Iran has said it will not allow recently-appointed UN Special Rapporteur on Iran, Dr Ahmed Shaheed, to enter the country.
The announcement that the former Maldives Foreign Minister was to take up the prestigious UN role was made last weekend. Iran’s state media outlet, the Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA), reported yesterday that the Iranian Majlis had decided to block Dr Shaheed from entering the country.
Majlis representative and member of Iran’s Human Rights Commission Mohammad Karim Abedi said the decision was made “because the US, Britain and the Zionist regime are among the major violators of human rights in the world and the UN Human Rights Council should study their violations.”
“The United Nations studied the crimes and atrocities of the Zionist regime in 2010 during the 33-day war on Lebanon and the 22-day war in Gaza, and declared the regime’s army commanders as war criminals but could not take any action against them,” Abedi told IRNA.
“Accusing countries such as the Islamic Republic of Iran of violating human rights should be viewed as a part of their blame game,” Abedi said.
Dr Shaheed told Minivan News that the UN Human Rights Council had called on Iran to cooperate when the office of the Special Rapporteur was set up in March.
“The work will continue whether or not access is given, but will benefit from Iran’s cooperation,” he said, explaining that the mandate of the UN Special Rapporteur required the permission and cooperation of the host country for field visits.
“Special Rapporteurs have a very comprehensive code of conduct – where field visits are not possible information can be gathered from a variety of sources,” he explained.
“At the same time the objective is to work with the government of Iran to ensure all the issues are covered.”
Dr Shaheed dismissed speculation that the objections of the Shiite-majority Iran were a reaction to the appointment of a Special Rapporteur from a 100 percent Sunni-Muslim country.
“What they are saying in Iran has nothing to do with me or the Maldives,” Dr Shaheed said.
The former Foreign Minister is preparing for a preliminary visit to Geneva later this week. The resolution passed by the Human Rights Council requires him to present interim findings to the UN General Assembly in September, and a full report to the Human Rights Council in March 2012.
Local newspaper Haveeru has meanwhile reported the Maldives’ conservative religious Adhaalath party as stating that Iran’s decision “brings disgrace to the Maldives’ foreign policy and weakens the country’s reputation among Islamic states.”
The Adaalath Party’s President Sheikh Imran Abdulla claimed that “Maldivians should be ashamed” by Iran’s decision.
“As far as I know this is the first time such a mission assigned to a Muslim country was returned. We, Maldivians, should be ashamed in front of the Muslim world,” Haveeru reported Sheikh Abdulla as saying.
“Tensions will rise between the Maldives and a state like Iran that has nuclear power. We, being a small Muslim nation, should take into consideration such matters before interfering in the matters of an Islamic state.”
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Mission assigned to a Muslim nation? Sheikh Imran is a real idiot!
Actually I find myself agreeing with Iran! I believe their position is correct and Dr.Shaheed better resign from an impossible position. Impossible because UN will never allow any thing positive to be said about Iran in any reports Dr. Shaheed may work with.
Adhaalath conviniently forgets that they were the ones who somewhile back said Shia's are not muslims. Now when it suits their purpose of criticising Iran is suddenly an Islamic State. The sheer hypocracy of Adhaalat Party is mindboggling.
Sheikh Imran has no idea what hes talking about.
Iran's decision not to accept a UN personnel (may he/she belong to any religion or nation), on any grounds of human rights violations does seem justifiable when they themselves are not transparent in their actions as quoted by Iran:
“because the US, Britain and the Zionist regime are among the major violators of human rights in the world and the UN Human Rights Council should study their violations.” unquote.
Very true!
These bodies attend such undemocratic meetings (said to be framing the future of the world) which are so secretive and undemocratic that a part of the world population is very worried about what these meetings are doing to the world in general!
Dr. Shaheed is very true! What Iran is doing has nothing to do with him, or the Maldives!
It is very clear that Iran would not accept any body for this purpose!
This is a weird way for Adhaalath to attack the government politically!
