Mai Sato, the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Iran, has criticized the omission of human rights from the recent memorandum of understanding between the Islamic Republic and the United States. She warned that the agreement, in its current form, overlooks the Iranian people and could perpetuate impunity and intensify domestic repression.
In an interview with the news outlet Geneva Solutions, published on Wednesday, July 1, Sato stated that the so-called “Islamabad Memorandum” focuses almost exclusively on issues such as ending the military conflict, reopening the Strait of Hormuz, nuclear commitments, and economic reconstruction, while the rights and freedoms of Iranian citizens remain “virtually invisible.”
Highlighting the memorandum’s provision for a reconstruction fund, she added: “Beyond the subject of reconstruction, the Iranian people are effectively absent from this framework.”
The Special Rapporteur emphasized that the human rights situation in Iran had been critical even before the war, particularly following the nationwide protests in January. She warned that if this issue is not integrated into the final agreement between Tehran and Washington, there is a risk of returning to the same pattern of repression, or even an escalation of it.
