UN Authority Figures

UN World Tourism Organization Executive Council member: Iran



Iranian authorities have arrested the elderly father of an Iranian-American dual national held since October 2015.
Photo: Siamak and Baquer Namazi are now both incarcerated at the same facility in Iran
Source: Newsweek, February 25, 2016

Mission of the World Tourism Organization: "The World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) is the United Nations agency responsible for the promotion of responsible, sustainable and universally accessible tourism. As the leading international organization in the field of tourism, UNWTO promotes tourism as a driver of economic growth, inclusive development and environmental sustainability and offers leadership and support to the sector in advancing knowledge and tourism policies worldwide." (World Tourism Organization website)

Iran's Term of office: 2014-2017

Iran's Record on "competitiveness, sustainability, poverty reduction, capacity building":
"The most significant human rights problems were severe restrictions on civil liberties, including the freedoms of assembly, speech, religion, and press ... and disregard for the physical integrity of persons, whom authorities arbitrarily and unlawfully detained, tortured, or killed. Other reported human rights problems included: disappearances; cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment, including judicially sanctioned amputation and flogging; politically motivated violence and repression; harsh and life-threatening conditions in detention and prison facilities, with instances of deaths in custody; arbitrary arrest and lengthy pretrial detention, sometimes incommunicado; continued impunity of the security forces; denial of fair public trial, sometimes resulting in executions without due process; the lack of an independent judiciary; political prisoners and detainees; ineffective implementation of civil judicial procedures and remedies..." (US State Department Country Report of Human Rights Practices in Iran, 2014)