July 28, 2004 The Islamic government announced on Wednesday that it will join the UN convention on children’s rights, but will reserve the right not to follow the convention’s provisions, if they are seen as contrary to Islamic regulations or domestic laws. Children’s rights advocate and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Shirin Ebadi tells Radio Farda’s broadcaster Nazi Azima that to join an international convention and say that its provisions will be adopted selectively or arbitrary. For that reason, she says, the UN has asked the Islamic Republic to identify the provisions which it says are contrary to Islam. “If a government joins an international treaty, it cannot pass laws contrary to its provisions,” she adds.
