UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in Iran Javaid Rehman has expressed concern about “broader human rights issues” and the “worsening situation” of individuals attempting to exercise their civil rights in Iran.
In his report to the United Nations General Assembly on October 25, Rehman highlighted the high number of arrests, executions, and arbitrary killings carried out by the Iranian regime, targeting lawyers, human rights defenders, and anyone using their right to freedom of expression.
He expressed concern about the situation of women’s rights in Iran, stating that individuals protesting against mandatory hijab have been arrested and sentenced to long imprisonments, regardless of their gender.
Rehman also stated that Iranian women and girls face gender apartheid and systematic discrimination, while ethnic minorities face discrimination, persecution, and harassment, as they are excluded from all platforms of dialogue or democratic reforms.
Referring to the problems with the Iranian regime’s Constitution, the UN Special Rapporteur stated that these laws are subject to politically engineered standards or the application of state ideology.
He further stated that this situation has led to “widespread mistrust and extensive public protests” in Iran, and the regime responds to peaceful protests in Iran with injuries, killings, arrests, torture, and executions.
Javaid Rehman also mentioned the increase in executions in Iran, with 419 citizens executed this year, stating that as long as fundamental freedoms are not guaranteed by law, the pattern of human rights violations will not change.
Since the summer of 2018, Javaid Rehman has been appointed as the UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in Iran and has repeatedly highlighted widespread human rights violations by the regime in his reports. The Iranian regime has consistently described his reports as politically biased and denied all the issues he raised.
The killing of Mahsa Amini by the Morality Police in 2022 sparked a wave of nationwide protests in Iran that called for the overthrow of the regime. This nationwide uprising, centered around women in Iran, also received widespread and unprecedented support from the international community. The Iranian regime responded to this movement with violent suppression of any gathering and demonstrations, and according to reports, over 750 protesters were killed and 30,000 were arrested.
