Professor Javaid Rehman’s findings endorsed in US House of Representatives’ resolution on Iran
16 May 2025
Professor Javaid Rehman (pictured) addresses the UN Human Rights Council as Special Rapporteur on 22 November 2022. Credit: UN Human Rights Council / YouTube.
Findings made by Garden Court North’s Professor Javaid Rehman in a United Nations Special Rapporteur report have been formally endorsed in a US House of Representatives’ resolution on Iran, which on Tuesday (13 May 2025) crossed the threshold of 220 votes for formal adoption.
Javaid wrote the report during his former mandate as UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran, which he undertook from 2018 to 2024.
Resolution 166 was first introduced in February 2025 by Congressman Tom McClintock to express support for “the Iranian people’s desires for a democratic, secular and non-nuclear Iran”, while condemning “the Iranian regime’s terrorism, regional proxy war, and internal suppression”.
Cross-party support
136 Republican and 83 Democrat Representatives have now signed the resolution, forming a majority.
“I am pleased to announce that H. Res. 166 … has crossed an important threshold,” McClintock said. “This truly bi-partisan and broad-based House majority endorses the general principles propounded by Iranian democracy groups, most notably the ten-point plan proposed the National Council of Resistance of Iran.”
“It calls for the universal right to vote; free elections; a market economy; separation of religion and state; gender, religious, and ethnic equality; a foreign policy based on peaceful coexistence; peace in the Middle East; and a non-nuclear Republic of Iran.”
Inclusion of Javaid’s findings marks a significant recognition of the impact of his work as former Special Rapporteur.
Resolution 166 reads:
In the UK, Javaid’s findings have also been endorsed by parliamentarians in an Early Day Motion (EDM) tabled on 10 October 2024.
EDM 232, which has been signed by 110 MPs without further amendments submitted, “commends Professor Javaid Rehman for his six years of service as the Special Rapporteur”.
Attention now focuses on when Resolution 166 will be agreed to in the House of Representatives, and when EDM 232 will be debated in the House of Commons.
Additional media
UN Human Rights Council – Javaid Rehman, Special Rapporteur on human rights in Iran, speaks at the Human Rights Council
UNOHCR – Iran: ‘Atrocity crimes’ must be investigated and perpetrators prosecuted, says Special Rapporteur
For further information, please contact Alex Blair, Communications Manager at Garden Court North Chambers: ablair@gcnchambers.co.uk
