FFMI - Call for Submissions
On 3 April 2025, the Human Rights Council renewed the mandate of the Fact-Finding Mission on the Islamic Republic of Iran (FFMI) for a period of one year (A/HRC/RES/58/21), and in so doing, broadened the scope of its investigation:
- To thoroughly and independently monitor and investigate allegations of recent and ongoing serious human rights violations in the Islamic Republic of Iran;
- To establish the facts, circumstances and structural causes of such violations, including discrimination on grounds of gender, ethnicity, religion or belief and political views; and
- To collect, consolidate, analyze, record and preserve evidence of such violations, to maintain and preserve the evidence that it has collected to date, and to ensure that all evidence is accessible for use in any independent legal proceedings.
The Human Rights Council requested that the FFMI:
- Present an oral update, followed by an interactive dialogue, on the implementation of the mandate to the General Assembly at its eightieth session (October 2025); and
- Present a report to the Human Rights Council at its sixty-first session (February to April 2026) during a joint interactive dialogue with the Special Rapporteur on Iran.
The FFMI invites individuals, groups, and organizations to submit information and material relevant to its mandate set out above and bearing in mind its updated terms of reference . Submissions may refer to, but are not limited to, the areas listed below.
- Structural causes and historical patterns of human rights violations in the Islamic Republic of Iran, as seen in the repression of past protests, particularly the 2009 presidential election protests, 2019 fuel price protests, and 2021 water shortage protests, including:
- The use of the death penalty in relation to national security-related charges (including “armed rebellion” / “Baghi”, “enmity against God” / “Moharebeh”, and “corruption on earth” / “Efsad-al-felarz”);
- Unlawful, unnecessary or disproportionate use of force, leading to killings and injuries;
- Arbitrary arrest and detention and enforced disappearances;
- Torture, ill-treatment and sexual and gender-based violence, and conditions in detention;
- Trials of individuals in connection with protests, and serious violations of fair trial rights;
- Threats, harassment, intimidation, coercion and physical harm, against victims, their families and those seeking truth, justice and reparations;
- Measures to restrict civic space, including on digital space, the internet and on social media;
- Transnational repression of individuals of Iranian origin living outside Iran, and repression of individuals conducting journalism or advocacy on Iran, including by threats, harassment, intimidation, coercion, and physical harm; as well as by proxy through threats, intimidation or other measures against their families living inside Iran; and
- Adequacy of harm prevention measures, rehabilitation, protection, or investigation by host countries.
- Alleged human rights violations arising from the armed conflict between the Islamic Republic of Iran and Israel from 12 to 24 June 2025, including:
- Exacerbation of human rights violations within the Islamic Republic of Iran, particularly arbitrary arrests and detentions, arbitrary executions and impermissible restrictions of the rights of freedom of assembly, expression and association;
- Targeting of alleged civilian objects in the Islamic Republic of Iran, including but not limited to: Evin prison in Tehran, the Iranian TV Broadcast Agency (IRIB), medical facilities (including hospitals), and residential buildings;
- Alleged targeting of humanitarian or medical workers;
- Civilian casualties resulting from the hostilities; and the impact of the hostilities on the civilian population, particularly in terms of displacement, and the adequacy of evacuation procedures, warnings, or other measures taken by the Islamic Republic of Iran to ensure the safety and protection of civilians.
- Additional alleged human rights violations by the Islamic Republic of Iran since April 2025, which are not covered by areas “A” and “B” above, including:
- Arbitrary arrests and detention;
- Treatment in detention, including torture and ill-treatment, gender-based violence, and enforced disappearances;
- Trials of human rights defenders and other individuals in connection with activities protected by international human rights law and involving serious violations of fair trial rights;
- The use of the death penalty on security-related charges;
- Restrictions to the right to freedom of expression and association (online and offline);
- Threats, harassment, intimidation, coercion, physical harm, and prosecution of victims, their families and others seeking truth, justice and reparations; and
- The specific impact on ethnic and religious minorities.
