by Payam Solhtalab
Two years on from its launch, on 13 February 2023, in the aftermath of months of street protests in Iran under the banner of ‘Woman, Life, Freedom’ and bloody repression by the ruling regime*, the 12-point Freedom Charter, co-signed by 20 independent trade unions and civil society organisations in the country, remains the authoritative articulation of the core demands of the ever-growing opposition to the Islamic Republic dictatorship inside Iran.
The Charter, which quickly attracted the support of many more grassroots groups in Iran following its release, and continues to do so, serves as a core manifesto as well as basis for coordination and principled solidarity between the various currents, organisations, and social forces opposed to the continuation of the regime – and charts a course for a political transition away from the theocratic dictatorship to a secular national democratic republic, one that serves all peoples of Iran.
The Charter has also received endorsement from prominent dissidents in Iran, not least the long-incarcerated former prime minister and presidential candidate Mir-Hossein Mousavi. In February 2023, then 12 years into his incarceration under house arrest by the regime, in a message titled “To save Iran”, Mousavi remarked that the violent response of the regime to the ‘Woman, Life, Freedom’ uprising had, “demonstrated major truths for the nation.”
“Iran and the Iranians need a fundamental change, that takes its main features from the pure movement of ‘Woman, Life, Freedom.’ [These three words are] the seeds of a bright future, free of oppression, poverty, humiliation and discrimination,” he stated.
Mousavi went on to articulate three procedural demands: firstly, a free, fair, and untainted national referendum on the question of whether or not the country requires a new constitution; secondly, in the case of an affirmative vote from the people, the formation of a constitutional assembly composed of popular representatives elected to their positions; and thirdly, a second national referendum to approve the draft constitution, put forward by the constitutional assembly, to establish a state and system of governance based on the rule of law, human rights, and the will of the people.
The intervention of the incarcerated opposition leader was hugely significant in that Mousavi had until then been seen as a leader of the reformist tendency in the Islamic Republic, advocating that the system could be reformed and tweaked as opposed to being done away with completely. In articulating the view that the country needed to embark on a path towards a new constitution, he essentially tacitly acknowledged that the Iranian people have given up on the notion of reform and reject the Islamic Republic altogether.
Furthermore, Mousavi’s public endorsement of the demands was seen as the definitive drawing of a line under the largely unchecked narrative of the right-wing, extreme nationalist monarchists and other unrepresentative opposition currents abroad that claim they are the sole and rightful arbiters of the future course of developments in a post-Islamic-Republic Iran.
The Charter is emblematic of a vision attracting growing support among the democratic currents and forces that are opposed to the Islamic Republic regime in Iran, one that countenances a popularly-mandated political transition away from the dictatorship – as opposed to one that takes place over the heads of the already long-suffering Iranian people, namely outside intervention; a sudden, uncontrolled, and bloody overthrow; and the country’s descent into disorder, violence, and devastation thereafter.
CODIR hereby faithfully reproduces the English-language translation of the 12-point Freedom Charter, including its foreword and the list of the original 20 co-signatories…
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To the noble and free people of Iran!
On the 44th anniversary of the 1979 Revolution, Iran is facing an economic, political and social crisis that has engulfed the country and a clear and achievable vision to end it is unimaginable within the existing political framework.
Therefore, the oppressed people of Iran, including freedom-loving and equality-seeking women and youths, have turned the streets of the cities across the country into the centre of a historic and decisive struggle to end the existing inhumane situation.
Despite the bloody repression by the government, they have not rested for a moment for the past five months.
The fundamental protests raised today by women, students, teachers, workers, activists, artists, writers and the oppressed people of Iran in general in various parts of the country, from Kordestan to Sistan and Baluchestan [provinces], is a protest against misogyny, gender discrimination, endless economic insecurity, labour slavery, poverty, misery, class oppression, ethnic and religious oppression, and a revolution against every form of religious and non-religious tyranny that has been imposed over the past century.
These protests have emerged from the context of large and modern social movements and the rise of an invincible generation that is determined to put an end to the history of a hundred years of backwardness and marginalisation of the ideal of a modern, prosperous and free society in Iran.
After the two great revolutions in Iran’s modern history [the Constitutional Revolution 1905-11 and the 1979 Revolution], the leading social movements, including the labour movement, the movement of teachers and pensioners, the movement for equality for women, students and youth, and the movement against the death penalty, etc., have had a historical and decisive influence in shaping the political, economic and social structure of the country.
Therefore, this movement aims to end forever the formation of any power from above and be the beginning of a social, modern and human revolution to free the people from all forms of oppression, discrimination, exploitation, tyranny, and dictatorship.
We, the union and civic organisations and institutions that signed this charter, focusing on the unity and interconnection of the social movements and demands and focusing on the struggle to end the existing inhumane and destructive situation, consider the following minimum demands as the first steps to meet the demands of these fundamental protests.
The people of Iran consider that meeting these minimum demands is the only way to build a new, modern and humane society in the country, and we ask all the noble people who have freedom, equality, and liberation in their hearts, from factories to universities, schools, and neighbourhoods to raise the flag of these minimum demands.
1. Immediate and unconditional release of all political prisoners, prohibition of criminalising political, union, and civil activities, and public trials for those responsible for suppressing popular protests.
2. Unconditional freedom of opinion, expression, thought, [political] parties, local and national trade unions, popular organisations, gatherings, strikes, marches, social networks and the media.
