Liu Hua, Special Representative for Human Rights of the Chinese Foreign Ministry, told the on-going 43rd Session of the UN Human Rights Council that imposing external mechanisms without the consent of the countries is not conducive to dialogue and cooperation, and does not play a role in promoting and protecting human rights, Xinhua reported.

Liu said that the international community should treat the human rights situation of Iran in an objective and fair manner, understand the challenges Iran faces as a developing country in promoting and protecting human rights, and listen more to the Iranian government and the demands of its people.

The unilateral sanctions imposed by relevant countries on Iran have had a significant negative impact on the human rights of the Iranian people, and have also restricted the United Nations and other organizations from providing humanitarian assistance to Iran, she said.

The Chinese diplomat highlighted that it is a crucial time at this moment for the Iranian government and its people to fight the coronavirus epidemic.

“China is providing support to the Iranian side within its capacity, including providing testing kits and other anti-epidemic materials and sending a team of volunteer experts to help Iran fight the epidemic. China also calls on all parties to strengthen cooperation with Iran on epidemic prevention,” Liu said.

She also highlighted that China has always advocated that all countries should address human rights issues through constructive dialogue and cooperation, oppose politicization, selectivity, double standards, and confrontational practices, and does not support the practice of “naming and shaming” and publicly pressuring.

Iran and the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council – the United States, France, Britain, Russia, and China – plus Germany signed the nuclear agreement on July 14, 2015, and started implementing it on January 16, 2016.

Under the deal, Iran undertook to put limits on its nuclear program in exchange for the removal of nuclear-related sanctions.

However, US President Donald Trump pulled his country out of the international nuclear deal in May 2018 and stepped up sanctions on the Islamic Republic.

Since May, Iran has rowed back on its nuclear commitments five times in compliance with articles 26 and 36 of the deal.

Iran says its reciprocal measures will be reversible as soon as Europe finds practical ways to shield the Iranian economy from unilateral US sanctions, which were imposed last year when Washington withdrew from the nuclear deal.

The European signatories to the agreement have so far failed to uphold their commitments. They have expressed vocal support for the deal but failed to provide meaningful economic incentives as required under the nuclear agreement.