Thanks so much.
It is a pleasure, Mr. Chairman, to be here, and also to be appearing before this distinguished committee. I spend a lot of time in Canada. My wife is Canadian, from Toronto, originally, so Canada is literally my second home. So it's a pleasure to be up here in Ottawa testifying on the question of human rights in Iran.
I think Professor Akhavan's introductory remarks really set the stage for a more detailed discussion of the specific abuses of the regime, although obviously in the case studies he discussed, he got into several of the examples in some detail.
In sum, the human rights situation in Iran is abysmal and has been condemned more than 50 times by the United Nations. In essence, the rule of law in Iran is based on an extremist view of Islam and severely punishes any deviation and interpretation of the Quran from that of the ruling clerics. Any acts incompatible with their extremist version of Islam are treated harshly, which includes inhumane treatment such as public beatings, imprisonment, torture, and death, and typically death without any due process.
As a result, there are numerous killings and disappearances of political dissidents to eliminate any threat they pose to the totalitarian rule of the regime, and despite international outcry, the situation continues to deteriorate. Iran has increased its oppression and violence against political dissidents, journalists, women, and minorities.
In my testimony today I want to walk through, at a very high level, a range of abuses by the current Iranian regime, specifically Iran's exploitation of Islam, repression of speech and association, violations of religious freedom, denial of women's rights, murder, torture and inhumane treatment, and recent threats and incitement to genocide against the State of Israel.
First, let me begin by talking about the exploitation of Islam, because it really provides the fundamental nature of this regime in Tehran. The majority of the abuses committed by Iran's leaders are based on exploitation of Islam. Article 4 of their Constitution strictly provides that all laws and regulations shall be based on Islamic principles, but of course this is the interpretation presented by the ruling clerical regime.
Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei stands as the enforcer of Islamic law and is the unelected absolute ruler of Iran; indeed, there is a principle in the Constitution of Velayat-E Faqih, which is the supremacy of clerical rule. There is no branch of government that's not controlled directly or indirectly by the Ayatollah or the Council of Guardians, and any legislative attempts at liberalization are typically rejected by the council and are often replaced with more restrictive laws.
As if that isn't sufficient, there is a morality police force, the Basij, that was created to seek out those who are acting “un-Islamic”. The morality police have a wide degree of authority to carry out extrajudicial punishments, such as beatings in the street, arrests, and torture. They exist along with other groups that are independent vigilantes, which also seek out and punish those who are believed to be acting un-Islamic. Indeed, the victimization by these independent vigilantes often goes unquestioned by government officials, and their behaviour is supported by many within the regime.
Second, let me talk about speech and association, because Iranians have few, if any, political rights. At the most fundamental level, of course, they have no ability to change their government. The mullahs proclaim to have a democracy, with elections for the presidency and the legislature, but this is a mere facade. In practice, voting is without meaning and the clerics control the slate of candidates as well as the election process, and indeed they've been accused on numerous occasions of tampering with the ballots themselves.
Speech is heavily suppressed, and freedom of speech is not protected by the Constitution. Public demonstrations are generally banned, and when they occur spontaneously, particularly if they attract a degree of enthusiasm from Iranian people, they are often brutally suppressed.
Although freedom of the press is guaranteed in the Constitution, it exists only where speech does not offend Islam and the ruling clerics, and of course this is also based on their own interpretation of Islam. Prohibited from publication are statements criticizing Ayatollah Khamenei, direct criticism of the Supreme Leader, criticisms of the rule of religious leaders, and statements promoting the views of dissident clerics or advocating for the rights of minorities. For example, three newspapers in Iran were shut down by the government just before President Ahmadinejad's election after one newspaper published a letter criticizing the government for rigging the election. As a result, the press, although it's not all state-controlled, often practises self-censorship for fear of political reprisal.
The regime is cracking down even harder these days on journalists and bloggers who are putting forth statements that are incompatible with the views of the regime.
Let me talk about violations of religious freedom, again at a high level. Freedom to practice religions exists but is limited to the practice of Shiite Islam, the official religion of Iran. The Sunni population is generally not targeted with violence, but there are a lot of claims of discrimination against Sunni members of the population, and religious activities of Christians and Jews are also restricted. Members of those faiths often suffer substantial discrimination. Indeed, for example, they are not able to access government employment, which constitutes a substantial plurality of employment in Iran.
Evidence suggests that more and more frequently religious minorities are subject to arrest under accusation of un-Islamic activities, and the Baha'i fair even worse. Members of the Baha'i faith are not afforded any protections, and their religion has been deemed un-Islamic under Iranian law, and indeed actually illegal.
There is a lot of religious discrimination in the Irani penal code. For example, if a Muslim is murdered, the perpetrator is subject to the crime of retaliation, but if a Muslim kills a non-Muslim, the killer may simply pay blood money to the victim's family to cure the “debt”. As is the case in a number of fundamentalist Islamic countries, an attempt to convert from Islam is punishable by death.
Let me now talk about women's rights, because women, as a minority, are heavily suppressed, and as a result of high expectations placed on them by the Islamic code, they are targeted more heavily. While there are a number of women serving in the legislature, this does not accurately reflect the status of women. In addition, the application of Iranian laws to women is a violation of international human rights law.
