Iran: New president should stop abusing border couriers

BEIRUT Iranian The authorities under the new president should stop using excessive and lethal force against the mostly Kurdish population along the Iran-Iraq border Kurbals Human Rights Watch and the Center for Supporters of Human Rights (CSHR) said today that these border couriers come from marginalized communities.

Iranian President-elect Massoud Pezeshkian explain In June 2024, during the Sanandaj presidential campaign, he said: “It is shameful that our young people have to take part in this. Kulbari (Transporting goods across the border) is for a piece of bread. We must create a border that facilitates trade, not Qurbani.” Just three days after Pezeshkian was elected, five border couriers were shot at the border in Nausud, Kermanshah province, killing one of them. according to To the Kurdistan Human Rights Network.

“Due to a lack of alternative economic opportunities, marginalized Kurdish communities often move goods across the border, legally or not,” Naheed Nageshbandiacting Iran researcher at Human Rights Watch. “Incoming President Pezeshkian should prioritize improving the state’s treatment of minorities, including Kurdish border communities.”

On July 8, 2024, Human Rights Watch released a investigation Iranian authorities have seriously violated the rights of border couriers. On the same day, CSHR released a Report Investigating socioeconomic, legal, and human rights factors that influence the lives of Kurdish border couriers.

The Center for Human Rights in Iran and Human Rights Watch said their research showed the presence of Kurdish border couriers reflected broader systemic government failures in Iran’s underdeveloped border regions. drive Due to poverty, border couriers are constantly exposed to harsh terrain and the use of lethal force by Iranian security forces.

June 2023, Member of the National Security Committee of the Iranian Parliament Announce Completing a review of pending legislation, the proposed amendments would not only expand security forces’ ability to use firearms against border couriers, but also expand the conditions under which they can use firearms. If passed into law, the amendments would put border couriers at greater risk.

“Incoming President Pezeshkian should work with the judicial and legislative branches of government to ensure that upcoming legislation on gun use prevents indiscriminate killings by security forces, especially in border areas,” said Shabnam Moinipour, CSHR Program Director. “Legal amendments must be enacted to recognize and uphold the rights of kulbars and ensure that perpetrators do not go unpunished.”

Iranian authorities have used excessive and lethal force against border couriers, with disastrous consequences. Kurdistan News Agency (Kurdpa) state In the first half of 2024, 33 Kurdish border couriers were killed and 254 injured, including 14 children, most of whom were shot by security forces. Record The number of couriers killed and injured in Iran’s Kurdish region is 2,463.

“It is unacceptable that when Article 28 of the Iranian constitution requires the government to create jobs in all regions of Iran, this region is being neglected to the point where individuals, especially men, have to risk their lives to feed their families,” Moynipour said. “At the very least, these people should not be subject to violence driven by the deep-seated prejudices of their fellow citizens.”

Many border couriers have been seriously injured or even lost limbs due to mines. While many mines were laid along the border during the 1980-1988 Iran-Iraq War, some border couriers believe Iranian security forces have recently used mines on the route. Iran is not one of the 164 countries that have joined the 1997 Mine Ban Treaty, which completely bans anti-personnel mines and requires mine clearance, stockpile destruction and victim assistance. Injuries often result in loss of livelihoods.

Right of use Judicial protection for border couriers remains limited, exacerbating their social and economic marginalization. Iran’s judicial system prioritizes national security over individual rights, and victims have little legal protection. effort Efforts to seek justice are often hampered by systemic bias, a lack of transparency, and broad discretion granted to security forces. In Iran, injured cross-border couriers have no social welfare or unemployment benefits, and their only hope is to be recognized as disabled veterans and receive disability benefits.

Iran should reassess its socioeconomic strategy for marginalized communities, including border couriers from predominantly Kurdish regions, and commit to upholding the rule of law. Measures should include stimulating economic growth in border regions, enforcing labor protections, and ensuring a strong social safety net. Investing in education and vocational training is essential to providing viable alternatives to high-risk jobs.

United Nations Basic Principles on the Use of Force and Firearms by Law Enforcement Officials state Law enforcement officials may not use firearms except in self-defense or to protect others from an imminent threat of death or serious injury, to prevent a particularly serious crime that poses a serious threat to life, to apprehend a person who poses such a danger and who resists their authority, or to prevent his or her escape, and only when less extreme means are insufficient to protect life. In any case, the intentional use of a firearm may be lethal only when absolutely unavoidable and in order to protect life.

The UN Fact-Finding Mission on Iran and the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Iran should monitor and report on the treatment of couriers along the Iranian-Kurdish border.

“Incoming President Pezeshkian should work closely with Iran’s parliament to join the Mine Ban Treaty and push for Iran to join this important international agreement,” Moynipour said. “By joining the treaty, Iran can demonstrate its commitment to protecting civilians, especially along its borders where mines pose a serious threat.”