Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
07IRANRPODUBAI51
2007-08-16 13:37:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Iran RPO Dubai
Cable title:  

IRANIAN NGOS UNDER PRESSURE, BUT CONTINUE TO OPERATE

Tags:  IR PGOV 
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VZCZCXRO2001
PP RUEHBC RUEHDE RUEHKUK
DE RUEHDIR #0051/01 2281337
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
P R 161337Z AUG 07
FM IRAN RPO DUBAI
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 0162
INFO RUCNIRA/IRAN COLLECTIVE
RUEHDIR/IRAN RPO DUBAI 0155
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC
RHEFDHP/DIA DHP-1 WASHINGTON DC
RHEHAAA/NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL WASHINGTON DC
RUEHDE/AMCONSUL DUBAI 0146
RUEHAD/AMEMBASSY ABU DHABI 0112
C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 IRAN RPO DUBAI 000051 

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

LONDON FOR GAYLE, BERLIN FOR PAETZOLD
BAKU FOR HAUGEN, PARIS FOR WALLER

E.O. 12958: DECL: 8/16/2017
TAGS: IR PGOV
SUBJECT: IRANIAN NGOS UNDER PRESSURE, BUT CONTINUE TO OPERATE
QUIETLY

REF: A) RPO DUBAI 0017; B) 2006 RPO DUBAI 0009

RPO DUBAI 00000051 001.2 OF 002


CLASSIFIED BY: Ramin Asgard, Acting Director, Iran Regional
Presence Office, Department of State.
REASON: 1.4 (d)



C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 IRAN RPO DUBAI 000051

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

LONDON FOR GAYLE, BERLIN FOR PAETZOLD
BAKU FOR HAUGEN, PARIS FOR WALLER

E.O. 12958: DECL: 8/16/2017
TAGS: IR PGOV
SUBJECT: IRANIAN NGOS UNDER PRESSURE, BUT CONTINUE TO OPERATE
QUIETLY

REF: A) RPO DUBAI 0017; B) 2006 RPO DUBAI 0009

RPO DUBAI 00000051 001.2 OF 002


CLASSIFIED BY: Ramin Asgard, Acting Director, Iran Regional
Presence Office, Department of State.
REASON: 1.4 (d)




1.(C) Summary: NGOs in Iran remain under heavy pressure and
scrutiny, a graduate student who is active with NGOs there told
IRPO. Many continue to operate, albeit more quietly. One tool
the government has used to intimidate NGOs is to keep them in
uncertain legal status. The student recounted her experiences
with NGOs promoting women's rights, including being beaten by
security forces at a women's rights rally. Nonetheless, she was
optimistic in the long-term for an improvement in women's rights
in Iran and made clear that there are very courageous people in
Iran working on this issue. End summary.

2.(C) A student involved in women's rights issues in Iran told
IRPoffs that while the government has increased pressure on NGOs
and activists in Iran, it has not succeeded in halting their
activities. The student, in Dubai to apply for a student visa
for graduate studies in the US, said she has worked with the NGO
of Nobel Prize winner Shirin Ebadi, although only at a low
level. She said she is also a member of the "Million
Signatures" campaign for women's rights. The goal of the
"Million signatures" campaign (www.wechange.info) in Iran is
two-fold:

- to educate Iranian women about their legal status under
current Iranian law
- to change laws regarded as discriminatory against women (Ref
A).

3.(C) The student said the government is even opposed to their
work trying to educate women about the rights they have under
current laws. She said that she and others who were gathering
signatures have been harassed at times by government
authorities. During the March 8, 2007 women's rights rally in
Tehran, she said her friend was arrested and imprisoned, and she
herself was beaten by security forces so badly that she could
not walk for two weeks. (Note: In early August, student
activists Nasim Sarbandi and Fatemeh Dehdashti were each
convicted to six months imprisonment and two year suspended
sentences for collecting signatures at a Tehran metro station
for the "Million Signatures" campaign. Sarbandi told reformist
news site "Rooz" that she and Dehdashti were convicted simply
for collecting signatures, which the government views as
publicity work against the Islamic Republic, or acting against
national security. End note.)

4.(C) The student said she also helped found four years ago a
small NGO called Vistamehr Human Rights Organization (Anjoman-e
Yari Resan-e Hoghooghe Bashar). Officially they have about 30
members, she claimed, but only about half are active. She
indicated that the group's funding comes only from its members
and a few donors, and they try not to have any contacts with the
government. She noted that they no longer update the NGO's
website (www.vistamehr.com) because the organization has not
been allowed to re-register and therefore is not licensed.
(Note: In 2006, the government invalidated the registrations of
all NGOs and required them to re-register for permission to
operate. The government has reportedly delayed or refused the
re-registration applications of many NGOs. Ref B. End note.)

5.(C) Nonetheless, the student said, the group continues its
activities. They organized a workshop for young girls on HIV
and drugs and distributed informational pamphlets, despite the
taboo surrounding the subjects of AIDS and sexual activity. The
group also holds weekly talks for young women to inform them of
their rights and discuss women's issues, and regular lectures on
various social and cultural issues. In one, Italian Ambassador
to Iran Roberto Toscano spoke on "Ethics and Humanity and its
effect on political relations." For security reasons, she
added, access is by personal invitation only.

6.(C) Comment: The interlocutor is an educated young Iranian
woman who appeared to care deeply about the issue of women's
rights in Iran. She did not seem overly worried about any
personal negative consequences from her activities. She was
optimistic in the long-term for an improvement in women's rights
in Iran and made clear that there are very courageous people in
Iran working on this issue, despite the current crackdown on

RPO DUBAI 00000051 002.2 OF 002


NGOs by the government. She is leaving the country for a
graduate program in engineering in the US but claimed she would
continue her work on this issue after returning to Iran. We did
not have the impression that it was the ongoing repression in
Iran that was driving her desire to study abroad, rather the
desire for a top-notch education.
BURNS