53 UN Human Rights Council Members Issue a Statement over Iranian Protests

In a joint statement, 53 UN Human Rights Council members urged Iran’s regime to refrain from disproportionate use of force against the protestors. This statement, drafted by Chile, asked Iranian authorities to align their legislation to international human rights standards and conduct an impartial investigation into Mahsa Amini’s death.

The statement expressed “deeply concerned by the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini, who died in police custody after her arrest for allegedly failing to comply with Iran’s rules by wearing what was perceived as improper Hejab.”

On September 17, 2022, Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old woman, died at a hospital after the Moral Police arrested her for improper hejab. Since September 23, demonstrations were held in at least 85 cities and 18 universities across 29 provinces, and are still ongoing, as many have been arrested, injured, or killed.

Javid Rahman’s Latest Report on the Human Rights Situation in Iran has been Published

Javid Rahman, Special Rapporteur on the situation of Human Rights in Iran, has published his latest report, which is scheduled to be presented at the next meeting of the UN Human Rights Council.

According to HRANA, the news agency of Human Rights Activists, various issues have been addressed, such as the COVID-19 crisis, the alarming rate of death sentence issuance, and the Islamic government’s lack of accountability for human rights violations in the country.

According to the report, journalists and civil society activists were under pressure from security agencies as this year’s presidential election approached. Those who called for a boycott of the election were detained or harassed by security forces.

Expressing concern over the non-observance of the preconditions for free elections, Javid Rahman called for fundamental reform of Iran’s electoral laws.

The rapporteur reiterated the lack of accountability of individuals and institutions that have violated the rights of Iranian citizens, such as the violence in November 2019, and the downing of a Ukrainian 752 aircraft, and he added that restitution to the families of individuals killed in the flight can in no way replace serious prosecution and punishment of perpetrators.

He further expressed concern about the impact of international sanctions on the state of the Corona epidemic and called the government’s efforts to reduce the impact of the crisis on the social and economic life of citizens insufficient.

You can read the complete report here.