Over 40 Iranian and International Organizations Demand Follow-up on Human Rights Situation in Iran

Forty-three Iranian and international organizations, including Human Rights Watch, have called in a letter to the UN Human Rights Council for the extension of the mandate of the UN Special Rapporteur on human rights in Iran and an independent international fact-finding committee. This letter was issued after the fact-finding committee of the UN Human Rights Council accused the Islamic Republic of committing serious human rights violations and crimes against humanity in its first report. Nahid Naghashbandi, an Iran researcher at Human Rights Watch, described the existence of such 'international mechanisms' as 'vital' for 'victims and survivors' in Iran, emphasizing the 'essential role' of the Special Rapporteur and the fact-finding committee in 'revealing gross human rights violations and supporting the demands of survivors and victims for accountability and justice.' Since the beginning of its mandate in 2011, the UN Special Rapporteur on human rights in Iran has played a major role in documenting and investigating human rights violations and following up with Iranian officials, including through case studies and supporting Iranian civil society. On the other hand, the UN fact-finding committee has focused its research on the violent suppression of nationwide protests in 2022, particularly concerning women and children victims. The committee, formed after the death of Mahsa (Zhina) Amini while in police custody, has taken significant steps to hold accountable those responsible for committing crimes by collecting and preserving documents and identifying suspects of human rights violations. In a report presented to the UN Human Rights Council on March 9, 2023, the Iranian government was accused of committing serious human rights violations and crimes against humanity during the suppression of the 'Women, Life, Freedom' protests. According to this report, human rights violations in Iran have disproportionately affected women, children, and ethnic and religious minorities. The report highlights the ongoing impact of human rights violations against protesters in Iran while perpetrators enjoy complete impunity within the country, deeming the continuation of the fact-finding committee's work as 'vital.' The report states: 'In recent years, following intensified crackdowns and the emergence of the 2022 protests, the human rights situation in Iran, especially for women, has significantly deteriorated. The issuance and execution of death sentences against protesters and juvenile offenders have markedly increased in Iran over the past year, in clear contradiction to international laws.' The report further adds: 'Baha'is in Iran are subjected to discriminatory laws, arrested on vague security charges, and barred from entering universities. The Iranian government also targets ethnic minorities and Sunni Muslims, imposing restrictions on their cultural and political activities through vague security charges.' The United States had previously called for the extension of the UN's human rights monitoring mechanisms in Iran. Matthew Miller, spokesperson for the U.S. State Department, stated on March 15 that the United States strongly supports the continuation of the fact-finding committee's work and the mandate of the UN Human Rights Council's Special Rapporteur on Iran for another year. Political and civil activists expressed their hopes for the presence of the fact-finding committee in Iran this year. The U.S. ambassador to the UN Human Rights Council condemned the 'cruel' actions of the Iranian regime against its citizens, and the U.S. State Department stated that it would continue to explore all tools to hold accountable those responsible for human rights violations in Iran.