Iran Human Rights Documentation Center

The Iran Human Rights Documentation Center (IHRDC) believes that the development of anaccountability movement and a culture of human rights in Iran are crucial to the long-term peace andsecurity of the country and the Middle East region. As numerous examples have illustrated, the removalof an authoritarian regime does not necessarily lead to an improved human rights situation if institutionsand civil society are weak, or if a culture of human rights and democratic governance has not beencultivated. By providing Iranians with comprehensive human rights reports, data about past and presenthuman rights violations and information about international human rights standards, particularly theInternational Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the IHRDC programs will strengthen Iranians’ability to demand accountability, reform public institutions, and promote transparency and respect forhuman rights. Encouraging a culture of human rights within Iranian society as a whole will allow politicaland legal reforms to have real and lasting weight.The

IHRDC

seeks to:

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Establish a comprehensive and objective historical record of the human rights situation in Iransince the 1979 revolution, and on the basis of this record, establish responsibility for patterns of human rights abuses;

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Make such record available in an archive that is accessible to the public for research andeducational purposes;

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Promote accountability, respect for human rights and the rule of law in Iran; and

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Encourage an informed dialogue on the human rights situation in Iran among scholars and thegeneral public in Iran and abroad.

Iran Human Rights Documentation Center

129 Church StreetNew Haven, Connecticut 06510, USATel: +1-(203)-772-2218Fax: +1-(203)-772-1782Email: info@iranhrdc.orgWeb:http://www.iranhrdc.org Photographs:The front cover painting is by Soudabeh Ardavan, an artist and a survivor of the 1988 prison massacre.The portrait is of the Deputy Minister of Intelligence in 1988, Mostafa Pour-Mohammadi, whorepresented the Ministry of Intelligence on the Death Commission of Tehran.Photographs used throughout the report were obtained online.© 2009 All Rights Reserved.Iran Human Rights Documentation Center, New Haven, Connecticut