6Rang welcomes UN Fact-Finding Mission’s recognition of gender persecution against LGBTQ+ protesters in Iran

6Rang, 18 March 2025 – The UN Fact-Finding Mission on Iran has established that LGBTQ+ persons were systematically targeted for gender persecution in the context of the 2022-23 Woman, Life, Freedom protests. The report, which is to be presented to the Human Rights Council today, establishes that Iranian authorities engaged in an intentional campaign of violence and discrimination against LGBTQ+ persons, including acts amounting to torture, arbitrary detention, and persecution.

“In the context of the protests, LGBTQ+ persons were disproportionately affected by virtue of their real or perceived sexual orientation and gender identity. In detention, LGBTQ+ persons were subjected to dehumanizing insults, threats, and treatment amounting to torture,” the report states. “To extract confessions, victims were also threatened with being outed to their families or communities,” the report states, affirming that LGBTQ+ persons in detention faced sexual, verbal, and physical violence, with some subjected to sexual assault and rape during protests or while in detention.

The Fact-Finding Mission has found reasonable grounds to believe that the Iranian authorities intentionally suppressed LGBTQ+ persons through systematic violence and persecution.

According to the report, LGBTQ+ persons, along with Kurdish and Baluchi minorities, were victims of crimes against humanity for their participation and support of the protests. The report states that Iranian authorities acted with aggravated discriminatory intent against these groups, further embedding their persecution into the wider system of structural discrimination in Iran.

6Rang welcomes these findings that recognise the suffering of LGBTQ+ person while acknowledging their participation in Iran’s political landscape.

“For the first time, the UN has formally recognised that LGBTQ+ individuals in Iran were not just systematically discriminated against but were targeted with international crimes due to their sexual orientation and gender identity,” says 6Rang Executive Director, Shadi Amin. “This sends a powerful message to LGBTQ+ people in Iran, especially those who were imprisoned, tortured, or killed, that their struggle is seen, and that justice will be pursued.”

In the midst of the Woman, Life, Freedom uprising that erupted in Iran following the death of Jina Mahsa Amini in September 2022, and in response to the brutal crackdown on protesters, the UN Human Rights Council established an independent international fact-finding mission to investigate human rights violations related to the protests, particularly those affecting women and children. Despite Iranian authorities refusing to grant the Mission’s three experts’ entry into the country, they successfully submitted their second report to the Council, reaffirming their findings that crimes against humanity were committed against protesters.

6Rang had shared its research report ‘War on Bodies and Minds: Gender Persecution of LGBTIQ+ Protesters in the Context of the 2022-23 Iran Uprising’, with the Fact-Finding Mission. Based on testimonies from 70 LGBTQ+ protesters who participated in the protests and faced detention or state violence, the report documented the aggravated levels of violence against LGBTQ+ individuals due to their real or perceived sexual orientation and gender identity. 

Moreover, 6Rang submitted two reports to the Fact-Finding Mission, documenting official hate speech committed against LGBTQ+ persons in Iran: ‘Silencing Protests: Official Hate Speech against LGBTQ+ People as a Tool of Suppression (March 2023)’ and ‘Voices Suppressed, Identities Criminalized: The Systematic Weaponisation of Hate Speech Against LGBTQI+ Individuals in Iran (January 2025)’. 

Beyond the targeted persecution of LGBTQ+ persons, the Fact-Finding Mission has reaffirmed that Iranian authorities committed gross human rights violations and crimes against humanity, including murder, imprisonment, torture, rape, enforced disappearances, and persecution in the context of the protests. The report highlights the continued risk of recurrence due to widespread impunity and the state’s escalation of repression through judicial harassment, arbitrary detentions, transnational repression, and increased use of the death penalty—especially against women.

The Fact-Finding Mission has recommended the creation of an independent UN investigative mechanism to ensure continued documentation, accountability, and legal proceedings against perpetrators. 6Rang echoes this call and urges governments, UN bodies, and international stakeholders to act swiftly in implementing accountability measures against Iranian officials responsible for these crimes.

“6Rang remains committed to amplifying the voices of LGBTQ+ individuals in Iran and ensuring that their suffering is acknowledged in international justice mechanisms. The UN’s recognition of gender persecution is a critical step, but concrete justice, reparations, and accountability must follow,” Shadi Amin said.