Letter from a Group of NGOs Condemning Human Rights Violations in Iran

On Monday, November 21, Amnesty International published a letter from a group of human rights organizations to the United Nations General Assembly in support of human rights efforts in Iran and condemning the violations of these rights by the government. The letter, signed by most reputable human rights organizations, calls on members of the UN General Assembly to support the recent resolution of the Third Committee on Human Rights regarding the human rights situation in Iran. This resolution was adopted at the seventy-third session of this committee and concerns the promotion and support of human rights efforts in Iran. According to the letter, this resolution provides an annual opportunity for the General Assembly to address human rights violations in Iran in the previous year and concerns about the human rights situation in Iran. Details published in the recent report of the UN Secretary-General and the Special Rapporteur on human rights in Iran regarding the human rights situation in this country provide key recommendations for better implementation of Iran's national and international human rights commitments. The UN Secretary-General presented a report on the human rights situation in Iran in September of this year, condemning the Islamic Republic's actions in violating human rights and ignoring the rights of minorities. In António Guterres's report, references are made to the suppression of protests in December 2017, the suppression of protests in the Tehran bazaar, the treatment of dual nationals, executions, torture and mistreatment, the situation of Gonabadi dervishes, laws against women and girls, the status of minorities, and other issues. The new UN report states that many reports of torture, arbitrary detention, and judicial processes inconsistent with international standards have been received from Iran. Guterres recommended that Iranian officials 'continue constructive engagement with the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights to facilitate the addressing of all issues raised in this report and previous reports.' Meanwhile, Iranian officials, including Bahram Qasemi, the Foreign Ministry spokesman, have dismissed this report as 'lacking credibility and value.' Mohammad Hassani Nejad, Iran's representative in the Third Committee of the UN, also criticized the human rights processes of this organization, calling them 'dual and political,' stating that in this process, sanctions 'contrary to the economic and social rights of the general public in Iran' have been ignored. Iran has protested this issue while, following the re-imposition of US sanctions against Iran, the UN Special Rapporteur has stated that the United States sanctions against the Islamic Republic are 'unjust and harmful' and harm ordinary people.