A/HRC/19/66 Special Rapporteur notes that the unwillingness to provide access to the country creates a void of information and only encourages the international community to imagine the worst, thereby intensifying the focus on the Government‟s human rights record. 4. The Special Rapporteur welcomes the statement made by the representatives of the Islamic Republic of Iran during consideration by the Third Committee of the General Assembly of a draft resolution on the situation of human rights in that country , that the Special Rapporteur “should be given time and opportunity to prepare his reports without external pressure or induced prejudices”.5 To this end, the Special Rapporteur was keen to develop a substantive dialogue with the authorities and is pleased to have at least been granted meetings with the Permanent Missions of the Islamic Republic of Iran in New York and Geneva. 5. In accordance with the code of conduct for special procedures mandate holders,6 the Special Rapporteur has forwarded the present report to the Islamic Republic of Iran, which made several observations. It stated that, inter alia, the establishment of a country mandate was the result of a “flawed process”, that the country had been cooperating with the United Nations human rights system, and that the Special Rapporteur was engaged in propaganda by participating in forums and gatherings that were contaminated by Western espionage agencies, Zionist elements and terrorist groups. It also stated that sources of information, such as reports or complaints, lacked credibility, and that no positive reference had been made to meetings with officials and representatives of civil society. The Islamic Republic of Iran further stated that more substantive comments would be forthcoming once these matters were addressed. 6. The Special Rapporteur would like to point out that the cooperation of the Islamic Republic of Iran with the human rights mechanisms has been found wanting in reports of the Secretary-General, General Assembly and Human Right Council resolutions, and also in the concluding observations of the Human Rights Committee. The Special Rapporteur highlights the fact that he declined to participate in any forums or public gatherings, except for United Nations press conferences and individual interviews with the media following the presentation of his first report. The Special Rapporteur believes that his information is credible and corroborated by a number of independent sources. Lastly, the Special Rapporteur met with two non-governmental organizations that are supportive of the Government and made adequate reference to their concerns (see paragraphs 40 and 43 below). II. Methodology 7. Together with his proposed methodology, the Special Rapporteur presented 58 cases of human rights violations in his interim report (A/66/374) to the General Assembly on 19 October 2011. He drew no substantive conclusions, but presented allegations submitted to him as a platform for initial dialogue about the human rights situation in the Islamic Republic of Iran. 8. To date, the Special Rapporteur has not been granted the opportunity to engage with Government representatives in any substantive discussion about the cases presented in his 5 6 4 www.brookings.edu/opinions/2010/1208_human_rights_piccone.aspx Statement made by the Senior Adviser to the Head of the Judiciary and the Secretary-General of the High Council for Human Rights of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Javed Larijani, New York, 21 November 2011. Human Rights Council resolution 5/2, annex.