General situation

Cases
Location of case in SG report
2023-056-001
Relevant SG report
Year of the report
2023
Country Geolocation

Latitude: 32.427908

Longitude: 53.688046

Country Geolocation (linked Cases)
Iran
From Region
UN body that raised the case prior to the SG report
  • UN Special Procedures: Country
  • UN Special Procedures: Thematic
  • UN (Dep.) High Commissioner on Human Rights
  • UN Human Rights Council: UN Human Rights Council - General
Dates of prior UN action
8 June 2022, 1 July 2022, 18 July 2022, 17 October 2022, 20 October 2022, 26 October 2022, 24 November 2022, 18 January 2023, 7 February 2023,
Type of record
General situation addressed
Was the victim a foreign national?
No
Was the victim a minor?
No
Type of rights defended
  • Unclear in SG Report
Was the victim a civil servant or member of the security forces or of the judiciary?
No
Reported trigger of reprisal

general situation

Engagement with UN body
  • Unclear
Type of attempted engagement
  • Submission of information to UN
  • Unclear
Reprisal information
  1. Multiple United Nations actors noted the shrinking of civic space, including undue State restrictions over the digital space, and continuing repression and violence targeting civil society, lawyers and journalists since the start of the protests in September 2022.44 This context amplified the risks to engage with the United Nations leading to self-censorship. Reportedly, due to protection concerns, victims and witnesses declined to avail themselves of United Nations’ procedures for the protection of human rights but provided consent for the public use of their testimony as long as it was anonymized and identifying elements were not disclosed. Names and details of those concerned have been withheld due to fear of reprisals.
  2. In his report to the General Assembly, the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran underlined that the high risk of reprisals that people and organizations face for engaging with international human rights mechanisms represents in itself a serious human rights concern (A/77/181, para. 6).
  3. On 22 December 2022, the General Assembly in resolution 77/228 on the situation of human rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran called upon the Iranian authorities to end reprisals against individuals who cooperate or attempt to cooperate with the United Nations.
  4. On 26 July 2023 the Government responded to the note verbale sent in connection to the present report noting that numerous claims and accusations under Annex I were a reiteration of false claims that the Government had already addressed in response to a communication from special procedures mandate holders. The Government stated that the arrest of any individual is solely based on the commission of criminal acts as defined by the law, not due to their engagement with United Nations human rights mechanisms or pursuit of requests and questioned the anonymous reporting of allegations of reprisals noting that claims should be submitted to the Government for investigation and comments.
Types of reprisals suffered
  • Threats/Intimidations (incl. "fear of reprisal")
Alleged/likely perpetrators
State actors
Was the reprisal based on new legislation?
No
Does the report make general comment about country’s environment for engagement with UN?
Yes
Government response dates
26 July 2023
Government response content
  1. On 26 July 2023 the Government responded to the note verbale sent in connection to the present report noting that numerous claims and accusations under Annex I were a reiteration of false claims that the Government had already addressed in response to a communication from special procedures mandate holders. The Government stated that the arrest of any individual is solely based on the commission of criminal acts as defined by the law, not due to their engagement with United Nations human rights mechanisms or pursuit of requests and questioned the anonymous reporting of allegations of reprisals noting that claims should be submitted to the Government for investigation and comments.
Is the country cited for a "pattern of reprisal" in the context of this case?
No
Is a pattern of reprisals mentioned otherwise in the context of this case?
No
Does the report cite "self-censorship" as an issue in the context of this case?
Yes