“The Voice of the Iranian People Is Not Being Heard”
Open Letter: On Ongoing Negotiations and the Exclusion of
the Iranian People from Decision-Making Processes
To: Governments, international institutions, and
parties engaged in ongoing negotiations and agreements with the Islamic
Republic of Iran
We write at a critical moment, as negotiations and
diplomatic discussions concerning potential agreements with the Islamic
Republic of Iran—including sanctions relief and the unfreezing of blocked
assets—once again gain momentum.
Yet once again, the Iranian people—who have borne the
highest costs over past decades, particularly in recent months and weeks—remain
excluded from decisions concerning their own future.
While regional and international actors pursue their
respective strategic interests and calculations, the Iranian people, and
particularly Iran’s fragile civil society, are under greater pressure than ever
before.
The intensification of the security environment, widespread
repression, executions, arrests, internet restrictions, and political closure
have further weakened society’s capacity for civic action and democratic
change.
Under such circumstances, any economic or political
agreement concluded without clear, binding, and verifiable human rights
conditions risks not alleviating the suffering of the population, but instead
reproducing cycles of repression and instability.
Past experience—particularly following the Iran–Iraq War and
previous periods of sanctions relief—has demonstrated that released financial
resources do not necessarily improve public welfare, but can instead strengthen
military-security structures and expand the influence of unaccountable
institutions within the economy and political system.
If governments and international institutions are genuinely
committed to sustainable stability, peace, and fundamental human rights
principles, any form of economic relief must be explicitly and verifiably
conditioned upon the following:
- An
immediate halt to executions, with a view toward the abolition of the
death penalty
- The
immediate and unconditional release of prisoners of conscience and
political and civil detainees
- An
end to arbitrary detentions and the repression of women and ethnic and
religious minorities
- Guaranteed
free and stable access to the global internet
- The
establishment of independent international oversight mechanisms regarding
the allocation and use of released financial resources
The Iranian people are not passive observers in these
processes. They are active agents who have articulated their demands for human
dignity, equality, and accountability at immense personal cost.
No agreement can be considered sustainable or legitimate if
it is built upon the exclusion of the very people who have paid the highest
price
