GENEVA — With new reports of over 12,000 people killed, a cross-regional coalition of 30 non-governmental organizations and human rights groups today issued an urgent appeal to the United Nations to take immediate emergency action to halt what they describe as “horrific mass killings” of protesters by the Islamic Republic of Iran.
In a joint letter addressed to UN Secretary-General António Guterres, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk, and the permanent representatives of UN Member States, the coalition warned that Iran’s violent crackdown on nationwide protests that began on December 28 has resulted in grave, widespread, and systematic violations of international human rights law.
According to credible reports cited by the coalition, more than 12,000 protesters have been killed by Iranian security forces in recent weeks, with many more injured, arbitrarily detained, tortured, or forcibly disappeared. Protesters have reportedly been shot with live ammunition, detainees denied access to lawyers and medical care, and journalists, students, women, and minority communities deliberately targeted. Internet shutdowns and information blackouts have further concealed the full scale of abuses.
“The Iranian regime is waging war on its own people,” said Hillel Neuer, Executive Director of UN Watch, an independent Geneva-based human rights group. “When bodies are piling up in makeshift morgues and peaceful protesters are being gunned down in the streets, silence is not neutrality, it is complicity.”
The coalition stressed that Iran’s actions violate its obligations under the UN Charter and core international human rights treaties, including protections for the right to life, freedom of expression, peaceful assembly, and due process, and may amount to crimes under international law.
“The United Nations was created to respond to precisely this kind of atrocity,” Neuer added. “If the UN cannot act decisively when a regime massacres thousands of its own citizens for demanding basic rights, then its credibility is on the line.”
The organizations called on the UN to urgently convene emergency sessions of the Security Council, General Assembly, and Human Rights Council; publicly and unequivocally condemn the killings; establish independent international investigative mechanisms; demand the immediate release of all arbitrarily detained protesters; and ensure sustained UN monitoring and reporting until the violence and repression cease.
“Iranian protesters are risking their lives for rights that the UN itself is sworn to uphold,” said Neuer. “The world is watching whether the UN will stand with the victims — or look away.”
Signatories to the appeal come from Australia, Cameroon, Canada, France, Gambia, Ghana, India, Japan, Latvia, Moldova, Morocco, Nigeria, Pakistan, Senegal, Singapore, Switzerland, and the United States.
The coalition emphasized that failure to act now would embolden further repression and bloodshed, and that decisive UN leadership is indispensable at this critical moment.
“The voices of Iran’s protesters must be heard, protected, and defended,” the letter concludes. “The credibility of the United Nations and its Member States depends on a response that matches the scale and urgency of this crisis.”
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Appeal for UN Emergency Action: Stop Mass Killings of Iranian Protesters
Dear UN Secretary General António Guterres,
Dear UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk,
Dear Permanent Representatives of United Nations Member States,
We, the undersigned non-governmental organizations and human rights activists, write to express our outrage at the horrific mass killings of protesters by the Islamic Republic of Iran.
We call on you without delay to ensure emergency action by the United Nations to address the regime’s assault on its own people, which amount to grave, widespread and systematic violations of fundamental human rights.
Since December 28th, large-scale protests have erupted across Iran, reflecting longstanding demands of the Iranian people for fundamental rights, dignity, and accountability. The response of the regime has been marked by extreme and unlawful violence. Credible reports now estimate that at least 12,000 protesters have been killed by the regime since the demonstrations began, with many more injured, arbitrarily detained, or forcibly disappeared. Bodies are piling up in makeshift morgues.
Regime security forces have reportedly used live ammunition against unarmed civilians, carried out mass arrests, and subjected detainees to torture and other ill-treatment. Detainees have been denied access to lawyers, family members, and medical care. Journalists, students, women, human rights defenders, and members of ethnic and religious minorities have been deliberately targeted. Internet shutdowns and severe restrictions on information have further obscured the full scale of violations and impeded independent scrutiny.
These acts constitute serious violations of international human rights law and amount to crimes under international law. They stand in direct contravention of Iran’s obligations under the United Nations Charter and core international human rights treaties, including protections for the right to life, freedom of expression, peaceful assembly, and due process.
The continuing failure of the international community to respond decisively risks enabling further bloodshed and repression. At this critical juncture, decisive leadership from the United Nations system and its Member States is indispensable.
We therefore urgently call on you to:
- Convene an emergency session of the United Nations Security Council, the General Assembly, and the Human Rights Council, to address the rapidly deteriorating human rights situation in Iran;
- Publicly and unequivocally condemn the horrific killing of protesters and other grave violations of international law committed by Iranian authorities;
- Establish independent, international investigative mechanisms to ensure documentation, accountability, and justice;
- Demand the immediate release of all individuals arbitrarily detained for exercising their fundamental rights; and
- Ensure sustained UN monitoring and reporting on Iran until the violence and repression cease.
The people of Iran are risking and losing their lives for the peaceful exercise of rights guaranteed under international law. We must ensure that the voices of Iranian protesters are heard, protected, and upheld. The credibility of the United Nations and its Member States depends on a response that matches the scale and urgency of this crisis.
Respectfully,
- Hillel Neuer, United Nations Watch, Switzerland
- Nazanin Afshin-Jam MacKay, Iranian Justice Collective, Canada
- Rana Dadpour, Australian United Solidarity for Iran, Australia
- Mourad Lafkihen, Forum Méditerranéen pour la Promotion des Droits du Citoyen, Morocco
- Lynnea Bylund, Gandhi Worldwide Education Institute, United States
- Mouhamadou Moustapha Fall, Association nationale des partenaires migrants, Senegal
- Thierry Valle, Coordination des Associations et des Particuliers pour la Liberté de Conscience, France
- Ion Manole, Promo-LEX Association, Moldova
- Tsuneko Kakiuchi, Japanese Association for the Right to Freedom of Speech, Japan
- Hector Aleem, Peace Worldwide, Pakistan
- Masanori Kaneko, International Career Support Association, Japan
- Mange Ram Adhana, Association For Promotion Sustainable Development, India
- John Suarez, Center for a Free Cuba, United States
- Walid Maalouf, Lebanese American Renaissance Partnership, United States
- Joel Tekam Noutchachom, Mouvement pour la défense de l’humanité et l’abolition de la torture, Cameroon
- Khalid Pervaiz Sulehri, Organization Name: International Human Rights Observer, Pakistan
- Janis Brizga, Green Liberty, Latvia
- Victor Amisi Sulubika, Vision GRAM-International, Canada
- Alan Goldsmith, Jewish Renaissance Foundation, United States
- Olufemi Aduwo, Centre for Convention on Democratic Integrity, Nigeria
- Dr. Ashok Yende, Global Vision India Foundation, India
- Marie M. McKenzie, United Nations Association of San Diego, United States
- Amir Gharagozlou, REAL Women of Canada, Canada
- Buramanding Kinteh, Human Development Society, Gambia
- Mbuh Raphael Mbuh, First Modern Agro. Tools Common Initiative Group, Cameroon
- Bernard Lutete Di Lutete, Save The Climate, Senegal
- Amir Zad Gul, Rural Development Organization, Pakistan
- Michael Oko Davies, Public-Private Integrity, Ghana
- Braema Mathi, MARUAH, Singapore
- David Tsibu-Darko, God’s Harvest Foundation, Ghana
- Geoffrey Pleyers, President of the International Sociological Association, Belgium
