Maryam Rajavi’s Message to the UN Human Rights Conference, Geneva

On Monday, September 28, 2026, coinciding with the session of the United Nations Human Rights Council, a conference on the deteriorating human rights situation and the surge of executions in Iran was convened at the UN Office at Geneva, featuring prominent political figures and legal scholars.
Distinguished participants at the conference included:
• Alfred-Maurice de Zayas – Former UN Independent Expert on the Promotion of a Democratic and Equitable International Order
• Ola Elvestuen – Minister of Climate and the Environment of Norway (2018–2020)
• Christina Blacklaws – President of the Law Society of England and Wales (2018–2019)
• Rémy Pagani – Former Mayor of Geneva and current member of the Geneva City Council
• Dr. Henrik Hermansson – Human Rights Expert

The event featured a video message from Maryam Rajavi. In her address to the international community and attendees, she said that the soaring curve of executions and the brutal suppression of uprisings reveal the true face of the ruling regime in Iran; yet, the organized resistance of the people remains unyielding. The time has come for the international community to heed the voice of the Iranian people, who demand the establishment of a democratic republic, gender equality, the abolition of the death penalty, and an end to tyranny.
“On behalf of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), I would like to propose an international mechanism to hold the Iranian regime accountable for its human rights violations:

1. Refer the human rights situation in Iran, including the case of the 1988 massacre of political prisoners, to the United Nations Security Council.
And take the necessary measures to end impunity for those responsible for these crimes.
2. Require the Iranian regime to allow independent international visits to its prisons.
3. Prosecute Iranian regime officials for crimes against humanity, based on the principle of universal jurisdiction.
4. Include the demand to end executions in Iran in every and all political, economic, and international relations with the Iranian regime.

Following is the text of Maryam Rajavi’s message to this conference

Proposing an International Mechanism to Hold the Iranian Regime Accountable

Human Rights Defenders,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Thank you for organizing this conference to support human rights of the people of Iran.
Human rights violations in Iran have intensified in recent months. These violations include the daily executions of prisoners, particularly members of the People’s Mojahedin and participants in the January uprising; widespread arrests; torture and ill-treatment of political prisoners; and the adoption of a law considering any connection or cooperation with foreign media as a crime.

Rising Trend of Executions in Iran

The rising number of executions in recent years is alarming.
• In 2022, at least 646 people were executed.
• In 2023, at least 864 people were executed.
• In 2024, at least 1,000 people were executed.
And the following year (2025) brought a shocking escalation: 2,200 executions.

In 2026, in addition to executions, for the first time since the massacre in 1988, more than 50 individuals were executed on political grounds over the past few months, and more than one hundred remain on the death row.
The rise in executions is closely linked to the rise of resistance and popular uprisings, revealing the regime’s fear of the Iranian people and their Resistance.
On the one hand, Iran has witnessed repeated uprisings. On the other hand, a new generation of courageous and selfless young people has turned toward the Mojahedin.
The courage they showed in the days before their executions impressed both the people of Iran and people around the world.

Now, let us look at the number of those killed and arrested during the uprisings:
• The 2017-2018 uprising: Dozens were killed, and at least 8,000 people were arrested.
• The November 2019 uprising: 1,500 people were killed, and more than 12,000 were arrested.
• The 2022 uprising: More than 750 people were killed, and 90,000 people were arrested.
• The January 2026 uprising: Several thousand people were killed, and at least 50,000 people were arrested.

These figures reveal the brutal system of repression and bloodshed that rules Iran.
Yet this killing machine has failed to stop the people’s uprisings and the organized Resistance.
The past four decades have been a history of governments remaining silent in the face of the regime’s crimes.
Instead of offering my own explanation, I would like to read part of remarks by Mr. Marc Trévidic, former anti-terrorism investigating judge in Paris, which were broadcast on September 10 this year by Radio Présence in Toulouse.
He said, “When I was working in the anti-terrorism prosecutor’s office in the early 2000s, I witnessed a strange closeness between France and Iran. France wanted to sign many profitable contracts with Iran, especially in the oil and gas sector.
The Iranian regime made a condition: we had to arrest its opponents. In particular, we had the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI) in Auvers-sur-Oise… We were told that they were terrorists as well. This was a misuse of the judicial system for political purposes.”
This accusation became a justification for greater repression and for more executions of PMOI members and supporters.

International Bodies Assert Regime Committed Crimes Against Humanity

In recent years, international human rights bodies have increasingly characterized the systematic human rights violations committed in Iran as crimes against humanity.
In his 2024 report, Prof. Javaid Rehman, the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Iran, said the 1988 massacre was the worst human rights violation of our time and described it as genocide and crime against humanity.
In 2025, the United Nations General Assembly, for the first time, referred to the 1988 massacre of political prisoners in its resolution on Iran.
The United Nations Fact-Finding Mission on Iran, in its reports in 2024 and 2026, described the repression of the Iranian people’s uprisings as crimes against humanity.
Most recently, Amnesty International also confirmed this finding in its latest report.
Our Resistance of more than four decades against the ruling religious fascism seeks to establish a democratic republic where no one would enjoy any privilege because of his or her religion or heritage.
We are committed to respect international conventions, freedom of speech, assembly, and parties,gender equality,  full independence of the Judiciary, and recognition of the principle of presumption of innocence, the right to defense and the abolition of the death penalty.
On behalf of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), I would like to propose an international mechanism to hold the Iranian regime accountable for its human rights violations:
1. Refer the human rights situation in Iran, including the case of the 1988 massacre of political prisoners, to the United Nations Security Council.
And take the necessary measures to end impunity for those responsible for these crimes.
2. Require the Iranian regime to allow independent international visits to its prisons.
3. Prosecute Iranian regime officials for crimes against humanity, based on the principle of universal jurisdiction.
4. Include the demand to end executions in Iran in every and all political, economic, and international relations with the Iranian regime.