On 20 October 2011, the GA Third Committee held a first interactive dialogue with Mr Ahmed Shaheed, the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran, who presented his first report. Mr Shaheed took up the position on 1 August 2011. In keeping with general practice for first reports, his outlines a proposed approach to the mandate.

On 20 October 2011, the GA Third Committee held a first interactive dialogue with Mr Ahmed Shaheed, the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran, who presented his first report. Mr Shaheed took up the position on 1 August 2011. In keeping with general practice for first reports, his outlines a proposed approach to the mandate. However, it also includes a section on recent developments with regard to the human rights situation in Iran focused on cases and issues raised directly with the Special Rapporteur and on developments since the June session of the Human Rights Council at which he was appointed.

While Mr Shaheed has made repeated attempted to seek communication and cooperation with the Iranian authorities in the discharge of his mandate, he has had no success in his attempts to visit the country or meet with the Iranian Ambassador in Geneva. However, he reported that he was able to meet with the Ambassador in New York earlier in the week. This meeting was described as a frank discussion with a friendly and cordial atmosphere where a way forward for the mandate was addressed. Mr Shaheed reiterated to the Third Committee that he would persist in his attempts to visit the country and hopes to receive an answer shortly to his proposed visit in November 2011.

Given his recent appointment, Mr Shaheed was not in a position to make recommendations himself but stated that he shared the concerns addressed in the Secretary-General’s report of 15 September 2011 and supported the recommendations contained within. He called particular attention to concerns surrounding allegations of: obstruction of free and fair elections; denial of freedom of expression and assembly; depravation of the right to education; harassment and intimidation of religious and ethnic minorities, human rights defenders, as well as civil society and religious actors.

Despite steering clear of recommendations in his report, he made several during his oral presentation. He urge Iran to: accede to the Convention on the Elimination on all forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) and its Optional Protocol; accede to the Convention Against Torture (CAT) and its Optional Protocol; establish a National Human Rights Institution in accordance with the Paris Principles; consider undergoing a voluntary midterm review of its implementation of the recommendations it accepted during its Universal Periodic Review; consider releasing all individuals listed in the report; and provide information about process and criteria employed to provide amnesty to those recently pardoned.

Unsurprisingly, while the Special Rapporteur and his mandate was generally welcomed by those in the room, Iran called the Human Rights Council resolution that created the mandate a one-sided attack by the US, the EU and their allies based on “manipulation” and “misleading information” in regard to Iran’s human rights record.

In the dialogue that followed, dominated by Western European and Other Group (WEOG), States welcomed the report and the opportunity to participate in a dialogue with Mr Shaheed. They universally called for the Iranian authorities to cooperate with Mr Shaheed and strongly encouraged Iran to grant him and other special procedure mandate holders access to the country at the earliest possible opportunity. They also pressed Iran to honour their commitment to host a visit of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) in 2012.

Member States echoed Mr Shaheed’s concerns about the human rights violations presented in both his written and oral reports. Of immediate concern was the treatment of the Iranian pastor, Mr Yousef Nadarkhani, currently on death row for apostasy; political leaders, Mr Mir-Hossein Mousavi and Mr Mehdi Karroubi; student and women’s rights activist, Ms. Bahareh Hedayat; and the increased number of executions involving minors or those having being convicted of offences as juveniles.

Iran retaliated, calling on the US and the UK to look at their human rights records in their own countries and abroad, especially within the Middle Eastern region. Claiming that the accusations of the Special Rapporteur and the US were “baseless”, “unjustified” and solely a “catalogue of poorly researched and outdated allegations manipulated by the UN human rights system”, Iran reminded the room that Iran was a founding member of the UN and is a signatory to a number of the human rights treaties. While not providing examples, Iran pointed to the fact that there was ample evidence of their achievements in the areas of civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights. Iran concluded by declaring its readiness to help with an independent, unbiased and impartial report to the Human Rights Council’s 19^th session. While welcoming Iran’s statements regarding engagement, Mr Shaheed claimed the cases cited were ongoing and that it is only through cooperation that a fully comprehensive and accurate report of the situation can be delivered.

In his concluding remarks, Mr Shaheed stressed that country mandates should not be seen or treated as a stigma or penalty for the country concerned but an “opportunity to move forward”. He called on the international community to work in collaboration with all countries that have a specific mandate.