On 8 November 2019 UN Member States will participate in Iran’s Universal Periodic Review (UPR). They will assess the extent to which Iran has implemented human rights recommendations it accepted during its last UPR in 2014,  raise outstanding human rights concerns, and make further recommendations to the government on how to improve the situation. Iran will then choose which recommendations it is willing to accept.

As ARTICLE 19’s joint submission to the UPR process detailed, the human rights situation in Iran has significantly deteriorated since 2014, particularly the right to freedom of expression and information.

Journalists, human rights defenders and activists are increasingly criminalised and handed extreme sentences against the guarantees of international human rights law. Online, the state’s clampdown on expression has become more severe, censoring websites and apps, disrupting internet access and engaging in surveillance that does not meet the requirements of legality, necessity or proportionality, severely violating people’s rights.

We call on all States to respond to this by making strong and targeted recommendations for Iran to to put an end to violations and institute the changes needed to guarantee this right in law and practice.

We urge Iran to accept all recommendations relating to freedom of expression and information, and work with all relevant stakeholders on the reform processes that will be required to implement them.