Iran has been chosen to chair the UN Human Rights Council 2023 Social Forum despite the massive repression of its citizens. Iranian activists note unprecedented pressure on civil society.
Ali Bahraini, Iran's Ambassador and Permanent Representative to the UNImage: tasnim
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An Iranian diplomat has been appointed to chair the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) Social Forum in November 2023. UNHRC President Vaclav Balek announced the appointment of the Iranian foreign policy expert in a letter dated May 10, 2023. Ali Bahreini, Ambassador and Permanent Representative of the Islamic Republic of Iran to the United Nations, was chosen from among several regional candidates.
The UN Human Rights Council 2023 Social Forum, scheduled November 2 and 3 in Geneva, will focus on the contributions of science, technology, and innovations to the promotion of human rights, including in the context of post-pandemic recovery.
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A 'slap in the face'
Mariam Claren, daughter of Nahid Taghavi, a German-Iranian human rights activist imprisoned in Iran, was shocked by the decision. "As the daughter of a political prisoner who has experienced the regime's arbitrariness and human rights violations firsthand for more than two years, I seriously question the values of the United Nations," she told DW.
Arrested in October 2020, Nahid Taghavi was charged with disrupting national security and spreading anti-state propaganda. In a speedy trial that lacked any evidence of the charges, she was sentenced to 10 years in prison. "I don't understand how a country with such atrocities and human rights violations can chair a UNHCR forum," Claren said.
In view of the ongoing crackdown on Iran's civil society in response to nationwide protests sparked by the violent death of 22-year-old Jina Mahsa Amini in police custody, Claren stated that "in Iran, people are executed every day. More than 20,000 political prisoners are behind bars. Those who demand their basic rights are shot in the street."
In her view, rewarding Iran the Social Forum chair is "a slap in the face for all Iranians and anyone who loves freedom." Many men in Iran currently face the death penalty.
Contradictory messages from the UNHRC
In a November resolution against Iran, the UNHRC called for an independent investigation into the Iranian leadership's violence against peaceful demonstrators.
"The appointment of an Iranian official to chair a UNHRC forum while the council investigates the deaths of hundreds of peaceful protesters in Iran reflects a shocking ethical blindness," said Hadi Ghaemi, head of the New York-based Center for Human Rights in Iran (CHRI).
Majid Kazemi, others face execution in Iran
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In a bid to preserve the legitimacy and credibility of the UNHRC, Ghaemi's organization is calling on governments around the world to appeal to Czech UNHRC President Vaclav Balek and demand the immediate withdrawal of Iran's appointment.
Pandemic's long-term effects on Iran unclear
The long-term effects of the COVID-19 pandemic will be an important topic at the UNHCR Social Forum. However, it is still unclear how many people have died in Iran as a result of the country's disastrous handling of the pandemic, in which authorities initially denied the spread of the virus in Iran. Critics say they failed to take adequate measures to combat the pandemic and later spread conspiracy theories about vaccines produced in the West.
Little effort has been made to contain the spread of the virus in prisons in particular. Iranian poet and filmmaker Baktash Abtin died in January 2022 after falling ill with COVID-19. According to his family, he was taken to the hospital far too late.
Jafar Azimzadeh, a union member and one of the few activists still willing to talk to foreign media, recovered from the virus in prison. "The pressure has increased enormously over the past months," he told DW, adding that the repression of civil society is unprecedented.
'Woman, life, freedom!': Iran marks 3 months of protests
The violent death of Jina Mahsa Amini in September has triggered the largest protest movement in decades against the repressive rule in the Islamic Republic. The Iranian state has reacted with full force.
Image: LOUISA GOULIAMAKI/AFP/Getty Images
Face of a revolution
On September 13, 2022, Jina Mahsa Amini was arrested by the morality police in the Iranian capital, Tehran, allegedly because her clothes and headscarf did not comply with the official rules of the Islamic Republic. Three days later, the 22-year-old Kurdish woman died in the custody of the security authorities. Her death triggered an uprising across the country.
Image: Kenzo Tribouillard/AFP
'Woman, life, freedom!'
On September 17, the uprising against the regime began at Amini's funeral in her Kurdish hometown of Saqqez: women removed their headscarves, waved them in the air and shouted "Jin, jiyan, azadi!" — in English, "Woman, life, freedom!" The call became the slogan of the growing protest movement. On October 26, thousands came to Aichi cemetery to mark 40 days since Amini's death, as seen here.
