15 July 2015 – The latest agreement between the Government of Iran and negotiations from six nations on limiting the scope of the Gulf country’s nuclear program has opened the door to further discussion of the Iranian human rights situation,  according to an independent United Nations expert.
“Peace, development and human rights are deeply interlinked,” declared UN Special Rapporteur Ahmed Shaheed, who is mandated by the UN Human Rights Council to monitor and report on the situation in Iran, in a news release issued earlier today.
The Special Rapporteur urged the Iranian Government to spare no effort in addressing the long-standing human rights concerns repeatedly raised by the UN, including the alarming rise in executions over the past year, increasing restrictions on freedom of expression and peaceful assemblies, women’s rights, discrimination against religious and ethnic minorities, and the ongoing prosecution of journalists, lawyers and human rights defenders.
Independent experts or special rapporteurs such as Mr. Shaheed are appointed by the Geneva-based Human Rights Council to examine and report back on a country situation or a specific human rights theme. The positions are honorary and the experts are not UN staff, nor are they paid for their work.