Kurdistan Dialogue Platform, Hengaw raise human rights concerns in talks with German Foreign Ministry

Representatives of the Kurdistan Dialogue Platform and Hengaw Organization for Human Rights met with senior officials from the German Foreign Ministry to raise concerns over Iran’s worsening human rights situation and to discuss prospects for the country’s political future.

The meeting brought together officials from the German Foreign Ministry, including Tobias Tunkel, Director of the Middle East and North Africa Department, as well as representatives of the platform and Hengaw. It was held on Tuesday, 27 January 2026.

The talks formed part of the German Foreign Ministry’s ongoing engagement with political actors and civil society groups linked to Iran, with a focus on human rights conditions and the country’s broader political trajectory.

Participants from the Kurdistan Dialogue Platform represented seven Kurdish political parties: the PAK Party, Komala Party of Kurdistan, Kurdistan Free Life Party (PJAK), Komala, the Kurdistan Organization of the Communist Party of Iran, the Khabat Organization of Iranian Kurdistan, the Komala Party of Iranian Kurdistan, and the Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan.

The meeting was facilitated by Hengaw Organization for Human Rights and attended by members of Hengaw’s board, including Zhila Mostajer, Arsalan Yarahmadi, and Mina Khani.

Discussions centered on the need to shape a democratic future for Iran. Participants stressed the importance of guaranteeing equal rights for all peoples, ethnic and national groups, upholding civil and women’s rights, and establishing a democratic political structure as a prerequisite for sustainable peace and long-term stability in Iran and the wider region.

During another part of the meeting, representatives of the platform’s member parties called for increased international pressure on the Islamic Republic of Iran. Key demands included the designation of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) as a terrorist organization, holding Iranian representatives and ambassadors accountable in diplomatic forums, and providing effective and practical support for protesters and opposition forces seeking freedom and democracy in Iran.

Following the meeting, Tobias Tunkel, wrote in a post on X (formerly Twitter):

“Today, I met with the Kurdish Dialogue Platform which unites representatives of several Kurdish parties in Iran. In our continuous engagement with a wide range of civil society actors we discussed the current political and #HumanRights situation in #Iran.”

During the meeting, Hengaw presented documented reports detailing widespread and systematic human rights violations across Iran, with particular emphasis on abuses targeting ethnic and national minorities, religious minorities, women, and civil and political activists.

Hengaw Organization for Human Rights also reiterated its support for the demands raised by the Kurdistan Dialogue Platform, including the call to designate the IRGC as a terrorist organization, and underscored the group’s central role in domestic repression and regional destabilization.