Arcdh ARK Human Rights Society of Azerbaijan
The United Nations Human Rights Council selected Ms. Mai Sato, a prominent Japanese jurist and criminologist on 12 July 2024 as the 7th Special Rapporteur on human rights in Iran. She was selected as the best from 11 candidates with the official start on 1 August 2024 upon the end of Prof. Javaid Rehman’s mission. Ms. Sato has previously taught at universities in England and the United States of America and is currently teaching in Australia. She has also written a prestigious book on the death penalty in Japan and is well-known among human rights defenders and opponents of the death penalty around the world. The Arc Association congratulates Ms. Sato on her appointment and sincerely wishes her success in the mammoth task ahead of her. The Association will also take steps to work closely with her, as worked closely with Special Rapporteurs for the past 15 years.
Ms. Sato’s mission coincides with the election of the new president of the Islamic Republic of Iran; whereas, she is known to have been involved in investigations concerning state executions in Iran. Victims of human rights violations in Iran have been deprived of meeting with the UN human rights representative; although they are now at a new watershed as the new president-elect was not involved in the past bloodshed. Therefore, the victims would wonder if the Iranian president-elect will allow the UN envoy to travel to Iran. The Arc Association will raise the issue with the Special Rapporteur.
The five out of six previous special rapporteurs were never allowed to travel to Iran, despite their repeated requests to travel to Iran to meet with victims of human rights violations in Iran and to visit the prisons in the country. The exception was that of Mr. Reynaldo Galindo Pohl, who was allowed to travel to Iran during the presidency of Mohammad Khatami. The official pretext for denying access to the country has always been the accusation by the representatives of the Islamic Republic of Iran in Geneva of politicizing and collaborating with the opponents of the Islamic Republic of Iran.
While welcoming Ms. Sato’s appointment, the Arc Association will ask her to note that the Islamic Republic of Iran most persistently violates the human rights of the minority nations in Iran, including their economic, social, and cultural rights. Forming two-thirds of the population in Iran, the minority nations in Iran are discriminated against and excluded from even basic human rights, such as the right to education in their mother language. Also, the vast majority of the individuals suffering from execution in Iran belong to minority nations.
As soon as she begins her work in Geneva, the Arc Association will seek a face-to-face meeting with Ms. Sato, and possibly a collective meeting with representatives of other minority nations, in order to directly inform her of the violation of the rights of minority nations in Iran.
The Arc Association for the Defense of Human Rights of Azerbaijan
14 July 2024