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Geneva: Two and a half years after the “Woman, Life, Freedom” protests began in September 2022, the Government of Iran continues to ramp up efforts to restrict the rights of women and girls, and others demanding human rights as part of a concerted effort to crush dissent, the UN’s Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on the Islamic Republic of Iran warned in a new report today.
These repressive measures come despite pre-election assurances by the current President Masoud Pezeshkian to ease strict enforcement of mandatory hijab laws. They involve the increased use of technology and surveillance, including through State-sponsored vigilantism, that further infringe upon women and girls’ fundamental rights.
Since April 2024, the State increased policing of, and criminal prosecution against, women defying the mandatory hijab through the adoption of the so-called “Noor plan.” Women human rights defenders and activists have continued to face criminal sanctions, including fines, lengthy prison sentences, and in some cases the death penalty for peaceful activities in support of human rights.
The report, to be presented to the Human Rights Council in Geneva on 18 March 2025, found that these measures reflect the State’s ongoing persecutory conduct aimed at supressing women and girls’ human rights, and their right to equality.
Allegations of crimes against humanity
“For two years, Iran has refused to adequately acknowledge the demands for equality and justice that fuelled the protests in 2022. The criminalisation, surveillance and continued repression of protesters, families of victims and survivors, in particular women and girls is deeply worrying,” said Sara Hossain, chair of the Fact-Finding Mission.
Persecutory acts were also directed against victims of torture, use of force, and other violations during the protests and their families, who have been systematically intimidated to remain silent about the harm suffered during the protests, and against those who act in solidarity with them, such as human rights defenders, lawyers, and journalists. Many of those persecuted have been compelled to leave Iran since.
Beyond intensifying surveillance, the State has expanded restrictions on digital space, extending its repression beyond Iran’s borders to silence human rights defenders, including journalists, who speak up from abroad, the report found.
So far, 10 men have been executed in the context of the protests, and at least 11 men and 3 women remain at risk of being executed, including for protected conduct, against the backdrop of serious concerns over the adherence to the right to a fair trial, including the use of torture tainted confessions, and due process violations.
The Fact-Finding Mission
The Fact-Finding Mission reviewed information provided by victims and witnesses, as well as the Government, and collected through extensive open-source investigations, regarding accountability efforts at the domestic level. It found that while some measures have been taken, including some prosecutions of law enforcement officials for unlawful use of force and instances of compensation paid to victims, these measures remain sporadic and inadequate. More fundamentally, the State has largely denied responsibility for gross human rights violations, some of which the Mission found to amount to crimes against humanity. Its judicial system lacks basic independence, and victims and families seeking accountability are not only denied justice, but are also continuously intimidated, threatened, arrested, and subjected to criminal prosecution.
“Although it is the Government of Iran’s primary duty to provide redress to victims, we have heard from countless victims and survivors that they have neither confidence nor trust in Iran’s judicial and legal system, to provide meaningful truth, justice and reparations,” said Shaheen Sardar Ali, an expert member of the Fact-Finding Mission. “It is therefore imperative that comprehensive accountability measures also continue to be pursued outside the country.”
Over the course of two years, the Fact-Finding Mission has collected and preserved an extensive body of evidence, including over 38,000 evidence items and interviewed 285 victims and witnesses.
Human Rights Violations
The report reaffirmed its previous findings of gross human rights violations and crimes against humanity. The Mission also investigated more cases of rape of women protesters, including gang rape, and protester deaths characterised by the State as “suicides,” as well as the widespread use of mock executions of detainees, amounting to torture.
In relation to children, the mission found that security forces made little or no distinction between adult and child protesters – subjecting them to similar treatment, including unlawful use of force, torture and a range of fair trial violations.
In strengthening the evidence underlying its previous findings, the mission found that ethnic and religious minorities, in particular Kurds and Baluchis, as well as LGBTQ+ persons were particularly targeted in the context of the protests and victims of violations and crimes, including persecution.
The Fact-Finding Mission also expanded its investigation into the roles, structures, and responsibilities of State entities such as the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), the Basij, the Ministry of Intelligence, the Ministry of Interior, the police (FARAJA), including its special forces, and the “morality police”, the provincial governors, as well as the Judiciary. It made findings on responsibility of these entities in relation to the use of force, detention, criminal trials and death penalty, and the mandatory hijab enforcement. In this context, the Fact-Finding Mission further investigated the responsibility of entities involved in the gross human rights violations and crimes against humanity, the heads of which bear responsibility in light of their roles and authority.
In the context of its preservation mandate, the Fact-Finding Mission conducted a detailed mapping of the structures of State entities. It also collected and analysed material on the identities and responsibility of alleged perpetrators, which it included in a confidential list, which will be handed over to the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights at the end of the mandate.
In recognising that the human rights concerns in Iran are both complex and extensive and exceed the mandate of the current Fact-Finding Mission, the report calls on the Human Rights Council to consider appointing a new, independent body to follow-up on the Fact-Finding Mission’s work. The report noted that such a body could continue investigations into allegations of serious human rights violations in Iran, both past and on-going, and their root causes, such as structural and systemic discrimination, on grounds of gender, ethnicity, religion and/or political beliefs.
“The Government’s policies have denied victims in Iran the right to truth, justice, and reparations,” said Viviana Krsticevic, an expert member of the Fact-Finding Mission. “Given the gravity of the violations in the country and the serious risk of recurring violence against those who express dissent or challenge the State and its policies, it is crucial for the Human Rights Council to continue supporting the victims in their search for redress and non-repetition. This includes fostering all necessary measures, in accordance with international human rights law, to prevent further violations — reinforcing the Council’s vital role in prevention,” she added.
Background: The UN Human Rights Council mandated the Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on the Islamic Republic of Iran on 24 November 2022 to investigate alleged human rights violations in the Islamic Republic of Iran related to the protests that began there on 16 September 2022, especially with respect to women and children. On 20 December 2022, the President of the Human Rights Council announced the appointment of Sara Hossain (Bangladesh), Shaheen Sardar Ali (Pakistan) and Viviana Krsticevic (Argentina) to serve as the three independent members of the Mission and appointed Sara Hossain as its Chair.
