On March 20th, the United Nations Human Rights Council held a session to discuss the human rights situation in Iran.

The session was part of the 52nd Session of the Council, which began on February 27th and was dedicated to scrutinizing human rights situations in various countries, including Iran. During the session, Mr. Javaid Rehman, the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Iran, presented a comprehensive report on the Iranian regime’s human rights violations, particularly since the nationwide uprising that erupted in September 2022. The report highlighted the brutal murder of Mahsa Amini by the regime’s so-called “morality police,” which sparked nationwide protests.

Mr. Rehman emphasized that Mahsa’s death “was not an isolated event but the latest in a long series of extreme violence against women and girls committed by the Iranian authorities.” He also voiced his deep concern “at the continuing and exponentially increasing violations of human rights” in Iran since Ebrahim Raisi became the regime’s president.

Referring to his reports in March 2022 and in 2023, Mr. Rehman concluded that “there is an absence of accountability for serious human rights violations and for crimes under international law within the political, constitutional, and legal system of Iran.”

Representatives of several NGOs also condemned the gross human rights abuses in Iran. Ms. Shabnam Madadzadeh, a former political prisoner who spoke on behalf of the Women’s Human Rights International Association, shared a harrowing account of the tortures she endured in prison. She also informed the council that “Thousands of unidentified prisoners are under torture in Iranian prisons. Many are being held without having committed any criminal offense.”

Different countries applauded Mr. Rehman’s report and condemned the Iranian regime’s ongoing human rights violations. Italy, Ukraine, the US, France, Belgium, Switzerland, Luxembourg, the EU, the Netherlands, and Austria expressed grave concern over the situation in Iran.

The UK held Iran culpable of egregious continued human rights violations, including the use of the death penalty, restrictions on media and the internet, and on freedoms of speech, expression, religion, and belief. Albania voiced deep concern over the use of the death penalty in Iran against individuals arrested while exercising their legitimate rights to freedom of expression and opinion, peaceful assembly, and association.

The Council called for Iran to be held accountable for its human rights violations and expressed the need for an independent international fact-finding mission to investigate the human rights abuses in Iran. The Council also urged the Iranian authorities to ensure freedom of expression, peaceful assembly, and the release of all those arbitrarily detained.

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 – YouTub