On the occasion of the 10th anniversary of the Human Rights Activists, (HRA), Peace Mark Monthly asked Dr. Hadi Ghaemi, the director of International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran, (ICHRI), about the work and contributions of HRA.
Ghaemi: “In my opinion, the greatest feature of HRA that has led to the continuation of its activism is being informed and reporting from inside of Iranian prisons. In addition, HRA has been able to follow up, attend and report on all kinds of human rights violations in Iran, and it has been able to follow up and report on the demands of religious minorities, ethnic minorities and various strata of the Iranian society.”
How would you describe HRA after 10 years of activism and, if you want to highlight one positive feature of this organization, what would it be?
Overall, the organized human rights activism in Iran has increased significantly during the past decade. Human Rights Activists (HRA) is one of the organizations that has a share in this growth and has been able to work towards promoting a human rights culture in Iran and be a part of the growth of this movement.
In my opinion, the most important feature of this organization is reporting from inside of Iranian prisons, and I believe that HRA has been very successful in drawing attention to political prisoners.
As you know, the civil society and specifically groups and organizations defending human rights in Iran face many difficulties, and therefore many of them are not able to last. Having said that, what do you think is the feature that leads to the survival of a human rights organization and its continued activism? In this regard, what difference could you mention specifically about HRA?
The most important feature for the permanence of a civil organization is that it truly roots and grows within the civil society. This becomes much more complicated and difficult to achieve given that the Iranian government does not allow these organizations to operate normally within the country and is always oppressing them; yet they could persist as long as these organizations are able to assess the needs of the society, attract new generations and address the whole society.
In my opinion, the greatest feature of HRA that has led to the continuation of its activism (as I have mentioned before) is being informed and reporting from inside of Iranian prisons. In addition, HRA has been able to follow up, attend and report on all kinds of human rights violations in Iran, and it has been able to follow up and report on the demands of religious minorities, ethnic minorities and various strata of society.
Do you see the need for collaboration among human rights organizations and why?
Yes, collaboration between civil organizations, especially the human rights organizations, is highly effective and important. But the organizations that work in Iran are mostly created or are operated outside of the country because they are not allowed to officially and normally operate within it. Since the collaboration should allow these organizations to expand their activities in the heart of the society, essentially such a collaboration would be difficult. Unfortunately, the strategic actions of these organizations take place outside of Iran, in different countries and even on different continents; however, during recent years, collaborations have increased, and I hope that one day these organizations could exist within Iran so that they can collaborate and expand their activism in the heart of the society.
Would you like to say anything to the colleagues who have supported HRA for the past 10 years?
I congratulate them on being able to keep the organization standing for a whole decade, and I especially think they bring attention to political prisoners by reporting from inside of the prisons.
