This morning, Tuesday, April 22, a press conference for the first international conference on human rights with an eastern approach was held in Tehran, attended by Hojjat-ul-Islam Wal-muslimin Mohammad Mehdi Imanipour, head of the Islamic Culture and Communications Organization of the Islamic Republic of Iran. In this conference, he emphasized the importance of the issue of human rights in human societies, criticized the instrumental and political use of this concept, and considered the main goal of this conference to be a review of human rights issues from a new perspective.
Publish dateTuesday 22 April 2025 - 14:37
Story Code : 313569
Afghan Voice Agency (AVA) - Tehran: Hojjat-ul-Islam Wal-muslimin Imanipour, pointing out that “human rights are one of the central issues of humanity, but unfortunately they have been exploited politically,” stated: “This conference is being held with the aim of reexamining human rights issues, because the challenges in this area are more political than scientific.” According to him, the political behavior of some countries has caused the issue of human rights to be marginalized.
The head of the Islamic Culture and Communications Organization of Iran criticized the intellectual foundations of current human rights and added: “Today, what is being discussed under the title of human rights is based on liberal democracy, utilitarianism, and individualism. We believe that cultural dialogues can play an important role in clarifying issues and dispelling doubts in this area.”
With a problem-oriented view of the human rights issue, he described the current state of the world as a “great failure for humanity” and said: “The crimes that are taking place in Gaza today, along with the silence of institutions claiming human rights, urge us to reconsider the systems governing human rights.”
Referring to the history of the Islamic Republic of Iran in this field, Imanipour emphasized: “Iran has long presented numerous views on human rights, and today, by conducting extensive studies, it is ready to cooperate with other scientific institutions in the world to play a role in the formation of a new and humane order in human rights.”
Explaining the title of “Eastern Approach,” he noted: “The East is not just a geographical location, but rather an intellectual and cultural East; a justice-oriented, humanitarian, and humane perspective that can be found in every corner of the world will be in line with us. We want to create a global coalition to form a new order in the field of human rights.”
Imanipour continued by mentioning the participation of Baqir-ul-Ulum University in holding this conference and stated: “Experts from different countries have been invited. So far, 17 preliminary sessions have been held and valuable scientific papers have been prepared. We hope that the series of lectures from this conference will become a scientific and lasting achievement.”
He also criticized the West’s propaganda use of the issue of human rights against Iran, saying: “Human rights are one of the main axes of Iranophobia. The West uses this concept as a tool to pressure Iran; while the origin of the first human rights documents goes back to Iranian civilization.”
The head of the Islamic Culture and Communications Organization of Iran considered the main goal of this summit to be to criticize the current structure of human rights and present a desirable alternative, and emphasized: “Independent countries of the world can present a new and efficient model in the field of human rights. Solutions to achieve this goal will also be presented in this summit.”
Continuing his speech, Imanipour referred to the side programs of this summit and said: “The Eastern approach to human rights will have important approvals, including the publication of a specialized quarterly journal, the creation of a network of thinkers to design the future, and the continuation of holding meetings in other countries. This event is the starting point, not the end.”
He also referred to the presence of guests from 21 countries and said: “So far, 46 personalities have announced their readiness to participate in the summit, including legislators, prominent lawyers, political officials, and human rights activists. One of the guests is the former Minister of Women’s Affairs of Iraq and the current advisor to the country’s Prime Minister. Dr. Shamsuddin from Indonesia, a prominent legal figure, will also participate in the summit. There are also well-known legal figures from the continents of Asia and Africa.”
Imanipour expressed hope in the end: “It is hoped that this meeting will lead to the development of a comprehensive charter in the field of human rights and will be a prelude to the formation of new coalitions and systems in this field. The ineffectiveness of the Western model of human rights is now evident to everyone, and the silence of the claiming institutions is a testament to this fact.”
It is worth noting that the opening ceremony of this conference will be held on May 28 in Tehran and the closing ceremony on May 29 at Baqir-ul-Ulum University in Qom.
Why human rights based on the Eastern approach?!
In another part of this meeting, Hojjatoleslam Wal-Muslimin Dr. Ehsan Rafiei, the president of Baqir-ul-Ulum University, also answered questions from reporters. Referring to the dominance of Western discourse over the concept of human rights, he said: “Due to the historical hegemony of the West, today’s human rights have taken a Western-centric approach, and its foundations and structure have emerged from this hegemony. However, experience has shown that this discourse is ineffective in theory and practice and cannot achieve world peace.”
Criticizing the ineffectiveness of Western human rights, Rafiei stated: “Based on a positive theory, this summit has been designed based on the approach of the cultural East. This region, with its authentic civilizations and religions, has the capacity to develop the human rights discourse.”
He added: “Two-thirds of the world’s population follow the religions and cultures of the cultural East. If this East can implement its model of cooperation and coexistence, it will be able to fill the gaps in the current human rights system.”
