– having regard to its previous resolutions on Iran, including its most recent of 19 September 2019 on Iran, notably the situation of women’s rights defenders and imprisoned EU dual nationals[1], – having regard to the Council conclusions of 4 February 2019 on Iran,
Iran’s authorities are carrying out a vicious crackdown following the outbreak of nationwide protests on 15 November, arresting thousands of protesters as well as journalists, human rights defenders and students to stop them from speaking out about Iran’s ruthless repression, said Amnesty International today.
Over the past weeks, many people all across Iran have exercised their fundamental right to assemble and expressed their economic grievances. A growing body of evidence indicates that despite repeated calls for restraint, the Iranian security forces’ disproportionate response to recent demonstrations has led to high numbers of deaths and injuries. For the European Union and its Member States, the widespread and disproportionate use of force against nonviolent protestors is unacceptable.
According to Amnesty International, at least 161 persons have been killed during the violent suppression of the November 2019 protests in Iran. The speaker of the National Security Committee of the Iranian Parliament confirmed that approximately 7000 persons have been arrested because of participating in the protests.
Iranian authorities are deliberately covering up the scale of the mass crackdown against protesters, Human Rights Watch said today. The government should immediately announce the number of deaths, arrests, and detentions from the recent protests and permit an independent inquiry into alleged abuses.
The international community must denounce the intentional lethal use of force by Iranian security forces that has resulted in the killings of at least 143 protesters since demonstrations broke out on 15 November, Amnesty International said today.
Reporters Without Borders (RSF) condemns Iranian intelligence agency harassment and threats against Iranian journalists based abroad, especially in Britain, and against their families still in Iran, and the role played by the Iranian ambassador in London in relaying these threats.
UN human rights experts have expressed grave concerns about the situation in Iran as protests spread across the country over the past week.
ARTICLE 19 and Access Now have jointly submitted a report for consideration ahead of the third UN Universal Periodic Review (UPR) of Iran. The submission highlights a deterioration of freedom of expression in the country, with an unprecedented crackdown on freedom of expression online, and the harsh repression of protesters and human rights defenders. No progress has been made on the implementation of UPR recommendations previously accepted by Iran. However, the development of a law on freedom of information, could, with some reforms and proper implementation, enable progress for public access to information.
The Trump administration’s broad sanctions on Iran have drastically constrained the ability of the country to finance humanitarian imports, including medicines, causing serious hardships for ordinary Iranians and threatening their right to health, Human Rights Watch said in a report released today. The administration in Washington should take immediate steps to ensure a viable channel exists for trade of humanitarian goods with Iran.
