The most serious human rights violations in the Islamic Republic of Iran over the past four decades have been committed since the death in police custody of Jina Mahsa Amini on 16 September 2022, including possible crimes against humanity, the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Iran said today to media at the United Nations in Geneva.
“As I have documented in my report, there is evidence of serious violations of human rights, including murder, imprisonment and forced disappearances, torture, rape and sexual violence and persecution in the context of protests that began on 16th of September last year, as part of a systematic, widespread and state instigated policy”, said Mr. Javaid Rehman, the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Iran. “And the scale of gravity of these crimes points to the possible commission of crimes against humanity,” he added.
Mr. Rehman presented his report yesterday to the UN Human Rights Council. The report followed a statement issued a few days before by several independent UN appointed rights experts, including Mr. Rehman, condemning the “deliberate poisoning of more than 1200 schoolgirls in Iran’s major cities and the State’s failure to protect them”.
“I have asked the Iranian authorities to hold individuals accountable, both for the death of Jina Mahsa Amini, but also of the subsequent killing of all of these individuals that I've mentioned, 527- and I want accountability to be ensured,” said Mr. Rehman. None of the members of the morality police involved in the death of Ms. Amini has been held accountable, so Mr. Rehman.
“The issue of accountability is very significant. So I have been reporting, I have been documenting very serious violations of the rights of girls and women and the international community. And those victims are now anticipating that the international community would hold these perpetrators to account.”
The claims of Iranian people of all ages, genders, ethnic, linguistic, religious and socioeconomic backgrounds to end the serious human rights violations, including gender-based violence and discrimination, “were met with brutal State violence”, so the report.
“526 people have been killed by state authorities, which includes 71 children. Hundreds remain severely injured, with some injuries deliberately inflicted by state authorities on girls and women on very sensitive parts of their bodies with a vindictive frame of mind to destroy and to damage them permanently,” said Mr. Rehman.
The report says that from the very first days of protest, State authorities have tried to shut down all venues of freedom of expression, and censoring social media platforms. Recently authorities recognize that over 22,000 people had been arrested.
“I noted in my report that thus far, Iranian authorities have executed four protesters after arbitrary summary and sham trials”, said Javaid Rehman, the Special Rapporteur on the Islamic Republic of Iran”. He added that “the purpose of these arbitrary and summary executions is to instill fear and to quash protests. At least 17 individuals are sentenced to death currently, and over 100 persons currently face charges that carry the death penalty. So that is the gravity of the situation that we are facing.”
The UN Human Rights Council decided last November during a special session to establish an independent international fact-finding mission on the Islamic Republic of Iran until the end of the fifty-fifth session of the Human Rights Council in March 2024. The members of the fact-finding mission were appointed at the end of last year.
-ends-
STORY: Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in Iran
TRT: 02’55”
SOURCE: UNTV CH
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH/NATS
ASPECT RATIO: 16:9
RELEASE DATE: 21 March 2023
GENEVA, SWITZERLAND
SHOTLIST
1
1
1
Statements , Press Conferences | UNCTAD
Rebeca Grynspan, Secretary-General of UN trade and development (UNCTAD) briefs the media following the opening of the 16th Conference of the United Nations on Trade and Development (UNCTAD16) in Geneva.
1
1
1
Press Conferences | UNCTAD , WMO , WFP , UN WOMEN , WHO , OCHA
Rolando Gómez, Chief of Section, Public Information, chaired a hybrid press briefing, which was attended by spokespersons and representatives of the World Food Programme, UN Women, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, the World Health Organization, the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development and the World Meteorological Organization.
1
2
1
Press Conferences | WMO
WMO Greenhouse Gas Bulletin
1
1
1
Press Conferences | WMO , UNICEF , UNDP , ICRC , WHO , OCHA
Alessandra Vellucci, Director of the United Nations Information Service in Geneva, chaired a hybrid press briefing, which was attended by the spokespersons and representatives of the United Nations Development Programme, United Nations Children’s Fund, the World Health Organization, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, the World Meteorological Organization, and the International Committee of the Red Cross.
2
5
1
2
Press Conferences | UNCTAD
UNCTAD / 16TH CONFERENCE ON TRADE AND DEVELOPMENT
As the global economy undergoes tectonic shifts in trade, finance and technology, global economic and development leaders will gather in Geneva this month to chart a path through mounting uncertainty and fragmentation. Ahead of the 16th session of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD16), Secretary-General Rebeca Grynspan outlines how countries can navigate record debt, disrupted supply chains, volatile investment flows and accelerating digital transformation. UNCTAD / UNTV CH
1
1
1
Press Conferences | IFRC , UN WOMEN , UNHCR , UNICEF , UNRWA , WHO
Alessandra Vellucci, Director of the United Nations Information Service (UNIS) in Geneva, chaired the hybrid briefing, which was attended by spokespersons and representatives from the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN Women), the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, the United Nations Children's Fund, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, and the World Health Organization.
1
1
1
Press Conferences | UNECE
UNECE Press conference on the Ministerial Meeting on Housing Affordability and Sustainablility
On 8 October 2025, UNECE member States' ministers meet to focus on the urgent challenges and strategic priorities surrounding housing affordability and sustainability in the UNECE region. Ten years after the adoption of the Geneva UN Charter on Sustainable Housing, ministers will highlight challenges and key priorities for the achievement of the Charter's objectives, and present good practice and strategic solutions in this regard. As the key outcome of the meeting, ministers will be invited to agree on practical commitments towards sustainable and affordable housing.
The meeting will take place as part of the eighty-sixth session of the UNECE Committee on Urban Development, Housing and Land Management (8–10 October 2025).
1
1
1
Press Conferences | OCHA , UNHCR , UNICEF , UNOG , WHO , IPU
Alessandra Vellucci, Director of the United Nations Information Service in Geneva, chaired a hybrid press briefing, which was attended by the representatives and spokespersons of the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, UNICEF, the World Health Organisation, and the International Parliamentary Union.
1
1
1
Press Conferences | UNHCR , UNICEF , UNIS , WHO
Alessandra Vellucci, Director of the United Nations Information Service in Geneva, chaired a hybrid press briefing, which was attended by the spokespersons and representatives of the United Nations Children’s Fund, the World Health Organization, the United Nations Refugee Agency, and the International Committee of the Red Cross.
1
1
1
Press Conferences | HRC , OHCHR
Report of the Independent Expert on Human Rights situation in the Central African Republic.
1
1
1
Press Conferences | UNECE , WHO , OCHA , UNHCR , UNICEF
Alessandra Vellucci, Director of the United Nations Information Service in Geneva, chaired a hybrid press briefing, which was attended by the representatives and spokespersons of the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (the UN Refugee Agency), the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, the United Nations Children Fund, the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe and the World Health Organization.
1
1
1
Press Conferences | WHO , FAO
Michele Zaccheo, Chief of the Radio, TV and Webcast Section at the United Nations Information Service in Geneva, chaired a hybrid press briefing, which was attended by spokespersons and representatives of the Food and Agricultural Organization and the World Health Organization.