The president of Baqir-ul-Ulum University considered the structure of this meeting different from other conferences and stated: "This meeting aims to fill the gap in the performance of governments in the field of human rights.”
Rafiei continued: “Before this summit, hundreds of discussions were held on topics related to the cultural East. This event is the result of a gradual and evolved process that has matured from idea to final structure.”
He concluded by emphasizing: “We consider it our historical duty to talk about human rights in the field of action and to redefine the human being and his fundamental legal concepts.”
The head of the Islamic Culture and Communications Organization of Iran criticized the intellectual foundations of current human rights and added: “Today, what is being discussed under the title of human rights is based on liberal democracy, utilitarianism, and individualism. We believe that cultural dialogues can play an important role in clarifying issues and dispelling doubts in this area.”
With a problem-oriented view of the human rights issue, he described the current state of the world as a “great failure for humanity” and said: “The crimes that are taking place in Gaza today, along with the silence of institutions claiming human rights, urge us to reconsider the systems governing human rights.”
Referring to the history of the Islamic Republic of Iran in this field, Imanipour emphasized: “Iran has long presented numerous views on human rights, and today, by conducting extensive studies, it is ready to cooperate with other scientific institutions in the world to play a role in the formation of a new and humane order in human rights.”
Explaining the title of “Eastern Approach,” he noted: “The East is not just a geographical location, but rather an intellectual and cultural East; a justice-oriented, humanitarian, and humane perspective that can be found in every corner of the world will be in line with us. We want to create a global coalition to form a new order in the field of human rights.”
Imanipour continued by mentioning the participation of Baqir-ul-Ulum University in holding this conference and stated: “Experts from different countries have been invited. So far, 17 preliminary sessions have been held and valuable scientific papers have been prepared. We hope that the series of lectures from this conference will become a scientific and lasting achievement.”
He also criticized the West’s propaganda use of the issue of human rights against Iran, saying: “Human rights are one of the main axes of Iranophobia. The West uses this concept as a tool to pressure Iran; while the origin of the first human rights documents goes back to Iranian civilization.”
The head of the Islamic Culture and Communications Organization of Iran considered the main goal of this summit to be to criticize the current structure of human rights and present a desirable alternative, and emphasized: “Independent countries of the world can present a new and efficient model in the field of human rights. Solutions to achieve this goal will also be presented in this summit.”
Continuing his speech, Imanipour referred to the side programs of this summit and said: “The Eastern approach to human rights will have important approvals, including the publication of a specialized quarterly journal, the creation of a network of thinkers to design the future, and the continuation of holding meetings in other countries. This event is the starting point, not the end.”
He also referred to the presence of guests from 21 countries and said: “So far, 46 personalities have announced their readiness to participate in the summit, including legislators, prominent lawyers, political officials, and human rights activists. One of the guests is the former Minister of Women’s Affairs of Iraq and the current advisor to the country’s Prime Minister. Dr. Shamsuddin from Indonesia, a prominent legal figure, will also participate in the summit. There are also well-known legal figures from the continents of Asia and Africa.”
Imanipour expressed hope in the end: “It is hoped that this meeting will lead to the development of a comprehensive charter in the field of human rights and will be a prelude to the formation of new coalitions and systems in this field. The ineffectiveness of the Western model of human rights is now evident to everyone, and the silence of the claiming institutions is a testament to this fact.”
It is worth noting that the opening ceremony of this conference will be held on May 28 in Tehran and the closing ceremony on May 29 at Baqir-ul-Ulum University in Qom.
Why human rights based on the Eastern approach?!
In another part of this meeting, Hojjatoleslam Wal-Muslimin Dr. Ehsan Rafiei, the president of Baqir-ul-Ulum University, also answered questions from reporters. Referring to the dominance of Western discourse over the concept of human rights, he said: “Due to the historical hegemony of the West, today’s human rights have taken a Western-centric approach, and its foundations and structure have emerged from this hegemony. However, experience has shown that this discourse is ineffective in theory and practice and cannot achieve world peace.”
Criticizing the ineffectiveness of Western human rights, Rafiei stated: “Based on a positive theory, this summit has been designed based on the approach of the cultural East. This region, with its authentic civilizations and religions, has the capacity to develop the human rights discourse.”
He added: “Two-thirds of the world’s population follow the religions and cultures of the cultural East. If this East can implement its model of cooperation and coexistence, it will be able to fill the gaps in the current human rights system.”
The president of Baqir-ul-Ulum University considered the structure of this meeting different from other conferences and stated: "This meeting aims to fill the gap in the performance of governments in the field of human rights.”
Rafiei continued: “Before this summit, hundreds of discussions were held on topics related to the cultural East. This event is the result of a gradual and evolved process that has matured from idea to final structure.”
He concluded by emphasizing: “We consider it our historical duty to talk about human rights in the field of action and to redefine the human being and his fundamental legal concepts.”
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