Human Rights Violations in Iran Become More Severe and Are ‘Legitimized’ Through Laws Against Freedom
Friday, December 10, 2021 – Seventy-three years after the unveiling of the thirty-article Declaration of Human Rights at the United Nations, many of the issues addressed in this declaration are being openly violated by the authorities of the Islamic Republic of Iran. The Islamic Republic of Iran’s governance has violated and continues to violate the basic rights of citizens throughout its rule using violent and inhumane methods. Despite the continued implementation of discrimination among various segments of society, government officials have never been willing to accept responsibility for protecting citizens’ rights and have never been accountable for human rights violations in Iran.
Hadi Qami, director of the Human Rights Campaign in Iran, referring to the dark history of the Islamic Republic of Iran in widespread human rights violations, said: “The increasing rise of human rights violators to key government positions has made the prospects for improving the human rights situation in Iran even more concerning than before.”
According to Hadi Qami, “Although Islamic Republic officials have always sought ways to conceal the numerous cases of human rights violations in Iran, the growth and expansion of movements against discrimination and the increasing momentum of justice-seeking movements in Iran, as well as the development of social networks, have made it more difficult to cover up reality.”
The Human Rights Campaign in Iran, on the eve of International Human Rights Day (December 10), while emphasizing the Islamic Republic of Iran’s commitment to respecting the provisions and standards mentioned in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, warns against the intensification of security and judicial treatment of human rights activists and political and ideological prisoners, as well as the suppression of public protests. The Human Rights Campaign in Iran calls on the international community to objectively and comprehensively monitor human rights violations in the Islamic Republic of Iran system and to hold Islamic Republic officials accountable for such violations.
The Iranian government in 1948, at the time of the unveiling of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, was among the supporters of this declaration. Later, by signing the “International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights” and its ratification by the National Assembly in 1975, the government effectively gave legal force to this covenant, which is considered a type of commitment by countries to the Declaration of Human Rights, and obligated itself to it.
The practice of torture and ill-treatment of political and ideological prisoners, the blatant deprivation of freedom of expression at various times and in different ways, the implementation of widespread and systematic discrimination against religious minorities, the implementation of widespread legal discrimination against women, widespread violations of fair trial procedures, and comprehensive interference in people’s privacy are just some aspects of the blatant human rights violations in Iran that are imposed on people daily by the authorities.
Islamic Republic officials have consistently presented false narratives about human rights violations in Iran, and this method—concealing reality and distorting truth—has been a constant practice of the power apparatus in the Islamic Republic of Iran. To advance this, government and media institutions have worked hand in hand to cast a veil of lies over the reality of human rights violations in Iran.
Security and judicial treatment of health justice-seekers, mothers of justice-seekers, civil and political activists, and severe and violent suppression of public protests in recent months are clear examples of how various human rights violations continue in Iran. Undoubtedly, the intensification of these violations of Iranian citizens’ rights increases public anger and dissatisfaction, and on the other hand, increases the intensity of suppression and security measures against citizens.
Hadi Qami, referring to the multiplicity of human rights violations in Iran, said: “Different forms of discrimination and rights violations among various segments of the population are not merely violations of one individual’s or group’s rights, and the scope of the consequences of discrimination and violence gradually encompasses all members of society. An example is the passage of laws that explicitly legitimize violations of citizens’ privacy.”
Today’s Iranian society is witnessing more than ever the revelation of different forms of discrimination and human rights violations in Iran. With the expansion of public protests and the rising voices of justice-seekers and civil movements, more segments of Iranian society will join these movements to convey their grievances.
Source: Human Rights Campaign of Iran
