PUBLICATIONS

Recommendations for the International Community on Iran

February 6, 2023

This CHRI policy briefing lays out updated, actionable recommendations that governments around the world can take to address the Islamic Republic’s violent repression of peaceful protest and basic human rights. The diplomatic, political and economic measures outlined here provide a specific blueprint for policymakers aimed at increasing the international costs to the Iranian authorities of their continuing lethal violence against protesters and the people of Iran.

Recommendations for the U.S. Congress on Iran

December 21, 2022

These recommendations for members of the U.S. Congress detail specific actions lawmakers can take, with their constituents, as members of foreign delegations visiting other countries, and with the U.S. Department of State, to support freedom of expression and the right to protest in Iran, and to hold Islamic Republic officials accountable for their lethal violence against the protesters in Iran who are demanding their basic human rights.

New Briefing: International Action Urgently Needed to Stop Carnage in Iran

October 18, 2022

This policy briefing addresses the urgent for need for collective international action to address the violent state suppression of peaceful protests in Iran. It provides specific recommendations for the Biden Administration and the broader international community, aimed at imposing meaningful diplomatic, political and economic costs on the Iranian authorities for the state atrocities being committed by the Islamic Republic, especially against women and children.

Q&A Prioritizing Human Rights in Iran: A New U.S. Foreign Policy Approach

August 4, 2022

This Q&A addresses questions regarding CHRI's recommendations to the U.S. government that human rights be promoted as a policy stream equal in importance to other political, economic and strategic policy streams. It argues that prioritizing human rights does not undermine the nuclear negotiations or the dissidents it seeks to support, is not a fig leaf for regime change, and that supporting the voices and rights of civil society is the most effective means to influence Iranian state behavior.

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Policy Briefing: Human Rights in Iran and U.S. National Security Interests

June 13, 2022

This policy briefing reveals the cost to U.S. national security interests of the human rights crisis in Iran, and provides detailed recommendations for the US government on ways to impact destabilizing Islamic Republic policies by recognizing the key role of the Iranian people, amplifying the voices of civil society in Iran, promoting international human rights mechanisms and strengthening human rights sanctions.

Policy Briefing: Internet Freedom Stymied by Iranians’ Lack of Access to Tech Products

April 22, 2021

Iranians are largely unable to purchase or use international tech products, due to tech companies’ overcompliance with US sanctions that are vague and outdated. As a result, they use Iranian products that allow the government to block content and eavesdrop at will. This policy briefing provides recommendations for actions the US government and technology companies could take—without lifting any sanctions—that would provide much needed support for safe online communication and freedom of expression in Iran.

Beautiful Holiday Gift: A Book of Illustrations and Essays on Human Rights

December 9, 2020

The book, published by the Center for Human Rights in Iran, highlights the days set aside by the international community for reflection and action on rights that are fundamental to the human condition—and the struggle for these rights in Iran. Days to Remember is not only a special holiday gift for those on your list who believe in the imperative of supporting human rights, purchase of the book will also support the vital work of the Center to protect and promote human rights in Iran. Each illustration is accompanied by a short essay which reflects upon the relevance of these international days to Iran. They are a source of information and insight, examining such issues as child marriage, literacy, violence against women, religious freedom, poverty, refugees, political prisoners and environmental degradation. In a deep sense, Days to Remember is a call to action, illustrating the distance between the rights championed by these international days and the current reality in Iran. The book includes a special foreword by the distinguished scholar and women’s rights activist Dr. Nina Ansary, on “A New Approach to Envisioning Human Rights.”

Iran: People With Disabilities Face Discrimination and Abuse

June 26, 2018

Human Rights Watch and the Center for Human Rights in Iran conducted in-depth interviews with 58 women and men with various disabilities, as well as with disability rights advocates and specialists across Iran. The World Health Organization and World Bank estimate that 15 percent of the world’s population has some kind of disability. For Iran, with a population of over 80 million, this means approximately 12 million people have some kind of a disability. The government has not collected disaggregated data on the number of people with disabilities, including during the 2016 national census. Human Rights Watch and the Center for Human Rights in Iran found serious problems in the work of Iran’s State Welfare Organization, the main agency tasked with providing services to people with disabilities. People interviewed said that government social workers insulted and humiliated them and did not provide essential information about services and equipment. They said that the agency’s services and equipment provided for assistance are often of low quality, do not address people’s needs, and can only be obtained through lengthy and complex procedures.

Iran Telegram Ban Strangles Country Amid Struggling Economy, Protests

June 19, 2018

This report examines the Iranian Judiciary's ban on the Telegram messaging app, which as of 2018 was integrated into all aspects of daily life in Iran and had some 40 million active users in the country. It assesses what it means for Iranians' digital rights, for the Rouhani government and its professed support for internet freedom, and for broader economic and social rights in Iran. The report examines the ban in the context of the state’s massive, decade-long investment in the country’s national internet infrastructure, which has been designed to restrict Iranians to a digital world controlled and censored by the authorities. It incorporates interviews with dozens of Iranians across the political spectrum inside the Islamic Republic.