UN Authority Figures

Committee on Non-Governmental Organizations Vice-Chair: Iran

Iranian authorities arrested the prominent human rights lawyer, Narges Mohammadi in her home. Narges Mohammadi is the deputy head of the banned Defenders of Human Rights Center, and one of the founders of the civil society group "Step by step to stop the death penalty" or LEGAM.
Source: Iran Human Rights, May 5, 2015

Mission of the Committee on Non-Governmental Organizations: "The main tasks of the Committee are...The consideration of applications for consultative status and requests for reclassification submitted by NGOs; The consideration of quadrennial reports submitted by NGOs in General and Special categories; The implementation of the provisions of Council resolution 1996/31 and the monitoring of the consultative relationship; Any other issues which the ECOSOC may request the Committee to consider." (Committee on NGOs website)

Iran's Term of office: 2015-2018 (Vice-Chair: 2016-2017)

Iran's Record on NGOs:
"The government restricted the work of human rights groups and activists and often responded to their inquiries and reports with harassment, arrests, and monitoring of individual activists and organization workplaces. The government restricted the operations of and did not cooperate with local or international human rights NGOs investigating alleged violations of human rights. By law NGOs must register with the Interior Ministry and apply for permission to receive foreign grants. Independent human rights groups and other NGOs faced continued harassment because of their activism as well as the threat of closure by government officials following prolonged and often arbitrary delays in obtaining official registration... Human rights activists reported receiving intimidating telephone calls and threats of blackmail from unidentified law enforcement and government officials... Courts routinely suspended sentences of human rights activists. This form of sentencing acted as de facto probation, leaving open the option for authorities to arbitrarily arrest or imprison individuals later...[H]uman rights defenders reported arrests without a warrant, denial of access to legal counsel of their choice, and physical and psychological duress during interrogations for the purpose of soliciting signed and televised confessions. These human rights defenders also reported being held in solitary confinement for periods ranging from one day to almost one year, unfair trials, and, in some cases, severe physical torture, including rape, electrical shocks, hanging by hands or arms, and/or forced body contortion... The government denied all requests from international human rights NGOs to establish offices in or conduct regular investigative visits to the country." (US State Department Country Report of Human Rights Practices in Iran, 2014)

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