3. Immediate cancellation of the issuance and execution of any type of death penalty and retribution, and prohibition of any type of mental and physical torture.
4. Immediate and full equality of rights between women men in all political, economic, social, cultural and family spheres, unconditional abolition of discriminatory laws against sexual and gender relations and tendencies, recognition of the rainbow society LGBTQIA+, decriminalisation of all gender relations and tendencies, unconditional adherence to all women’s rights over their bodies and destiny and preventing patriarchal control.
5. Religion is a private matter of the individuals and should not interfere in the political, economic, social, and cultural destiny and laws of the country.
6. Ensure work safety, job security and an immediate increase in the salaries of workers, teachers and employees, whether they are still active or retired, with the involvement and agreement of elected union representatives.
7. Abolish laws and any behaviour based on ethnic or religious discrimination and oppression, establish appropriate supporting infrastructures as well as the fair and equal distribution of government resources for the growth of culture and art in all regions of the country and provide the necessary and equal facilities for the learning and teaching of all languages used in society.
8. Limit the influence of the government and grant people the right to interfere in local and national councils directly and permanently. Dismissing any government or non-government official by voters at any time should be among the voters’ fundamental rights.
9. Confiscate the properties of the individuals and governmental, semi-governmental and private institutions that have taken the property and social wealth of the Iranian people hostage through direct looting or government rent. The wealth obtained from these confiscations should be immediately used to modernise and reconstruct education, pension funds, the environment, and the needs of the regions and Iranians who have been deprived and had fewer facilities under the regimes of the Islamic Republic and the monarchy.
10. End environmental destruction, implement policies to revive the environmental infrastructure that has been destroyed over the past hundred years and publicise the natural areas that have been privatised (such as pastures, beaches, forests, and foothills), depriving the people’s rights on them.
11. Prohibit child labour and provide their education, regardless of their families’ economic and social status. Establish public welfare through unemployment insurance and strong social security systems for all the people who are of the legal age to work or are unable to work. Additionally, provide free education and healthcare for all the people.
12. Normalise foreign relations at the highest levels with all the countries in the world, based on fair relations and mutual respect, ban the acquisition of nuclear weapons, and strive for world peace.
In our opinion, the above minimum demands can be achieved immediately, given the country’s potential and actual underground wealth, the presence of informed and capable people and a generation of young people who are motivated to enjoy a happy, free, and prosperous life.
The demands presented in this charter include the general demands of our signatories, and, obviously, we will provide more detail on these demands as we continue our struggle and solidarity.
The signatories include:
The Coordinating Council of Iran’s Teachers Trade Unions
The Free Union of Iran Workers
The Union of Free Students
The Centre for Human Rights Defenders
The Syndicate of Workers of Nishekar Haft Tappeh Company
The Organisation Council of Oil Contractual Workers’ Protests
Iran Cultural House (Khafa)
Bidarzani
The Call of Iranian Women
The Independent Voice of Ahvaz National Steel Group Workers
The Labour Rights Defenders Centre
The Kermanshah Electric and Metal Workers’ Union
The Coordination Committee for the Creation of Labour Organisations of Iran
The Union of Pensioners
The Council of Pensioners of Iran
The Progressive Students Organisation
The Council of Free-Thinking Students of Iran
The Alborz Province Painters’ Syndicate
The Committee to Follow up on the Creation of Labour Organisations of Iran
The Council of Retirees of the Social Security Administration (BASTA)
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* The crackdown by the regime’s dreaded security forces and paramilitaries in response to the uprising, sparked by the killing of 22-year-old Kurdish-Iranian woman Mahsa Zhina Amini in the custody of the so-called ‘morality police’ in September 2022, has encompassed the killings of hundreds of protesters; the highest number of executions since the dark days of the 1980s when political prisoners were routinely executed, even en masse; as well as continuing waves of arrests, including of those organising protests in the last fortnight to mark the 14th anniversary of the incarceration under house arrest of opposition leaders Mir-Hossein Mousavi, Dr. Zahra Rahnavard, Mehdi Karroubi, and Fatemeh Karroubi.
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The Committee for the Defence of the Iranian People’s Rights (CODIR) is a solidarity organisation established in 1981 by British labour and trade union activists working with Iranian democrats residing in the UK and a long-time affiliate and working partner of Liberation.
Ever since its founding, CODIR has consistently campaigned to raise awareness of the situation inside the Islamic Republic of Iran, particularly – though not exclusively – pertaining to the country’s labour and trade union movement. Throughout its existence, it has worked closely with the trade union movement in the UK, the peace movement, representatives from the main political parties, and Amnesty International to press the case for an end to the human rights abuses perpetrated in Iran. Several of the major trade unions in Britain are affiliated to CODIR and support its campaign for peace, human and democratic rights, and social justice in Iran.
CODIR has published Iran Today, its quarterly journal, since 1981, explaining the latest developments in Iran and the most effective way that the British public opinion could demonstrate its solidarity with the people of Iran.
In recent years, CODIR has also worked closely with Stop the War Coalition (StWC) and has been consistently vocal against any form of foreign intervention in the internal and sovereign affairs of Iran.
Visit CODIR’s website at www.codir.net
Follow CODIR on X, formerly Twitter, under the @CODIRInfo handle.
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Payam Solhtalab is a peace activist, member of the National Executive Council of the Committee for the Defence of the Iranian People’s Rights (CODIR), member of Liberation, and regular contributor to Liberation Journal.
