To: Member States of the UN General Assembly Your Excellency: We, the undersigned human rights and civil society organizations, write to urge your government to vote in favor of resolution…
Despite calls in some quarters for him to skip out, the UN Secretary General plans to travel to Iran next week, a country that has become a dungeon for its own people. He will attend the 16th Summit of the 120-member Non-Aligned Movement, which will be chaired by Iran through 2014. Most of the criticisms of him going have come from states leading efforts to isolate Iran due to the nuclear impasse. But at a time when severe human rights abuses continue unabated against Iran's citizens, it is a critical opportunity to refocus international attention on the dire situation in the country and pressure Iran's leaders to improve conditions for its people.
While American and European companies provide unmatched platforms for free expression and citizen journalism, misapplications of export regulations have created a chilling effect on the free flow of information to those living under repressive regimes. We are writing to urge you to take necessary steps to ensure important Internet communication services provided by your companies are not unnecessarily blocked for individuals in sanctioned countries. In places such as Iran, Cuba, Sudan and Syria, online media has emerged as a sanctuary to debate ideas, report human rights...
In his March 20 Nowruz message to the Iranian people, President Obama said “the United States will continue to draw attention to the electronic curtain that is cutting the Iranian people off from the world. And we hope that others will join us in advancing a basic freedom for the Iranian people: the freedom to connect with one another, and with their fellow human beings.”
United for Iran is deeply concerned about the escalating crackdown by the Iranian government on expression and assembly ahead of the March 2 parliamentary elections. Since the start of 2012, more than 100 Iranian citizens have been detained for non-violent political activism surrounding the elections and two have reportedly died in custody. Opposition parties, high profile political...
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE February 22, 2012 Media contact: Dokhi Fassihian, United4Iran Senior Advisor, dokhi@united4iran.org, (703) 261-9479 United4Iran Releases Statement Ahead of Elections Opposition is boycotting and calling for free and fair elections Washington, D.C.…
We all use the internet. But what does it mean to use the internet in a country where freedom of speech is under assault? This week, we talk to Mehdi Yahyanejad, the founder of the Balatarin, the Persian language version of Reddit or Digg. Mr. Yahyanejad talks about the importance of Balatarin for human rights activism and social mobilizing. He also tells us the many different ways the...
Iranian Delegation Pushes Back Without Substance Declares “Multiculturalism” Legitimates Violations The UN Human Rights Committee, the expert treaty body tasked with reviewing countries’ compliance with the International Covenant on Civil…
A month after the arrest of five independent Iranian filmmakers on charges of working for BBC Persian, 21 Iranian filmmakers and actors living outside of the country signed a statement…
Jan 19, 11:49 AM EST By BRIAN MURPHY Associated Press DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) -- Iran's top police chief envisions a new beat for his forces: patrolling cyberspace. "There…
