Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, and the Human Rights Situation in the Islamic Republic of Iran: An Assessment

Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch are generally considered as the most influential non-governmental organizations in the field of human rights at the international level. Their extensive activities in defense of human rights, including their annual and periodic reports on the violation of human rights in various countries and declarations on specific cases and situations, have served a number of functions. They are credited with, among others, bringing the situation of human rights violations to world attention, promoting human rights norms at the international level, including at the United Nations, and even effecting change in human rights policies of countries. The present article undertakes to briefly review the history of the activities of two organizations as well as their interaction with the Islamic Republic of Iran. It tries to explore and present some recommendations for expanding the possibilities for interaction and cooperation between Iran and these well-known international NGOs.