of Iran raised serious concerns over recurrent arrests and detentions of HRDs solely for carrying
out their legitimate work. 32 33 34 The Special Rapporteur also referred to reports of harassment,
imprisonment and mistreatment in prison of HRDs and increasing pressure on their families.35
Despite the existence of several mechanisms that ostensibly accept complaints regarding violations
of citizens' rights, such as the Parliamentary Article 90 Commission (established under Article 90
of the Constitution, offering a mechanism to citizens to file complaint against any of the three
branches of power) and the Oversight Bodies for the exercise of Citizenship Rights in the country's
provincial courts, there is no evidence to suggest that complaints to these bodies are independently
reviewed and investigated.36 Additionally, as the State relies on the Iranian legal framework to
repress the work of HRDs, access to justice is particularly limited.
In light of the above, the Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran has not taken the necessary
measures to guarantee the existence of an environment in which all human rights defenders can
carry out their legitimate work without risk to their physical and psychological integrity or to any
form of restriction, harassment, intimidation or fear of persecution, in accordance with the
fundamental principles endorsed in the Declaration on Human Rights Defenders.
B. The UN Special Rapporteur encourages the Government to pay particular attention
to the recommendations given in her report to the Human Rights Council in 2011
(A/HRC/16/44, para.109-112).
In her report to the Human Rights Council in 2010,37 the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation
of human rights defenders provided a number of recommendations which, in short, call on
Member States to provide a safe and enabling environment for women defenders and for those
working on women’s rights or gender issues. Recommendations also include the responsibility to
document violations of the rights of women’s rights defenders and ensure accountability for
perpetrators.
However, human rights defenders (HRDs) in Iran are reportedly intimidated, harassed, arrested
and prosecuted solely for the peaceful exercise of their right to freedom of expression, assembly
32
Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran, January 2020,
https://www.ohchr.org/Documents/Countries/IR/Report_of_the_Special_Rapporteur_on_the_situation_of_human_rights_in_the_
Islamic_Republic_of_IranA4361.pdf
33
See more: United for Iran, database of Iran’s prisons and political prisoners available at https://ipa.united4iran.org/en/
34
See more: EN-Human Rights Activists News Agency, https://www.en-hrana.org/?s=activists
35
Report of the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran, January 2020,
https://www.ohchr.org/Documents/Countries/IR/Report_of_the_Special_Rapporteur_on_the_situation_of_human_rights_in_the_
Islamic_Republic_of_IranA4361.pdf
36
Joint submission to the Human Rights Committee, Abdorrahman Center, Iran Human Rights Documentation Center (IHRDC),
Impact Iran and Human Rights Activists in Iran, 2020,
https://tbinternet.ohchr.org/_layouts/15/treatybodyexternal/Download.aspx?symbolno=INT%2fCCPR%2fICS%2fIRN%2f42313
&Lang=en
37
Report of the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders, December 2010,
https://undocs.org/Home/Mobile?FinalSymbol=A%2FHRC%2F16%2F44&Language=E&DeviceType=Desktop
4