating that Amini had suffered no injuries.