Narges Mohammadi is the spokeswoman for the Iranian-based Center for the Defense of ‎Human Rights group. She went to Geneva last week to participate in a conference on ‎human rights abuses in Iran, where she exchanged views with other human rights ‎activists. We talked with her about her views.‎

Rooz (R): What was the purpose for participating at the Geneva meeting?‎

Narges Mohammadi (NM): In December of 2007 when the UN General Assembly passed ‎a resolution over Iran’s violations of human rights, the Assembly expressed its concerns ‎about the situation in Iran and tasked the Secretary General to prepare a report on this. ‎Human rights defenders believe that the report must be based on documented evidence ‎and investigation conducted by the Secretary General over the situation in Iran. But since ‎independent human rights organizations cannot send their representatives to Iran, because ‎the government prevents them from coming to Iran, as do other governments such as ‎those in Burma, Syria, Cuba, four work groups (in the fields of unilateral arrests, violence ‎against women, national and ethnic minorities, and, executions) were created and hosted ‎a meeting on the subject in Geneva. Then a session was arranged for Iranian human rights ‎activists to present their case at the UN headquarters in Geneva which focused on the ‎legal impediments on implementing and respecting human rights in Iran. At the same ‎time, disregard for law by parts of the Iranian government which leads to a weakening of ‎human rights was another issue that was discussed at the gathering.‎

R: When UN human rights reporters are not permitted to go to Iran, how does the UN ‎Secretary General expect to roundup his report for September?‎

NM: He is responsible to provide a report and the participants of this gathering demanded ‎that his report must be based on real investigations of the situation in Iran, something that ‎has unfortunately not been done. This is the reason that these work groups wanted to ‎meet with us.‎

R: Since you live in Iran and work in the field of human rights, are you not concerned ‎that your participation here will displease the authorities in Iran?‎

NM: Our area of work is human rights and this is an international sphere and not ‎confined to a specific geographic area of the globe, or a particular country. Just as Iran ‎can protest about the human rights situation in Palestine, any human rights group in Iran ‎can take a position on human rights conditions anywhere in the world. This also true for ‎Iran. In any case, the Secretary General must present his report to the UN General ‎Assembly about Iran. Our position is what we have published at the Center for the ‎Defense of Human Rights in Iran.‎

R: Some argue that protesting against the human rights situation in Iran at international ‎organizations may provide an excuse for those who are militarily threatening Iran. What ‎do you think?‎

NM: We do not believe that human rights and democracy should be used as political ‎instruments by major powers, and that both of these can be attained only in a free ‎environment where the human being enjoys dignity and respect. This is the reason why ‎our center is engaged in two goals: one is to promote peace and work against war, and the ‎other is over violations of human rights, which are not contradictory in nature.‎