Joint Coalition Statement: Iran in Crisis · A Coalition Call for Rights, Justice, and Accountability

In the wake of military strikes that have plunged Iran into armed conflict beginning Saturday, and in this moment of grave uncertainty, the organizations that constitute the Impact Iran coalition reaffirm, more than ever, their unwavering commitment to the protection and promotion of the rights and dignity of all people in Iran.

We are deeply alarmed by the profound human cost this conflict is already imposing on a civilian population that has long suffered under repression and instability. We call on all parties to uphold their obligations under international human rights law and international humanitarian law. The following principles must guide the actions of all stakeholders.

IRANIANS HAVE A RIGHT TO BE SAFE

In the current situation of armed conflict, all warring parties must fully respect and fulfil their obligations under international humanitarian law, including the principles of distinction between civilians and combatants, proportionality, precaution, necessity, and humanity. The lives and wellbeing of civilians must be protected without exception. International human rights law does not cease to apply in armed conflict — certain rights, including the right to life and the prohibition of torture, cannot be suspended under any circumstances, including declared states of emergency.

We are particularly alarmed by the situation of those held in detention. Conflict and political transition are especially dangerous moments for people in custody, who are uniquely vulnerable to abuse, disappearance, and extrajudicial harm. All prisoners and detainees must be treated humanely and in accordance with international standards. The rules of armed conflict prohibit in all circumstances murder, torture, cruel treatment, and hostage-taking of all persons not actively participating in hostilities. These protections cannot be suspended.

Beyond the context of armed conflict, Iranians have suffered years of brutal and systematic repression. Security forces have unlawfully killed thousands — possibly tens of thousands — and are currently arbitrarily detaining even larger numbers who risk torture, ill-treatment, and the death penalty. The right to be safe requires an immediate end to the use of lethal and excessive force against peaceful protesters, the fundamental accountability and reform of security institutions responsible for these abuses, and the immediate release of all those arbitrarily detained — including protesters, human rights defenders, lawyers, journalists, media workers, writers, artists, and trade unionists.

We further call on all parties to ensure safe, unimpeded access for humanitarian organizations, to protect medical facilities and personnel, and to establish and respect humanitarian corridors to assist affected civilians.

We are also gravely concerned about the safety of groups facing heightened risk, including women and girls, who face increased exposure to gender-based violence during armed conflict and political transition; ethnic and religious minorities, including Kurds, Baluch, Arabs, Baha’is, Christians, and others, who may be targeted or scapegoated amid instability; and refugees and stateless persons, who are among the most vulnerable and may have no means of protection or escape.

IRANIANS HAVE A RIGHT TO JUSTICE

We acknowledge that the killing of senior regime figures has been met with expressions of relief by many Iranians, reflecting decades of shared trauma rooted in oppression, brutality, and the systematic suppression of dissent. We understand this response.

At the same time, those killings deprive the Iranian people, victims, survivors, and their families of the prospect of holding perpetrators accountable through legal processes. Justice — real, lasting, legitimate justice — cannot be achieved through death or vengeance. It requires independent courts, transparent proceedings, and accountability under law. The emphasis must remain firmly on accountability through legal processes, rather than vengeance or impunity through death. The legality of any individual killing under international humanitarian law is a matter for independent legal review — which is precisely why impartial accountability processes are essential.

We call for the preservation of all documentation of human rights violations — past and present — and for the international community to support independent accountability mechanisms, including the UN Fact-Finding Mission on Iran, and to lay the groundwork for comprehensive transitional justice — including criminal accountability, truth-seeking, reparations for victims, and guarantees of non-recurrence. Evidence gathered by civil society organizations during this period must be protected as a matter of priority.

IRANIANS HAVE A RIGHT TO DECIDE THEIR OWN FUTURE

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights affirms that the will of the people shall be the basis of the authority of government. It is for the Iranian people — and the Iranian people alone — to determine their own political future, freely and without exclusion.

Any transfer or consolidation of political power must be transparent, inclusive, and undertaken with the meaningful participation of civil society actors. Iranian civil society organizations, women’s groups, minority communities, human rights defenders, and diaspora communities must have a genuine seat at the table in any political negotiations or post-conflict governance discussions. External actors should support rather than direct Iranian-led transition processes.

We call on the international community to support — not supplant — Iranian-led processes for building a future that reflects the will of all Iranians, without distinction based on gender, ethnicity, religion, belief, or political opinion.

IRANIANS HAVE A RIGHT TO LIVE FREE AND EQUAL

For decades, the people of Iran have lived under a system that has systematically denied their fundamental rights — criminalizing dissent, persecuting minorities, and enforcing discriminatory laws that have fallen most heavily on women, ethnic communities, religious minorities, and those who speak out. Whatever political changes may come, these patterns of exclusion and repression must not simply take a new form under new authorities.

Whatever form Iran’s future takes, it must be rooted in the full respect, protection, and fulfilment of human rights for all — without exception, and without compromise. The rights to life and security of the person, freedom of expression and opinion, freedom of assembly and association, equality before the law, non-discrimination, freedom of religion or belief, voting and political participation, due process, and a fair trial — the very rights suppressed in Iran today — must be guaranteed for all people tomorrow, including women and girls and all of Iran’s ethnic and religious minorities.

