Iran

Although poverty in Iran is officially set at eighteen per cent of the population, sixteen point five million people can be considered to be living under the poverty line. Seven percent of people in Iran are living on less than two dollars a day. In Iran, more than thirty-five percent of families are living in severe poverty, don’t get enough food and are malnourished.

Access to shelter and security are worsening. Overcrowding is increasing homelessness, especially in the larger cities, and is contributing to the growing inequality in cities. Residential segregation, intensified poverty and increasing violence, especially towards women, create an impoverished and unruly environment.

Human rights in Iran are grossly out of control. Even years after the "Islamic Revolution," the situation in Iran remains devastating. Hangings are all too common, and the government has no method in place to allow citizens’ the ability or the right to change their government. This is done by manipulating the electoral system of the state and suppresses all political dissidents.

Abuses by the government of Iran include systematic extrajudicial killings and summary executions. Disappearances, arbitrary arrests, detention and lack of due process are common features of legal dealings. The use of torture, such as flogging, stoning and amputation of limbs and other degrading treatment, harsh prison conditions and unfair trials are also too regular.

Citizens’ privacy is constantly being infringed upon and freedom of speech, press, assembly, association, religion and movement are non-existent. Religious minorities, especially Baha’is, are under increasing repression by the conservative establishment. Human rights groups are restricted from the region, although it is known that women face legal and social discrimination, including frequent instances of violence.

In many of the larger cities in Iran, such as Tehran, Shiraz, Tabriz and Isfahan, the rapid urban planning and expansion create unhealthy conditions for the poor within these cities. The lack of housing water and distribution of basic commodities and food create serious health concerns of those who can not afford proper health care and nutrition. This is especially true for those who have migrated within the last twenty-five years into the cities, who are living in slums and shantytowns within the area. Many preschool children are underweight and many families do not have access to safe drinking water. Malnutrition and disease are immense problems throughout the entire state. The elderly, women, children, the disabled and industrial workers are the most vulnerable to these health problems.

However, Iran’s health situation has improved over the last few decades. Public health preventive services have been organized. This has resulted in fallen child and maternal mortality rates, while life expectancy has risen significantly.

Iran has one of the highest rates of drug usage in the Middle East. Consequently, this drug use is a major contributor to HIV infection and AIDS. Figures show a total of 3,680 reported cases of HIV/AIDS but the Ministry of Health believes that the real total number of HIV infections is at least three times higher.

Iran established a Department of Environment in 1971 with conservation efforts that resulted in several national parks, monuments and wildlife refuges. However, long-term environmental concerns have often been pushed aside for shorter-term industrial production and political goals.

The most important environmental problem that the country is currently facing is air pollution. This is particularly true in large cities, but especially in the capital city of Tehran. Approximately 1.5 million tons of pollutants are produced in Tehran every year and carbon monoxide from car exhaust making up the majority of these pollutants. A critical producer of this problem is Tehran’s two million cars, most of which are over twenty years old and consist of poor fuel efficiency, lacking in catalytic converters and the ability to use lead-free gasoline. Many of these cars are domestically produced and manufactured and leaky engines and cars spewing black smoke are familiar.

Iran’s growing energy consumption is a major factor behind the suffocating air pollution problem. Renewable energy consumption in Iran is low due to the fact that Iran's energy-related carbon emissions have been climbing for over two decades. Since the 1980s, carbon emissions have risen 240%. Iran has quite a supply of fossil fuel resources considering that nine percent of the world’s oil reserves and fifteen percent of the world’s natural gas reserves, which often tend to discourage the pursuit of alternative, renewable energy sources. Iran is also the second largest Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) oil producer and has the world's second largest reserves of gas.

Education and literacy have also increased in Iran over the last few years. Iran’s literacy rate of the population aged over six years of age has reached 80.4 percent (85.1 percent of men and 75.6 percent of women). The overall enrollment ratio of boy and girls are almost equal at above ninety-seven percent. However, there are still very noticeable differences within and among Iranian provinces.

American Iranian Council - The mission of AIC is to be a constructive force, in cooperation and partnership with other organizations, in bringing the United States and Iran together, involving the Iranian-American community in the dialogue, and bringing attention to social and political conditions in Iran.

Center for Advancement of Women - CAWIRAN is dedicated to serving the rural women of northern Iran. We provide legal, health, education and skill-building services to the women/girls of 54 villages.

Democracy Network of Iran - Democracy Network of Iran is a net-based network of individuals with focus on social, economical and political development in Iran or in relation to Iran, advocating creation of truly democratic processes in political and social domains.

International Federation of Iranian Refugees - The International Federation of Iranian Refugees (IFIR) is committed to organizing the protests of Iranian refugees and asylum seekers in support of political and social campaigns which defend refugee and human rights, expose the Islamic Republic of Iran, reveal the progressive and modern character of Iranian refugees in contrast to usual negative and reactionary portrayals, create a progressive environment among Iranians abroad; and place this force alongside the progressive forces in their countries of residence.

Iran Human Rights Documentation Center - The Iran Human Rights Documentation Center (IHRDC) is an independent and nonpartisan scholarly undertaking to establish a comprehensive and objective historical record of the human rights situation in the Islamic Republic of Iran since the 1979 revolution. This evolving historical record includes the collection and analysis of a broad range of documents and testimonies in an archive that is accessible to the public for research and educational purposes. Based on the principle that accounting for past abuses is essential for future social progress and democratic transformation, the IHRDC encourages an informed dialogue on the human rights situation in Iran. The IHRDC collaborates with a wide range of scholars and experts in human rights documentation and various other disciplines and projects.

Iranians for International Cooperation - Iranians for International Cooperation is a not-for-profit, independent network of concerned global citizens, Iranians, people of Iranian heritage, and non-Iranians, with focus on social, economical, intellectual, and political developments in Iran or in relation to Iran. IIC strives to promote Iran’s national interest, while facilitating friendship between Iran and other nations of the world.

Mission for Establishment of Human Rights in Iran - MEHR IRAN is a Human Rights group working for a democratic society and a system of justice for protecting universal human rights in world affairs in general and Iran in specific. MEHR IRAN is a network of individuals committed to strengthening advocacy on human rights situation in Iran and helping to develop greater capacity among Iranian in the use of International Criminal Court (ICC), the Convention against Torture and other mechanisms that provide Iranian victims avenues of and access to different systems of justice.

United Nations Association of Iran - United Nations Association of Iran (UNA- Iran) is a non-profit, not-political association and member of the World Federation of United Nations Associations (WFUNA). UNA- Iran has started its activities in Iran on 1998. Its main objects are Supporting UN goals in Iran promotion and protection of Human Rights, Human Dignity & basis freedoms in all over the world.

Kurdish Human Rights Project - KHRP is an independent, non-political human rights organization dedicated to promoting and protecting the human rights of all persons in the Kurdish regions of Turkey, Iraq, Iran, Syria and the Caucasus. Founded in London in 1992, its supporters include both Kurds and non-Kurds.

Student World Assembly - The Student World Assembly is a non-governmental, non-partisan organization created to represent students globally. It provides a deliberative assembly where students around the world can exchange views, vote on global issues through online discussion forums and in annual international conventions, and translate these views into meaningful actions.