Women are actually afforded few rights independent of their husbands. They can't travel without permission. The testimony of two women in a court equates to that of one man. The blood money paid to the family of a female victim of a crime is half the sum of a man. The morality police often beat women in the streets for acts such as dressing immodestly, wearing cosmetics, or associating with unmarried men.
Women receive far more severe punishments than men convicted of the same crime. For example, men who commit rape may not receive any punishment at all, yet women who are accused of being impure, or even worse in the event of rape, can be indeed sentenced to death. Even worse is the treatment of women while imprisoned, where rape, and particularly the rape of virgins, is a widely practised set of activities by prison guards.
In addition, female and male human rights activists are persecuted for the greater pursuit of freedom for women in Iran. Most recently, earlier this month, security forces in Iran attacked and broke up a gathering of hundreds of people marking International Women's Day.
Let me now talk about murder, torture, and inhumane treatment by Iranian officials.
Since the Islamic revolution in 1979, it's estimated that more than 120,000 political executions have been committed by the regime. The number of prisoners in Iran is alarming and on the rise, and the number of people in Iranian custody is appalling and consequently widely condemned. For example, in December 2004, when a group of journalists publicly testified about their torture and warrantless arrests, they were threatened by the country's chief prosecutor with bodily harm to both them and their families.
There is also little justice for victims of torture and for subsequent “accidental deaths” that often occur during interrogations. Iran ranks, according to a major human rights group, at the top of the list “with respect to the number of executions in the country”.
More distressing, however, is the inhumane methods of execution, such as hanging, crucifixion, and stoning. Stoning is often a punishment for a crime being compatible with chastity and it is governed by the very specific guidelines under the Iranian penal code. For example, under article 104, the stones are supposedly supposed to be “not large enough to kill a person by one or two strikes”. The intention of this specification is to ensure that a person does not die immediately, but instead suffers a long and painful death.
Despite numerous complaints and charges by the United Nations and from around the world, Iran continues to commit these gross violations of human rights.
Lastly, let me talk about threats and incitement to genocide, before coming to some concluding recommendations.
Over the last several years, senior Iranian government officials have publicly and repeatedly called for the destruction of the State of Israel, which I believe is a violation of Iran's obligation under the genocide convention, to which they are a party. Specifically, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad publicly called for the destruction of Israel. The quote was, “As the Imam said, Israel must be wiped off the map.” If there's any doubt as to his intentions, President Ahmadinejad has presided over a parade through the streets with a Shahab-3 missile draped with a banner saying Israel should be wiped off the map. Ahmadinejad has repeated this statement on more than ten occasions between 2005 and 2007. Iran's Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Khamenei said, “There is only one solution to the Middle East problem, namely the annihilation and destruction of the Jewish state.” There are a number of other examples that I provide in my testimony.
Based on the repeated and public statements from the most senior Iranian government officials inciting genocide against the Jews in Israel, there's been a public call by many people, including members of this committee, for a case to be filed against Iran in the International Court of Justice under the state-to-state complaint procedure for its violations of the genocide convention, and here in Canada the major Jewish human rights organization, B'nai Brith Canada, has called on the Government of Canada to file this case.
I've only really briefly described in the context of this short testimony the range of abuses taking place by the Iranian regime. What I think is most unfortunate is the fact that while the world focuses on the nuclear question, the people of Iran continue to suffer substantially under their own leaders. Given the impunity with which they operate, it is very difficult to influence their behaviour, but as Professor Akhavan noted, their behaviour can be influenced. I agree as well with Professor Akhavan that Canada is well positioned to keep pressure on the Government of Iran. Specifically, I would recommend that Canada consider taking the following actions.
One, use its membership in the Human Rights Council to raise the issue of Iran to fight efforts by countries in the council to eliminate country-specific resolutions and rapporteurs. To date, the Human Rights Council has sadly had a virtually exclusive focus on Israel. I was in Geneva just last week at the Human Rights Council and was very heartened to see the representative of Canada actively participating in the discussions, standing up on behalf of the State of Israel, as well as raising deep concerns about the human rights abuses in a number of other countries that were being discussed during my visit.
Second, call on members of the Security Council to broaden their discussion on the situation in Iran to not focus just on the nuclear weapons but to look at their incitement to genocide as a potential threat to international peace and security. They could even consider referring the case to the prosecutor of the International Criminal Court. While that likely would not happen, given the ability of a number of members of the council to veto, I do believe that having Canada raise this question to members of the Security Council would be very helpful.
Canada could also initiate a state-to-state complaint under the genocide convention, as I mentioned, and should continue to speak out publicly about the ongoing abuses of human rights in Iran, which it has done and should continue to do.
Lastly, continue to cooperate with UN agencies in the international community to apply further pressure on Iran.
I don't think there are many Iranians who are particularly pleased with being ruled by the mullahs in power in the country. Indeed, when I talked to many Iranians who have recently visited Iran or who have emigrated to the United States or Canada, most people say they actually despise the mullahs. Ultimately, I think we do need to look at alternative ways to embrace democratic forces within Iran and among exile communities to keep the pressure on the Government of Iran. Ultimately, I think the foundation of their entire system is based on a perversion of Islam, and I think in the long run it is only by supporting those who are capable of speaking to the Iranian people in a language they understand and appreciate that we will see a change in their government and, ultimately, greater freedom and democracy in human rights for all the Iranian people.
Thanks a lot.