In an emergency session, members of the UN Human Rights Council adopted a resolution demanding immediate investigations into the violent suppression of protests by Iranian citizens.
On Friday, 23 January 2026, the Council condemned the bloody crackdown on anti-government protests in Iran, with the resolution passing by 25 votes in favor and 7 against. China, Cuba, India, Indonesia, Iraq, Pakistan, and Vietnam voted against the resolution targeting the Islamic Republic.
The Council also extended the mandate of the UN Fact-Finding Mission on human rights violations in Iran for an additional two years, and renewed the mandate of the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Iran for one further year.
The the Defending Free Flow of Information Organization (DeFFI), which has provided direct cooperation with “Mai Sato”, the UN Special Rapporteur on human rights in Iran, and with researchers of the UN Fact-Finding Mission since the beginning of their mandates, warmly welcomes the decision of the UN Human Rights Council.
DeFFI — which has played a significant role in documenting violations against Iranian journalists and media outlets by contributing dedicated reports, sharing documents, and providing access to its database for use by the Special Rapporteur and Fact-Finding Mission researchers — reaffirms its commitment to continuing full support for these UN experts throughout the duration of their extended mandates.