© FIDH
On the occasion of the 58th Session of the United Nations Human Rights Council, the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) joins 41 other human rights NGOs in an open letter calling for the renewal of the mandate of the United Nations (UN) Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran and the continuation of independent investigations into serious violations of human rights in Iran, to follow up on and build upon the work of the Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on Iran (FFMI). Read the open letter below.
18 March 2025.
To: Member states of the United Nations Human Rights Council
Your Excellency,
We, the undersigned Iranian and international human rights organisations, call your attention to the ongoing full-fledged human rights crisis in the Islamic Republic of Iran, and urge your government to support the renewal of the mandate of the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran, as well as the continuation of a complementary international independent investigative mechanism with a sufficiently broad and robust mandate, to follow up on, and build upon, the work of the Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on Iran (FFMI). The mechanism should have a mandate, inter alia, to investigate, collect and preserve evidence of recent and ongoing patterns of serious human rights violations and crimes under international law, and to pursue accountability efforts.
The work of the FFMI and of the Special Rapporteur over the past two years have demonstrated the importance of these two distinct yet complementary mandates for addressing the protracted human rights and impunity crisis in the Islamic Republic of Iran.
The Special Rapporteur ensures regular independent monitoring of and reporting on ongoing violations of civil, political, economic, social, and cultural rights in the country, engages with Iranian authorities and other stakeholders on these issues, brings issues to the attention of the international community through public statements, and critically, issues urgent appeals and other communications to protect the right to life and other human rights of individuals at risk.
Meanwhile, the FFMI plays a critical role by thoroughly investigating patterns of violations of significant gravity and scale, establishing structural causes and reaching factual and legal findings that can support paths toward accountability. Its functions also entail preserving evidence and identifying those suspected of criminal responsibility, both of which are crucial for combating systematic impunity for recent and ongoing violations and preventing recurrence. As stressed by the Human Rights Council, impunity creates an enabling environment for perpetrators, violates victims’ right to an effective remedy and perpetuates cycles of violence". [1]
After two years of thorough and independent investigations focused on the repression of the Woman Life Freedom protest movement since September 2022, the FFMI has established that Iranian officials have committed multiple crimes against humanity – murder, imprisonment, torture, rape and other forms of sexual violence, enforced disappearance, other inhuman acts, and persecution, including based on gender. Crucially, it also came to three conclusions.
First, it concluded that serious human rights violations and crimes under international law are ongoing. [2] It states that violations and acts of persecution against women and girls and against minorities continue unabated. Despite repeated calls, Iranian authorities have failed to deliver truth, justice, and reparations and have taken no steps to address structural impediements to accountability. On the contrary, the FFMI found that authorities escalated repression against victims and families seeking truth and justice, as well as defenders and independent monitors, including through arbitrary detention, torture and other ill-treatment, death sentences and executions. These alarming findings should not remain confined to UN reporting. States should ensure that there are meaningful avenues of justice for victims and their families.
Second, the FFMI found that the violent state repression of the Woman Life Freedom uprising was neither an isolated outburst, nor did it happen in a vacuum. Instead, it is part of a deeper pattern of lethal state repression aimed at crushing largely peaceful protests and silencing dissent–a pattern recently and most distinctly witnessed since 2017-2018, escalating in 2019 and continuing through since 2022.
The systematic discrimination and violence against women and girls, members of ethnic and religious or belief minorities, and lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) people, is not limited to the repression they face in times of public protests but permeates many aspects of their daily lives. There is a continuum between the repression of these groups during protests and their continued persecution beyond.
Third, the FFMI found that the systematic impunity granted to Iranian authorities enables the recurring cycles of gross human rights violations, the continued persecution of women and girls, and the targeting of minorities and perceived dissenters. [3] The same institutions, often even the same individuals, have carried out successive waves of brutal crackdowns, emboldened each time by deeply entrenched institutionalised impunity that shields them. Recurring abuses can be prevented and meaningful steps toward justice can be taken only by fully taking stock of this repetitive cycle of violence and impunity and identifying and holding to account those suspected of criminal responsibility.
For these reasons, it is critical that an investigation mechanism continues with a broader mandate and temporal scope, including interconnected patterns of serious human rights violations and the structural root causes of such violations. Your government should support, at the 58th session of the Human Rights Council, both renewing the Special Rapporteur’s mandate and continuing an international independent investigative mechanism with a sufficiently broad and robust mandate. We further urge member states to provide the capacity and resources to build upon the work already done by the FFMI to complete the mapping of and evidence gathering on victims and suspected perpetrators linked to successive and interconnected cycles of serious violations and crimes under international law.
Victims and survivors of past and ongoing violations and crimes under international law in Iran need a holistic approach, including reporting, intervening urgently, investigating, carrying out legal analysis and identifying those responsible to ensure real prospects for human rights, justice, truth and reparation in Iran. We appeal to your government to respond to this need. We also appeal to your government to publicly condemn and demand an immediate end to the grave and persistent rights violations committed by the Islamic Republic of Iran and support the continuation of efforts aimed at ensuring that justice ultimately prevails for the people in Iran.
