Women and Minorities Let Down by Iran's Weak Laws

 

The recent execution of Reyhaneh Jabbari was widely covered in the international press. Prior to her death, there were calls from around the world and across social media for the Iranian government to show leniency in her case, and to retry the 26-year-old, who was hung for for murdering the man who tried to rape her. The case was one of many high profile cases that have drawn global attention to human rights in Iran, a situation that many hoped would improve under President Hassan Rouhani.

In his second report to the UN in 2014, Dr. Ahmed Shaheed, the international body’s Special Rapporteur for Human Rights in Iran, highlights some of the key issues around the human rights situation in Iran today, where minorities continue to face persecution and women’s rights are repeatedly undermined.

He spoke to IranWire about the dire state of press freedom, what the international community could be doing to improve the situation in Iran, and the hope for change if sanctions are lifted.

 

After the Isfahan acid attack protests,  government agents arrested several journalists. What do you think the reason for this was?

Press freedom is in a very bad place in Iran. It’s evident the space for press freedom is very limited in the country, so much so the press frequently censors itself. Security forces make journalists the victims of draconian rules and charges. There are also huge limitations on internet freedoms; people are unable to access certain social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter This all speaks to a very restricted media in Iran.

 

Has the situation for religious minorities like the Baha’is improved?

Not at all; the Baha’is remain in prison and the policies that limit their access to higher education hasn’t changed.  Reports of executions and harassment haven’t diminished. If anything, the discourse in the country and the vilification of the Baha’is has increased to a level that’s truly frightening.

 

And what about other religious or ethnic minorities in the country?

The trend continues as before; there’s been no improvement at all. For the past three years, Christian communities have been severely persecuted, with the targeting of house churches and so on. In my current report, I also look at how numerous Sunni Muslims are being targeted by the state or being held in custody. These minorities are increasingly persecuted.

 

What about the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) community in Iran?

I think 11 recommendations were made at the last UPR (Universal Periodic Review) on this subject, demonstrating the heightened concern on this in the global community. Same-sex relationships continue to be targeted and the government continues to neither respect nor protect them. This is disturbing. I haven’t seen any sign of the government trying to improve this, the way a government should. There’s also the issue of gender-reassignment surgery and although I don’t have any recent statistics on this, the trend hasn’t changed. The policies are in place, the practice continues and the pressures for them to undergo the surgery remain just as prevalent.

 

What do you think the international community can do to push for better human rights in Iran?

In these situations, it becomes all the more important for the international community to take note of what’s happening in the country and to bring their findings back to the Iranian government. So it’s very important to raise awareness in various forums and elsewhere, to engage Iran into dialogue about these issues and see if they’ll agree, and to engage as widely as possible with the media, the global human rights movement and even member states from across the regions, so that Iran realizes it’s in the country’s long-term interests that its people enjoy human rights and international law.

 

What do you foresee in the coming months for human rights in Iran?

Well, people have been looking at the UPR as a point at which Iran would try to address a number of these human rights issues but unfortunately this hasn’t been the case. Just the week prior to the Jabbari execution, we saw the acid attacks protests and the government’s response to these. The government also decided to not accept any of the UPR recommendations but to come back in March with what they agreed with. If they come back and accept a lot of them, that would be positive. But there’s no way of foretelling that.

Now, if sanctions are lifted, there will be some breathing space to look at bettering certain economic and social issues. I hope the government will use the opportunity to look at human rights issues. We also have to bear in mind that next year, there’s the parliamentary elections and we therefore have to hope that Iran will allow its people to make an informed decision through open debate and to freely contest elections without restrictions from the Guardian Council.

The other thing I’m concerned about are the reports of early and forced marriages, of which there are quite an alarming amount. Also, girls as young as 10 years old are being married off and the courts are granting permission to marry girls as young as 13. That’s a matter of serious concern and one that Iran has to address quickly. There’s also the situation of labor activists in the country: 27 people are currently in prison, simply for asking to be paid on time or for better wages. These are fundamental rights for workers and yet they’ve been seriously penalized for exercising them.

 

Do you foresee a time when the Islamic authorities will properly respect the rights of its people?

In principle there’s no government that cannot or should not respect human rights, as they’re required to do. The problem is that in Iran there are structural problems that impede this. One of these is the constitution that, for example, leaves the Baha’is out and provides them with no protection in terms of their faith. There are many other elements of the penal code that aren’t consistent with the human rights of the country. These we have to change, as we do with many government policies that discriminate. Policies can be changed relatively easily if bills are brought in but laws take longer to amend. President Rouhani was elected on a reform platform; he really has no excuse not to fulfil those pledges, beginning with the release of all political detainees. So there are steps that he can take to demonstrate good faith and ensure a better future for the country.

Read part one of this interview here.