Joint Statement to the Members of the United Nations General Assembly

Regarding the Human Rights Situation in the Islamic Republic of Iran

Your Excellencies,

We, the undersigned organizations, write to you with deep respect for the vital role of the General Assembly in upholding the purposes and principles of the United Nations Charter, and with grave concern over the intensifying widespread, systematic, and organized human rights violations in the Islamic Republic of Iran. Our purpose is to draw your urgent attention to the alarming findings of the three official reports presented within the UN system: the report of the UN Secretary-General, the report of the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Iran, and the report of the Independent International Fact-Finding Mission, all submitted to their respective UN bodies.

These reports—each from a different but mutually reinforcing angle—present a deeply disturbing picture of severe and systematic human rights violations. The Fact-Finding Mission has stated that abuses committed by Iranian authorities—particularly the violent suppression of protests, widespread and arbitrary arrests, torture, sexual and gender-based violence, extrajudicial executions, and enforced disappearances—are at or reach the level of crimes against humanity. The Special Rapporteur’s report reinforces these findings, documenting the ongoing and systemic nature of state repression. The Secretary-General’s report highlights the structural and institutional dimensions of these violations and the persistent inability of domestic mechanisms to ensure accountability.

The realities reflected in these reports are entirely consistent with what our organizations witness daily through direct contact with victims, survivors, political prisoners, and their families. Beyond the data and legal assessments, we encounter the lived experiences of human beings enduring profound suffering and enforced isolation—without access to justice and without a voice that is heard. The testimonies and documentation we receive demonstrate clearly that these violations are not isolated incidents but systematic, repeated, and purposeful patterns impacting the lives of millions.

The draft resolution on the human rights situation in Iran, already adopted by the Third Committee, is now before the General Assembly for a vote. We firmly believe that the international community has a moral and legal responsibility to ensure not only its adoption, but its strengthening to fully reflect the severity and scope of the crisis.

Internationally recognized principles—including the Responsibility to Protect (R2P), which underscores the necessity of collective action in the face of severe and systematic human rights violations, and the preventive role of the international community in averting escalating humanitarian crises—affirm the need for decisive action. The current situation in Iran, characterized by widespread state violence, deep social fragility, and the risk of escalating regional instability, is a clear example of conditions in which the General Assembly must use its available tools to prevent further deterioration.

Accordingly, we respectfully urge the General Assembly to:

1. Adopt the draft resolution on the human rights situation in the Islamic Republic of Iran with broad support and strengthened language that reflects the findings of all three UN reports, including the determination that some violations may constitute crimes against humanity.
2. Recommend that Iran’s serious human rights violations be referred to the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court for investigation and potential prosecution—an approach consistent with established UN practice in contexts marked by prolonged cycles of violence and impunity.
3. Use all available authority to enhance international accountability, especially where other mechanisms are unable to act effectively, in accordance with the UN Charter and the General Assembly’s established responsibilities for the protection of human rights and the maintenance of international peace and security.
4. Support the creation or extension of independent fact-finding and evidence-preservation mechanisms, to ensure that documentation of widespread violations is safeguarded for future accountability processes, including transitional justice or international trials.
5. Emphasize the need to protect Iranian civil society—including human rights defenders, women’s rights advocates, journalists, lawyers, labor activists, and particularly vulnerable communities such as ethnic and religious minorities—and urge the Iranian government to take concrete and effective measures to safeguard their rights.
6. Call for the immediate release of all political prisoners, an end to executions, and a halt to the violent repression of peaceful protests.

Your Excellencies,

This joint statement is not merely an expression of institutional or legal concern, but the echo of thousands of families who, for years, have been seeking truth, justice, and the support of the international community. We respectfully ask that, in the lead-up to the upcoming vote, you uphold your collective responsibility to protect human dignity and ensure that the cycle of violence and impunity does not continue.

