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Condemn human rights violations in Iran, 109 organisations say

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FORUM-ASIA and other human rights organisations from around the world have urged
delegations to the United Nations
to support a resolution in the General Assembly condemning human rights
violations in the Islamic Republic
of Iran (IRI), and urging the IRI to abide by its international human rights
obligations.

(16 November 2009) New York – Over one
hundred independent human rights and civil society organizations from around the world have urged
delegations to the United Nations
to support a resolution in the General Assembly condemning human rights
violations in the Islamic Republic
of Iran (IRI), and urging the IRI to abide by its international human rights
obligations.

"Human rights conditions in Iran
have deteriorated dramatically since the General Assembly's 2008 Resolution….It is incumbent upon the
international community and
a matter of the utmost moral urgency to emphasize to the government of
Iran
that common human rights standards must be upheld,"
the groups stated in their
letter dated 11 November 2009.

The signatories include local groups from
Egypt, Palestine, Lebanon, Syria, Russia, Malaysia, India,
South
Africa and other non-western societies, as well
as global organizations including
Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International, and International Commission of Jurists. The groups expressed
their concern about the killing of peaceful demonstrators, arbitrary arrests, rape, torture and ill
treatment in detention, and "show trials" of those charged with serious crimes, for which
they may be executed, simply for expressing their political opinions.

"It is a crucial moment for the human rights
situation in Iran," said Yap Swee Seng,
executive director of the Asian
Forum for Human Rights and Development (FORUM-ASIA). "We urge the Iranian government to demonstrate its genuine
will to improve the situation by
honoring its standing invitation for special procedures and facilitating the
visits of independent monitors for
credible investigations of all allegations of human rights violations."

More organizations are expected to join the
appeal ahead of the vote on a resolution tabled by Canada, which enumerates the wide
range of human rights that have been violated by the Islamic Republic including torture,
excessive use of capital punishment and the execution of juvenile offenders, executions by
stoning, the repression of women's rights advocates, discrimination against minorities, and
denial of basic civil and political rights.

"We join Iranian human rights defenders in
insisting that the Iranian government respect the fundamental rights of its people," said Aylona
Ob'ezdchikova of the Youth Human
Rights Movement in Russia.
"As citizens of the Russian
Federation, we feel a special responsibility to demonstrate solidarity, and we
ask our government to urge to Iran halt these violations."

The draft resolution calls on Iran to
"redress its inadequate record of cooperation with international human rights mechanisms," "regrets that the
Islamic Republic it has not fulfilled any requests from [United Nations] special
mechanisms to visit the country in 4 years and has not answered numerous communications from
these special mechanisms," and
"[i]nvites the thematic special procedures mandate holders to pay particular
attention to the human rights
situation in the Islamic Republic of Iran" with regard to abuses that
have occurred since disputed
presidential election in June 2009.

"It must be made clear that it is not just the
nuclear issue that that the world is concerned about when it comes to Iran," said Moataz El Fegiery, executive director
of the Cairo
Institute
for Human Rights Studies in Egypt. "We are deeply concerned about
the Iranian government's
ill-treatment of its people and we are asking governments and the United
Nations to strengthen their
attention to this issue."

The diversity of voices calling on the
international community to act this year reflects the growing concern about the human rights situation inside the
country. The organizations joining
the call represent civil societies from over 40 countries, the majority from
Asia, Africa, and the Middle
East. The 109 groups conclude their appeal by urging delegations
to support a resolution "that will
help show Iran a path toward respecting the
human rights values and standards
upon which the United Nations was founded."

To read the letter, visit: http://www.demcoalition.org/site09-2008/pdf/pdf/Iran%20UNGA%20Sign%20On%20Letter%20Nov%2012.pdf

For more information:

In New York
– International Campaign for
Human Rights in Iran, Hadi Ghaemi, +1-917-669-5996 

In Hamburg –
International Campaign for
Human Rights in Iran, Aaron Rhodes, +43-676 35-6612

In Washington, D.C. – Democracy Coalition Project, Dokhi Fassihian,
+1-703-864-5550

In Geneva- FORUM-ASIA, Giyoun Kim, +41-22-740-2947