Source description last updated: 16 April 2020

In brief: The Center for Human Rights in Iran (CHRI) is a non-governmental organisation headquartered in New York that informs and advocates on human rights issues in Iran.

Coverage on ecoi.net:

Reports

Covered quarterly on ecoi.net, for Iran.

Mission/Mandate/Objectives:

“The Center for Human Rights in Iran (CHRI) is an independent and nonpartisan not-for-profit organization that documents rights violations in Iran and holds the Iranian government accountable to its domestic and international human rights obligations.” (CHRI website, Press Kit, undated)

Founded in 2008 as the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran, it was “originally envisioned as a short-term initiative.” In March 2017, “[i]n a move to reflect its expanding work and sustained mission, the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran […] changed its name to the Center for Human Rights in Iran (CHRI)”. (CHRI: We Are Now the Center for Human Rights in Iran, 6 March 2017)

CHRI is comprised of “journalists, researchers, lawyers, activists, writers, multimedia specialists and advocates based around the world who work to support the basic rights and freedoms of the Iranian people.” (CHRI: What We Do, undated)

CHRI “has been researching and documenting human rights violations throughout the country. We rely on primary sources inside Iran to research, verify and report on events and issues that might otherwise go uncovered, channeling our research and analysis into press releases, articles and in-depth reports.” (CHRI: What We Do, undated)

“CHRI engages in extensive media outreach […] to raise public awareness of human rights issues in Iran, and […] advocacy to build strategic coalitions that will advance human rights initiatives in Iran.” CHRI’s audience includes “[g]overnment and UN officials worldwide, media leaders, NGOs, […] corporate leaders and concerned citizens around the world and inside Iran.” (CHRI website, Press Kit, undated)

Funding:

CHRI is supported by donations. The organisation states that it does not accept any funds from governments (CHRI website: Frequently Asked Questions, undated). No further information could be found on the subject of funding.

Scope of reporting:

Geographic focus: Iran

Thematic focus: Human rights issues in Iran including freedom of expression and assembly, Internet freedom, situation of human rights defenders, religious freedom, ethnic discrimination, women’s and children’s rights, labour rights, arrests and treatment of prisoners

Methodology:

“Our staff collaborates with an extensive team of independent investigators, civil society activists and human rights defenders inside Iran, allowing CHRI to report on and document real-time, on-the-ground human rights conditions in Iran.” (CHRI website: Who We Are, undated)

CHRI reports may be based on “interviews […] with diverse members of Iranian civil society, including journalists, lawyers, human rights defenders and activists” (CHRI: A Harmful Distraction The Implications of Rouhani’s Citizens’ Rights Charter for Human Rights in Iran, May 2018, p. 8), released detainees and their family members (CHRI: Silencing the Streets, Deaths in Prison The December 2017 Crackdown in Iran, February 2018, p. 12) and Iranian ICT professionals (CHRI: Guards at the Gate The Expanding State Control Over the Internet in Iran, January 2018, p. 12) as well as “analysis of state policy and inter-governmental relations, detailed review of human rights cases and developments in Iran, and meetings with government officials” from various countries. (CHRI: A Harmful Distraction The Implications of Rouhani’s Citizens’ Rights Charter for Human Rights in Iran, May 2018, p. 8)

While the reports may quote some interviewees by name (e.g. detainees’ lawyers) (CHRI: Silencing the Streets, Deaths in Prison The December 2017 Crackdown in Iran, February 2018, p. 11 and 14), others are referred to more generically (e.g. “[a] computer network specialist in Iran”) (CHRI: Guards at the Gate The Expanding State Control Over the Internet in Iran, January 2018, p. 34) and/or collectively (e.g. “some family members of protesters”) (CHRI: Silencing the Streets, Deaths in Prison The December 2017 Crackdown in Iran, February 2018, p. 13). Public sources are referenced by means of endnotes (see, for example, CHRI: A Harmful Distraction The Implications of Rouhani’s Citizens’ Rights Charter for Human Rights in Iran, May 2018 and CHRI: Silencing the Streets, Deaths in Prison The December 2017 Crackdown in Iran, February 2018).

Languages of publication:

English and Persian

 

All links accessed 16 April 2020.