On the eve of the review and voting on the draft resolution regarding the human rights situation in the Islamic Republic of Iran at the United Nations General Assembly, 85 Iranian and international human rights organizations issued a joint statement addressed to the representatives of member states.
Citing three official UN reports—the Secretary-General’s report, the Special Rapporteur’s report, and the Independent International Fact-Finding Mission’s report—this statement emphasizes that the widespread, serious, and organized human rights violations in Iran are reaching the level of crimes against humanity.
The joint statement calls on the General Assembly to:
- Adopt the resolution on Iran with stronger language.
- Pave the way for referring the cases of serious human rights violations in Iran to the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC).
- Utilize all powers to ensure international accountability.
- Provide effective support for civil society, human rights defenders, and vulnerable groups in Iran.
The signatory organizations warned that continued repression, state violence, and the perpetuation of the cycle of impunity pose a serious threat to human dignity, social stability, and regional security.
Joint Statement Addressed to the Members of the United Nations General Assembly Regarding the Human Rights Situation in the Islamic Republic of Iran
Excellencies,
We, the undersigned organizations, with utmost respect for the fundamental role of the General Assembly in safeguarding the goals and principles of the UN Charter, and with deep concern over the escalation of widespread and systemic human rights violations in the Islamic Republic of Iran, write this letter to you. Our aim is to draw your attention to the alarming findings of three official reports: the report of the UN Secretary-General, the report of the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Iran, and the report of the Independent International Fact-Finding Mission.
These reports collectively present a deeply disturbing picture of severe patterns of organized human rights violations. The Fact-Finding Mission has declared that the violations committed by Iranian authorities—particularly regarding the violent suppression of protests, arbitrary mass arrests, torture, sexual and gender-based violence, extrajudicial executions, and enforced disappearances—are at or near the threshold of crimes against humanity.
The realities reflected in these reports align exactly with what our organizations witness daily through direct contact with victims, survivors, political prisoners, and their families. We are faced with the lived experiences of human beings suffering in deep agony and forced isolation, without access to justice.
Based on this, we respectfully request the General Assembly to:
- Adopt the draft resolution on the human rights situation in the Islamic Republic of Iran with broad support and strengthened language that reflects the findings that some violations may constitute crimes against humanity.
- Recommend the referral of serious human rights violations in Iran to the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) for investigation and potential prosecution.
- Utilize all capacities to promote international accountability, especially where internal mechanisms have failed.
- Support the creation or extension of independent fact-finding and evidence-preservation mechanisms to ensure documentation is secured for future accountability and transitional justice processes.
- Emphasize the necessity of protecting Iranian civil society, including human rights defenders, women’s rights activists, journalists, lawyers, labor activists, and vulnerable ethnic and religious minorities.
- Insist on the immediate release of all political prisoners, an end to executions, and the cessation of the violent suppression of peaceful protests.
Excellencies,
This joint statement is the echo of thousands of families who have spent years searching for truth and justice.
We respectfully urge you to fulfill your collective responsibility in protecting human dignity and to ensure that the cycle of violence and impunity does not continue.
Respectfully,
The Undersigned Organizations