Seven UN Special Rapporteurs have sent a Joint Allegation Letter (JAL) to the Islamic Republic of Iran raising the issue of the environmental degradation of the Hur Al-Azim wetland in Khuzestan and its particularly disproportionate impact on Ahwazi Arab communities. The letter follows the joint report submitted to the UN Special Rapports by the UNPO and the Ahwaz Human Rights Organization (AHRO) on the severe environmental degradation in Khuzestan and its devastating impact on the Ahwazi Arab communities.
The Ahwazi Arabs are one of the largest ethnic minority and Indigenous groups in Iran, predominantly residing in the Al-Ahwaz region, officially known as the Khuzestan province. The province is strategically important, responsible for nearly 85% of Iran’s oil production. Within this province is the Hur al-Azim Wetland, or the Great Marsh, a vital ecological, economic and cultural region. It has been the home of indigenous Ahwazi Arabs for centuries, with a profound impact on their livelihood. However, over the years, the Wetland has faced severe environmental degradation due to human intervention including the construction of the Karkheh Dam, extensive oil drilling, and harmful land-use practices such as petroleum-based mulching. The consequences are far-reaching, affecting biodiversity, public health, air quality, and the lives of local Ahwazi Arab communities, who rely on the Wetland for their livelihoods in farming, fishing, and traditional crafts.
In the JAL, the Special Rapporteurs express serious concern over the environmental degradation of the Hur al-Azim Wetland which has been dramatically impacted by state led infrastructure and industrial projects, including the construction of the Karkheh Dam and extensive oil drilling operations. The river’s floodplain saw a reduction by 90% as a result of the Dam construction.
The Special Procedures emphasise the human impact of the environmental crisis on local communities’ rights to a healthy environment, particularly with the serious impacts of the ongoing water crisis on ecosystem and biodiversity in the region. The JAL highlights how environmental degradation has limited access to safe drinking water and sanitation, while the release of toxic substances into the water has affected air quality.
From the information submitted to the Special Procedures, the JAL acknowledges that the Wetland forms an integral part of the ‘cultural identity of the local populations, and its continued degradation poses risks to cultural heritage’. It also recognises the role of several government agencies and related agencies – including the Ministry of Energy, the Department of Environment, the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps, and the National Iranian Oil company – in the intensive oil extraction activities contributing to the crisis.
The JAL expresses its concern about ‘ the disproportionate impact of this crisis on minority groups living in the area, including Ahwazi Arab communities’. In line with their mandates and responsibilities, the Special Procedures call on the Iranian government to, inter alia, provide information on the steps it has taken to mitigate the impacts on the Ahwazi Arabs as well as measures taken to ensure their effective and meaningful participation in decision-making processes.
The letter was issued by the following UN Special Rapporteurs, each acting under their respective mandates:
- Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran
- Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of human rights in the context of climate change
- Special Rapporteur on the human right to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment
- Special Rapporteur on adequate housing as a component of the right to an adequate standard of living, and on the right to non-discrimination in this context
- Special Rapporteur on minority issues
- Special Rapporteur on the implications for human rights of the environmentally sound management and disposal of hazardous substances and wastes
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
The UNPO welcomes the efforts made by the Special Rapporteurs to take up this case and urges the Government of Iran to take the necessary steps to address the violations of the rights of the Ahwazi Arabs. The degradation of this once-thriving wetland has had far reaching impacts on both the environment and the Indigenous communities that have depended on it for centuries. The situation in Hoor Al-Azim is not merely an environmental disaster but a profound socioeconomic and cultural crisis. The drying of the Wetland has devastated traditional livelihoods which are deeply rooted in the Ahwazi Arab cultural identity. Without the meaningful inclusion of Ahwazi Arab communities in decision-making processes and greater international and national support to help adapt to the environmental changes, the Wetland remains vulnerable to ongoing environmental and economic exploitation, jeopardizing its long-term survival and the cultural continuity of the Ahwazi Arab people.
The UNPO will continue to bring attention to these concerns in international forums and advocate for meaningful action to address the challenges faced by the Ahwazi Arab community.
