UN Human Rights Committee Deems Discrimination Against Women in Iran a Violation of Human Rights and Crimes Against Humanity

On Friday, March 9, the UN Human Rights Committee reported that "institutionalized discrimination against women and girls" in Iran constitutes a "violation of human rights and crimes against humanity in the context of recent protests." This committee, tasked by the UN Human Rights Council to prepare this report on Iran, stated in its first report: "The violent suppression of peaceful protests and widespread discrimination against women and girls have led to serious human rights violations by the Islamic Republic of Iran, many of which amount to crimes against humanity." The report presented to the UN Human Rights Council emphasizes that the instances of human rights violations and crimes under international law in the context of the "Women, Life, Freedom" protests, which began on September 16, 2022, following the death of Mahsa Amini in police custody, include "killings, extrajudicial executions and unlawful deaths, excessive and unnecessary use of force, arbitrary deprivation of liberty, torture, sexual violence, enforced disappearances, and gender-based persecution." The fact-finding committee stressed that "human rights violations specifically affect women, children, and ethnic and religious minorities" and added: "Gender-based persecution is intertwined with discrimination based on ethnic and religious identity." According to this report, Sara Hussein, the head of the fact-finding committee, stated: "These actions constitute part of a widespread and organized attack directly targeting the civilian population of Iran, namely women, girls, boys, and men who have demanded freedom, equality, human dignity, and accountability for those responsible for human rights violations." She added: "We urgently call on the Iranian government to immediately cease the repression of individuals participating in peaceful protests, especially women and girls." The UN fact-finding committee noted regarding the death of Mahsa Amini in police custody that "physical violence during detention led to the unlawful death of Ms. Amini" and added: "Instead of conducting a prompt, effective, and comprehensive investigation into this unlawful death, which is required under international law, the authorities concealed the truth and denied access to justice." The report refers to the government's repressive response through mobilizing security forces against protesters, stating that "credible statistics indicate that 551 protesters were killed by security forces," of which "at least 49 were women and 68 were children." The committee pointed out that the use of firearms by government forces was "the cause of the majority of fatalities" among them. The committee confirmed that based on the cases it investigated, security forces resorted to the use of force that was "unnecessary, arbitrary, and excessive, leading to unlawful killings and injuries to protesters." The report mentioned widespread eye injuries among protesters and the blindness of many women, men, and children. The UN Human Rights Council committee also stated that "evidence of extrajudicial killings has been obtained." While acknowledging that security forces were also killed and injured, the committee emphasized: "It has concluded that the majority of protests were peaceful." The report noted that "security forces, through arbitrary arrests, including the arrest of individuals merely for dancing, chanting, graffitiing walls, honking in cars, or posting on social media regarding their demands, such as women's rights, equality, and accountability for human rights violators, suppressed protesters, blindfolded many, and transferred them in unmarked vehicles, including ambulances." The committee also reported that "hundreds of children, some as young as 10 years old, were arrested and separated from their families without their families being informed of their whereabouts." The report also referred to torture in the Islamic Republic's detention centers and prisons. The committee wrote: "Officials tortured victims to obtain confessions or intimidate, humiliate, or punish them" and emphasized that "cases of rape and other forms of sexual and gender-based violence, including gang rape and rape with objects, electric shocks to the genitals, forced nudity, and touching and groping of women and girls' bodies have been confirmed." The UN fact-finding committee added that "security forces described women's demands for access to equality and freedom from discrimination as a desire for nudity and the promotion of corruption and immorality." The report indicates that "officials executed at least 9 men in summary trials based on confessions obtained under torture and mistreatment from December 2022 to February of this year" and that "dozens of others are at risk of execution or receiving death sentences in connection with the protests." The report stated that "women and children were among many accused of capital offenses." The UN fact-finding committee further reported that "many still pay a heavy price for supporting the Women, Life, Freedom movement" and added: "The country's authorities have intensified the repression of victims' families, journalists, human rights defenders, lawyers, doctors, and many others solely for expressing their opinions, supporting protesters, or seeking truth and justice for victims." The report states: "The highest-ranking officials of the country have encouraged, allowed, and endorsed human rights violations through justifying the actions and behavior of security forces." The report also mentions that the highest-ranking officials participated in a smear campaign that portrayed protesters as rioters, foreign elements, or separatist groups. The UN fact-finding committee accused "the government's security forces, especially the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, the Basij forces, and the police command of the Islamic Republic of Iran and other forces" of participating in "serious human rights violations and crimes." The report refers to the prevention by Iranian officials of victims and their families from seeking justice and reparative actions, stating: "The fact-finding committee found that victims face a judicial system that lacks independence, transparency, accountability, and quality of responsiveness." Viviana Krstic, an expert member of the fact-finding committee, commented on the report, stating: "The Islamic Republic of Iran has an obligation to guarantee the rights of women and children and the rights of all victims based on truth, justice, and reparative actions" and added: "Given the entrenched institutionalized discrimination against women and girls, they have the right to transformative reparative actions" that "ensure their full, free, and equal participation in all areas of Iranian society." This expert of the fact-finding committee added: "Based on our findings, this includes a set of measures such as fundamental changes to criminal and civil laws, reforming the judicial system, and taking necessary actions for accountability of officials." The fact-finding committee expressed regret over the "lack of meaningful cooperation from Iranian officials with investigations, despite repeated requests" for information related to various aspects of the investigations, including information regarding the deaths and injuries of security forces, as well as not allowing entry into Iran and conversations with the people. The committee also pointed to the "complete lack of transparency in the government's investigations" regarding reported serious human rights violations. The report emphasizes that "given the lack of effective reparative actions and due to historical and structural impunity for human rights violations in Iran, member states of the council should find strategies and options for holding perpetrators accountable at the international level and within their domestic systems." The fact-finding committee urged countries to "apply the principle of universal jurisdiction concerning all crimes under international law and free from procedural limitations; establish a support fund for victims collectively or individually; and protect and support individuals who have fled Iran to escape judicial persecution in the context of protests, including by granting asylum and humanitarian visas." Shahin Sardar Ali, an expert member of the fact-finding committee, stated: "We urgently call on Iranian officials to unconditionally halt all death sentences and immediately release detainees and end the repression of protesters, their families, and supporters of the Women, Life, Freedom movement."