The Iranian Struggle for Freedom: A Call for Renewed Global Solidarity in Support of the People of Iran

The future of Iran belongs to the Iranian people.

Iran’s path forward must reflect the will of the Iranian people, who have borne the costs of decades of tyranny. The next chapter in Iran must be shaped by Iranians themselves—especially the courageous human rights defenders, civil society leaders, labor organizers, women’s rights advocates, and prodemocracy voices who have spent years insisting on dignity, justice, and freedom.

As freedom-loving people around the world, we call on the international community to stand with the Iranian people in this time of uncertainty for their country and the broader region. We must work to protect lives, amplify Iranian voices, and support a future grounded in freedom, security, and the rule of law. Specifically, the international community should:

• Be guided by Iranian voices on decisions about Iran’s future. Governments and international institutions should meaningfully consult and engage Iranian civil society leaders, human rights defenders, labor organizers, women’s rights advocates, and members of the diaspora to ensure that the aspirations of the Iranian people—not geopolitical expediency—guide international policy.
• Protect civilians. All parties—including Iran, Israel, and the United States—must strictly adhere to international humanitarian law, take every precaution to avoid civilian harm, and refrain from attacks on civilian infrastructure. Parties to the conflict should prioritize the protection of civilians and work urgently to prevent further loss of innocent life.
• Ensure the safety and rights of ethnic and religious minorities. Iranian authorities must end discrimination, persecution, and violence targeting minority communities—including Kurds, Baloch, Baha’is, Christians, Sunni Muslims, and others—and guarantee their full enjoyment of equal rights, cultural expression, and freedom of religion or belief.
• Restore and protect internet access in Iran. International actors must ensure that the Iranian people can communicate with one another and with the outside world by pressing authorities to lift internet shutdowns and censorship, and by supporting technologies that enable secure access to information, communication, and independent reporting.
• Secure the immediate and unconditional release of political prisoners. Iranian authorities must release all individuals detained for peacefully exercising their fundamental rights, including human rights defenders, journalists, students, labor activists, women’s rights advocates, children, medical professionals, and members of ethnic and religious minorities.
• Pursue accountability for the regime’s human rights abuses. Multiple United Nations bodies have concluded that the Iranian authorities may be committing crimes against humanity against their own people, including the UN Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on Iran, the UN special rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Iran, and the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention. Governments should support international investigations and the documentation of abuses, impose targeted sanctions on perpetrators, and advance accountability efforts through international and national legal mechanisms so that those responsible for repression, violence, corruption, and hostage-taking are held to account. Such grave crimes demand international legal accountability, and state sovereignty must not be used as a shield to prevent justice for victims.
• Protect Iranians abroad from further acts of transnational repression. Governments should take coordinated steps to protect Iranians, including dual nationals, living abroad from surveillance, harassment, kidnapping plots, and other forms of intimidation carried out by Iranian regime operatives, including by strengthening law enforcement responses, sanctions, and international cooperation.
• Ensure that the Iranian people benefit from the recovery of regime-linked assets. Governments should identify, freeze, and confiscate assets tied to corruption and repression by Iranian regime officials, and work with international partners to ensure that such resources are ultimately directed toward the benefit of the Iranian people and the rebuilding of a free Iran.

We pledge to do all in our power to support the Iranian struggle for freedom and call upon all people of good will everywhere to join us. 

Categorized Signatories of the “The Iranian Struggle for Freedom: A Call for Renewed Global Solidarity in Support of the People of Iran”

Organizations:

1. Abdorrahman Boroumand Center for Human Rights and Democracy in Iran

2. Alliance of Democracies Foundation

3. ARTICLE 19

4. Forum 2000 Foundation

5. Freedom House

6. George W. Bush Institute

7. Human Rights Centre ZMINA (Ukraine)

8. Human Rights Foundation

9. Lantos Foundation for Human Rights and Justice

10. Renew Democracy Initiative

11. The Raoul Wallenberg Centre for Human Rights

12. Shirin Ebadi Foundation

13. The 30 October Foundation

14. World Liberty Congress

Individuals listed by nationality or location (as listed by signer):

*Affiliations listed for identification purposes only

China:

1. Dr. Jianli Yang, Founder and President, Citizen Power Initiatives for China

Czech Republic:

2. Jakub Klepal, Executive Director, Forum 2000 Foundation

Denmark:

3. Jonas Parello-Plesner, Executive Director, Alliance of Democracies Foundation

Ghana:

4. Professor E. Gyimah-Boadi, Afrobarometer co-founder, Emeritus CEO, and Board Chair, Accra-Ghana  

Hungary:

5. Miklos Haraszti, Former OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media

Iran:

6. Nazanin Boniadi, Board Director, Abdorrahman Boroumand Center for Human Rights and Democracy in Iran

7. Dr. Roya Boroumand, executive director of the Abdorrahman Boroumand Center for Human Rights and Democracy in Iran

8. Dr. Ladan Boroumand, co-founder of Abdorrahman Boroumand Center for Human Rights and Democracy in Iran

9. Dr. Azar Nafisi, writer

Lithuania:

10. Dr. Mantas Adomėnas, Secretary General, Community of Democracies

11. Žygimantas Pavilionis, Deputy Chair of Foreign Affairs Committee, International Secretary of Homeland Union – Lithuanian Christian Democrats

Nicaragua:

12. Felix Maradiaga, Freedom House Trustee and President of the World Liberty Congress (WLC)

Russia:

13. Evgenia Kara-Murza, President, The 30 October Foundation

14. Vladimir Kara-Murza, Vice President, Free Russia Foundation

15. Garry Kasparov, former World Chess Champion and Chairman of the Renew Democracy Initiative

Rwanda:

16. Carine Kanimba, General Secretary, World Liberty Congress

Taiwan:

17. D.C. Liao, Founder, Taiwan Open Democracy Observatory Association

United States:

18. Stuart Appelbaum, President, Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union

19. Uriel Epshtein, Chief Executive Officer, Renew Democracy Initiative

20. Tod Lindberg, Senior Fellow, Hudson Institute

21. Joshua Muravchik, Professor, Institute of World Politics

22. Andrew S. Natsios, Former Administrator, U.S. Agency for International Development

23. Hon. David Skaggs, former Member of the US House of Representatives

24. Daniel Twining, President, International Republican Institute

25. Leon Wieseltier, Editor, Liberties Journal

26. Kenneth Wollack, Vice Chair, National Endowment for Democracy