Reuters AlertNet Lite - Iran nuclear programme overshadows rights--Ebadi

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Iran nuclear programme overshadows rights--Ebadi

24 Nov 2006 11:37:24 GMT
Source: Reuters

PARIS, Nov 24 (Reuters) - The world's focus on Iran's nuclear programme, which many fear could produce nuclear weapons, has made it ignore human rights abuses there, Nobel Peace Prize winner Shirin Ebadi said.

In an interview published on Friday in the French newspaper Les Echos, the Iranian lawyer said democracy in her country was "non-existent" under President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's government.

"For the past two years, the whole world has forgotten human rights in Iran," Ebadi, who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2003, was quoted as saying.

"Fearing for its own security, the international community has turned away from the problem of human rights in Iran to concentrate on the nuclear programme," she told Les Echos.

Iran has been referred to the United Nations Security Council for failing to allay fears that it is trying to produce nuclear weapons under the cover of a civilian atomic programme.

It says it only wants to generate electricity, but the United States and the European Union's top powers are pushing for sanctions against Tehran.

Ebadi said the world did not trust Tehran because it was not democratic but the Iranian people should not suffer as a result.

"Ahmadinejad's government does not respect human rights inside the country but it is unfair to make the population pay the price for all its faults," she said.

Iran's rights record is routinely criticised by Western governments, which successfully campaigned for the execution of women by stoning to be stopped.

Rights groups often complain that Tehran imprisons pro-reform writers, journalists and intellectuals without due legal process. Iran denies holding political prisoners and routinely dismisses charges of torture in its jails.

Foreign companies operating in Iran should help improve the lives of ordinary people there by contributing part of their profits to good causes, Ebadi said, adding that French companies had invested 20 billion euros ($26 billion) in Iran in 15 years.

"In return for the profits they make there, I expect them to give their support to the Iranian people, she said, giving the example of landmines left by the 1980-1988 Iran-Iraq war.

"Companies could dedicate even a tiny part of their profits to demining or at least mine detection programmes. They could also allocate 1 percent of their profits to renovating the many schools that are in bad condition," she added.

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Last updated:Fri Nov 24 11:39:39 2006