View this profile on Instagram

Impact Iran (@impactiran) • Instagram photos and videos

10/03/2023 HRC 52, Human Rights Council, Iran Mandate Holders, Reports (Rehman), The Special Procedures

UN Special Rapporteur on Iran’s findings point to the possible commission of international crimes

In a groundbreaking report released today, Javaid Rehman, UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Iran, declared that “the scale and gravity” of human rights violations he and his office have been documenting since the start of the protests in September 2022 “point to the possible commission of crimes against humanity, including murder, imprisonment, enforced disappearances, torture, rape, and sexual violence, and persecution.”

Iranian security forces killed hundreds of protestors, including children

Sections of the report detailing Iran’s response to the September 2022 protests paint a picture of rampant and unabated brutality against Iran’s civilian population that resulted in the death of over 476 people in Iran, including at least 64 children and 34 women; hundreds of protesters were severely injured, and thousands were imprisoned or placed under detention.

Iranian authorities weaponized the judiciary to execute protesters

In the report, the Special Rapporteur states his “outrage” that Iranian authorities executed protesters following “sham trials.” At least 100 other individuals have been charged with offenses related to the protests that can carry the death penalty.

The report also details a sharp increase in executions in 2022 and calls attention to the Government’s “disproportionate use of the death penalty against persons belonging to ethnic and religious minorities during 2022.”

Iranian authorities arrested and detained thousands, reportedly committed torture, gender-based and sexual violence, and rape, including against children

The Rapporteur’s report illustrates a “State policy of mass arbitrary arrests and detention,”; estimating that a staggering 18,000 individuals have been detained since the start of the protests, among them numerous human rights defenders and civil society activists, as well as students, lawyers, journalists, and at least 1,700 Azerbaijan-Turks. Of these detainees, the UN expert noted that 2,942 have had their identities confirmed.

The Rapporteur’s report paints a disturbing picture of the Government’s targeting and mistreatment of peaceful protesters. It highlights several emblematic cases where individuals have been apprehended and subjected to torture, including sexual assault, for their involvement in non-violent acts such as posting videos calling for peaceful protests, singing in support of the demonstrators, and removing their headscarves in solidarity against gender-based violence and discrimination.

Iranian security forces targeted religious and ethnic minorities

The UN expert documents the repeated targeting of ethnic and religious minorities in the current wave of repression. “More than half of the total number of persons killed since the start of the protests are from Baluchi and Kurdish-populated provinces.” Notably, the report highlights, Baluchi and Kurdish-populated provinces have been hit harder by Iranian security forces: 130 Baluchis and 125 Kurds have been killed as of December 31, 2022, with 13 children and 8 women among them. The Special Rapporteur also highlights that Iranian security force violence against Iran’s minorities happens against a background of “decades of systemic and systematic discrimination and persecution” against these communities.

The cycle of impunity drives human rights violations and must be broken

The report highlights that the death of Mahsa Jina Amini and State authorities’ failure to conduct independent, impartial and transparent investigation is emblematic of a cycle of “extreme violence against women and girls committed by the Iranian authorities” and state impunity for gender-based discrimination and violence. The Special Rapporteur, calls on the Government to “accept full responsibility for the death in custody of Jina Mahsa Amini.”

The State repression of protests that started in September 2022 is a continuation of decades of State-sanctioned violence in law and in practice against any form of dissent or perceived threat to the authoritarian rule. The Special Rapporteur recalls “long-standing emblematic events that have been met with persistent impunity, including the enforced disappearances and summary and arbitrary executions of 1988 and the protests of November 2019.”

Given the total absence of legitimate avenues for domestic accountability, Javaid Rehman’s report stresses the importance of the international community’s support of accountability efforts.

The Special Rapporteur’s conclusions come ahead of his interactive dialogue with the UN Human Rights Council, as well as the Council’s deliberations over the next steps for addressing long-standing human rights concerns in the country, including extending the UN Special Rapporteur’s mandate to continue his work for another year. The UN expert’s findings also come as the UN Fact-finding Mission begins to take shape to advance an in-depth investigation into the accusations he documents.

READ THE FULL REPORT

UPCOMING EVENTS

(all times in EST)

26 09 23
  • International Day for the Total Elimination of Nuclear Weapons

    26 09 23

27 09 23
  • World Tourism Day

    27 09 23

28 09 23
  • International Day for Universal Access to Information

    28 09 23

  • World Maritime Day

    28 09 23

  • World Rabies Day

    28 09 23

30 09 23
  • International Translation Day

    30 09 23

01 10 23
  • International Day of Older Persons

    01 10 23

02 10 23
  • International Day of Non-Violence

    02 10 23

  • World Habitat Day

    02 10 23

05 10 23
  • World Teachers’ Day

    05 10 23

09 10 23
  • World Post Day

    09 10 23

10 10 23
  • World Mental Health Day

    10 10 23

11 10 23
  • International Day of the Girl Child

    11 10 23

13 10 23
  • International Day for Disaster Reduction

    13 10 23

15 10 23
  • International Day of Rural Women

    15 10 23

16 10 23
  • World Food Day

    16 10 23

17 10 23
  • International Day for the Eradication of Poverty

    17 10 23

24 10 23
  • United Nations Day

    24 10 23

  • World Development Information Day

    24 10 23

27 10 23
  • World Day for Audiovisual Heritage

    27 10 23

31 10 23
  • World Cities Day

    31 10 23

02 11 23
  • International Day to End Impunity for Crimes against Journalists

    02 11 23

05 11 23
  • World Tsunami Awareness Day

    05 11 23

06 11 23
  • International Day for Preventing the Exploitation of the Environment in War and Armed Conflict

    06 11 23

10 11 23
  • World Science Day for Peace and Development

    10 11 23

14 11 23
  • World Diabetes Day

    14 11 23

16 11 23
  • International Day for Tolerance

    16 11 23

  • World Philosophy Day

    16 11 23

19 11 23
  • World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims

    19 11 23

  • World Toilet Day

    19 11 23

20 11 23
  • Africa Industrialization Day

    20 11 23

  • Universal Children’s Day

    20 11 23

21 11 23
  • World Television Day

    21 11 23

25 11 23
  • International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women

    25 11 23

29 11 23
  • International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People

    29 11 23

01 12 23
  • World AIDS Day

    01 12 23

02 12 23
  • International Day for the Abolition of Slavery

    02 12 23

03 12 23
  • International Day of Persons with Disabilities

    03 12 23

05 12 23
  • International Volunteer Day for Economic and Social Development

    05 12 23

  • World Soil Day

    05 12 23

07 12 23
  • International Civil Aviation Day

    07 12 23

09 12 23
  • International Anti-Corruption Day

    09 12 23

  • International Day of Commemoration and Dignity of the Victims of the Crime of Genocide and of the Prevention of this Crime

    09 12 23

10 12 23
  • Human Rights Day

    10 12 23

11 12 23
  • International Mountain Day

    11 12 23

12 12 23
  • International Day of Neutrality

    12 12 23

18 12 23
  • Arabic Language Day

    18 12 23

  • International Migrants Day

    18 12 23

20 12 23
  • International Human Solidarity Day

    20 12 23