New UN Special Rapporteur Report on Increase of Executions and Women's Rights Violations in Iran

The UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in Iran expressed concern over the increase in executions, repression, and widespread violations of women's rights and freedom of expression in Iran in a detailed new report. Mai Sato, the Special Rapporteur, presented this 21-page report to the UN Human Rights Council on Wednesday, March 13, highlighting the high number of executions of women in Iran and expressing serious concern over the government's use of the death penalty, stating that the number of executions in Iran has "significantly" increased. Sato, who took over from Javaid Rehman on August 2 this year, had previously expressed concern about the rise in executions in her first periodic report on November 2, noting over 900 executions recorded in the last year in Iran. Recently, two human rights organizations based in Norway and the French organization "Together Against the Death Penalty" reported a "horrific increase" in the number of executions in the country, announcing that the Iranian government executed 975 people last year. According to human rights organizations, the increase in the number of executions in Iran in 2024 indicates a 17% rise compared to the 834 executions in 2023. Sato's report also addressed widespread discrimination against women in Iran, the rise in femicides (179 cases in 2024), child marriage, ongoing harassment of women, and police and judicial actions regarding mandatory hijab enforcement, as well as restrictive laws in marriage, divorce, and inheritance. She praised the increasing awareness among women in Iran regarding their rights and their determination to challenge governmental and legal discrimination, including civil resistance regarding mandatory hijab. The Special Rapporteur also criticized the harassment of families of victims of the "Women, Life, Freedom" protests in Iran, the systematic repression of individuals and unions of teachers, lawyers, journalists, workers, and human rights defenders for expressing solidarity with the nationwide protests of 2022. The report states that after the nationwide protests, the Islamic Republic not only further restricted the virtual space but also extended its repression beyond Iran's borders to silence protesters inside and outside the country. The report highlights the impunity of perpetrators and instigators of violence against citizens, the ongoing denial of actions constituting "crimes against humanity" by the government inside Iran, the continued intimidation and threats against individuals, and the evasion of accountability by the "independent" judicial system in Iran. Sato deemed the establishment and actions of a special committee formed by the Islamic Republic to investigate the 2022 protests as "insufficient." Meanwhile, Sakineh Pad, a member of a committee titled "Review of the 2022 Unrest," claimed that the Islamic Republic has "compensated for significant damages" and provided compensation to "individuals who were harmed in those unrests, even to those whose assailants were not identified." In her report, Sato suggested that given the ongoing gross violations of human rights and crimes against humanity in Iran, it is essential for the Human Rights Council to continuously and seriously address and monitor the human rights situation in the Islamic Republic of Iran. She proposed the establishment of an independent body to conduct investigations and compile and document evidence regarding the human rights violations in Iran, both past and present, in areas such as structural and systemic discrimination against women, men, and children based on gender, ethnicity, religion, or political beliefs, perpetrated by individuals or state entities. She also referred to the ongoing restrictions and widespread repression of the right to freedom of expression and the right to peaceful assembly, mistreatment of prisoners in Iranian prisons, lack of transparency from government institutions to obtain information regarding the human rights situation in Iran, the absence or shortage of official and transparent data in this regard, and widespread discrimination against ethnic and religious minorities in Iran.