We call on all actors engaged in or influencing Iran’s political future to make an explicit, public commitment to these rights as a non-negotiable foundation — not as aspirations, but as binding obligations under international human rights law.

THE RIGHT TO INFORMATION MUST BE PROTECTED

Independent and accurate information is essential in times of conflict — and its suppression is itself a form of harm. Iran has one of the most extensive digital repression infrastructures in the world. Internet shutdowns, throttling, filtering, and surveillance have long been used to silence dissent and control the flow of information. In a moment of armed conflict, these tools become even more dangerous: they can be used to conceal atrocities, disorient civilians, and prevent affected communities from accessing help or communicating their situation to the outside world.

We call for the immediate cessation of any internet shutdowns or communications blackouts. The Iranian people have the right to access and share information, including about the conflict unfolding around them. We further call for the protection of sources, whistleblowers, and those documenting violations on the ground — their work is essential to any future accountability process and must not be criminalized or endangered.

We call for the protection of journalists and media workers — both inside and outside Iran — and for safe, unimpeded access for independent press. Under international humanitarian law, journalists covering armed conflict are civilians and must be protected as such. Deliberately targeting them would constitute a war crime. We also call on technology companies and platform providers to take active steps to ensure that communications infrastructure serving people in Iran remains accessible, and to resist any pressure to restrict or monitor it in ways that endanger users.

OBLIGATIONS OF THE INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY

States involved in or supporting this conflict bear obligations not only under international humanitarian law, but under the full framework of international human rights law. These obligations do not diminish because a conflict is politically complex or strategically significant. The chaos of armed conflict must not become cover for normalizing impunity or for dismantling the international mechanisms that exist precisely for moments like this.

We call on all states to:

Uphold and strengthen the UN human rights system — including the Human Rights Council, the UN Special Rapporteur on Iran, and the Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on Iran. These mechanisms must be protected, adequately resourced, and given full political backing, not undermined or sidelined in the name of geopolitical expediency.

Take initiatives to hold perpetrators to account for gross violations of human rights and crimes under international law – States must not stop at supporting investigations by the Fact-Finding Mission. They must make sure that the body of evidence collected through such investigations and otherwise is transmitted to relevant offices of the prosecutors that may have jurisdiction for appropriate action, including the opening of investigations and the issuance of arrest warrants. For this, States must:

Establish jurisdiction and open investigations at the domestic level, including on the basis of universal jurisdiction and other forms of extra-territorial jurisdiction,  

Encourage the UN Security Council to refer the situation in the Islamic Republic of Iran to the International Criminal Court

Grant protection to victims and survivors: States must grant asylum and humanitarian visas as well as medical and psychological care to victims and survivors in need for protection, as well as their families.

Protect Iranians in exile by addressing and countering transnational repression activities of Iran: States must coordinate strategies to prevent, address and counter transnational repression activities of Iran targeting Iranians in exile, including human rights defenders, victims and survivors and their families, lawyers, journalists and media workers and writers and artists.

Ensure sanctions do not punish civilians — Any sanctions regimes, existing or new, must include robust humanitarian carve-outs to ensure that civilians are not deprived of food, medicine, financial services, or essential goods. The burden of geopolitical decisions must not fall on the Iranian people.

Support civil society and human rights defenders — States and donors must provide sustained support to Iranian civil society organizations, human rights defenders, journalists, and documentation efforts — both inside Iran and in diaspora communities. This includes safe pathways, emergency funding, and protection measures.

Acknowledge and support the demand of Iranians for fundamental change, that have been repeatedly, widely and forcefully expressed at great cost by Iranian protesters, including profound reforms of Iran’s constitutional and legislative frameworks. States can play a role in particular by supporting civil society initiatives aiming at facilitating inclusive dialogue among Iranians and anticipating a possible orderly transition.

The international community has both the tools and the obligation to act. We call on all states to use their influence, leverage, and legal obligations to protect the people of Iran — not to serve their own strategic interests at the expense of human lives.

Impact Iran and its member organizations stand in full solidarity with the people of Iran at this critical and dangerous moment in their history. We will continue to document, advocate, and speak out — whatever the circumstances — in defense of the rights and dignity of all Iranians.

— Impact Iran Coalition

Signatories

• Ahwaz Human Rights Organisation
• All Human Rights for All in Iran
• ARTICLE 19
• Association for the Human Rights of the Azerbaijani People in Iran (AHRAZ)
• Balochistan Human Rights Documentation Network
• Balochistan Human Rights Group (BHRG)
• Defenders of Human Rights Center
• ECPM (Together Against the Death Penalty)
• Iran Human Rights
• Iran Human Rights Documentation Center
• Kurdistan Human Rights Association-Geneva (KMMK-G)
• Kurdistan Human Rights Network
• Kurdpa Human Rights Organization
• Outright International
• PEN America
• Rasank
• Siamak Pourzand Foundation (SPF)
• United for Iran (U4I)