Ms. Alena Douhan
The Special Rapporteur on the negative impact of the unilateral coercive measures on the
enjoyment of human rights
Dear Ms. Douhan
As former political prisoners and activists of civil society, we heard from the media about your
visit to our country on behalf of the United Nations Human Rights Council to investigate
“possible human rights violations through coercive and unilateral sanctions.” Considering that
the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran has not
been granted permission to travel to Iran but that you have obtained permission, we must briefly
address some crucial issues.
Of course, it was possible to find out the official’s opinions of the Islamic Republic through the
diplomatic representatives of this government at the UN headquarters without this trip. Now that
you have traveled to Iran to prepare a comprehensive report, you are expected to meet with civil
and political activists independent of the Islamic Republic and independent of the Iranian
opposition and seek their views.
If these meetings do not occur and due to the history of inaccuracy and lack of transparency of
the Islamic government in providing information, it will be a matter of public opinion that you
do not want or are not allowed to hear the views of critics of the Islamic Republic. Therefore,
this option is reinforced that an agreement has already been reached in this regard, which also
has a history in the government’s external relations, which will adversely affect the reputation of
the United Nations.
We should also note the important point that there are dozens of GONGOs in our country which
represent the positions and political interests of the Islamic Republic. Therefore, talking to the
representatives of such organizations could not inform you about the actual human rights
situation in Iran.
Her excellency;
It is worth mentioning that the Islamic Republic and its representatives who talk to you do not
represent the majority of Iranians. Therefore, their current position does not come from a
democratic process, and the government has no legitimacy. Undemocratic structures, systemic
corruption, and inefficiency of the government have led the government of the Islamic Republic
to put economic pressure on people and commit blatant and gross human rights violations in Iran
before and even more than “unilateral coercive sanctions.”
Our final point is to inform you that if you follow the pre-arranged plans of the government and
only meet with Islamic Republic representatives and with what appear to be independent civil
institutions but are managed by the Islamic Republic, your reputation and the reputation of the
United Nations will be damaged. Moreover, Iran’s general public and civil activists will never
forget this vague approach.
Sincerely yours
Ms. Giti Pourfazel (Attorney )
Mr. Ahmad Reza Haeri (Human Rights Activist)
Mr. Keyvan Samimi (President of the Association for the Defense of Press Freedom)
Mr. Sadra Abdollahi (Cinema Director and Producer)
Mr. Jafar Azimzadeh (Secretary of the Board of Directors of the Free Union of Iranian Workers)
