Special Rapporteur Presents Report to UN General Assembly

Today, October 23, UN Special Rapporteur Ahmed Shaheed will present his latest report on human rights in Iran at the UN General Assembly at 3pm in New York. The 20-page report, available online, notes that there has been “no sign of improvement” in the human rights issues raised previously by UN human rights mechanisms.

“Tensions between various aspects of the country’s laws and its human rights obligations, along with the capricious application of those laws, remain causes of the lack of progress,” the report states. “As a result, gender discrimination, as well as systemic and systematic violations of civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights, continue to characterize the human rights situation in the country.”

In response to the Special Rapporteur’s report, the Iranian government submitted a 56-page document, also available online. “The Islamic Republic of Iran has incessantly demonstrated its determination to cooperate with international mechanisms,” the response states.

However, Iranian authorities have yet to allow the Special Rapporteur on human rights in Iran to enter the country. In his report, the Special Rapporteur “renews his call for the Islamic Republic of Iran to engage with the United Nations human rights mechanisms in a meaningful and constructive manner, including by admitting him to the country.”

The live stream of the Special Rapporteur’s presentation to the UN General Assembly is available here at 3pm Eastern Daylight Time.