Iran Urged to Adopt Complete Ban on Public Hangings and Violence Against Women

As the World marks the 2015 International Day Against Death Penalty, Defend International announces the launch of the campaign “Towards Abolition of Death Sentence and Enhanced Protection of Women’s Rights in Iran” to call on the Iranian authorities to review hanging and the women’s rights situation in light of International Human Rights Law. “On today’s World Day Against the Death Penalty, we urge the Iranian authorities to adopt a complete ban on public hangings and all forms of violence against women,” said Dr. Widad Akrawi, President of Defend International.

Towards Abolition of Death Sentence and Enhanced Protection of Women’s Rights in Iran

MEDIA RELEASE

10 October 2015

Defend International (DI) is pleased to announce the launch of the campaign Towards Abolition of Death Sentence and Enhanced Protection of Women’s Rights in Iran to call on the Iranian authorities to review hanging and the women’s rights situation in light of International Human Rights Law. We commend all the NGOs that are supporting similar goals and welcome partnerships.

The number of people affected by violations of human rights in Iran continues to be enormous. The challenges involved in supporting the victims are enormous. To name only a few, human rights organisations in Iran are often unable to mobilise due intimidation, imprisonment, torture,´-or-executions. There is also significant concern about the safety of their family members and the risks associated with campaigning for their release.

“DI has observed the effects of gender inequality, repression, torture and public hangings under President Rouhani’s leadership,” said Dr. Widad Akrawi, President of Defend International. “Today, we are calling on all Member States, irrespective of whether they consider executions to be lawful´-or-not, to ensure that public hangings and stoning are not used in Iran and urge the Iranian authorities to adopt a complete ban on public hangings and all forms of violence against women.”

The campaign will pursue several, interrelated objectives, including:

Coordinating activities related to raising awareness about the harassment, imprisonment and persecution of political opponents, supporters of human rights, and civil society activities in Iran-;-
Coordinating activities related to the promotion of gender equality in Iran-;-
Building a bridge between potential partners and communities whose work is relevant to the campaign, such as local and regional human rights groups, and organisations active in the areas of public hangings, stoning, women’s and girls’ rights, inter alia, as well as actors involved in ending violence against women and girls-;- and
Developing tools and resources that can be utilised and replicated by stakeholders to ultimately identify the key gender and empowerment activities that are likely to make a difference.
The campaign will be inclusive, informal, and pragmatic. Participation is open to all governments, organisations and associations that are willing to endorse the objectives mentioned above and motivated to invest time and effort in fulfilling them collectively.

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http://defendinternational.org/iran-towards-abolition-of-death-sentence-enhanced-protection-of-womens-rights/

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