Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran
A/HRC/43/61 para 68(a)
Full recommendation:
The Special Rapporteur recommends that the Government, the judiciary and the parliament:
Undertake prompt, independent and impartial investigations into all acts of violence that have
taken place in the context of the November 2019 protests, including deaths of protesters and
reported deaths in custody, and into reports of ill- treatment, and to hold those responsible
accountable;
Assessment
NGOs1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 and OHCHR9 documented the Iranian authorities’ use of unlawful excessive and
lethal force against protestors during the November 2019 protests.
In his January 2021 report, the Special Rapporteur of the Islamic Republic of Iran reported that
“The Government has failed to conduct an independent and transparent investigation into the
violent State response to the November 2019 protests or hold perpetrators accountable.”10 As of
March 2021, there is no readily available information that might indicate that the Islamic
Republic of Iran has conducted independent and impartial investigations into all acts of violence
that have taken place in the context of the November 2019 protests.
Despite the existence of several mechanisms that ostensibly accept complaints regarding
violations of citizens' rights, such as the Article 90 Commission of the parliament (established
based on 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
1
Abdorrahman Boroumand Center, https://www.iranrights.org/newsletter/issue/102
Article19, https://www.article19.org/ttn-iran-november-shutdown/
3
KMMK-G, https://kmmk-ge.org/sd/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/KMMK-G-REPORT-ON-NOVEMBER-2019-FUELINCREASE-PROTEST-IN-IRANIAN-KURDISTAN_Finaldoc.pdf
4
AHRAZ, https://www.ahraz.org/association-for-the-human-rights-of-the-azerbaijani-people-in-iran-ahrazs-repot-regarding-thecurrent-situation-of-the-azerbaijani-arrestees-that-are-arrested-during-the-recent-protests-nove/
5
EN-HRANA, https://www.hra-news.org/periodical/a-70/ ; https://www.en-hrana.org/november-protests-the-details-of-the-caseof-three-prisoners-who-were-sentenced-to-death?hilite=%27november%27%2C%272019%27 ; https://www.enhrana.org/november-protesters-sentences-execution-imprisonment-and-lashes?hilite=%27november%27%2C%272019%27
6
Iran Human Rights, https://www.iranhr.net/en/articles/4059/
7
Iran Human Rights Documentation Center, https://iranhrdc.org/pressure-on-families-of-victims-as-true-dimensions-ofnovember-crackdown-are-still-emerging/
8
United For Iran, https://united4iran.org/today-is-international-human-rights-day
9
Report of the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran, July 2020,
https://undocs.org/Home/Mobile?FinalSymbol=A%2F75%2F213&Language=E&DeviceType=Desktop
10
Report of the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran, January 2021,
https://undocs.org/Home/Mobile?FinalSymbol=A%2FHRC%2F46%2F50&Language=E&DeviceType=Desktop
2
1