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UN / HUMAN RIGHTS IRAN
STORY: UN / HUMAN RIGHTS IRAN
TRT: 2.30
SOURCE: UNTV
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH/ NATS
DATELINE: 24 OCTOBER 2013, NEW YORK CITY / FILE
FILE – RECENT, NEW YORK CITY
1. Wide shot, exterior United Nations headquarters
24 OCTOBER 2013, NEW YORK CITY
2. Wide shot, press conference room
3. Med shot, journalist
4. SOUNDBITE (English) Ahmed Shaheed, Special Rapporteur on the Situation of Human Rights in Iran:
“Actions considered by the new government should work to address issues in the legal system as a whole and in problematic long term official practices that undermine basic rights as freedom of expression, association, assembly and religion, freedom against arbitrary detention and the right to a fair trial and the right to life.”
5. Med shot, journalist
6. SOUNDBITE (English) Ahmed Shaheed, Special Rapporteur on the Situation of Human Rights in Iran:
“Such laws include the country’s 1986 press law, the computer crimes law, and aspects of the Islamic penal code that allow for the application of the death penalty for crimes that do not meet the most serious standards, like drug related offenses. It also includes the retention of cruel and inhuman punishments such as stoning and amputation; the retention of broad and poorly defined national security laws. I also highlighted the problematic custodianship law, that would allow a man to marry his adopted or foster daughter, who can be as young as 13 years-old.”
7. Med shot, journalist
8. SOUNDBITE (English) Ahmed Shaheed, Special Rapporteur on the Situation of Human Rights in Iran:
“I am however very pleased to see that there is a greater openness in Iran to talk about the impact of sanctions, and therefore a desire to engage with countries concerned to ease those sanctions. And I’d be very happy if that should happen, because, you know, sanctions don’t help people realise their fundamental rights, therefore any move to ease those would be welcome.”
9. Med shot, journalists
10. SOUNDBITE (English) Ahmed Shaheed, Special Rapporteur on the Situation of Human Rights in Iran:
“There is a new government in Iran, since August this year. It may, having taken some small steps which have to be welcomed, and also pledging, or speaking a language that speaks well for human rights changes, and a president that came into office on a platform of human rights reform. But he hasn’t yet had time to implement any of those things in a meaningful fashion. So, it would be wrong to assume that things have changed in the three month period what we have seen over so many years. The trend I have observed over the past three years is one of generally worsening human rights situation.”
11. Zoom out, end of press conference
The Special Rapporteur on the Situation of Human Rights in Iran, Ahmed Shaheed, told reporters in New York today (24 October) welcomed overtures made by the new Iranian government but said “actions considered by the new government should work to address issues in the legal system as a whole and in problematic long term official practices that undermine basic rights as freedom of expression, association, assembly and religion, freedom against arbitrary detention and the right to a fair trial and the right to life.”
Shaheed, who briefed the General Assembly’s Third Committee earlier in the day, said that “such laws include the country’s 1986 press law, the computer crimes law, and aspects of the Islamic penal code that allow for the application of the death penalty for crimes that do not meet the most serious standards, like drug related offenses.”
He said that these also include the retention of cruel and inhuman punishments such as stoning and amputation and the retention of broad and poorly defined national security laws.
He also highlighted “the problematic custodianship law, that would allow a man to marry his adopted or foster daughter, who can be as young as 13 years-old.”
The Special Rapporteur also expressed concern that “new cyber crimes and cyber café laws severely limit freedom of expression and the right to information and have apparently been employed to prosecute those who use media to criticize the Government.”
Shaheed said he was “very pleased to see that there is a greater openness in Iran to talk about the impact of sanctions, and therefore a desire to engage with countries concerned to ease those sanctions.”
The Special Rapporteur said “one of the complaints was that some of my information sources are people hostile to the Government of Iran” to which he replied that her is that the victim’s “political belief is immaterial.”
He said that “if you complain of being beaten in prison, of torture to you or to your family, then if it is a verifiable report, I accept that.”
The Special Rapporteur acknowledged the new government in Iran” hasn’t yet had time” to implement promised reforms, and “it would be wrong to assume that things have changed in the three month period what we have seen over so many years.”
The trend over the past three years, he said, “is one of generally worsening human rights situation.”
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