The Hana Human Rights Organization expresses its deepest regret and concern over the recent statement by the “Human Rights Commission of the East Azerbaijan Lawyers’ Association,” in which, using non-legal and racist language, Kurdish citizens and one of the historical residents of this land were described as “Iraqi refugees.” We strongly condemn this statement.
Such language constitutes not only a blatant violation of fundamental human rights principles but is also in direct conflict with Iran’s binding international obligations and the ethical regulations governing the legal profession.
The so-called “Human Rights” Commission of the East Azerbaijan Lawyers’ Association is well aware that, according to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (Article 26), all individuals are entitled to equality before the law and protection from discrimination based on race, language, or ethnic origin.
This Commission is also certainly aware that, under the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (Articles 2 and 4), any promotion or dissemination of ideas of ethnic or racial superiority is prohibited and constitutes a violation of a peremptory norm in international law.
Members of the Commission should know that, according to the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights’ Rabat Plan of Action (2012), clear standards exist to address hate speech, which the recent statement clearly violates.
From the perspective of international rules governing the legal profession, the language used and the political motives behind the “Human Rights Commission of the Tabriz Lawyers’ Association” violate the fundamental principles of the role of lawyers as adopted by the United Nations Congress (Havana, 1990), which emphasizes that lawyers must defend human rights and fundamental freedoms under all circumstances.
This statement is clearly contrary to international ethical charters for bar associations, including the standards of the International Bar Association (IBA), which require lawyers to uphold impartiality, refrain from discrimination, and promote justice. Human rights commissions within bar associations are obliged to amplify the voices of minorities and vulnerable groups, not to serve as platforms for racism.
In light of the above, the Hana Human Rights Organization is deeply concerned about legitimizing structural discrimination against Kurds in this region. Historical experience has shown that when legal professionals themselves become instruments for spreading hatred and discrimination, such discrimination gains a legal veneer and lays the groundwork for more severe crimes.
In Nazi Germany, skilled jurists drafted and promoted racist interpretations of laws that facilitated the deprivation of Jews’ human rights and ultimately paved the way for the Holocaust. In former Yugoslavia, some Serbian jurists theorized ethnic discrimination, laying the groundwork for ethnic cleansing in Bosnia and Croatia.
We emphasize that the recent statement by the Human Rights Commission of the East Azerbaijan Lawyers’ Association follows the same dangerous path of legitimizing systematic discrimination and the ideological elements of ethnic cleansing.
As the Hana Human Rights Organization, we call for:
- A formal apology from the East Azerbaijan Bar Association regarding this matter, the immediate dissolution of the “Human Rights Commission” of this association, and the referral of the commission members’ case to the Bar Disciplinary Court.
- The practical adherence of the East Azerbaijan Bar Association to international standards of legal ethics, including mandatory human rights and anti-discrimination training for the members of human rights commissions and other lawyers in the association.
Once again, the Hana Human Rights Organization warns that silence in the face of such actions risks reproducing racist legal interpretations and repeating the tragic experiences of ethnic cleansing.
Hana Human Rights Organization
Geneva, 30 September 2025