The United Nations and its Security Council are pursuing the interests of colonial powers, a leading human rights activist tells Press TV.
“[The] United Nations with its structures of Security Council and permanent members and the veto, it is in reality a tool of colonial powers and we need to change that,” Massoud Shadjareh, from the London-based Islamic Human Rights Commission, told Press TV in an interview.
He was speaking with regards to Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif’s Tuesday remarks that the issue of human rights should not be politicized.
Shadjareh said the UN and international courts enable superpowers to “abuse” other governments.
“Human rights [issue] has become unfortunately another tool in the hands of politicians and governments to actually use and abuse against the reality of human rights of individuals,” he said.
He added that no Western government has ever faced charges at international tribunals for “atrocities” committed like in Iraqi or Afghan prisons.
From late 2003 to early 2004, military police personnel of the US Army and the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) committed human rights violations against prisoners held in the Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq. They physically and sexually abused, tortured, raped, sodomized, and killed prisoners.
“We need to change that. We need to sort of de-colonize the international law and then also we need to de-colonize the United Nations,” said Shadjareh, adding, “This really barbaric tool, should not be used by any nation and indeed those who use this tool should be brought to international court.”
