Washington, DC – NIAC has issued a position statement on the deteriorating human rights situation in Iran. Both Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch have reported a significant increase in human rights violations in Iran in the past few years. The statement expresses grave concern about the human rights situation in Iran and urges the government of Iran to respect the internationally recognized rights of its citizens.

As the human rights situation in Iran deteriorated, NIAC consulted its membership for guidance. As the largest grass-roots organization representing Americans of Iranian descent, NIAC regularly seeks direction from its membership to determine its priorities. The NIAC membership voted in favor of raising the organization’s profile in speaking out against human rights violations in Iran.

NIAC’s Statement on Human Rights Follows:

The National Iranian American Council expresses grave concern about the human rights situation in Iran and urges the government of Iran to respect the internationally recognized rights of its citizens.

As the largest grass-roots organization representing Americans of Iranian descent in the country, NIAC is committed to shedding much needed light on the abuses of the Iranian government against its own people.

As the inheritor of two great cultures – ancient and modern – both built on the culture of human rights, NIAC affirms the universality of human rights and rejects all attempts to disassociate Iranian culture from internationally recognized standards of human rights as enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

Iran’s disregard for the international treaties it has signed and its deteriorating human rights record is deeply troubling to Iranian Americans and the global community. NIAC stands with human rights defenders in Iran and around the world and calls on the Iranian government to respect its existing international obligations and to ratify international human rights treaties it has yet to ratify.

NIAC advocates open, constructive, and unrestricted dialogue among all people and institutions that care about improving human rights in Iran and elsewhere.

Through its programs, NIAC encourages discussion and debate on how best to advance human rights in Iran.