UN Extends Iran Human Rights Investigations and Removes Time Limit
The United Nations Human Rights Council has adopted a new resolution, renewing the mandates of the Special Rapporteur on human rights in Iran and the international fact-finding committee, while removing its previous time limit. This move paves the way for broader investigations into what the resolution describes as human rights violations in Iran. The Iranian government has rejected the resolution, labeling it “discriminatory.”
On Thursday in Geneva, the Human Rights Council voted 24 in favor, 8 against, and 15 abstentions to extend the mandates of Mai Sato, the UN Special Rapporteur on human rights in Iran, and the international fact-finding committee. According to human rights advocates, by removing the time constraints, this resolution enables investigations into crackdowns on protests prior to 2022, including events in 2019.
Ali Bahreini, Iran’s Ambassador and Permanent Representative to the UN in Geneva, criticized the resolution as “discriminatory” and a blow to the council’s credibility. Speaking at the 58th session, he stated that Iran sees no relevance between the content of the resolution and its own human rights situation, expressing firm opposition to it. Bahreini also called it a “waste of resources” and “ineffective.”
Countries such as Chile, Belgium, France, Mexico, Morocco, and Japan voted in favor of the extension, while China, Cuba, Indonesia, Sudan, Vietnam, and Bolivia opposed it. Qatar, Kuwait, and Georgia abstained.
Amnesty International hailed the council’s decision as “historic.” Sara Hashash, Deputy Director for the Middle East and North Africa at Amnesty International, noted that it sends a strong message to Iranian authorities and bolsters efforts for “global justice.” According to Hashash, “the fact-finding mission now goes beyond the ‘Woman, Life, Freedom’ protests, enabling the committee to investigate other serious and ongoing human rights violations in Iran, as well as crimes under international law.”
Previously, in March 2025 (Esfand 1403), the UN fact-finding committee—chaired by Bangladeshi jurist Sara Hossain—accused Iran of creating a ‘climate of fear and systematic impunity.’ Established in November 2022 (Aban 1401) to investigate the “Woman, Life, Freedom” protests, the committee’s two-year mandate has now been rendered indefinite by the new resolution. Sara Hossain, a Bangladeshi lawyer recognized for her work on human rights, gender issues, and international justice, leads the UN’s independent international fact-finding committee on Iran. Mai Sato, a Japanese legal expert and social scientist, was appointed Special Rapporteur to succeed Javaid Rehman.
For decades, Iran has denied entry to UN-appointed rapporteurs. The last visit by a UN human rights envoy dates back to the 1990s. Reynaldo Galindo Pohl, a Salvadoran diplomat and jurist, was the only UN Special Rapporteur to visit Iran—three times between 1990 and 1992, during the presidency of Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani. These trips took place amid post–Iran–Iraq War pressures when Iran faced international scrutiny over its global image.
In his reports, Galindo Pohl documented widespread human rights abuses, including the mass executions of political prisoners in 1988, the crackdown on dissidents, limitations on freedom of expression, and dire prison conditions. Since then, the Islamic Republic has consistently refused to allow UN Special Rapporteurs to enter the country.