Nobel laureate accuses UNICEF Iran of silence on children’s rights

Iranian Nobel Peace Prize laureate Shirin Ebadi has accused UNICEF of failing to fulfill its responsibilities in Iran, citing what she called the organization's inaction in response to the execution of minors and the authorities’ targeting of activists’ children.

In a letter to the United Nations Children's Fund, a copy of which was seen by Iran International, Ebadi wrote: “The Iran branch of your organization has been active for years. However, for reasons unclear to me and my compatriots, it has failed to take effective measures to fulfill its legal obligations.”

She said UNICEF’s Iran office has remained silent despite repeated reports of juvenile executions, violations in healthcare and education, and harmful content in school textbooks.

“Numerous issues exist that UNICEF should have addressed in Iran. Yet we have only witnessed silence from this organization,” she wrote.

She also condemned what she described as the Islamic Republic’s use of children to pressure political and civil activists.

“Children are unjustly imprisoned under baseless allegations to coerce their parents into silence or collaboration with the government,” she wrote.

Ebadi cited the summons of 17-year-old Nima Khandan, son of human rights lawyer Nasrin Sotoudeh and jailed activist Reza Khandan, over what she said was a baseless charge of insulting an officer at Tehran's Evin Prison.

"The initiation of this case based on false accusations is solely intended to harass this family of civil activists and to force them into silence and cooperation," Ebadi wrote.

Ebadi called on UNICEF Iran to uphold its obligations under the Convention on the Rights of the Child, to which Iran is a signatory.