- The right to non-discrimination in the context and in relation to the alleged violations mentioned above, including civil and political, economic, social and cultural rights, such as:
- Discrimination on grounds of gender, including femicide, and the discriminatory treatment of women, men, children, and LGBTQ+ persons;
- Discrimination on grounds of ethnicity and nationality, including the treatment of relevant minorities;
- Discrimination on grounds of thought, conscience, religion or belief, including the treatment of religious minorities; and
- Discrimination on grounds of political views, including persons expressing dissent.
- Responsibility of entities and individuals
- Those responsible, including security forces, administration of justice entities, institutions, corporations, and individuals involved in different capacities in perpetrating or enabling the alleged human rights violations and/or crimes under international law.
- Reparations measures
- Highlight reparations and non-recurrence measures that are relevant to address patterns of violations identified above, including necessary institutional and legal reforms, and proposed modification of practices relevant to ending patterns of violence and discrimination.
- Identify measures to be taken by States, corporations, and international organizations to limit harm and pursue reparations and accountability for victims of human rights violations in the Islamic Republic of Iran.
As appropriate, kindly include in your submission information on the gender and child rights dimensions, as well as the intersectionality between gender, ethnicity, religion, socio-economic or other status.
Finally, the FFMI welcomes recommendations to the readership of the report, such as
- Recommendation on measures of prevention, protection, accountability - including the right to truth, justice and reparation. These could include, amongst others, policy and normative measures, accountability measures with a view to preventing and ending impunity for any individual involved in ordering, facilitating, or perpetrating crimes under international law, as well as reparations for victims / survivors and their families; and
- Recommendations on measures to be taken by third States, multilateral institutions, and the private sector to increase human rights protection and the promotion of equality, truth, justice, and reparations are also encouraged.
Deadline: Submissions should be sent as soon as possible, but no later than 15 November 2025.
Confidentiality: The FFMI attaches utmost importance to the protection of sources, notably concerning the respect for confidentiality and the ‘do no harm’ principle (not to jeopardize the life, safety, freedom and well-being of victims, witnesses and other cooperating persons). It will only disclose the identity of a source strictly subject to the source’s informed consent to do so. This means the FFMI will use the information provided by sources solely in accordance with the source’s stated wishes when providing it.
Making a Submission: Individuals, groups and organizations wishing to submit information and evidence to the FFMI are encouraged to follow the steps below:
- Send your submission to the following email submissions-ffmiran@un.org. Please enclose the following submission form (ENG) / [submission form (Persian/ فارسی)]. You may also use the following simplified submission form in English, Persian or Kurdish.
- Do not use your regular email address to send your submission. Please send your information from an encrypted email account such as Proton Mail to help protect your messages and attachments.
- Do not include sensitive information in the subject of the email.
- Please also attach the submission itself, along with all relevant materials, reports, documents and other information.
- Information and documentation can be submitted in English and/or Persian.
- If you wish to submit large files, such as videos, digital materials, or other files, please inform the FFMI in advance via the above email. The FFMI will contact you in due time to enable the submission of the big size file/s in a safe manner.
- If necessary, please leave a text or a voice message over Signal to the following number: +41 (0)76 205 08 43.
Suggested security measures:
Submit information to the FFMI only when it is safe to do so and without taking unnecessary risks, considering the below measures:
- Do not use your regular email address to send your submission. Instead, the FFMI suggests you open a Proton Mail account.
- Keep your communication with the FFMI confidential. Please do not, to the extent possible, tell your family, friends or others that you are communicating with the FFMI or sending information.
- When communicating with the FFMI or sending information, make sure you are alone and not in public spaces where you could be watched or overheard.
- After sending an email/message to the FFMI, fully delete it from your device and email account (including from the Trash folder), and do not save the FFMI submission email address or Signal phone number in your contacts.
- If you have any reservations about sharing information or material, please email us first via Proton Mail or contact us via Signal to discuss your concerns.
Receipt of messages: Please be aware that, while we value the information you provide, we receive a high volume of emails and messages. Therefore, the FFMI does not send individual acknowledgements upon receipt of information. The FFMI will initiate further contact only when necessary. If you have a preferred method of contact, or if you prefer not to be contacted, please specify this in your email/message. It should be noted that not all information provided will necessarily be reflected in public reports, particularly cases alleging violations that fall outside the FFMI’s mandate.