Every UN Special Rapporteur who attempted to investigate Iran’s human rights situation after the revolution in 1979 has followed a common fate.
On May 8, UN Special Rapporteur on Iran, Prof. Alena Douhan, will visit the country to assess “the negative impact of unilateral coercive measures on the enjoyment of human rights.”While no foreign national, ordinary citizen, researcher, or official has ever visited without strict state surveillance and orchestration, a UN rapporteur’s tour, especially with the human rights label, is ironic in the extreme.
Every UN Special Rapporteur who attempted to investigate Iran’s human rights situation after the revolution in 1979 has followed a common fate. Andrés Aguilar (1984–1986) resigned as Tehran continued to sabotage his job.
(1986–1995), who “learned the lesson” and followed the mullahs’ rules, managed to visit Iran three times between 1990 and 1992. Despite the fact that the massacre in 1988 occurred while he was in charge, he preferred loyalty to duty, and after his third visit, he was barred from returning to Iran, and some of those who had spoken with him were killed by the authorities.
Reynaldo Galindo Pohl, Despite the fact that the massacre in 1988 occurred while he was in charge, he preferred loyalty to duty, and after his third visit, he was barred from returning to Iran, and some of those who had spoken with him were killed by the authorities.
The UNCHR appointed Canadian lawyer Maurice Copithorne as Special Rapporteur after Galindo Pohl resigned. On April 22, 2002, the UNCHR decided that Mr. Copithorne’s reports on Iran’s human rights were unnecessary and voted to terminate his mandate, while Mohammad Khatami continued to promise reforms and the Western appeasement policy toward Iran flourished. Mr. Ahmed Shaheed (2011-2016), Mrs. Asma Jahangir (2016–2018), and Mr. Javaid Rehman (2018-) have never visited Iran, much less assessed the impact of anything on the country’s human rights.
Tehran continued to sabotage his job. Reynaldo Galindo Pohl (1986–1995), who “learned the lesson” and followed the mullahs’ rules, managed to visit Iran three times between 1990 and 1992.
If Tehran really wanted to help people, it could easily do so by opening bank accounts for officials and investing the multibillion-dollar fortunes of its vast cartels into the country’s economy.
If Ms. Douhan intends to make a real change, she ought to insist on visiting the Mostazafan Foundation, Setad Ejraiye Farman Emam, Astan Quds Razavi, Foundation of Martyrs and Veterans Affairs, and its affiliate Kowsar Economic Organization, Barakat Foundation, Alavi Foundation, Fifteen Khordad Foundation, Housing Foundation of the Islamic Revolution, Imam Khomeini Relief Foundation, Khatam-al-Anbiya Headquarters, etc.
Ms. Douhan’s eleven-day managed tour inside Iran is unlikely to produce any eye-opening reports for the world, unless she joins her colleagues who have been declared persona non grata by Tehran, as history has demonstrated.
While Iranian officials live in opulent villas and palaces and send their children to Western countries, some Iranians are forced to sell their body parts and babies in order to survive. According to Forbes, the number of high-net-worth individuals (HNWIs) in Iran increased by 21.6 percent in 2020, far outpacing the global average of 6.3 percent. The wealth of these dollar millionaires grew at a 24.3 percent annual rate.”
On April 23, the Secretariat of Iran’s National Council of Resistance (NCRI) issued a statement in which it “strongly condemned the clerical regime’s manipulation of UN bodies” and demanded an investigation into the regime’s recent massacres and crimes.
As the country faces unprecedented inflation and soaring prices for basic commodities, which state officials are now openly warning about, Tehran will try to use Ms. Douhan’s visit to blame the misery on international sanctions.
While Iran reaped the benefits of the 2015 nuclear deal’s sanctions relief, millions of Iranians took to the streets to protest rising prices in January 2018. After rejecting all ruling factions, Iranians demanded regime change.
Since 2018, major uprisings have rocked the regime’s foundations. The Iranian people continue to chant, “Our enemy is right here; saying it’s America is a lie.”
Tehran will try to blame Ms. Douhan’s visit on international sanctions as the country faces unprecedented inflation and soaring prices for basic commodities, which state officials are now openly warning about.
MEK Iran (follow us on Twitter and Facebook), Maryam Rajavi’s on her site, Twitter & Facebook, NCRI (Twitter & Facebook), and People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran – MEK IRAN – YouTu