Dignity, Freedom, and Justice for All

Written by ACI in 9 December 22

On this seventy-fifth anniversary of Human Rights Day, brave Iranians on the streets of Iran are saying ‘NO’ to the Islamic Republic through peaceful protest and nationwide strikes. They are risking their safety, liberty, and lives for the right to choose their government as declared in article 21 of the UDHR…

Commemorating the 75th Anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights

زن زندگی آزادی

For eighty-five days, as Iranians all over the world have raised their voices against human rights abuses at the hands of the Islamic regime, the global community has witnessed an ever-increasing tally of thousands of young people injured, kidnapped, disappeared, arrested, tortured and killed in Iran. A new column has opened up for the number of death sentences issued.

As the first name on the list of those executed is getting international attention, the plight of the thousands of unknown protestors in detention is finding a face and voice. Twenty-three-year-old Mohsen Shekari’s short life is being celebrated on social media alongside the painful cries of his family burying his body at two o’clock in the morning surrounded by security forces because that is how they were allowed to say their final farewells.

The scale and depth of horrors we are witnessing, and reporting, are so painful that perhaps we need a reminder of the core message of the uprising: ‘Woman Life Freedom’.

It all started with the cruel and brutal death of a young Kurdish woman in police custody in Tehran. The beautiful vibrant talented young woman, Mahsa ‘Jina’ Amini, had her whole life ahead of her. Jina’s tragic death and its aftermath bared the injustices, inequalities and legal discrimination experienced by women, and religious and ethnic groups in Iran. On one hand, her cruel death draws attention to the lack of right to an equitable just life for all Iranians without distinction of any kind as enshrined in articles 1 and 2 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and on the other, the obligations, duties and responsibilities of the government to protect and provide a just, safe and equitable life for its citizens.

On this seventy-fifth anniversary of Human Rights Day, Iranians are reminding the world that their political, civil, economic, social and cultural rights have been violated by a ruling elite that chooses to govern in the name of Islam meaning that even choosing to teach in one of the many languages spoken in Iran can be interpreted as enmity against God and punishable by death. Based on these laws, women and religious minorities are legally discriminated against with mandatory hejab the symbol of this discrimination and oppression for women. Demanding equality and equitable access to all Iran has to offer is also translated as anti-revolutionary activity and enmity against God, ultimately punishable by death.

On this seventy-fifth anniversary of Human Rights Day, brave Iranians on the streets of Iran are saying ‘NO’ to the Islamic Republic through peaceful protest and nationwide strikes. They are risking their safety, liberty, and lives for the right to choose their government as declared in article 21 of the UDHR. Daring to dream of change, millions of Iranians and those of Iranian heritage outside Iran have risen in solidarity doing whatever they can to raise awareness. We are witnessing an outpouring of love and hope for the future of Iran, for dignity, freedom and justice for all through art, music and creativity.

On this seventy-fifth anniversary of Human Rights Day, ACI reminds the international community that human rights are universal, indivisible, inalienable, interdependent and interrelated.

With their bare hands, the young people of Iran are fighting for dignity, freedom and Justice for all.

Hear their voice. Support their just demand.

WOMAN LIFE FREEDOM


INDEPENDENT INTERNATIONAL FACT FINDING MISSION – 24 November 2022

November 24, 2022

ACI would like to thank the responsible members of the Human Rights Council that earlier today voted to set up an investigative and accountability mechanism to assess the deteriorating situation of human rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran, especially with respect to women and children.

‘The Revolution is not televised’

#Qatar2022 Group B: Iran, England, Wales, USA

November 19, 2022

The Islamic Republic’s Football Association is state-sponsored and managed – violation of FIFA statute 19, women have not been allowed to enter stadiums since 1981 – violation of FIFA statute 4. Many women who have attempted to enter stadiums have been arrested. One young woman, Sahar Khodayari, facing a six months prison term set herself alight in protest and lost her life. With FIFA’s intervention, women were invited to attend a world cup qualifier match in Mashhad. Tickets in hand they were met with batons and pepper spray and prohibited to enter the stadium. The continued killings and human rights violations violate FIFA statute 3.

The convening of a special session of the Human Rights Council

November 17, 2022

The people of Iran are asking for change clearly, loudly and with their lives. They are demanding what has been denied them equity, equality, justice, and freedom. They would like to be a positive constructive member of the international community where they can prosper and benefit from all the riches Iran has to offer its people and the international community.

Hear the Iranian People Worldwide

October 18, 2022

it must be noted that imposing EU sanctions on one hand and facilitating legal routes for the Islamic regime to bypass other sanctions through EU special mechanisms makes a mockery of the entire process.

Enough is Enough (2)

October 17, 2022

The time has come for the international community to rethink their dealings with the Islamic Republic and consider the plight of the people of Iran. A democratic, responsible, free-functioning Iran is far more beneficial to the peace and security of the Iranian people and the rest of the world than a regime that opens fire on its own citizens and arrests children from schools with impunity.

Call for UN investigative and accountability mechanism

October 17, 2022

We call on you to stand up for the Iranian people who are under siege by the judicial and extra-judicial enforcers, who for too long, have committed crimes against the Iranian people with impunity. It is time for the regime to be accountable to the Iranian people and the international community.

Enough is Enough

September 20, 2022

The international community has a collective responsibility in sustaining this regime and is complicit in the state sponsored violence perpetrated against women in Iran by condoning the regime’s actions through financial support and EU’s actions in colluding with the regime to evade sanctions through various mechanisms. We ask you as the highest international arbiter and the Secretary General of the United Nations in a spirit of solidarity with the Iranian nation, to defend their rights violated systematically by the entirety of the Islamic regime who are squandering the future of our country Iran.