London: Iran's rights record 'terrible'

LONDON, April 13 (UPI) -- London backs a special envoy on human rights in Iran and supports European efforts to place further restrictions on Tehran, the British foreign secretary said.

The U.N. human rights council in March backed a European resolution to "appoint a special rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Islamic republic of Iran."

The United Nations called on Iran to cooperate fully with the council and give the envoy access to the country to report on the human rights condition in Iran.

British Foreign Secretary William Hague told the BBC's Persian service that Iran's human rights record was cause for international concern.

"Sanctions can be effective -- for one thing it shows that the world is taking a stand; for another it will directly affect these individuals in particular their ability to travel to Europe or to use their assets in Europe," he told the broadcaster. "They are one of the measures that we can take and they help us focus international attention on this growing problem of Iran's terrible human rights record."

Iran was condemned for its violent reaction to opposition to Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's 2009 re-election. Scores of opposition leaders are under arrest and Iran has one of the highest execution rates in the world.

Hague said Iran has a "terrible human rights record."