Mark O'Doherty

Healing the Islamic Republic of Iran - Improving Human Rights, Peace and Prosperity in the Islamic Republic of Iran Mark O'Doherty

The International Community should be advised that the government of the Islamic Republic of Iran is currently in dispute. Iran has one of the worst human rights records in the world. This includes blatant violations of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child - evidence-based information indicating that the government of Iran was responsible for the murder of at least 23 children during the civil unrest that started on 15 November 2019. According to the NGO Amnesty International, Iran's security forces unlawfully resorted to lethal force to crush nationwide protests in 2019, killing hundreds of protesters and bystanders. Amnesty International has uncovered evidence that the victims included at least 23 children - 22 boys, aged between 12 and 17, and a girl reportedly aged between eight and 12. In an effort to crush the 2019 Iranian protests, the Iranian government shot protesters dead from rooftops, helicopters, and at close range with machine gun fire. In an effort to mask the scale and casualty count of the protests, it hauled away large numbers of bodies of the dead protesters; and threatened families of slain protesters not to speak to the media or hold funerals. Also, the NGO Human Rights Watch has reported of blatant violations on the freedom of association, expression and gender equality - as well as arbitrary detentions, torture and other ill-treatment; resulting in death and executions in Iran. It is also important to emphasise, that Iran's judicial system and domestic security agencies - such as the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps' (IRGC) Intelligence Organization - are guilty of perpetrating blatant human rights violations in Iran; including reported abuse and torture of children, which is a blatant violation of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC). Also, the Iranian authorities have a horrific track record of putting juvenile offenders to death. Here again, this is in flagrant violation of international law and the UNCRC. Therefore, the International Community is advised to keep a safe distance from the so-called government of Iran, until it has agreed to evolve and improve itself - by releasing innocent people imprisoned unjustly in the country; and finally implementing civil liberties, basic human rights and fundamental freedoms in Iran. In the meantime, domestic policy, foreign policy and human rights issues concerning the Islamic Republic of Iran will be handled by the NGO BTB-Global Peacebuilding.