Evolving Iran: An Introduction to Politics and Problems in the Islamic Republic by Barbara Ann Rieffer-Flanagan

Author:Barbara Ann Rieffer-Flanagan [Rieffer-Flanagan, Barbara Ann]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: International Relations, Political Science, General
ISBN: 9781589019799
Google: 8ojJ8GmkTq4C
Goodreads: 19053118
Publisher: Georgetown University Press
Published: 2013-03-22T00:00:00+00:00

The Evolution of the Discourse on Human Rights

In the past, Iranian leaders have denied the applicability and the worth of international human rights. Human rights were a product of the West; they were inferior to the duties and obligations laid out in the Qur’an. However, in more recent years, we have seen various Iranian leaders, including hard-line conservatives, using the language of international human rights. This linguistic transition demonstrates that international norms concerning human rights have had an impact on the Islamic Republic.

Some of the animosity toward international human rights stems from Ayatollah Khomeini. The leader of the Revolution believed that Islam and Islamic law were superior to anything that the West had produced, including international law. Human rights treaties, such as the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, were likewise inferior to shari’a. (Khomeini had a general disregard for many aspects of international law. This was demonstrated by the violation of diplomatic immunity during the hostage crisis in 1979.) So it should come as no surprise that Khomeini was not moved by international treaties on human rights. On February 19, 1978, Khomeini gave a speech in which he articulated the hypocrisy of the West and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights:

All the miseries that we have suffered, still suffer, and are about to suffer soon are caused by the heads of those countries that have signed the Declaration of Human Rights, but that at all times have denied man his freedom. Freedom of the individual is the most important part of the Declaration of Human Rights. Individual human beings must all be equal before the law, and they must be free. They must be free in their choice of residence and occupation. But we see the Iranian nation, together with many others, suffering at the hands of those states that have signed and ratified the Declaration.90

Khomeini went on to add that “the Declaration of Human Rights exists only to deceive the nations; it is the opium of the masses.”91 At another time he asserted, “What they call human rights is nothing but a collection of corrupt rules worked out by Zionists to destroy all true religions.”92 Taking Khomeini’s lead, various political leaders would also criticize international human rights at various times since the Revolution. Khomenei also stressed that international law was inferior to Islamic law: “Changing some absolute Islamic decrees to correspond to certain international conventions is quite wrong.”93

Despite the fact that some prominent political elites denied the value of international human rights and the covenants that established their parameters, we have seen an evolution in the language and rhetoric relating to human rights. Some political leaders have suggested that not only are human rights valid, but that Iran protects these rights. For example, in his remarks on June 19, 2009, Supreme Leader Khamenei said that the Islamic Republic is a strong supporter of human rights, especially of the oppressed.94 Former president Rafsanjani (not known for his passionate support of human rights) also used the language of human

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