The UN’s special rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Iran has expressed concern over reports that the country has subjected lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) children to “torture and cruel, inhuman, and degrading treatment.”
In a report released last week, Javaid Rehman said such practices, which violate Iran’s obligations under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the Convention on the Rights of the Child, reportedly include “electric shocks and the administration of hormones and strong psychoactive medications.”
Subscribe To RFE/RL's Watchdog Report
RFE/RL's Watchdog report is a curated digest of human rights, media freedom, and democracy developments from our vast broadcast region. It arrives in your in-box every Thursday. Subscribe here.
Rehman said that members of Iran’s LGBT community “are often advised that their gender nonconformity or same-sex attraction represents so-called gender identity disorder, which necessitates ‘reparative’ therapies or sex reassignment surgeries, to ‘cure’ them.”
The report quoted the Iranian government as claiming that “there were no restrictions on medical services and that any treatment was administered with consent.”
Iranian officials have not yet commented on the report, which is to be discussed during the 46th session of the Human Rights Council from February 22 to March 19.
Gays and lesbians are forced to hide their sexual orientation in Iran, where homosexuality is punishable by death.
According to the U.S. State Department’s 2019 Country Report on human rights practices, Iranian security forces have harassed, arrested, and detained individuals they suspected of being members of the LGBT community.
In some cases, security forces raided houses and monitored Internet sites for information on LGBT persons, the report said.