Official NZ Parliament e-petition: Urge the New Zealand Government to review diplomatic engagement regarding Iran

Over the past weeks, credible reports from human rights organisations and international media indicate that Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps forces have responded to nationwide protests with lethal force, mass detentions, and communications blackouts. Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch have documented the unlawful use of firearms, metal pellets, tear gas, and beatings against peaceful demonstrators across multiple cities in Iran. Reports from independent rights groups suggest that the actual death toll and number of arrests are substantially higher than the official figures released by the authorities. Despite this repression, protesters remain in the streets, chanting slogans demanding the resignation of Iran’s current leadership, including "Death to Khamenei" and “Javid Shah.” Witnesses report their determination to persist in the demonstrations and their desperate calls for international action. (This petition is open to supporters worldwide)

Many residents in New Zealand have been unable to contact loved ones for days. Only a few have been able to receive brief, fragmented reports from relatives in Iran using limited one-way access to phone calls and Starlink, which is being actively confiscated by authorities. These reports suggest extremely high casualties of tens of thousands, including deaths and disappearances. Access to medical care, communications, and essential services has been severely restricted, and martial law and lockdown have reportedly been imposed, which has created extreme emotional distress and uncertainty for our community. Even as officials deny plans to execute protesters or claim that killing has stopped, current independent reporting shows continued lethal force against civilians. These experiences are consistent with patterns of repression documented in previous crackdowns and underscore the immediate humanitarian impact on families in New Zealand.

The current violence is not sudden and follows a 47-year pattern of repression in Iran, in which repeated uprisings have been met with lethal force, mass arrests, enforced disappearances, and extrajudicial killings. Examples include the deaths documented by human rights groups during mass protests in 2009, 2019, and the “Woman, Life, Freedom” protests in 2022, including children, and detentions with widespread reports of torture and sexual assault. State violence in Iran is continuous and not limited to moments of unrest. Authorities regularly carry out executions (including public hangings) following grossly unfair trials and coerced confessions. Human rights organisations have consistently documented deaths in custody, arbitrary killings, and the use of the death penalty as a tool of control. Vaguely defined capital charges such as “enmity against God” and “corruption on earth” are routinely applied to criminalise peaceful dissent, protest activity, and political expression, resulting in death sentences imposed without due process. What distinguishes the current situation is its scale, speed, and severity. Families are reportedly coerced to pay large sums to retrieve bodies, and pressured to falsely state that the deceased were members of regime-aligned forces killed by protesters, constituting grave human rights violations.

As part of the Iranian community in New Zealand, I know families living in fear for their relatives’ lives, with some already in mourning. The current communications blackout and reports of violent repression have made it impossible for them to receive reliable information about their families’ safety, amplifying the urgent need for government attention and support.

This petition calls on the New Zealand Government to:

1. Review and suspend diplomatic operations at the Iranian embassy in New Zealand until credible, independent investigations into human rights abuses are conducted.
2. Urge an independent international investigation into mass killings, disappearances, and abuses of civilians in Iran.
3. Publicly express concern over ongoing human rights violations and work with international partners to ensure that victims’ families are not denied accountability and justice.
4. Engage with Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi, the primary democratic opposition leader in support of a peaceful, democratic transition that reflects the will of the Iranian people inside and outside the country.

This is a live humanitarian crisis directly affecting New Zealand families. Immediate government action is necessary to protect civilians, uphold human rights, and provide support to affected communities.

Written from within a small collective in Dunedin.

Amnesty International, Iran: Massacre of Protesters Demands Global Diplomatic Action, 2026

Human Rights Watch, Iran: Internet Blackout Concealing Atrocities, 2026 

Amnesty International, Iran: Deadly crackdown on protests against Mahsa Amini’s death in custody needs urgent global action (21 September 2022)

Amnesty International, Iran: Over 1,000 people executed as authorities step up horrifying assault on right to life (26 September 2025)

AP News, Free Starlink access for Iran seen as game changer for demonstrators getting their message out (January 2026)

Amnesty International, Iran: Massacre of Protesters Demands Global Diplomatic Action to Signal an End to Impunity (January 15, 2026)