UNHRC: Retract Appointment of Iranian Ambassador to Chair Social Forum
Iran Chairing Human Rights Body While HRC Is Investigating Its Crimes Against Humanity Is Moral Outrage
May 11, 2023—The appointment of Ali Bahreini, the Islamic Republic’s Ambassador and Permanent Representative to the UN, to chair the UN Human Rights Council’s (UNHRC) 2023 Social Forum, is an outrage and should be retracted immediately, the Center for Human Rights in Iran (CHRI) said in a statement today.
Václav Balek, President of the UNHRC, announced his selection of the Iranian ambassador in a letter dated May 10, 2023, stating that Bahreini had been selected from candidates nominated by regional groups.
“The appointment of an Iranian official to chair a UNHRC body, while the Council is investigating the Islamic Republic’s slaughtering of hundreds of peaceful protesters, reflects a shocking ethical blindness,” said Hadi Ghaemi, CHRI executive director.
The UNHRC’s own appointed top expert on Iran, Special Rapporteur Javaid Rehman, has described the Islamic Republic’s actions over the last months as rising to the level of “crimes against humanity,” Ghaemi noted.
CHRI urgently calls on governments worldwide to communicate directly with UNHRC President Václav Balek to demand that this appointment be retracted immediately in order to maintain the legitimacy and credibility of the UNHRC.
The UNHRC’s 2023 Social Forum, to be held on November 2 and 3, 2023, is to focus on the contribution of science, technology and innovation to the promotion of human rights, including in the context of post-pandemic recovery. Given the Islamic Republic’s egregious human rights violations, and its catastrophic and politicized handling of the Covid-19 pandemic, in which its refusal to import Western vaccines cost hundreds of thousands of Iranian lives, it is inexplicable that UNHRC President Balek would choose Iran’s UN ambassador, CHRI said.
CHRI calls on Balek to immediately replace Bahreini with another candidate that would equally satisfy the UNHRC’s principle of regional rotation.
