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	Prevailing situation of human rights in Iran continues to warrant serious concern by Reporters Without Borders, UN News   Open letter to the eight candidates in the Islamic Republic’s 11th presidential election   Reporters Without Borders has written an open letter to the eight approved candidates in the Islamic Republic of Iran’s 11th presidential election, requesting that they publicly commit themselves to support freedom of information.   The list of eight approved candidates published yesterday by the Guardian Council – whose members are directly chosen and appointed by Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei – offers little hope that the 14 June election will be conducted in a clear and transparent manner.   In 2009, the presidential was stolen the day after the polling. This year’s election is being stolen before the official campaign even starts.   The Iranian regime openly flouts freedom of information, a fundamental freedom that is essential for free and fair elections. During President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s two terms, respect for human rights conditions has declined dramatically in the Islamic Republic.   Over the past eight years, more than 200 newspapers have been shut down and more than 300 journalists and netizens have been arbitrarily arrested, tortured and sentenced to lengthy prison terms.   To ensure that its recommendations do not go unheard and to put the issue of respect for basic rights at the centre of the election campaign, Reporters Without Borders is today issuing a challenge to the candidates.   It is calling on them to undertake to free all imprisoned journalists and netizens and to ensure that Iran observes its international obligations to respect freedom of information. These include the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which Iran ratified in 1975.   * 54 journalists are currently in jail in Iran, they need our help. Otherwise, they"ll meet the same fate as the blogger Sattar Behesheti, 35, who died under torture in Evin prison. Sattar Beheshti was arrested because he criticized the Iranian government. He died in November 2012 after 4 days spent in jail. Before he died, he wrote to the head of the prison to denounce the beatings and torture carried out by the police.   The Iranian regime recently cut off access to the Internet. It also routinely censors the national press and stops foreign journalists getting into the country. The Islamic Republic of Iran has jailed and sentenced more than 350 journalists and netizens since the controversial Presidential election of 2009. At Reporters Without Borders, we"re working to do everything we can to free them. http://en.rsf.org/iran-open-letter-to-the-eight-22-05-2013,44643.html   March 2013   The UN Special Rapporteur on the Situation of Human Rights in Iran has voiced serious concern about the general situation of human rights in Iran, pointing to “widespread and systemic” torture, as well as the harassment, arrest and attacks against human rights defenders, lawyers and journalists.   “The prevailing situation of human rights in Iran continues to warrant serious concern, and will require a wide range of solutions that are both respectful of cultural perspectives and mindful of the universality of fundamental human rights promulgated by the treaties to which Iran is a party,” said the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Iran, Ahmed Shaheed.   Presenting his report to the Geneva-based Human Rights Council, Mr. Shaheed said that Iran has made some “noteworthy advances” in the area of women’s rights, including advancements in health, literacy and in enrolment rates on both the primary and secondary levels.   “However, reports about recent policies that prohibit women’s access to a number of fields of study, further restrict women’s freedom of movement, and current polices that continue to impede women’s ability to hold certain decision-making positions in Government remain problematic,” he noted.   At the same time, a “preponderance of reports” communicated to him this past year indicate that that the situation for individuals in Iran who advocate for the advancement of human rights, or those that document, report, or protest against human rights violations, is “grave and continues to deteriorate.”   People who defend the rights of women, religious and ethnic minorities, as well as those that work to advance protections for the environment, workers and children continue to be subjected to harassment, arrest, interrogation, and torture and are “frequently charged with vaguely-defined national security crimes, which is seemingly meant to erode the frontline of human rights defence in the country,” said the expert.   “My current report also presents what appears to be unimpeachable forensic evidence that torture is occurring in Iran on a geographically widespread and systemic (across a number of Government branches) basis,” Mr. Shaheed stated.   He also voiced alarm at the high rate of executions that take place in Iran, a majority of which continue to take place for drug-related offences, which do not meet international standards for ‘most serious crimes.’   Last month Mr. Shaheed joined several of his human rights colleagues in calling on Iran to immediately halt the recent spate of arrests of journalists and to release those already detained, the majority of whom work for independent news outlets.   “We underscored our fear that the arrests carried out were part of a broader campaign to crack down on independent journalists and media outlets, under the accusation that they have collaborated with ‘anti-revolutionary’ foreign media outlets and human rights organizations,” he said.   It is also estimated, he added, that some 40 lawyers have been prosecuted since 2009, and that at least 10 are currently detained. In addition, it has been reported that 110 Baha’is are currently detained in Iran for exercising their faith; that at least 13 Protestant Christians are currently in detention centres across Iran; and that Dervishes, members of the Yarasen faith, and Sunni Muslims continue to be the subject of punitive activities, raising serious concern about the situation of religious minorities in the country.   http://www.ohchr.org/en/HRBodies/SP/Pages/Welcomepage.aspx
	State communication surveillance undermines freedom of expression, warns UN expert by Special Rapporteur Frank La Rue   4 June 2013   “Freedom of expression cannot be ensured without respect to privacy in communications,” United Nations Special Rapporteur Frank La Rue said today, calling for more global attention to the widespread use of surveillance technologies by States in violation of the human rights to privacy and freedom of expression.   “Who are the authorities mandated to promote the surveillance of individuals? What is the final destiny of the massive amounts of the stored information on our communications?” said. “These questions urgently need to be studied in all countries to ensure a better protection of the rights to privacy and the right to freedom of expression.”   Mr. La Rue’s findings contained in a report* on the implications of States’ surveillance of communications on the exercise of the human rights to privacy and freedom of opinion and expression, which was presented today to the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva. “Concerns about national security and criminal activity may justify the exceptional use of communications surveillance,” he said. “Nevertheless, national laws regulating what constitutes the necessary, legitimate and proportional State involvement in communications surveillance are often inadequate or simply do not exist.”   “The surveillance of human rights defenders or journalists in many countries has been well documented,” the UN Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression noted.   According to the report, States possess multiple instruments to breach communication privacy today: “Access to the stored content of an individual’s e-mails and messages can be obtained through Internet companies and service providers. States can easily track the movements of mobile phones, identify all individuals with a mobile phone within a designated area, and intercept calls and text messages.”   “By placing taps on the fibre-optic cables, through which the majority of digital communication information flows, and applying word, voice and speech recognition, States can achieve almost complete control of tele- and online communications,” Mr. La Rue explained, further underlining the fact that technological advances enable massive surveillance and censorship of web activities.   “Just recently, these technologies were utilized by Governments confronted with the Arab Spring, for example,” the human rights expert said.   The Special Rapporteur urged States to review national laws regulating surveillance, ensuring better protection to privacy in communication, and raise public awareness of the increasing threats to privacy posed by new communication technologies.   “Private actors also have a responsibility,” Mr. La Rue stressed. “Measures must be taken to prevent the commercialization of surveillance technologies across the globe and the protection of communication data.”   “Without adequate protection to privacy, security and anonymity of communications, no one can be sure that his or her private communications are not under States’ scrutiny,” the UN independent expert concluded.   http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=45399&Cr=asylum&Cr1=   * See also Human Rights Watch: http://www.hrw.org/news/2013/06/11/us-urgent-need-surveillance-reforms Visit the related web page
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