Amnesty International: Global Community Must Condemn Deteriorating Human Rights Situation in Iran
Amnesty International has called on the global community to publicly condemn the worsening human rights situation in Iran and present solutions to the Iranian government to address these issues. This statement was issued ahead of a meeting of the United Nations Human Rights Council.
The “Universal Periodic Review” session at the UN Human Rights Council will be held on Friday, November 8, in Geneva. On this occasion, Amnesty International issued a press statement calling on the global community and participating countries to condemn the widespread violations of human rights in Iran and “present concrete solutions to address these issues to Iranian officials and authorities”.
The statement quoted Philip Luther, Director of Research and Advocacy for the Middle East and North Africa at Amnesty International, as saying: “The horrifying list of human rights violations in Iran, from the alarming number of executions to the relentless torture and criminal persecution of human rights defenders, widespread discrimination against women and minorities, and the continuation of crimes against humanity, indicates a severe deterioration in the human rights record of this country.”
Philip Luther views tomorrow’s Friday meeting of the UN Human Rights Council as an important opportunity for the global community to review Iran’s record and to “clearly and decisively inform Iranian officials and authorities that their appalling disregard for human rights will not be tolerated”.
The global community has long ignored human rights violations in Iran
Philip Luther also stated: “This session is also an opportunity for countries around the world to pay greater attention to the continued forced disappearance of thousands of political dissidents over the past three decades; this crime against humanity that the global community has long ignored.”
The statement noted that Iran’s human rights record was last reviewed in 2014, and since then the Islamic Republic has significantly escalated repression.
Amnesty International pointed to the detention of thousands of protesters and severe repression of human rights defenders, including activists campaigning against mandatory hijab, and warned that the Islamic Republic is moving to destroy the last remnants of civil society in Iran.
The statement noted that the Iranian government has increasingly violated fair trial rights and, between the 2014 review session and now, has executed 2,500 people, including juvenile offenders, “in gross violation of international law”. In its letter to the UN Human Rights Council, the organization stated that the Iranian government has “failed in all respects” regarding human rights.
Amnesty International’s press statement also referred to the concealment of the fate and burial sites of thousands of political prisoners executed between August and September 1988, stating: “This effort requires not only the immediate disclosure of facts about the fate of massacre victims in 1988 and halting the process of destruction of mass graves containing the bodies of massacre victims, but also the prosecution of individuals suspected of involvement in these crimes against humanity.”
