Well, as someone who formerly worked with the United Nations, I can say that in looking at how people look at peace negotiations, for example, there are those who are the political realists. They believe that human rights ideals are for a bunch of NGO activists and naive idealists, and that the real issues on the table are security, economic relations, and so on and so forth.
That is a very big mistake. The problems in the Middle East that we witness today, whether in Iran, Iraq, or Syria, are inextricably tied to the nature of the regimes. A regime that stays in power through inciting religious hatred and violence will not be a regime that is a good business partner or a means for sustainable peace and stability in the region.
I think in that sense, we need to mainstream human rights issues and not see them as the exclusive preserve of some naive idealists and activists. Respect for human rights is central to global governance. It's central to the future of the Middle East. One can just imagine what would happen, not just in Iran but throughout the Middle East, if those progressive forces, which are just beneath the surface, came to power in Iran. How would Iran reimagine not just its relations with its own citizens but its role in Lebanon, in Syria, and its relations with Israel and Iraq?
I don't have too much time to develop these ideas here. I just want to explain that human rights isn't just a moral issue. It's also a pragmatic issue, and it's part of the geopolitical equation.