Iran Faces International Pressure over LGBTQI+ Rights Violation

6Rang (Iranian Lesbian and Transgender Network), 24 January 2025 

The international community put pressure on the Islamic Republic of Iran today to decriminalise same sex relations. During the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) session on Iran that took place in the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva, nine countries made strong recommendations addressing the systemic discrimination and violence faced by LGBTQI+ individuals in the country.

 

Chile, Cyprus, the Netherlands, Spain, Iceland, Luxembourg, Mexico, New Zealand, and the Czech Republic raised concerns about systemic discrimination against sexual and gender-diverse minorities in Iran during the UPR session. These states urged the Islamic Republic to decriminalize same-sex relations between consenting adults. Iceland called on Iran to prohibit the use of electric shocks and other forms of torture against individuals based on their sexual orientation or gender identity. Chile emphasized the need to repeal laws that institutionalize discrimination and persecution on the grounds of sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender expression. Luxembourg further urged Iran to repeal laws criminalizing homosexual relationships and transgender identities.

 “Today’s recommendations show that the world has heard our calls for justice and is responding,” Shadi Amin, founder of 6Rang said. “These recommendations, made at one of the most significant international platforms, are vital steps toward creating a space where we can assert our demands and eventually see them realised,” she added.

The Islamic Republic of Iran did not address any of the recommendations made regarding the situation of the LGBTQI+ community during the UPR session. Despite international concern and specific calls for decriminalization of same-sex relations and protections for sexual and gender-diverse individuals, Iran chose not to respond to these issues.

In November 2024, 6Rang published a report detailing major violations of LGBT+ rights in Iran, along with a set of recommendations to address them. In the months leading up to the UPR session, 6Rang met with representatives of more than 30 member states, urging them to incorporate these recommendations into their review of Iran’s human rights record.

Among the key recommendations were decriminalizing same-sex conduct, including removing the death penalty and flogging for consensual same-sex relations among adults, banning all forms of conversion therapy, including electroshock therapy, ending official hate speech against LGBT+ people, and releasing and halting the persecution of LGBTIQ+ activists and human rights defenders.

“With the support of our allies in Iran, 6Rang has gathered up-to-date information on the situation of the LGBT+ community and presented it to member states in its submission, as an alternative to the Islamic Republic’s national report.” Melika Zarr, 6Rang Operational Manager said. “We will continue our efforts to expose the injustices and amplify the voices of our community on every platform available worldwide,” she added. 

The Universal Periodic Review (UPR) is a peer-reviewed process that takes place every 4.5 years. During this process each member state evaluates the human rights records of other members. 

The Islamic Republic has refused to address the issues related to the human rights of LGBTQI+ in its national report to the Human Rights Council for this UPR session. 

During today’s session, Iran received numerous recommendations from the international community, including calls to impose a moratorium on the death penalty and address institutionalized discrimination against women and girls. Delegations urged Iran to end discrimination against ethnic and religious minorities, and to implement international conventions such as The Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) and the Convention on the Rights of the Child. Recommendations also emphasized the need for Iran to comply with international standards regarding judicial proceedings. The international community further called for the immediate release of prisoners arrested for participating in civil protest, and Iran’s cooperation and access to the special repaurteur on the human rights situation in Iran, and the independent international fact-finding mission.   

The Human Rights Council regular session to adopt the UPR recommendations to Iran will reconvene later in summer this year. during which the Iranian government is expected to respond to some of the recommendations. The UPR recommendations are intended to guide the human rights policies of the member states until the next cycle.

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