Statement of the High Council for Human Rights on the occasion of the Islamic Human Rights and Human Dignity Day

In this statement, the High Council for Human Rights criticized the unprincipled policies and stances of countries that claim to defend human rights, declaring that human dignity is under greater threat today than ever before. The hypocrisy and superficial nature of some Western countries' human rights claims have reached such a level that they can no longer be concealed behind appealing slogans.

The full text of the statement is as follows:

August 5 (14th of Mordad) marks the anniversary of the adoption of the significant document titled the "Cairo Declaration on Human Rights in Islam." We congratulate this occasion to all free-thinkers and justice-seekers across the world. It is our hope that this valuable declaration — grounded in the lofty teachings of Islam concerning human rights and dignity — will inspire the establishment of a just international system, one in which human rights are not used as political tools by the powerful, but rather serve as the true reflection of divine and human values.

On this day in 1990, member states of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) adopted the "Cairo Declaration on Human Rights in Islam," taking a fundamental step toward presenting a legal model based on Islamic teachings and values. This declaration presents a foundational rethinking and critique of the Western human rights discourse, which is rooted in individualism, humanism, and liberalism.

Nearly 18 years later, in 2008, the Islamic Republic of Iran proposed that the anniversary of this declaration’s adoption (14 Mordad / August 5) be marked as "Islamic Human Rights and Human Dignity Day" in the calendars of Islamic countries — a turning point in the Islamic world’s efforts to counter the spread of Western culture and promote governance rooted in religious and Islamic teachings.

The Islamic Declaration on Human Rights emphasizes that, based on Islamic Sharia, human rights stem from the inherent dignity and worth of every person. It affirms the Islamic Ummah’s global mission, and although humanity has achieved scientific and material advancements, it still has a dire need for faith and spirituality to preserve its rights and civilization.

Today, it is clearer than ever that material progress and the Western human rights narrative are incapable of guaranteeing human dignity, rights, and happiness. This painful reality is evident in the blatant cooperation and complicity of certain Western governments — particularly the United States, which claims to defend human rights — with the Zionist regime, where we are witnessing the brutal mass killing of innocent civilians, especially women and children.

Since October 7, 2023, the Zionist regime has committed unprecedented crimes: over 60,000 innocent civilians in Gaza have been martyred — 70% of whom were women and children — more than 149,000 have been injured, and the regime has used starvation and food blockades as weapons of collective punishment against children.

In a 12-day attack on Iranian soil, this criminal regime also martyred 1,100 Iranian citizens, including 102 women (two of whom were pregnant), dozens of children and teenagers, and 14 scientists and university professors.

Systematically violating international law, the Zionist regime deliberately attacked vital infrastructure, including hospitals, clinics, emergency centers, and even ambulances. These atrocities — committed with full financial, military, and political support from some Western countries that claim to uphold human rights — represent a level of barbarism rarely seen even in the darkest chapters of history, and clearly reveal the West’s supremacist mindset: a belief system that legitimizes killing and aggression, and that, as acknowledged by the German Chancellor, uses a child-killing, occupying regime as a proxy to carry out its “dirty crimes.”

The hypocrisy and hollowness of the human rights rhetoric espoused by certain Western nations have reached the point where they can no longer be hidden behind beautiful slogans.

For example, the U.S. Congress grandly honors Benjamin Netanyahu — leader of a criminal gang who is wanted by the International Criminal Court for crimes against humanity — while at the same time, this war criminal nominates the delusional U.S. President for the Nobel Peace Prize, a president who has shown no hesitation in launching wars, violating other nations' sovereignty, conducting assassinations of human rights defenders, imposing unlawful coercive sanctions, violating the rights of women, children, prisoners, and migrants, withdrawing from international treaties, sanctioning UN human rights rapporteurs and international judges, and more!

These ridiculous performances are, in reality, the final desperate moves of a system and ideology attempting to hide its bloodstained face behind the mask of democracy and human rights.

How can one believe that a government that claims to defend human rights praises a criminal who murders children in their mothers’ arms? This glaring contradiction exposes the moral collapse of Western civilization and highlights the inversion of concepts in Western discourse — where "peace" means warmongering and "human rights" serves as a justification for crimes.

It is deeply regrettable that those who claim to champion human rights have constantly attempted to impose their liberal and secular values — masked as “universal human rights” — onto other nations, including Muslim countries, while disregarding their cultures and beliefs.

The rise of insults against religions and sects, and the spread of hatred against Muslim communities under the guise of “freedom of speech,” represents a dangerous phenomenon that escalates tension, Islamophobia, and violence against Muslims. It threatens global peace, security, and coexistence, and undermines friendly relations among nations and followers of divine religions.

It is evident that due to the unprincipled policies and positions of self-proclaimed human rights defenders, human dignity today is more endangered than ever. Cultural, political, and economic imperialism, war and mass killings of innocents — especially civilians — the imposition of cruel sanctions by hegemonic powers, support for terrorist groups, environmental and climate threats, and poverty are among the most serious challenges to global peace and stability, growing in scale and causing great harm to humanity.

In addition to all this, the continuation of widespread and brutal crimes by the Zionist regime in Gaza and Rafah, its repeated acts of aggression and terrorism in other countries, and the full support these acts receive from countries that claim to uphold human rights — combined with the failure of international human rights mechanisms to prevent such crimes — has severely jeopardized the goals of achieving peace, justice, human rights, and human security.

Now is the time for Muslim nations and the world’s freedom-seeking people to unite under the shared cause of liberating Palestine, join hands, and stand together in the face of shared pain, threats, and suffering.

Unity is the key to the success and elevation of the Islamic Ummah and the peoples of the region — just as the adoption of the Islamic Human Rights Declaration was made possible through unity and consensus.