The Iranian human rights team, led by Secretary of Iran’s Human Rights Council Mohammad Javad Larijani, is to elaborate on Iran's compliance with the undertakings that it took up in the previous session of the UPR held four years ago on legal, judicial, social, scientific and cultural achievements.
The UN's 20th UPR meeting is scheduled for October 27-November 7 in Geneva.
The Iranian human rights delegation, comprising senior officials from the country's judiciary, legislative and executive bodies, will attend the UPR meeting on Friday to submit its second report on Iran's human rights record during the last four years.
The UPR is a mechanism of the Human Rights Council under which it reviews, on a regular basis, the fulfillment of the human rights obligations and commitments of all 193 UN Member States. The UPR is an inter-state review process aimed at the improvement of the human rights situation on the ground.
The UPR was created through the UN General Assembly on 15 March 2006 by resolution 60/251, which established the Human Rights Council itself. It is a cooperative process which, by October 2011, has reviewed the human rights records of all 193 UN member-states.
Currently, no other universal mechanism of this kind exists. The UPR is one of the key elements of the Council which reminds States of their responsibility to fully respect and implement all human rights and fundamental freedoms. The ultimate aim of this mechanism is to improve the human rights situation in all countries and address human rights violations wherever they occur.
UN Chief Ban Ki-moon says the Universal Periodic Review "has great potential to promote and protect human rights in the darkest corners of the world”.