Attachments
Seventy-eighth session
Agenda item 73 (c) of the provisional agenda
Promotion and protection of human rights: human
rights situations and reports of special rapporteurs
and representatives
Situation of human rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran
Note by the Secretary-General
The Secretary-General has the honour to transmit to the General Assembly the report of the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran, Javaid Rehman, submitted in accordance with Human Rights Council resolution 52/27.
Summary
The Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran submits his sixth report to the General Assembly, pursuant to Human Rights Council resolution 52/27, in which he details patterns, trends, progress and concerns arising out of the situation of human rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran.
I. Introduction
1. The present report is submitted pursuant to Human Rights Council resolution 52/27, in which the Council requested the Special Rapporteur to report to the General Assembly at its seventy-eighth session on the situation of human rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran. The present report contains information collected up to 31 July 2023, including from the Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran, non-governmental and media organizations, and in individual interviews with victims of human rights violations, their families and lawyers. In the report, the Special Rapporteur draws on observations of the human rights treaty bodies and the special procedure mandate holders of the Human Rights Council.
2. The Special Rapporteur thanks the Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran for its engagement but regrets that it continues to deny him entry to the country. He reiterates his request to be allowed to carry out visits to the country in accordance with the Human Rights Council resolution establishing his mandate.
3. The Special Rapporteur notes the scale of the nationwide protests triggered by the death in police custody of 22-year-old Jina Mahsa Amini on 16 September 2022. The Iranian authorities reacted to the largely peaceful protests with the use of excessive force by security forces, leading to the death or injury of hundreds of protestors and a marked worsening of the overall human rights situation in the country. The Special Rapporteur has accordingly undertaken extensive activities, including advocacy and engagement with all relevant stakeholders.
4. After presenting his fifth report1 on 26 October 2022 to the General Assembly, the Special Rapporteur made a presentation at the Arria-formula meeting of the Security Council on 2 November, at which he addressed the latest developments in the context of protests. On 24 November, he delivered a statement on behalf of the Coordination Committee of Special Procedures and his own mandate to the Human Rights Council at its thirty-fifth special session, on the deteriorating situation of human rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran, especially with respect to women and children, during which he reiterated his call for the establishment of an international independent mechanism to investigate all human rights violations leading up to and since the death of Ms. Amini.
5. By its resolution S-35/1, the Human Rights Council decided to establish an independent international fact-finding mission with a mandate to investigate alleged human rights violations related to the protests since 16 September 2022, especially with respect to women and children, establish the facts and circumstances surrounding the alleged violations and collect, consolidate, analyse and preserve evidence of such violations, including in view of cooperation in any legal proceedings. In April and June 2023, in accordance with the terms of the resolution, the Special Rapporteur met with members of the fact-finding mission and its staff in Geneva.
6. Since October 2022, the Special Rapporteur has visited various countries and engaged with a significant number of stakeholders, including victims, family members or friends of victims of human rights violations, as well as governmental and non-governmental organizations. He visited Germany and Belgium in November and December 2022, and Sweden, France and the Kingdom of the Netherlands in February, April, and June 2023, respectively. In addition to presenting his report to the Human Rights Council in Geneva in March 2023, the Special Rapporteur also visited Switzerland in April and June 2023.
7. From 1 January to 31 July 2023, the Special Rapporteur transmitted 13 communications to the Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran jointly with other thematic special procedure mandate holders. The Government responded to six of the communications. In addition, the Special Rapporteur issued five public statements with other thematic procedure mandate holders related to numerous serious human rights issues.