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Mehrangiz Kar, December 12, 2005*
The world’s human rights institutions were born and grew in the cultural and political settings of the West. These human rights institutions are secured and protected by democratic institutions in those socities. Civil society is the pedestal or structure of for the human rights institutions. The lively presence of these institutions and the human rights discussions that take place in Western universities are based on existing academic freedoms. These elements put together act as guardians of the global principles of the human rights.
But the mere presence of this intertwining arrangement in the West does not mean that violations of human rights do not occur there. What it does mean is that civil society is strong enough to call on the most powerful government and security organizations that violate human rights to stay accountable and make the necessary amendments.
Recently, an American woman turned into a symbol of anti-war and killing, who freely and under the protection of civil institutions, raised the flag of peace and called on the highest public offices to provide an explanation to her plight. Security or judicial institutions in her country have no licence to arrest, torture, punish or silence her while human rights groups are the symbols of authority in civil society of Western countries whose central core behaves independent of the government and influence the behaviour of the government. The relationship between civil society and the government in which civil society is recognized to have the right to criticize the latter gives the government legitimacy and provides the democratic nature of society, without damaging national security and political stability.
But democracy and human rights are not free from injury shortcomings. While after September 11, 2001, Western governments have infringed human rights and democratic institutions, civil institutions continue to hold the government and security organizations responsible and accountable to democratic principles.
Recently, a civil rights organization in the US announced it planned to sue the CIA to stop it from transferring terrorist suspects to third countries.
The news is an occasion for the Iranian government which issues condemnatory statements of human rights violations in Western societies to look at itself and how it deals with civil society institutions and groups in Iran. If done honestly, it should clearly see how all its security agencies and official groups organize to suppress a cultural organization or one that monitors women’s rights and try to remove civil activists in Iran. The costs and long-term effects of such government measures are colossal.
In the United States, violations of human rights have invigorated civil society activists tremendously. Just recently ACLU announced it would soon hold a news conference with a complainant to show the public the violations of the CIA. The charge against the agency is that it licensed its agents to kidnap, detained, isolated, drugged him to sleep, and transferred him to a secret prison, all in violation of US and international laws.
If Iran’s officials practices honesty, which is by itself a religious principle, they will acknowledge numerous cases where innocent people were kidnapped, mentally or physically tortured, kept under the worst conditions in secret prisons, and then released without any notice. Such court files have been closed after the passage of time, denying the victims or their families the opportunity to call for justice.
Under the circumstances, the few civil and human rights organizations that have managed to survive and occasionally air human rights violations of the government, have not had any impact on the regime. Where is that independent judiciary or judge to impartially try the complaints?
On the International Human Rights Day, there are reports that a group of brave young Iranians intend to join civil society watchdog institutions. They have correctly understood that the only way to defend universal human rights is only possible through civil society institutions.
* This article was originally published in Roozonline on December 12, 2005
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