Iran Human Rights Documentation Center

The Iran Human Rights Documentation Center(IHRDC) is a registered non-profit organization based in New Haven, Connecticut.

It was founded in 2004 by a group of human rights scholars, activists, and historians to document the patterns of human rights abuse in Iran and to promote accountability, a culture of human rights, and the rule of law in Iran. Board members include prominent US lawyers such as Professor Martha Minow (Harvard), Professor Owen Fiss (Yale) and Professor Lawrence Douglas (Amherst), as well as the prominent Iranian-American author Roya Hakakian.

Mission and Activities

The IHRDC believes that the development of an accountability movement and a culture of human rights in Iran are crucial to the long-term peace and security of the country and the Middle East region. By providing Iranians with comprehensive human rights reports, data about past and present human rights violations and information about international human rights standards, IHRDC programs will strengthen Iranians’ ability to demand accountability, reform public institutions, and promote transparency and respect for human rights. Promoting a culture of human rights within Iranian society as a whole will allow political and legal reforms to have real and lasting weight.

Human Rights Investigation

The IHRDC is increasingly serving as a resource for governments, the media, human rights organizations, and others to obtain reliable information pertaining to the human rights situation inside Iran. For example, in October 2006 the Center made significant contributions to a draft UN General Assembly Resolution on human rights in Iran at the request of the Canadian government. IHRDC’s work has featured in the pages of the New York Times, International Herald Tribune, Wall Street Journal, Boston Globe and Washington Post, as well as Canadian publications such as Macleans and the National Post.

Reporting

The IHRDC has published four in-depth reports to date:

* [http://www.iranhrdc.org/english/pdfs/Reports/IHRDCKazemiFullReportAppendices.pdf Impunity in Iran: The Death of Photojournalist Zahra Kazemi] ;
* [http://www.iranhrdc.org/english/pdfs/Reports/bahai_fullreport.pdf A Faith Denied: The Persecution of the Baha’is of Iran] ;
* [http://www.iranhrdc.org/english/pdfs/Reports/murder_at_mykonos_report.pdf Murder at Mykonos: Anatomy of a Political Assassination] ; and
* [http://www.iranhrdc.org/english/pdfs/Reports/community_report.pdf Community under Siege: The Ordeal of the Baha’is of Shiraz] .

IHRDC strives for complete transparency in its report writing, with each report being extensively footnoted. It is also possible to view the resources used in the production of each report for oneself through the IHRDC’s searchable online database.

External links

* [http://www.iranhrdc.org IHRDC Website]