UN expert highlights Iran human rights challenges, urges action

A report by the United Nation's new special rapporteur on Iran’s human rights highlighted the country's fraught record and called for increased transparency and accountability from the government.

The report, presented by Mai Sato, marks the first submission since she assumed the role in August 2024. It outlines issues such as the use of the death penalty, suppression of civil liberties, and gender-based discrimination, while proposing constructive engagement from Iran with international human rights bodies.

In her report, Sato identifies three primary areas of concern: transparency, the right to life, and gender equality. She emphasizes that Iran continues to experience “deficits in the administration of justice such as the independence of the judiciary and the lack of accountability and impunity for human rights violations; practices that amount to torture, cruel, or degrading treatment of detainees”​.

Citing a lack of access to accurate data and limited responses to international inquiries, Sato advocates for a gender-sensitive and intersectional approach to address these embedded issues​.

According to the report, Iran maintains one of the highest execution rates globally, with at least 93 executions in August 2024 alone. Sato notes, “The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, to which Iran is a party, restricts the application of the death penalty to ‘most serious crimes,’ understood as intentional killing”​.

She argues that Iran’s judicial process often falls short, citing cases where dissidents face the death penalty on broadly defined charges like “spreading corruption on earth”​.

Amnesty International reports that Iran executed 853 people in 2023, marking the highest number in the last eight years—a 48% increase from 2022 and a 172% rise from 2021.

This surge in executions reflects a broader strategy by Iran’s Islamic government to instill fear and stifle dissent. Since the 2022 nationwide protests sparked by Mahsa Amini’s death in morality-police custody, the regime has weaponized the death penalty to crush opposition and tighten its authoritarian control.

Gender discrimination and Woman, Life, Freedom movement

The report features a worsening human rights climate for women in Iran, particularly with the government’s enforcement of hijab laws. Sato writes, “while the wearing of hijab can be encouraged as a reflection of the right to freedom of religion or belief, it should not be made compulsory by law with penalties for those who do not comply.”​

Iran's Guardian Council has approved the contentious Hijab and Chastity Bill, now awaiting a vote in Parliament, as the country confronts the looming threat of an Israeli attack that could challenge national unity.

Introduced by President Ebrahim Raisi's government in July 2023, the Hijab and Chastity Bill imposes strict penalties for non-compliance with mandatory hijab laws. First-time offenders would be fined 30 million rials (about $50), with the amount automatically deducted from their bank accounts. Repeat violations could incur fines of up to 240 million rials ($400), a significant financial strain in a country where average monthly salaries range from $200 to $250.

Iran’s stance, as noted in its response, argues that “The rule of hijab and Islamic covering in Islam is intended to ensure the safety of women and to enable their broader participation in society.” The government describes the hijab as a measure “to ensure the safety of women and to enable their broader participation in society”​. Sato counters that “women who do not wish to wear a hijab have the right to participate in the community,” and deserve “their safety and autonomy preserved whether a hijab is worn or not”​.

International cooperation and civil society engagement

While recognizing some incremental reforms in Iran’s penal laws, Sato says that civil society groups “are engaged in working on the human rights situation in the Islamic Republic of Iran, both inside and outside the country”​. She stresses the need for increased collaboration, expressing that “incremental steps towards the implementation of human rights can be identified, and assessed in a holistic manner”​.

In conclusion, the report urges Iran to ratify key human rights treaties, including the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women and the Convention Against Torture, as part of a renewed commitment to international human rights standards.