In July 2024, the Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organisation (UNPO) submitted a report to the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) ahead of the 4th cycle of the Universal Periodic Review (UPR). The UNPO submits this report in respect of ongoing human rights violations committed by the Islamic Republic of Iran against ethnic minorities – specifically the Kurdish, Baloch and Ahwazi Arab communities. The report seeks to draw attention to five particular human rights issues, namely, (1) extrajudicial killings & death penalties; (2) freedom of expression, association, and assembly; (3) arbitrary detentions, arrests and enforced disappearances; (4) women’s rights; and (5) language and cultural rights.
While the international community has reprimanded Iran, concerns about the right to life, freedom from torture, freedom of expression, freedom of association, religious freedoms, women’s rights and minority rights continue – with an especially disproportionate effect on ethnic minorities. The Kurdish, Baluch and Ahwazi Arabs are treated as second-class citizens and are subject to repression, discrimination, unequal access to education, execution, torture, arbitrary killings and major violations of freedom of association and assembly. These human rights violations have resulted in, inter alia, increased poverty, higher unemployment and a lack of access to education among ethnic minorities.
The rights of Iranian women and girls are particularly undermined with ethnic minorities experiencing emphasised safety concerns. Some examples include the criminalisation of women reporting rape and sexual assault as well as the widespread lack of recognition of Baloch women’s rights. These gendered experiences are believed to be further exacerbated by the Jini Revolution in 2022 and the ‘Women, Life, Freedom’ movement. Iranian authorities often respond to ethnic dissent through extrajudicial killings, arbitrary detention, and enforced disappearances as a means to intimidate and limit freedom of expression and association – processes that are often done with a lack of transparency and fairness for ethnic minorities. Between January and May 2023, more than 50% of the executions carried out by Iranian authorities were against Kurdish and Baluch citizens who comprise 25% of Iran’s population. Except for China, Iran is said to execute more people than any other country in the world.
This systemic oppression of ethnic minorities (the Kurdish, Baluch and Ahwazi Arabs) has the effect of perpetuating a cycle of discrimination, poverty and disenfranchisement. In light thereof, the UNPO has requested the OHCHR to make several recommendations to the Islamic Republic of Iran, including the following:
- Bring the country’s laws and policies in line with international human rights instruments and take active steps to respect minority rights, including implementing comprehensive legal reforms.
- Take practical steps to halt all forms of discrimination, oppression, and human rights violations against the Ahwazi Arabs, Kurds, and Baluch minorities and engage in meaningful dialogue with community representatives.
- Take immediate steps to release arbitrarily detained individuals and ensure they receive fair and transparent trials.
- Immediately stop all use of violence and force against peaceful protesters.
- Implement the necessary legal and social reforms to uplift women and girls’ rights and put an end to sexual and gender-based violence across Iranian society.
- Allow an international fact-finding mission concerning extrajudicial killings and enforced disappearances as well as the use of excessive force by Iranian authorities against protesters.
Photo credit: Allison Bailey/SOPA Images/Sipa USA Reuters