True, Iran being a Muslim State, Maldives should not violate the rights of a brotherly states! Non-interference would not help!
Iran is right in it way to defend itself this way. Why should they allow anyone from UN or IEA to visit their country when there are other countries who are in the same or worse position than Iran. Israel has nuclear but IEA never raised this issue or even for insoection of Israel nuclear plant. Human rights are violated by US and NATO forces in Iraq and Afghanistan which has never been investigated by any UN body. So why Iran every time undergo has to undergo this scrutinization?
Iran is refusing DR Shaheed not because he is from Maldives, Adhaalath get this over your head. Iran is refusing Dr Shaheed because he is representing UN, a body which is always biased towards US, West and Israel.
If the international community really understands Iran and makes peace with Iran, this could be a country which could play a major role in bringing peace to this world. But as long as the west play games with Iran, they will never surrender, they are Persians, they people who will never surrender and will fight for their won rights until the last drop of blood.
Just because Iran doesnt recognises the zionist regime Israel, doesnt mean they are soem sort of trouble for this world. Iran has the highest number of Jews living with full civil rights after Israel. And Iran should have the right to have the atomic energy, why not? The US,Russia, Eueope, Israel, India, Pakistan, Korea.. they all have it. I think the UN should stop its favouritism towards west and let other countries like Iran also have their rights.
Dr Shaheed accepted this job because he always wanted to be something big, which is OK. We are happy for him. But he also knows this is not going to be easy. He is not assigned to work with a nation who bends and dances to every move of the west. If Dr Shaheed works with honesty, perhaps he would find some positive things too about honesty.
We are living in a very rotten world now. No one country is that good and perfect. Each one has its plus and minus. If Dr Shaheed can present his findings this way,perhaps he might find some common relations with Iranian government to coopertae with him too.
Adhaalath you better shhut your gobs please, let Dr Shaheed do his job. Your inexperienced knowledge about Shia and Sunni will cause more problems to Dr Shaheed and Maldives, so please stay away from his work.
“Tensions will rise between the Maldives and a state like Iran that has nuclear power. We, being a small Muslim nation, should take into consideration such matters before interfering in the matters of an Islamic state.”?
What arrogance! What idiocy! What mind-boggling stupidity! This guy belongs in a circus or a zoo, not onto the streets.
Oh! Mullahs of Adhaalath Party for havens sake please don’t display your ignorance of worldly subject. Understand that mullahs only known of Islam and have no idea of what is logics!
It is better for the mullahs not display of their ignorance of certain subjects. I suppose this happens the mullah’s brain is stagnated.
It is better for mullahs to be in mosque and preach heavenly stuff and not bother with local politics and the international politics too.
The United States, Israel and the UK are the biggest violators of human rights in the world and the United Nations Human Rights Committee should send their reporters to those countries instead of Iran
Now that Iran has refused to let Dr Shaheed enter the country, i think he should negotiate with the UN and get his appointment changed.
He can be the UN Special Rapporteur for Israel.
Everyone here has strangely misunderstood something written in black and white AND in the divehi language (our mother tongue).
The Adalat party has not claimed in their press release that Shaheed was refused access BECAUSE he is a Maldivian. They only imply, and rightly so, that the Maldives might suffer due to the fact that Shaheed and the Maldives government have willingly hopped onto the Americo-Israel bandwagon for personal gain and public funds. This act also requires that Shaheed use his newly acquired position to vilify Iran. How CAN Shaheed do otherwise. He only got this post because of the Israel lobby and their power in the UN as well as the US body politic.
Adalat says something with real substance at last and sadly it has failed to register with a lot of the members of the public. However, those in policy circles will take heed so it is no loss.
The Maldivian government is under pressure from US, UK and the Zionist regime of Israel to put pressure on Iran.
They are putting hidden pressure on Maldives, which the government doesn't want to expose to public for political reasons. That's one reason why they planned to introduce an Israeli Airline service to Maldives.
