- China offers $325 bn in fiscal stimulus for ailing economy
- Dodgers drop Padres 2-0 to advance in MLB playoffs
- Alexei Navalny wrote he knew he would die in prison in new memoir
- Last-minute legal ruling allows betting on US election
- Despite hurricanes, Floridians refuse to leave 'paradise'
- Israel observes Yom Kippur amid firestorm over Lebanon strikes
- Trump demonizes migrants in dark, misleading speech
- X says 'alert' to manipulation efforts after pro-Russia bots report
- US, European markets rise before Boeing unveils sweeping job cuts
- Small Quebec company dominates one part of NHL hockey: jerseys
- Comoros shock Tunisia, Salah, Mbeumo strike in AFCON qualifiers
- Boeing to cut 10% of workforce as it sees big Q3 loss
- Germany win in Nations League as 10-man Dutch rescue point
- Undav brace sends Germany to victory against Bosnia
- Israel says fired at 'threat' near UN position in Lebanon
- Want to film in Paris? No sexism allowed
- Ecuador's last mountain iceman dies at 80
- Milton leaves at least 16 dead, millions without power in Florida
- Senegal set to announce breakaway development agenda: PM
- UN says 2 peacekeepers wounded in south Lebanon explosions
- Injury-hit Australia thrash 'embarrassing' Pakistan at Women's T20 World Cup
- Internal TikTok documents show prioritization of traffic over well-being
- Israel says fired at 'immediate threat' near UN position in Lebanon
- New US coach Pochettino hails Pulisic but worries over workload
- Brazil orders closure of 2,000 betting sites
- UK govt urged to raise pro-democracy tycoon's case with China
- Sculptor Lalanne's animal creations sell for $59 mn
- From Tesla to Trump: Behind Musk's giant leap into politics
- US, European markets rise as investors weigh rates, earnings
- In Colombia, children trade plastic waste for school supplies
- Supercharged hurricanes trigger 'perfect storm' for disinformation
- JPMorgan Chase profits top estimates, bank sees 'resilient' US economy
- Djokovic proves staying power as he progresses to Shanghai semi-finals
- Sheffield Utd boss Wilder 'numb' after Baldock death
- Little progress at key meet ahead of COP29 climate summit
- Fans immerse themselves in Marina Abramovic's first China exhibition
- Israel says conducting review after UN peacekeepers wounded in Lebanon
- 'Party atmosphere': Skygazers treated to another aurora show
- Djokovic 'overwhelmed' after 'greatest rival' Nadal's retirement
- Zelensky in Berlin says hopes war with Russia will end next year
- Kyrgyzstan opens rare probe into glacier destruction
- European Mediterranean states discuss Middle East, migration
- Djokovic proves staying power as progresses to Shanghai semi-finals
- Hurricane Milton leaves at least 16 dead as Florida cleans up
- Britain face 'ultimate challenge' in America's Cup duel with New Zealand
- Lebanon calls for 'immediate' ceasefire in Israel-Hezbollah war
- Nihon Hidankyo: Japan's A-bomb survivors awarded Nobel
- Thunberg leads pro-Palestinian, climate protest in Milan
- Boat captain rescued clinging to cooler in Gulf of Mexico after storm Milton
- Tears, warnings after Japan atomic survivors group win Nobel
Rights groups say Iran will seek to manipulate UN visit
Human rights groups on Friday warned Tehran will try to use an upcoming visit to Iran by a UN expert in order to avoid accountability.
Alena Douhan, the special rapporteur focused on the impact of unilateral sanctions, is due to begin a visit to Iran from Saturday, the United Nations has said.
The mission from May 7 to 18 will be the first to the Islamic republic by a special rapporteur since 2005.
In a statement Thursday, Douhan said she hoped to "gather first-hand information on the impact of unilateral coercive measures on the full realisation of all human rights" in Iran.
"My visit will aim at covering all walks of life and sectors affected by such measures," said Douhan, whose official title is "special rapporteur on the negative impact of the unilateral coercive measures on the enjoyment of human rights."
Her mission comes during a stalemate in talks between Iran and world powers to revive a 2015 agreement which gave Iran sanctions relief in return for curbs on its nuclear programme. In 2018 then-US president Donald Trump withdrew from the deal and imposed crippling sanctions on Iran, which then began rolling back its own commitments.
Douhan works under a mandate from the United Nations Human Rights Council.
But a group of 11 human rights groups warned in a statement Friday that Iran's government will try to "instrumentalise" the visit "in a cynical attempt to deflect attention from its well-documented record of human rights violations".
The visit "comes after 17 years of denial of access to any of the 14 UN human rights monitors that have requested to visit the country," said the statement.
"By inviting the only expert whose mandate is to look at external actors' liability for rights violations in the country, Iranian authorities exploit this visit in an inconspicuous attempt to blunt scrutiny of its record of non-cooperation with the UN human rights system," said the statement signed by groups including United for Iran, Article 19 and Iran Human Rights Documentation Centre.
Douhan said she will "pay particular attention to the adverse effects on the most vulnerable segments of society, including in the current context of the Covid-19 pandemic".
The rights groups say Iran has a history of blatant rights violations, and "legitimate concern over the impact of sanctions cannot and must not overshadow the Iranian authorities' responsibility for failing to ensure -- and sometimes actively restricting -- access to health, work, education, internet and adequate living standards for all in Iran."
They added: "The international community must not be fooled, and Iran should not be rewarded for its attempt to avoid accountability."
A.Rodriguezv--AMWN