New york: The Permanent Mission of the Islamic Republic of Iran to the United Nations has issued a strong rebuttal to human rights allegations raised by Canada following the adoption of a resolution against Iran at the UN General Assembly.

According to Islamic Republic News Agency, in a statement released Wednesday evening, Iran’s mission dismissed Canada’s move as ‘posturing,’ pointing to Canada’s own record of systemic racism and the documented history of unmarked graves of Indigenous children. The mission criticized Canada for attempting to present itself as a global human rights champion while dealing with its own human rights issues domestically.

The statement, posted on X, emphasized, “Spare us the sanctimonious drivel from Canada-a country with a well-documented history of thousands of Indigenous children dumped in unmarked graves, still steeped in its own entrenched structural racism-now posturing as a global champion of human rights vis- -vis Iran.”

The Iranian mission further accused Canada of using ‘human rights’ as a geopolitical tool, suggesting that if human rights were genuinely prioritized, Canada would be under scrutiny rather than promoting resolutions against other nations. “Had ‘human rights’ not been hijacked as a geopolitical cudgel by the usual club of serial offenders, Canada would have been the one in the dock, sweating under resolutions, not swaggering upon the stage!” the mission added.

The resolution, introduced annually by Canada, was adopted on Wednesday in New York. As in previous years, the number of votes in favor fell short of those opposed or abstaining.