Diplomats from Iran and New Zealand discussed human rights in a meeting yesterday.

Political adviser Mohammad Reza Mofatteh from the Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs participated in the Wednesday meeting with diplomats from New Zealand’s embassy in Tehran and other Iranian and New Zealander officials, the semi-official Tasnim News Agency in Iran reported.

The topics of discussion included Islamic views on human rights, the rights of women and indigenous people in New Zealand and human trafficking, according to Tasnim.

Iran’s human rights record is widely criticized by Western governments and the United Nations. Earlier this month, UN human rights experts called on the Islamic Republic to release the imprisoned dissident filmmaker Mohammad Nourizad due to his poor health. In April, the European Union sanctioned several Iranian officials for the violent crackdown on protests in 2019. Iran had the second-highest execution rate in the world in 2020. Some of those sentenced to death included journalists and members of minority groups, according to Amnesty International.