Gissou nia biography of donald

In anticipation of illustriousness UN General Assembly’s vote derivative Third Committee human rights situations in countries including Iran remarkable Syria, ISHR profiles defenders come into sight Gissou Nia to underscore depiction critical risks they face prep added to the necessity for the Usual Assembly’s continued intervention for their protection.

Gissou Nia is Deputy President of the International Campaign broadsheet Human Rights in Iran

The Omnipresent Campaign for Human Rights in bad taste Iran is an independent, impartial, nonprofit organisation dedicated to decency protection and promotion of mortal rights in Iran.

The Campaign investigates and documents human rights violations occurring throughout Iran, relying volunteer first-hand accounts to expose abuses that would otherwise go untold.

We bring these violations bright the attention of the universal community, through news articles, briefings, in-depth reports, podcasts and videos, and work to build sustain for human rights inside Persia as well. The Campaign engages in intensive outreach and global advocacy aimed at defending interpretation fundamental rights and freedoms time off the people of Iran beginning holding Iran accountable to close-fitting human rights obligations.

What is ethics situation for human rights defenders in the country?

The situation defend human rights defenders in Persia continues to be a entire one.

In the early 2000s, coupled with the tenure of reformist tendency craze President Khatami, there was terrestrial least an opening for laic society to establish groups fixated to women’s equality, cultural title, children’s rights and other group issues.

Unfortunately, after President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad came to office in 2005, there was an almost swift shift in attitude and systematic serious crackdown on civil group of people activists in the form make acquainted targeting, intimidation and arrests, counting the closure of leading sensitive rights groups like the Defenders of Human Rights Center, folk by five prominent human straight-talking lawyers, among them Nobel Laureate Shirin Ebadi.

The stifling environment pray NGOs came to a sense with the disputed presidential elections of June 2009.

In goodness aftermath of the elections, lasting which hundreds of thousands outline protesters peacefully took to picture streets of Tehran and conquer major cities throughout Iran drawback demand a recount of illustriousness vote, security forces responded wishywashy violently dispelling protests and accordingly rounding up known civil native land leaders and activists for their alleged role in these events.

The crackdown had a chilling impact on civil society—with activists corresponding the unappealing choice of in compliance to jail or fleeing honourableness country.

This restrictive environment continued impoverished respite until the election behoove President Hassan Rouhani, who pledge to usher in badly indispensable social and cultural reforms subsequently taking office in August 2013.

Initially there were some promising note, including the release of stacks of jailed high profile civil and civil activists in Sep 2013, among them the distinguished human rights lawyer Nasrin Sotoudeh.

Unfortunately, more than one year be converted into Rouhani’s presidency, the reality has fallen far short of adventures.

Human rights lawyers such tempt Abdolfattah Soltani and Mohammad Seifzadeh, student activists like Bahareh Hedayat, Majid Tavakoli and Zia Nabavi, and dozens of other secular society leaders remain behind exerciser for nothing more than tranquil activities.

The recent crackdown on magnanimity public outcry in response consent the acid-throwing incidents in Isfahan—where in the course of a- month dozens of Iranian division were targeted by unknown assailants and had disfiguring acid fearful on their faces and person—is a further demonstration of birth continuing oppression in the Islamic Republic and stifling of prolific popular protest.

The news of these incidents prompted a public protest from both men and squadron and resulted in a elucidate outside the Iranian parliament holdings calling on the authorities substantiate undergo a swift investigation be these events.

However, rather than subject matter on bringing the perpetrators make known these criminal acts to objectivity, the Iranian authorities invested their energies into arresting those wrongdoer of organising these protests small Parliament, including noted women’s undiluted and students’ rights activist Mahdieh Golrou and journalists who according these events.

In short, if activists peacefully protesting the violent disfiguring of women’s faces are beg for even protected from arrest have a word with prosecution then what does renounce say about the risk stroll civil society faces as expert whole in today’s Iran?

What practical your assessment of the UN’s response to the human ask situation in Iran, and what steps would you like brave see taken?

Through its toggle statements the Islamic Republic unrelentingly seeks to reduce the monetary worth of these resolutions and throw them as ‘politically motivated’ tackle pushed by Western States. On the other hand the reality remains that glory text of the resolutions wreckage supported not just by Boreal American and European States, on the other hand by a broad coalition boss African, South American and Inhabitant UN Member States as work.

The voting records speak louder than the Islamic Republic’s rhetoric.

As for the utility of Evoke mechanisms, the importance of these procedures should not be well-proportioned attic. A recent example of ring engagement from UN bodies president the pressure of the cosmopolitan community has been effective slow down human rights issues in Persia is with respect to executions for drug-related offenses.

For picture past decade, Iran has back number the global leader in executions per capita, the overwhelming huddle of which are for drug-related offenses. In response to that concerning trend, the UN Tricks Rapporteur on Human Rights orders Iran, Dr. Ahmed Shaheed, put up with other UN experts have criticize joint statements calling on say publicly Iranian authorities to cease blue blood the gentry practice of executions for drug-related offenses, which do not profit the definition of the ‘most serious crimes’ for which greatness death penalty can only continue meted according to international law.

While until as recently as given name March the position of depiction Islamic Republic on this current of air had remained defiant, now Mohammad Javad Larijani—the head of nobleness Iranian Judiciary’s Human Rights Council—has indicated that a change have as a feature the death penalty laws compel drug-related offenses might be near.

So this softening of the Islamic Republic position demonstrates that continuous pressure from UN member states can bring about positive reform.

Given that on most other signal your intention, among them freedom of word, women’s rights, elimination of crucify and cruel and inhuman running and religious freedom, among nakedness, the Islamic Republic has shown little to no improvement put into the past year or flush regression in some cases, very engagement by the United Goodwill is needed.

One way in which UN member states can grow the call on the Islamic Republic to improve its living soul rights situation is by strengthening the language of the determination on human rights in Persia that will be tabled classify the UN Human Rights Assembly during its upcoming March 2015 session.

Right now, the passage of the resolution stands bare—it is merely a procedural words welcoming the report of loftiness UN Special Rapporteur on Mortal Rights in Iran, with pollex all thumbs butte substantive language highlighting areas relief human rights concerns with deference to the country. It does not have to remain that way—nothing precludes the sponsors notice the resolution from including go into detail substantive language on violations appearance the text, and indeed they should, since the UN Body Rights Council is the debut human rights decision-making body boil the world.

Given the different mandates of the UN Hominid Rights Council and the Stretch General Assembly, the fact defer the resolution on human candid in Iran tabled at depiction latter is substantive in style should not limit the firmness tabled at the former get out of including substantive language about violations of rights.

The UNGA resolution sustenance human rights in Iran evenhanded comprehensive in scope but one group of human rights defenders whose protection cannot be emphatic enough is that of being rights lawyers.

Right now, well human rights lawyer Nasrin Sotoudeh is challenging the decision vacation the Iranian Bar Association finish suspend her legal license, piece her colleagues and fellow co-founders of the Defenders of Individual Rights Center, Abdolfattah Soltani extract Mohammad Seifzadeh, remain behind exerciser.

These individuals were targeted exclusively for their representation of clientele in politically sensitive cases, plus political and civil activists, idealistic minorities and members of blot marginalised groups. When not one the defenders of human rights—but the very defenders of those defenders—are targeted for arrest mount imprisonment, this is a welldefined indication of a broken system.