Subcommittee on International Human Rights committee  I want to make two comments on that. One, there is something called the spiral model in the literature on human rights promotion. There are countries that want to take care of their reputation. Iran does care for its reputation. They engage in a limited fashion hoping to tactic

Subcommittee on International Human Rights committee  Absolutely, I think it falls upon all members of the United Nations to ensure that all members actually advance the common goals, set the common standard of 70 years ago now when the UN charter was set up. I certainly agree with you, sir.

Subcommittee on International Human Rights committee  Thank you very much. It's a very vital question. I hold that a nuclear deal is not the end of anything. I think it's the beginning of a new phase. I liken it to a first half goal rather than the golden goal that finishes the match. There's a need to maintain and to play the game

Subcommittee on International Human Rights committee  There's a lot more, in fact, that I think our countries can do. Of course, continue sustained focus and pressure is one. Another, I think, is engage more broadly the whole community of human rights promoters, including the UN system. There is a UN country team in Iran which has

Subcommittee on International Human Rights committee  I don't think a nuclear deal would suddenly ease the pressure on human rights, although it could have a distraction from it. I think because of continued human rights violations in the country, people and countries will remain concerned about rights violations. With persecutions

Subcommittee on International Human Rights committee  In the four years I have been observing Iran, I have seen the government dismantle systematically whatever space, whatever structures there were for the people to be more assertive of their rights. Civil society is now severely curtailed in the country. Three or four years ago, i

Subcommittee on International Human Rights committee  Thank you for the question. I am very concerned about his health and safety. There have been some concerning reports of his access to health care and of course, his condition in prison. I don't have any current information beyond the last couple of weeks, but the last reports I

Subcommittee on International Human Rights committee  Thank you, Chair. Distinguished honourable members, it's a great pleasure to be here at the committee to speak on Iran. Six weeks ago I made much discussion about the state of human rights in Iran. The UN Human Rights Council voted to renew my mandate for another year. The sam

Subcommittee on International Human Rights committee  If one looks at the pronouncements made about two years ago following on from the period after the post-election violence from five years ago, there was this articulation of the view that there was a need to sort of be more stringent with regard to the commitment to the ideals an

Subcommittee on International Human Rights committee  Thank you.

Subcommittee on International Human Rights committee  I think if you look at the constitution it becomes clear that the Baha’i are excluded from protection by the constitution. The language used perhaps indicates what the source of that is in terms of giving Shia Islam a privileged status and tolerating Sunni Muslims. The logic for

Subcommittee on International Human Rights committee  Yes, I think that the heart of this conversion issue is that the protection given to the Islamic system—and that's woven into the constitution—is undermined by embracing another faith away from Islam, as it is a faith that is not recognized within the broad Islamic context.

Subcommittee on International Human Rights committee  My assessment is that, as is the case in most countries, Iran is not a monolith. There are a number of different factions competing and jostling for influence within society. We see different voices, reflecting very different thinking from these different strands. On the one ha

Subcommittee on International Human Rights committee  I must first say that my focus has been very much on Iran and the human rights there, so in the broader sense I am an expert in this broader strategic context, but I am looking at the possible impact in Iran of some of the developments in the region in terms of how they may affec

Subcommittee on International Human Rights committee  I don't have the specific information that you refer to, but I wouldn't be surprised if this were the case because Iran's persecution, since I have documented it, appears particularly focused on new converts from Islam to Christianity. Iran presents to me—and I mean as peace is