The United Nations Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran is a
United Nations Special Rapporteur whose mandate is to monitor and investigate
human rights violations in Iran. The current Special Rapporteur is
Javaid Rehman. He is the sixth special rapporteur to Iran, following the tenures of Andrés Aguilar (1984–1986),
Reynaldo Galindo Pohl
Reynaldo Galindo Pohl (Sonsonate, October 21, 1918 – San Salvador, January 4, 2012) was a Salvadoran lawyer and diplomat. He actively participated in the military movement which led to overthrew of Salvador Castaneda Castro in 1948. Galindo P ...
(1986–1995), Maurice Copithorne (1995–2002),
Ahmed Shaheed
Ahmed Shaheed ( dv, ޝަހީދު, born January 27, 1964) is a Maldivian diplomat, politician and professor. On 24 March 2016, he was appointed for the sixth year running as the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the human rights situation in t ...
(2011–2016), and
Asma Jilani Jahangir (2016–2018).
Tenures
Andrés Aguilar (1984–1986)
In 1984, the
United Nations Commission on Human Rights
The United Nations Commission on Human Rights (UNCHR) was a functional commission within the overall framework of the United Nations from 1946 until it was replaced by the United Nations Human Rights Council in 2006. It was a subsidiary body of ...
(UNCHR) appointed Andrés Aguilar of
Venezuela
Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many islands and islets in th ...
as its Special Representative to Iran on human rights. Iran refused to engage with him and he "eventually resigned, unable to persuade Iranian officials to cooperate with him in any way."
Reynaldo Galindo Pohl (1986–1995)
Galindo Pohl, a prominent diplomat and professor of law from
El Salvador, served as the Special Representative from 1986 to 1995.
He visited Iran three times between 1990 and 1992, but after his third visit, he was barred from visiting Iran.
Maurice Copithorne (1995–2002)
Following the resignation of Galindo Pohl, the UNCHR appointed Maurice Copithorne, a Canadian lawyer, as the Special Rapporteur. On 22 April 2002, the UNCHR voted not to renew the mandate of the Special Rapporteur, a decision condemned by
Human Rights Watch
Human Rights Watch (HRW) is an international non-governmental organization, headquartered in New York City, that conducts research and advocacy on human rights. The group pressures governments, policy makers, companies, and individual human r ...
(HRW) and the
U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF).
Ahmed Shaheed (2011-2016)
In March 2011, the UN
Human Rights Council
The United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC), CDH is a United Nations body whose mission is to promote and protect human rights around the world. The Council has 47 members elected for staggered three-year terms on a regional group basis. ...
re-established this mandate, which the UNCHR had terminated in 2002, under the title Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran.
Ahmed Shaheed
Ahmed Shaheed ( dv, ޝަހީދު, born January 27, 1964) is a Maldivian diplomat, politician and professor. On 24 March 2016, he was appointed for the sixth year running as the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the human rights situation in t ...
was the Special Rapporteur from 2011 to 2016. He went on to become the UN Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion or Belief. He was twice Foreign Minister of the Maldives from 2005 to 2007 and 2008 to 2010.
Asma Jahangir (2016–2018)
Asma Jilani Jahangir was selected as the Special Rapporteur in 2016. She was a human rights lawyer of Pakistani origin and a former President of the Supreme Court Bar Association of Pakistan. She suffered from cardiac arrest in
Lahore
Lahore ( ; pnb, ; ur, ) is the second most populous city in Pakistan after Karachi and 26th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 13 million. It is the capital of the province of Punjab where it is the largest city ...
on 11 February 2018 and later died at the hospital.
[Human rights icon Asma Jahangir passes away in Laho]
Human rights icon Asma Jahangir passes away in Lahore
/ref>
Javaid Rehman (2018–)
On 7 July 2018, Javaid Rehman was appointed as the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the human rights situation in the Islamic Republic of Iran
List
See also
* High Council for Human Rights (Iran)
References
{{United Nations Special Rapporteurs
Human rights in Iran
*