Still, Tehran’s human rights violations need to be addressed. This issue provides direct support for the Iranian people in their struggle for freedom and democracy.
International Human Rights Day was established by the United Nations General Assembly on December 4th, 1950. The General Assembly invited all member states and any other interested organizations to celebrate the day as they saw fit.
The day is normally marked by high-level political conferences, and cultural events and exhibitions dealing with human rights issues. Traditionally, on December 10th, the five-yearly United Nations Prize in the Field of Human Rights and Nobel Peace Prize are awarded. Many active human rights organizations also schedule special events to commemorate the day.
On December 10th, we are also well into the first year of Iranian President Hassan Rouhani’s second term.
While known in Western media as a “moderate” figure in Iran’s politics, his tenure has seen more than 3,500 executions. As well, a new report by Iran Human Rights Monitoring (Iran-HRM) has reviewed human rights issues in Iran during the course of 2017, and found a 22 percent increase in the number of arrests, a 25 percent increase in women’s executions, as well as the execution of four juveniles, and a surge in inhumane punishments.
The United Nations Special Rapporteur on the human rights situation in Iran, Mrs. Asma Jahangir, stated in her semi-annual report that the absence of an independent judiciary in Iran impacts the country’s human rights situation. Human rights reform hinges on reforming the judiciary, she added.
In its 2016-2017 report, Amnesty International stated that Iran hosts 55 percent of the world’s executions.
Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei used the term “fire at will” in a speech last June, which lead to an increase in human rights violations, according to the Iran-HRM report.
Since the beginning of 2017, until the end of November, Iran has allegedly witnessed 520 executions, but only 91 of these cases have been reported by the regime’s official news agencies. There were 28 public hangings, and five cases that involved political prisoners. Additionally, state security forces in Iran’s border regions have continued to kill porters, with 84 dead, so far in 2017.
