Image from: https://www.niacouncil.org/press_room/niac-presses-treasury-discriminatory-bank-account-closures/?locale=en
The National Iranian American Council, or NIAC, is one of the organizations that I found associated with dealing with the political situation in Iran. According to the NIAC website, the organization is the trusted voice on US-Iran relations, advocating for legislation that shields individuals of Iranian descent from systemic discrimination and celebrating Iranian cultural heritage. NIAC describes itself as having a long-term influence on the lives of Iranian community members. According to the About Us page, NIAC Action is committed to empowering the Iranian-American population to promote peace and diplomacy, establish a fair immigration policy, and preserve the human liberties of all Americans. The page goes on to explain how The NIAC was created in 2002 as a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization to offer the Iranian-American population representation due to their group's services to American civic life are limited. This was stated to be most obvious following the horrific September 11 attacks, when the Iranian-American group was practically largely silent while the United States grappled with major questions concerning global defense, immigration, as well as the essence of American society. This was the period in which NIAC developed as a leader, tackling the serious challenges confronting the Iranian community. The NIAC Action was reported to be founded in 2015 to help Iranian Americans gain political influence and advocate for their community's interests. The NIAC is said to use grassroots activism, direct lobbying in Washington, DC, and political figures to attain their goals. NIAC directs the group's efforts in problem identification, civic education, and community engagement. The activities of this American group, which has little influence over Iranian domestic matters but is nevertheless focused on the American-Iranian community, are politically motivated and provide those who identify as Iranians with some political representation. The areas of work that the NIAC has focused on include peace and diplomacy, equitable immigration, civil rights, as well contributing in part to human rights efforts by assisting in the establishment of a UN Human Rights Monitor on Iran, obtaining targeted human rights sanctions on violators, and lifting US sanctions on communications technology and humanitarian aid within Iran. By supporting political candidates, NIAC Action contributes to the Iranian-American community's political power-building efforts.
The link to their website can be found here: https://www.niacouncil.org
Image from: https://nufdiran.org
The National Union for Democracy in Iran (NUFDI) was a similar organization to the National Iranian American Council. The NUFDI is another non-partisan, non-profit group that represents the Iranian-American community in favor of a US policy toward Iran that promotes human rights and democracy while ensuring America's national security. According to the NUFDI website, the mission statement is as follows: The fundamental rights to free and fair elections, as well as the elimination of discrimination based on religion, sexual orientation, or economic or social standing, is demanded by the Iranian people's movement. This movement demands the humane treatment of every prisoner, the right to a fair trial, and the freedoms of expression, assembly, and religion. It disapproves of the retrograde idea of social and political secession and Balkanization and holds that this transition must be effected without violence, as Prince Reza Pahlavi, the leading and most persistent supporter of this cause, has argued. These are the same principles that Americans have and that Iranians want for their nation. The website of the organization includes articles related to the current politics in Iran, a portion for each media campaign that provides a detailed description of desired outcomes related to each section, this includes their involvement in politics to achieve the goals of the organization. The website also includes a portion in regards to events that the organization is holding, which I thought to be very useful and added a certain individuality to the NUFDI website.
Link to The NUFDI website: https://nufdiran.org/
Though the NUFDI and the NIAC are two very similar organizations with what seem to have very similar goals, some discourse is displayed through their opinions on how to achieve this goal in this video that I have found. I have attached this video of the NUFDI and NIAC debate - Please take into consideration that the first few seconds of the video are spoken in Farsi but then switch back and forth to English for those who are unable to understand what the spokesman is saying.
Image from: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_judicial_system_of_Iran
The third organization that I chose to speak about that addresses the political situation of Iran is the General Inspection Organization (GIO). Before further examining, exploring, and critiquing this organization, I would like to bring up the corruptive tendencies that implemented the need for this organization to arise. According to the article "Corruption and Anti-Corruption Strategies in Iran: An Overview of the Preventive, Detective and Punitive Measures,” the corruption in Iran over the past few decades, particularly among those in political and public authority, has reached a level of blatant and inconceivable illegal enrichment that is in no way justifiable. The two definitions that I found to be most fitting in this context of the word “corruption” as defined by Merriam Webster included “dishonest or unlawful activity, especially by influential individuals (such as government officials or police officers).” The second meaning of corruption was “the use of inappropriate or illegal tactics to encourage wrongdoing (such as bribery).” It is also important to include that Iran was rated 150 out of 180 nations in the 2021 Transparency International Corruption Perception Index. The previous years of the Corruption Perception Index on Iran still include high scoring in regards to corruption (Transparency International, 2021). According to this statistic from Transparency International, Iran is considered one of the most corrupt nations in the world. The elimination of all corrupt practices is pursued through several programs and plans. These measures are said to include the creation of preventative policies, the implementation of anti-corruption legislation, and the organization of various anti-corruption agencies. One such organization is the GIO.
The GIO, also known as the State Inspectorate Institution of Iran, is a governmental organization that operates under the Iranian legal system. In Iran, it is one of the most effective means in the hands of the court. GIO arose from the Iranian government's continuous desire to eliminate corruption and protect the people from its negative repercussions. The GIO is a member of the International Association of Anti-Corruption Authorities as well as the Asian Ombudsman Association. GIO, as an anti-corruption group, blends three distinct responsibilities: security, intelligence, and investigation. The Judicial Inspectorate oversees GIO's duties, which distinguishes it from other anti-corruption groups in the country. The criticism that can be had about the GIO is that due to corruption also occurring within the political sector, what is stopping a government-appointed organization to continue the route of corruption, however, through research, I have found that the GIO and other established measures taken to tackle corruption have been taken seriously by the organizations. I have included another article that I found relevant in discussing the job which the GIO is doing.
The website for the GIO is linked through Iran's Judiciary System, so I was unable to find a website associated with the organization. However, I will list citations for the articles and websites that I used to find my information about the GIO that I have not linked to above:
Habeeb, Abdulrauf S., and Amin Jafari. "Corruption and Anti-Corruption Strategies in Iran: An Overview of the Preventive, Detective and Punitive Measures." Journal of Money Laundering Control, vol. 23, no. 1, 2020, pp. 77-89. ProQuest, https://skagit.idm.oclc.org/login?url=https://www.proquest.com/scholarly-journals/corruption-anti-strategies-iran/docview/2384206323/se-2, doi:https://doi.org/10.1108/JMLC-01-2019-0001.
Merriam-Webster. “Corruption.” The Merriam-Webster Dictionary, www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/corruption. Accessed 22 Aug. 2022.
Transparency International. “Iran.” Transparency.Org, 25 Nov. 2019, www.transparency.org/en/countries/iran.
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