Iran warns against use of human rights as a tool for political gains

TEHRAN (Iran News) Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has expressed concern that some countries are using human rights as a tool to exert political and economic pressure on other nations or interfere in their internal affairs.

Addressing the 58th session of the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva on Monday, Araghchi said that certain governments exploit this institution to advance their own agendas, emphasizing that human rights should be pursued in an atmosphere of mutual respect and non-interference.

“We call on all governments to work toward protecting and promoting human rights based on the principles of fairness and impartiality,” he said.

The top diplomat identified unilateral coercive measures as one of the biggest obstacles to the realization of human rights at the international level. “These measures have a destructive impact on ordinary people and vulnerable groups, namely women, children, the elderly, and the disabled.”

Araghchi told the gathering that Iran has long been a victim of such misguided policies and demanded “the immediate lifting of all unilateral sanctions,” which he said violate the fundamental human rights of Iranians and have caused suffering to millions of innocent people.

The Iranian people have faced serious challenges for decades, including unfair economic sanctions and terrorism, he said, adding that “imposing political agendas by certain countries, often under the guise of promoting human rights, undermines the principles of the United Nations and threatens to destroy trust among member states.”

Elsewhere in his address, the foreign minister highlighted the Israeli violation of Palestinians’ rights. “One cannot talk about human rights without mentioning the suffering of the Palestinian people and the crimes of the Israeli regime.”

Iran firmly condemns the genocide in Gaza, as well as Israel’s systematic violence, occupation, and violation of the right to life of Palestinians. Araghchi called on the international community to hold the occupying regime accountable for these crimes.