More than 40 former United Nations officials including an ex-human rights chief have called for an international inquiry into the 1988 massacre of thousands of prisoners in Iranian jails.
The ex-officials, politicians and legal experts urged the UN to act robustly to end the “culture of impunity” for Iran over the killing of thousands of opposition-linked inmates in 32 cities at the end of the Iran-Iraq war.
In an open letter to Michelle Bachelet, the UN human rights commissioner, more than 150 signatories called for a UN-backed international commission of inquiry into the executions ordered by former Iranian supreme leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini.
The UN Human Rights Council has set up 33 inquiries since 2006 to investigate serious human rights violations. They have included investigations in Gaza, Libya and Syria, where a decade of evidence-gathering has translated into criminal cases in Europe, said officials.
The mandates of the missions have included establishing the facts behind killings and potential war crimes and identifying those responsible.
“The failure to act now will only embolden the regime to continue its cover-up and evade accountability,” said former UN human rights official Tahar Boumedra, who signed the letter.
“Nothing has happened and the Iranian regime has taken advantage.”
The letter follows Iran’s failure to respond to a letter written by a group of seven UN human rights experts in September last year.
The seven demanded answers from the regime, including over the locations of the graves of those killed and death certificates. Relatives and campaigners seeking answers have been harassed and abused, they said.
The seven said the failure of the UN to act after the massacres had allowed Iran to “conceal the fate of the victims and to maintain a strategy of deflection and denial.”
The experts, including Agnes Callamard, the UN’s former special rapporteur on extrajudicial executions, said they would push for an international commission of inquiry if Iran failed to respond within 60 days. Iran did not respond, according to the UN.
Amnesty International, now headed by Ms Callamard, backed calls for a UN-led inquiry into the events of more than 30 years ago.
Any inquiry would require the backing of the majority of the 47 nations on the Human Rights Council. Iran is not on the council.
Iran researcher Raha Bahreini said given the “prevailing climate of systematic impunity in Iran” there was an urgent need to “set up a mechanism for gathering and analysing evidence of past and ongoing crimes against humanity in Iran, including those related to the 1988 prison massacres”.
“Those against whom there is evidence of direct involvement with these crimes continue to hold top positions of power,” she added. “They include the current head of the judiciary and minister of justice, whose roles are vital for the pursuit of justice.”
The new letter seeking to put pressure on the UN to act was signed by figures including one of Ms Bachelet’s predecessors, former Irish president Mary Robinson.
Other signatories include Geoffrey Robertson, the human rights lawyer who wrote a 2011 report which found that 5,000 inmates allied to the Mujahideen-e-Khalq opposition group had been killed within weeks of the issue of the supreme leader’s fatwa.
The group had backed the overthrow of the Shah but then became the implacable foe of the regime after hundreds of its members were killed at a 1981 rally.
The failure of the UN to act has led to activists and lawyers working together to attempt to secure justice for those killed.
Hamid Nouri, an Iranian lawyer accused of involvement in the “death committees” that organised the killings, is expected to stand trial this summer in Sweden after exiles compiled a dossier on his alleged crimes.
Mr Nouri, who denies wrongdoing, was arrested in 2019 under the principal of universal jurisdiction that allows Sweden to put anyone on trial for crimes against humanity wherever in the world they are committed.
One group - Justice for Victims of the 1988 Massacre in Iran (JVMI) - said it had collated a list of 96 people who were members of the death committees or supervised their operations.
The biog
Prefers vegetables and fish to meat and would choose salad over pizza
Walks daily as part of regular exercise routine
France is her favourite country to visit
Has written books and manuals on women’s education, first aid and health for the family
Family: Husband, three sons and a daughter
Fathiya Nadhari's instructions to her children was to give back to the country
The children worked as young volunteers in social, education and health campaigns
Her motto is to never stop working for the country
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Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
Ten tax points to be aware of in 2026
1. Domestic VAT refund amendments: request your refund within five years
If a business does not apply for the refund on time, they lose their credit.
2. E-invoicing in the UAE
Businesses should continue preparing for the implementation of e-invoicing in the UAE, with 2026 a preparation and transition period ahead of phased mandatory adoption.
3. More tax audits
Tax authorities are increasingly using data already available across multiple filings to identify audit risks.
4. More beneficial VAT and excise tax penalty regime
Tax disputes are expected to become more frequent and more structured, with clearer administrative objection and appeal processes. The UAE has adopted a new penalty regime for VAT and excise disputes, which now mirrors the penalty regime for corporate tax.
5. Greater emphasis on statutory audit
There is a greater need for the accuracy of financial statements. The International Financial Reporting Standards standards need to be strictly adhered to and, as a result, the quality of the audits will need to increase.
6. Further transfer pricing enforcement
Transfer pricing enforcement, which refers to the practice of establishing prices for internal transactions between related entities, is expected to broaden in scope. The UAE will shortly open the possibility to negotiate advance pricing agreements, or essentially rulings for transfer pricing purposes.
7. Limited time periods for audits
Recent amendments also introduce a default five-year limitation period for tax audits and assessments, subject to specific statutory exceptions. While the standard audit and assessment period is five years, this may be extended to up to 15 years in cases involving fraud or tax evasion.
8. Pillar 2 implementation
Many multinational groups will begin to feel the practical effect of the Domestic Minimum Top-Up Tax (DMTT), the UAE's implementation of the OECD’s global minimum tax under Pillar 2. While the rules apply for financial years starting on or after January 1, 2025, it is 2026 that marks the transition to an operational phase.
9. Reduced compliance obligations for imported goods and services
Businesses that apply the reverse-charge mechanism for VAT purposes in the UAE may benefit from reduced compliance obligations.
10. Substance and CbC reporting focus
Tax authorities are expected to continue strengthening the enforcement of economic substance and Country-by-Country (CbC) reporting frameworks. In the UAE, these regimes are increasingly being used as risk-assessment tools, providing tax authorities with a comprehensive view of multinational groups’ global footprints and enabling them to assess whether profits are aligned with real economic activity.
Contributed by Thomas Vanhee and Hend Rashwan, Aurifer
CHELSEA'S NEXT FIVE GAMES
Mar 10: Norwich(A)
Mar 13: Newcastle(H)
Mar 16: Lille(A)
Mar 19: Middlesbrough(A)
Apr 2: Brentford(H)
Zimbabwe v UAE, ODI series
All matches at the Harare Sports Club
- 1st ODI, Wednesday, April 10
- 2nd ODI, Friday, April 12
- 3rd ODI, Sunday, April 14
- 4th ODI, Sunday, April 16
Squads:
- UAE: Mohammed Naveed (captain), Rohan Mustafa, Ashfaq Ahmed, Shaiman Anwar, Mohammed Usman, CP Rizwan, Chirag Suri, Mohammed Boota, Ghulam Shabber, Sultan Ahmed, Imran Haider, Amir Hayat, Zahoor Khan, Qadeer Ahmed
- Zimbabwe: Peter Moor (captain), Solomon Mire, Brian Chari, Regis Chakabva, Sean Williams, Timycen Maruma, Sikandar Raza, Donald Tiripano, Kyle Jarvis, Tendai Chatara, Chris Mpofu, Craig Ervine, Brandon Mavuta, Ainsley Ndlovu, Tony Munyonga, Elton Chigumbura
