Iran’s top human rights official stresses combating impacts of illegal sanctions

The Deputy head of the judiciary for international affairs and secretary of Iran’s High Council for Human Rights, Nasser Seraj, and the UN Special Rapporteur on the negative impact of unilateral coercive measures on the enjoyment of human rights, Alena Douhan, have emphasized the importance of enhancing cooperation to address the harmful effects of sanctions.

Seraj, who traveled to Geneva to attend the 60th session of the Human Rights Council, met and held talks with Douhan on the sidelines of the UN Human Rights Council sessions on Tuesday.

He expressed his appreciation for Douhan’s “accurate, professional, and legal” reports concerning the human rights implications of sanctions, affirming the Islamic Republic of Iran’s support for her mandate.

Discussing the hostile actions of Western governments, particularly the United States, toward Iran, Seraj said, “These illegal sanctions have effectively constituted a full-scale economic war against the Iranian people and have had significant impacts on their rights to development, health, education, and social security.”

Meanwhile, Douhan appreciated the ongoing support of the Islamic Republic of Iran regarding her mandate. She provided a report on her current and future programs aimed at examining the human rights impacts of sanctions.

She highlighted that a key focus of her work is to produce legal literature and international documents to condemn unilateral coercive measures and to address their illegal effects.

At the end of the meeting, both sides emphasized the necessity of strengthening cooperation to counter the illegal impacts of sanctions and agreed to continue their joint efforts in the field of human rights.