Image: UGC/AFP
Historic uprising against the ayatollahs
Amini's death marked the beginning of a historic movement. The protests against the repressive government have shaken all regions of the country, like here in Tehran at the end of September. And they haven't been limited to women — people of all ages, ethnicity and gender have taken part. It's the biggest uprising against the regime since the Islamic Revolution in 1979.
Image: AFP
Without hijab — and without fear
Over the past three months, more and more women in the Kurdish city of Sanandaj, in western Iran, have been taking to the streets without the obligatory hijab. They have shown great courage, as anyone who violates the compulsory veil risks lashes and imprisonment.
Image: SalamPix/abaca/picture alliance
Showing hair and attitude
Despite the threat, women and girls have not been intimidated. In October, these schoolgirls took off their headscarves and shouted "Death to the dictator!" — meaning Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Universities saw mass protests, and students, teachers and also oil workers took part in strikes across the country. The Kurdistan region was the scene of a general strike in early December.
Image: SalamPix/abaca/picture alliance
Regime reacts with violence
In an attempt to quash the movement, the regime has reacted with massive violence. Police and the notorious Basij paramilitary group have been sent in to break up the protests — here, police in Tehran approached a group of fleeing demonstrators with batons. Human rights organizations have estimated more than 400 people have been killed by security forces, including many children and youth.
Image: AFP
Randomness and brutality
According to eyewitness reports, police and militia have brutally beaten and fired at demonstrators, some of whom are said to have been shot in the back. Around 14,000 people are said to have been imprisoned for taking part in the demonstrations — like these women locked in a police van in Tehran.
Image: SalamPix/ABACA/picture alliance
Prisons filling up
The notorious Evin Prison in Tehran has become a symbol of repression. Political and intellectual opposition figures are being locked up here, made to survive catastrophic conditions including reported torture. In mid-October, a fire broke out at the prison and witnesses reported hearing gunfire. It remains unclear how many prisoners died or simply disappeared.
Image: UGC
Climbing without a headscarf
Prominent figures from the arts, culture and sports scenes have also taken part in the protests. At the FIFA World Cup in Qatar, the national football team refused to sing the Iranian national anthem at their opening match. When climber Elnaz Rekabi, above, competed in Seoul without a hijab, the pictures made headlines around the world. However, she was quickly silenced and issued an apology.
Image: Rhea Kang/AFP
Cutting their hair
The protest movement has received support from around the world, with thousands demonstrating from Paris to San Francisco for regime change in Tehran. In Istanbul, this exiled Iranian woman cut short her hair in front of the Iranian consulate in solidarity with the oppressed women in her home country. Prominent women — and some men — have imitated the gesture worldwide.
Image: YASIN AKGUL/AFP/Getty Images
Symbolic support
The global support hasn't just been in the form of protests. On December 13, the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin was illuminated with the Kurdish words "Woman, life, freedom." In the United States, Time named Iranian women as the magazine's "Heroes of the Year."
Image: Markus Schreiber/AP/picture alliance
'No to the Islamic Republic'
The worldwide protests — here a demonstration in Toronto — have put pressure on the government in Tehran. Additional sanctions are putting a massive strain on the country's economy. The exchange rate of the rial has fallen by more than 20% against the euro and dollar since September, hitting a record low. Even before the demonstrations began, the country was suffering an acute financial crisis.
Image: Creative Touch Imaging Ltd/NurPhoto/IMAGO
Executed for 'enmity against God'
Two imprisoned protesters have already been executed: Rapper Mohsen Shekari and Majidreza Rahnavard, seen here. At least 38 other imprisoned protesters are facing execution for the crime of moharebeh, or "enmity against God." Even children can be executed in Iran.
Image: AFP/Getty Images
'Sow the wind, and reap the whirlwind'
The global community has reacted with horror to the news of the executions. The European Union condemned the deaths, and imposed further sanctions. Meanwhile, the protests, in Iran and abroad — including at the World Cup, above — continue. Following the adage "sow the wind, and reap the whirlwind," opponents of the regime have vowed that Jina Mahsa Amini will not have died in vain.
Image: GIUSEPPE CACACE/AFP/Getty Images
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Azimzadeh is chairman of the Free Workers Union of Iran. The 57-year-old has been arrested several times over the past 20 years. In March 2015, a revolutionary court in Tehran sentenced him to six years in prison for assembling and conspiring against national security and spreading propaganda against the system.
"As a long-time trade union activist, I don't remember ever seeing so many trade union activists in prison," Azimzadeh told DW. "Critical voices are immediately crushed." He added that "a person just needs to voice criticism about the regime twice to end up in prison."