Iran has condemned a United Nations resolution condemning human rights violations in the country. Iran Foreign Ministry spokesman Abbas Mousavi responded, “Using human rights politically and as a tool and applying double standards in this area is contrary to the promotion of human rights.”

On Dec. 18 the UN General Assembly passed the resolution calling on Iran to stop committing human rights abuses. The measure proposed by Canada passed on a vote of 81-30, with 70 abstentions.

Mousavi called the resolution “selective, biased, confrontational and politically motivated.” He added that support for this resolution by Israel and some Arab regimes in the Persian Gulf that “support terrorism, extremism, and are violators of fundamental human rights themselves clearly shows the illegitimacy” of the motion. 

Part of the resolution called on Iran to release prisoners detained during large protests in November. According to Amnesty International, 304 people were killed after demonstrations erupted over the announcement of fuel subsidy cuts. Thousands were arrested. The Iranian government has not released official numbers.