Sincerely,
The Signatory Organizations:

(The list from 1 to 85 is translated faithfully exactly as provided.)

1. Zagros Human Rights Center (ECOSOC Consultative Status)
2. Association for the Defense of Azerbaijani Human Rights – ARK (ECOSOC Consultative Status)
3. Multicultural Relations Association
4. International Association of Doctors and Healthcare Workers
5. Ahwaz Human Rights Center
6. Al-Masdar Al-Ahwazi
7. Alliance for Minority Rights
8. Women, Life, Freedom Association – Florence
9. Women, Life, Freedom Alliance – Stockholm
10. Free Iranian Women’s Association – Italy
11. Mana Association – Milan
12. Association of the Wounded and Justice-Seekers of the Zhina Uprising
13. Left Women’s Union
14. Azadaneh Association – Paris
15. Balochistan Human Rights Campaign
16. Balochistan Human Rights Group
17. Bermash – Voice of Baloch Women
18. Campaign to Defend Political and Civil Prisoners
19. Free Imprisoned Workers Campaign (Free Them Now)
20. Campaign to Free Political Prisoners in Iran
21. Central Council of Joint Actions – Netherlands
22. Committee for Defense of Freedom and Democracy in Iran
23. Independent Committee Against the Repression of Iranian Citizens
24. Communist Youth Organization
25. Justice-Seeking Girls Campaign
26. Dona–Vita–Libertà Association (Italy)
27. Esmail Khoei Foundation
28. Europress
29. Ex-Muslim Scandinavia
30. Free Human – Germany
31. Free Iran Campaign
32. Free Iran – Switzerland
33. Global Campaign No to Executions in Iran
34. Hana Human Rights Organization
35. Hanay Rojhelat Organization
36. Human Rights Commission of the Republican and Social Democratic Party of Iran
37. International Committee Against Executions
38. International Public Health Association of Iranians
39. Independent Committee Against the Repression of Iranian Citizens
40. International Association of Iranian Political and Legal Defenders
41. Iranian Refugees Federation
42. Justice Supporters Center
43. International Solidarity for Peace
44. Fresno Center for Culture and Arts
45. House of Iran
46. Iran Protest – Malmö
47. Khavaran Movement 1988 – No to Torture, No to Executions
48. Khavaran Committee
49. Women’s Rights Association – Sweden
50. Kurdistan Human Rights Reporters Guild
51. Justice-Seekers of Kurdistan
52. Kurdish Women’s Union
53. National Organization for Women’s Rights – Sweden
54. Nair Jurist Bureau
55. Iranian Network for Freedom and Democracy
56. Nika Network
57. Nika Organization
58. No to Execution Coalition
59. No to Execution Campaign
60. No to Islamic Republic Group – Orange County
61. Rojhelat Women’s Association – Iranian Kurdistan
62. Secular Democratic Republicans of Iran
63. Anousheh Group – Organizing Council
64. Simorgh Cross-Factional Civic and Political Group
65. Human Rights Committee of the Solidarity of Iranian Republicans
66. Solidarity Network
67. Solidarity Network for Human Rights in Iran
68. Solidarity with the Iranian Community – Canada
69. Campaign to Stop Honor Killings
70. Human Rights Association in the 21st Century
71. Alliance to End the Death Penalty in Iran
72. Justice-Seekers and Wounded of the Zhina Uprising
73. Zagros Voice Network
74. Network for Women’s Sustainable Independence and Equality
75. Women, Life, Freedom Nuremberg – Germany
76. Women, Life, Freedom Austria
77. Women, Life, Freedom Brussels
78. Women, Life, Freedom Germany
79. Women, Life, Freedom Munich
80. Women, Life, Freedom Network – Belgium
81. Women’s Revolution Collective
82. Women’s Rights Association
83. Global Network for Freedom of Political and Belief Prisoners in Iran
84. Movement Cooperation Network in Italy
85. Committee for the Freedom of Political Prisoners