Rights official: Iran to appoint special rapporteur on impact of illegal US sanctions on people

The secretary of the Iranian Judiciary’s High Council for Human Rights says the Islamic Republic will appoint a special rapporteur to evaluate the impact of the illegal US sanctions on the Iranian nation and to protect the rights of the Iranian people in the face of Washington’s unjust restrictive measures.

“We have decided to appoint a special rapporteur during next [Iranian calendar] year (starts March 21, 2021) to assess the impact of the unjust sanctions imposed by the United States and Europe on the Iranian nation,” Ali Baqeri Kani said during a Sunday meeting with foreign ambassadors and representatives of international organizations in Tehran.

He added that the special rapporteur will see into the role played by various natural and legal persons in the United States and some European countries in imposing and implementing unjust sanctions against the Iranian nation, and the results of the rapporteur's work will be submitted to judicial and human rights authorities at international, regional and national levels.

“Other duties of the special rapporteur are to protect the rights of Iranians imprisoned in other countries due to measures taken to thwart the impact of the illegal US sanctions. The rapporteur will also take steps to form a global front against violation of human rights of independent nations as a result of the unjust sanctions imposed on them by the United States and other Western countries and to support the victims of such unjust sanctions in various regional and human rights forums,” Baqeri Kani said.

He explained that the rapporteur will review the role played by various legal and natural persons in Europe and the US in imposing sanctions and prepare specialized reports for presentation to global, regional and even national judicial, legal and human rights authorities.

"One of the crimes against human rights committed by Western countries is that they punish the Iranian nationals outside the country who try to supply requirements of Iranian people. They are then accused of and tried on charges of taking measures to thwart such unjust cruel sanctions, while all their activities are legal," the human rights official said.

He noted that Iran's special rapporteur will be missioned to examine the situation of such Iranian nationals in order to present necessary reports to human rights authorities.

Baqeri Kani further emphasized that the Iranian nation will never forget that unjust sanctions, which were approved by Washington and implemented by a number of European countries, have led to death of innocent children with special diseases.

“The Iranian nation will never forget that tough sanctions imposed by Donald Trump, the terrorist president of the United States, against Iran are being continued by Joe Biden, the new president who claims to be supporting human rights. He is maintaining the same sanctions and has even taken further steps to deprive the Iranian nation of its other rights,” Baqeri Kani said.

In 2015, Iran and six world states — namely the US, Germany, France, Britain, Russia and China — signed the historic nuclear deal — formally named the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) -- which was ratified in the form of UN Security Council Resolution 2231.

However, the US under Trump unilaterally pulled out of the JCPOA in May 2018 and reinstated the anti-Iran sanctions that had been lifted by the deal.

The Trump administration also launched what it called a maximum pressure campaign against Iran, targeting the Iranian nation with the “toughest ever” restrictive measures that Iran has condemned as "economic terrorism".

Trump’s maximum pressure has been met with Iran's “maximum resistance” policy, which includes economic measures to weather the pressure as well as reducing Tehran's commitments under the JCPOA.

Iran’s Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif has censured the new US administration for still pursuing the failed ‘maximum pressure’ campaign launched by former president Trump even during the deadly coronavirus pandemic.

In a post on his Twitter account, Zarif published the image of a 6.5-year-old Iranian girl who was affected by the US sanctions, and a letter written by her and addressed to the US.

Zarif said the little girl has “paid the price for cruel and inhumane choices of politicians far away.”

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