UN rights council set to extend Iran fact-finding mission and rapporteur remit

The United Nations Human Rights Council is set to vote on extending the mandates of both its fact-finding mission on Iran and its human rights rapporteur, citing ongoing and systemic human rights violations, according to a draft resolution seen by Iran International.

The resolution, expected to be voted on within 10 days, condemns systematic human rights violations in Iran and calls on the Islamic Republic to end its structural impunity for perpetrators of crimes and to fully cooperate with the UN's Special Rapporteur and the Independent International Fact-Finding Mission.

"The structural impunity that the Islamic Republic has granted to officials and agents of suppression and perpetrators of crimes against the people strengthens the chain of violence and violates the victims' right to justice," the draft resolution read.

In April 2024, the Council voted to extend the Fact-Finding Mission’s mandate for an additional year.

As per the resolution, the mandate of the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Iran is also expected to be extended for another year, with a focus on monitoring, documenting, and assessing Iran's progress in implementing the council’s recommendations.

The resolution, drafted by Iceland, Germany, North Macedonia, Moldova, the United Kingdom, and Northern Ireland, highlights concerns over the suppression of women, ethnic and religious minorities, and the increasing use of the death penalty.

The resolution calls on Iran to amend discriminatory laws, ensure fair trials, lift restrictions on civil society, and allow access to the country for UN human rights investigators.

The council condemns the use of capital punishment to create public fear and suppress political dissent, warning that Iran's punitive approach, including death sentences for crimes not meeting the "most serious crimes" threshold, violates international law.

The resolution also cites the suppression of freedom of expression and assembly, harassment of journalists and media workers, restrictions on human rights defenders and civil activists, and widespread discrimination against minorities as key human rights violations.

The Independent International Fact-Finding Mission, established following widespread protests in 2022, will continue to gather evidence of human rights violations related to the suppression of protests, including gender and ethnicity-based discrimination and excessive use of force.

The mission's mandate includes preparing evidence for potential future legal proceedings to hold perpetrators accountable.

The UN Human Rights Council's decision follows reports by the fact-finding mission documenting widespread human rights violations, including torture and sexual violence in prisons, which they say constitute crimes against humanity.

In a letter to UN member states earlier in March, 42 Iranian and international human rights organizations called for the renewal of the Special Rapporteur's mandate and the continuation of an independent investigative mechanism with a broad mandate to build on the fact-finding mission's work.

UN Special Rapporteur Mai Sato warned of Iran's increasing use of executions to suppress dissent, with at least 169 executions recorded in January and February alone.

"Countries should make an informed decision considering the human rights situation in the Islamic Republic," Sato said earlier in the month, expressing hope that her mandate would be extended. "There are many human rights issues in Iran that need to be monitored and addressed, and ideally, prevented."

Iran has summoned the German ambassador and British charge d'affaires over their countries' role in drafting the resolution, describing the move as provocative and irresponsible.

Iran's allies, including Venezuela, North Korea, and China, have dismissed the UN fact-finding mission as politically motivated.