Shiraz Association for the Protection of Human Rights

بنی آدم اعضای یک پیکرند
که در آفرينش ز یک گوهرند
چو عضوى به درد آورد روزگار
دگر عضوها را نماند قرار
تو کز محنت دیگران بی غمی
نشاید که نامت نهند آدمی

This human rights manifesto is addressed to Iran and those in the international community who believe in radical improvement for our human rights record and those who have the power to bring it about. The Shiraz Association for the Protection of Human Rights has been formed because we believe that the right to a life without torture, rape, beatings, executions, repression, inequality and mass arrests for simply speaking our minds is fundamental to any human existence and that no human should have to suffer needlessly. These human rights abuses are not consistent with Persian heritage or with the Islamic Republic of Iran's principles. We feel that Iran has been corrupted and as a result we ourselves are losing pride in our own country and we have become a country of shame in the eyes of foreigners.

Our objectives are:

To enforce our government's compliance with all its documented national and international commitments to safeguard human rights
To gain respect for the rights of all people in Iran no matter what their political or religious beliefs
To obtain freedom from torture and ill-treatment
To obtain freedom of expresssion
We believe that these objectives can be achieved if our messages about human rights abuses in Iran reach the right people.

"Human beings are members of a whole,

In creation of one essence and soul.

If one member is afflicted with pain,

Other members uneasy will remain.

If you have no sympathy for human pain,

The name of human you cannot retain."

Saadi, born in Shiraz, 12th century