Who knows, the Zionists might plant a bomb on one of their planes from Maldives, and blame it on Maldives connection to al qaeda that's how their plans work.
The Zionists have hidden plans to destroy Islam from the face of the earth, and this is the beginning how Maldives will slowly start to fall in front of Islamic world.
But out politicians want to show off our little country has power in UN and bla bla. But what we get? We fall into their traps.
How silly and retarded are the people who think what's happening in the middle east is just coincidence. Brace for impact Maldivians.
@tsk tsk
Perhaps there is no misunderstanding. One sees what they want to see. If these Islamophobes are hell bent on proving one of their firmly held 'religous' tenets - Mullahs are always stupid - and have a monopoly on logical discourse and rationalism, their reading of Adhalath's communications will have to confirm to that belief.
US imprisons people at Gitmo for 10 years = substitute wording of international law; use 'enemy combatant' for 'prisoners of war' = legal and no violation of law
US invades Iraq (illegally)and kills many civilians = colateral damage
NATO kills civilians in Libya = accident = no violation of law
Israel detains Palestinians in thousands including women and children for as long as it wishes = security reasons
Israel invades Gaza and kills civilians in thousands = self defense = international calls for independence investigation = Israel refuses = OK
Iran imprisons people = violation of human rights = Rapporteur neededed = Iran refuses = Iran condemned
Conclusion: Might is right.
@ tsk tsk tsk
Agreed. Many seems to have lost the reality in Adhalath's press release regarding Dr Shaheed being rejected by Iran.
Adhalath might not make sense always, but in this they are justified in saying what they say. The Maldivian govt is putting Maldives in harms way, apart from the fact that our govt does not want to open their eyes to the people's call to not allow Israeli planes, doctors, food items or the Israeli govt's educational and agricultural assistance to come to Maldives.
President Nasheed doesn't hear his people
Anyone who has studied the formation of the UN, its goals, contributors and the dictatorship of a few on the UNSC which can veto all other majority of the worlds country at any subject, at anytime.. you will have an educated judgement to realize that the UN is in the current age of globalization irrelevant in global diplomacy. Might as well negotiate directly with the US, UK, Russia or China if you want anything passed in the UN. All other countries are just back seat viewers who can talk, but when it comes to decisions, they have "absolutely" no final say.
So I suggest to Dr.Shaheed to be honest and state publicly in the UN, how useless the UN is with its current autocratic security council in place. Of which the United States is the most evil of them all. Even when the UN found out through revealed secret US memos that the US Govt ordered the secret tapping and surveillance of UN officials and even other countries with influence in the UN, the United Nations could not say anything against the US. Why? Simply because the US is one of the biggest doners and contributors to the UN. Without it, the UN can't do many of the things they do.
Many so called Muslim countries have chosen politicians and public figures to such posts and they spent their carrier trying to keep away from questioning the US and its allies or even the lack of transparency and democratic voting system in the UN. Instead the politicians try to smile and say that they need to say to get through the week.. just so that they dont get fired and simply replaced. So the lack of moral value is the big question in people like this.
Dr.Shaheed, many say that you are a good man inside.. so are you going to make history for this tiny nation and speak the truth or are you going to be scared like other politicians in history where their names are lost in what it is.. history.?
PS: I totally agree with Adhaalath statement on Iran. We should not interfere in the Islamic States internal issues. Why not ask the UN why it has yet to issue any resolution against Bahrain's government for the many they have killed in oppressing pro-democracy activists and as well as doctors and nurses who treated the wounded demonstrators.
Or are we forgetting that Bahrain's government is an American puppet who has allowed a big US airforce base to be based in their country, in return for the West's silence on Bahrain government's torture and killing of peaceful demonstrators.
They should have sent some ignorant theologian from Adhaalath to preach human rights to there muslim brethren in Iran. Fight fire with fire, that sorta thing!!
Sure they would not dare reject a fellow theologian 😉
but excuse me, Adhaalath is a sunni movement, and there allegience is to the bastard kings of Saudi!!