21 September 2024 :
September 15, 2024 - IRAN. NGOs’ Joint Statement Highlights Continuing Impunity for Iranian Regime’s 1988 Massacre and Ongoing Human Rights Violations
A newly submitted joint statement to the United Nations Human Rights Council has brought renewed attention to the Iranian regime’s human rights record, particularly concerning the 1988 massacre of political prisoners and the ongoing persecution of families seeking justice. The statement, issued by a coalition of non-governmental organizations, calls for urgent action to address the culture of impunity that has allowed the Iranian regime to escape accountability for decades.
The 1988 massacre, described in the report as a “systematic” and “widespread” attack on a civilian population, involved the execution and enforced disappearance of thousands of political prisoners, including women and children, between July and September 1988. According to the statement, the majority of the victims were members and supporters of the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK), although leftist political groups were also targeted. “3 1/2 decades onwards—over 35 years—the enforced disappearances are continuing,” the report states, highlighting the enduring trauma and unanswered questions faced by families of the victims.
One of the most poignant cases of this ongoing persecution is that of political prisoner Maryam Akbari-Monfared, who has been incarcerated for 15 years without a single day of furlough. Akbari-Monfared’s siblings were among those who forcibly disappeared during the 1988 massacre, and she has been relentlessly seeking accountability from within prison walls. In 2016, she filed an official complaint with the regime’s Judiciary, demanding answers about the fate of her siblings. The Iranian authorities responded by increasing the pressure on her, including denying her visitation rights and exiling her to a remote prison. She was informed that her release would be contingent on retracting her call for accountability. In July 2023, Akbari-Monfared faced additional charges, extending her sentence by 2 more years.
The statement underscores that families like Akbari-Monfared’s are often “targeted, persecuted, and punished” for seeking justice. This pattern of harassment and suppression is emblematic of the broader issue of impunity in Iran, where those who challenge the regime are systematically silenced.
The joint statement also mentions a separate report from Professor Javaid Rehman, the former UN Special Rapporteur on human rights in Iran, condemning the 1988 massacre as both a crime against humanity and an act of genocide. “There is considerable evidence that mass killings, torture, and other inhumane acts against members of PMOI were conducted with genocidal intent,” the report asserts. It goes on to describe how the massacre followed a fatwa issued by Iran’s then-Supreme Leader Ruhollah Khomeini, ordering the execution of all steadfast PMOI members.
The report calls on the international community to establish an accountability mechanism to hold Iranian officials responsible for the massacre and other ongoing atrocities. “The continued concealment of the fate of thousands of political opponents… amounts to the crime against humanity of enforced disappearance,” Prof. Rehman said, adding that there should be “no impunity for such gross human rights violations.”
The statement concludes by urging UN member states to use the principle of universal jurisdiction to investigate and prosecute Iranian officials responsible for the 1988 massacre and other serious human rights violations, including crimes against humanity and genocide.
The joint statement submitted to the United Nations Human Rights Council was endorsed by several non-governmental organizations, including:
International Federation of Business and Professional Women
Women’s Human Rights International Association
Association Internationale pour l’égalité des femmes
Edmund Rice International Limited
France Libertes: Fondation Danielle Mitterrand
Human Rights Research League
Les femmes, la force du changement
WomenNC-NC Committee for CSW/CEDAW
Association of World Citizens
Hands Off Cain
Italian Federation for Human Rights
Women’s UN Report Network (WUNRN)
US Women’s Caucus at the United Nations
Justice for Victims of 1988 Massacre in Iran (JVMI)
Nouveaux Droits de l’Homme (France)
Association des femmes Iraniennes en France (AFIF)
Comité de Soutien aux Droits de l’Homme en Iran (CSDHI)
Association delle Donne Democratiche Iraniane in Italia
Association of Anglo-Iranian Women in the UK
Association des jeunes Iraniens pour la démocratie et la liberté-Luxembourg
Association IranRef (Belgium)
Iranska Kvinnosamfundet i Sverige (Sweden)
Anglo-Iranian Professionals
Association of Iranian Political Prisoners-UK
Associazione Italiana per i Diritti Umani in Iran
