Broad Ahwazi Participation at the International Forum… Ahwazi Human Rights Organization Presents Comprehensive Report on Regional Abuses
This year’s International Forum on Minority Protection witnessed a notable Ahwazi presence, with several Ahwazi human rights organizations actively participating and delivering detailed interventions addressing the multifaceted suffering of the Ahwazi Arab people. Among the most prominent contributions was the presentation by the Ahwazi Human Rights Organization (AHRO), delivered by the organization’s representative, Miss Dania Mansour Al-Ahwazi, during an official session attended by numerous international delegations and UN bodies. Her address was regarded as one of the most comprehensive and detailed presentations on the Ahwazi issue this year.
In her intervention, the organization’s representative emphasized that the Ahwazi Arabs, as an indigenous people in the Ahwaz region of southwestern Iran, have endured decades of exclusionary and discriminatory policies—ranging from the denial of education in their mother tongue to systematic marginalization within state institutions. She explained that the region is experiencing severe environmental degradation, including water salinization, river diversion and drying, and widespread air pollution, all of which have impoverished local communities and forced large segments of the population into displacement as basic living conditions deteriorate.
The intervention also detailed findings from international organizations and UN Special Rapporteurs documenting a recent surge in severe violations targeting Ahwazi activists. These violations include unlawful executions, arbitrary arrests, and trials lacking the minimum standards of due process. The organization’s representative stressed that these actions constitute direct violations of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the UN Declaration on the Rights of Minorities, adding that the escalation reflects a deliberate effort to silence Ahwazi voices and eliminate any space for expression or civic participation.
She also addressed conditions inside Sheiban Prison, describing it as one of the most urgent human rights concerns in the region. Detainees, she noted, are denied medical care and held in overcrowded facilities where political prisoners are confined alongside individuals convicted of violent crimes. AHRO documented the execution of six Ahwazi prisoners in October, as well as the deaths of two others in November due to medical neglect—evidence of the absence of oversight and the lack of any legal protection for detainees.
The organization’s representative presented three key demands to the forum: the establishment of an independent UN monitoring mechanism with a direct mandate to access detention centers holding Ahwazi detainees; the launch of a UNESCO-led program to preserve and promote education in the Ahwazi Arabic language and safeguard cultural heritage; and the adoption of a UNDP-supported initiative to address the region’s environmental deterioration and deepening social marginalization. She stressed that international indifference is not a neutral stance but rather contributes to the loss of more lives and the intensification of the humanitarian crisis.
The Ahwazi participation concluded with a unified message: the strong presence of Ahwazi human rights organizations at this year’s forum reflects their determination to bring the voice of their people to international platforms and to demand concrete, enforceable protection that can put an end to the ongoing suffering of the Ahwazi population.
