23 January 2026. We, the undersigned organisations, express our grave concern over the ongoing, nationwide repression of peaceful protests across Iran and strongly condemn the Iranian authorities’ systematic use of lethal and excessive force against civilians exercising their fundamental rights.
The current wave of protests erupted in response to the rapid devaluation of Iran’s national currency, which has pushed millions further into poverty and economic insecurity. What began as economic protests in Tehran quickly spread to cities and towns across the country, with economically marginalised regions bearing the heaviest burden of both the crisis and the state’s violent response. Rather than addressing the people’s legitimate social and economic grievances, the authorities have once again resorted to violence, force, intimidation and repression.
To prevent information about the massive human rights violations from reaching the public, Iranian authorities once again imposed an internet shutdown beginning on the evening of Thursday, January 8, 2026. This internet blackout is a deliberate attempt to obstruct the flow of information, conceal abuses, and prevent documentation of killings, arrests, and other serious violations.
According to credible reports from human rights organisations, at least 4,700 protesters have been killed by security forces through the use of live ammunition. There is unconfirmed news that estimates the number of killings to be higher than 12,000. Many of those killed were young people, including children under the age of eighteen. Thousands more have been arbitrarily arrested and detained nationwide. Detainees have reportedly been denied access to legal counsel, subjected to ill-treatment and torture, and in many cases forced to make televised "confessions." The targeting of minors, the use of torture, and the extraction of coerced confessions constitute serious violations of international human rights law, including Iran’s obligations under the Convention on the Rights of the Child and the absolute prohibition of torture.
The intensive and disproportionate use of force against peaceful protesters represents a grave violation of the right to life, a non-derogable right guaranteed under international human rights law. The violent suppression of demonstrations further violates the rights to peaceful assembly, freedom of expression, and freedom from arbitrary arrest and detention. Moreover, these acts contravene international standards governing the use of force by law enforcement officials, which strictly limit lethal force to situations where it is absolutely necessary to protect life.
These violations are not isolated incidents. Over the past decade, Iran has witnessed repeated nationwide protest movements in response to economic collapse, inflation, poverty, corruption, environmental degradation, police brutality, and the systematic repression of women, workers, students, and ethnic and religious minorities. Each wave of protest has been met with the same pattern of excessive force, mass arrests, intimidation, and impunity. This entrenched cycle of repression has deepened public mistrust and exacerbated Iran’s political, social, and economic crises.
Over the past century, the people of Iran have repeatedly risen in pursuit of freedom, democracy, equality, and social justice, paying an enormous price for these aspirations. Hundreds have been killed or executed for opposing dictatorship, thousands have spent years in prison for demanding fundamental freedoms and free elections, and countless others have lived and died in exile while longing to return to their homeland. These sacrifices reflect a long and continuous struggle for dignity and self-governance.
At this critical moment, we express deep concern over escalating threats of armed conflict and military confrontation with Iran. Such threats place civilians at greater risk, and further empower government forces who are justifying killing of protesters, repression and crackdown against civil society on security grounds. Any military escalation would foreseeably exacerbate existing patterns of serious human rights violations and will not advance the Iranian people’s struggle for freedom, democracy, and justice. Meaningful and lasting change in Iran requires free and informed participation of its population in public life. The future of Iran must be determined by its citizens, social movements, and civil society, without violence, military intervention and coercion. The right to self-determination is a fundamental principle of international law and must be fully respected.
We call on the international community to pressure Iranian authorities to do the following:
– immediately halt use of lethal force against protesters;
– release all those who have been arbitrarily detained;
– halt execution of protesters; and
– restore internet access and telephone communications for Iranian citizens.
We further call on the international community and especially the United Nations and European governments to do the following:
– take serious measures to reduce mounting tensions and prevent military intervention; and
– deploy United Nations observers to Iran so they can assess the situation on the ground.