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UN expresses concern over election procedure of Iranian presidential candidates

30 May 2013 08:40 (UTC +04:00)

Baku. Victoria Dementyeva – APA. A group of United Nations experts today warned that measures preventing women and other citizens from running for presidential office in Iran constitute a serious violation of rights guaranteed by international law, APA reports quoting the UN News Centre.

“This mass disqualification including that of women wishing to stand in the presidential elections is discriminatory and violates fundamental right to political participation, and runs contrary to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which Iran has ratified,” said the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Iran, Ahmed Shaheed.

“Any restrictions on this right must be based on objective and reasonable criteria without distinction of any kind, including race, gender, religion, and political or other opinion,” the expert said in a news release from the UN Human Rights Office (OHCHR).