In a significant development, a group of 75 current and former United Nations special procedure mandate-holders and commissioners have urged the Human Rights Council to renew the mandates of the UN Special Rapporteur on Iran and the Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on Iran (FFMI).
Calls for Accountability and Addressing Impunity
The experts, in an open letter, highlighted that “impunity and the absence of accountability for serious human rights violations remain a significant and recurrent feature of Iran’s political landscape.” They emphasized that this impunity stems in part from the failure to hold Iranian officials accountable for their involvement in the 1988 massacre of political prisoners.
Findings of the FFMI
The letter noted that in its first report to the Human Rights Council, the FFMI stated that the violent repression of peaceful protests and pervasive institutional discrimination against women and girls has led to serious human rights violations by the Iranian regime, many amounting to crimes under international law.
Urging Renewal of Mandates
The UN experts, including 63 current and former UN Special Procedures, urged Member States of the Human Rights Council to vote in favor of resolution A/HRC/55/L.6, extending the mandates of the UN Special Rapporteur on Iran and the FFMI for a period of one year.
Ongoing Human Rights Concerns
This call for action comes amidst ongoing concerns about the human rights situation in Iran, as highlighted in the recent report of the UN Special Rapporteur on Iran to the 52nd session of the Human Rights Council. The report examines the current human rights concerns in the country, with a focus on the events leading up to and during the 1988 massacre of political prisoners.
The 1988 Massacre
The 1988 massacre, which has been described as a crime against humanity, resulted in the extrajudicial execution of 30,000 political dissidents across Iran. For more than 30 years, the Iranian authorities have systematically concealed the circumstances surrounding the deaths and the whereabouts of the victims, subjecting them and their surviving families to the crime of enforced disappearance.
The original letter and the signatures of the 75 former and current UN experts can be found on the JVMI website.
