Andrés Aguilar (1984–1986) In 1984, the
United Nations Commission on Human Rights (UNCHR) appointed Andrés Aguilar of
Venezuela as its Special Representative to Iran on human rights. Iran refused to engage with him and he "eventually resigned, unable to persuade Iranian officials to cooperate with him in any way."
Reynaldo Galindo Pohl (1986–1995) Galindo Pohl, a prominent diplomat and professor of law from
El Salvador, served as the Special Representative from 1986 to 1995.
Maurice Copithorne (1995–2002) Following the resignation of Galindo Pohl, the UNCHR appointed Maurice Copithorne, a Canadian lawyer, as the Special Rapporteur. On 22 April 2002, the UNCHR voted not to renew the mandate of the Special Rapporteur, a decision condemned by
Human Rights Watch (HRW) and the
U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF).
Ahmed Shaheed (2011-2016) In March 2011, the UN
Human Rights Council re-established this mandate, which the UNCHR had terminated in 2002, under the title Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran.
Ahmed Shaheed was the Special Rapporteur from 2011 to 2016. He went on to become the UN Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion or Belief. He was twice Foreign Minister of the Maldives from 2005 to 2007 and 2008 to 2010.
Asma Jahangir (2016–2018) Asma Jilani Jahangir was selected as the Special Rapporteur in 2016. She was a human rights lawyer of Pakistani origin and a former President of the Supreme Court Bar Association of Pakistan. She suffered from cardiac arrest in
Lahore on 11 February 2018 and later died at the hospital.
Javaid Rehman (2018–2024) On 7 July 2018,
Javaid Rehman was appointed as the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the human rights situation in the Islamic Republic of Iran.
Mai Sato (2024–) In its 56th session on 12 July 2024, the United Nations Human Rights Council appointed Mai Sato, a Japanese academic, as the new special rapporteur of this international body on Iran. == List ==