IRQR
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| Founded | 2008 |
|---|---|
| Founder | Arsham Parsi |
| Focus | Advocacy work for LGBTQ+ rights in Iran |
| Location | |
| Method | Networking, campaigning, advocacy, outreach, community media, TV and radio |
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Key people
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Arsham Parsi (head), Stuart Bustard, Jamie Ellerton, Paul Durber, Sarah French, Mo Riazi |
| Slogan | "Giving Queer Refugees a New Chance at Life" |
| Website | www.irqr.ca |
The Iranian Railroad for Queer Refugees (IRQR) is an advocacy group for LGBT rights in Iran. It was founded and is headed by Executive Director Arsham Parsi. It was set up on behalf of Iranian LGBT persons seeking safe havens both within and outside of Iran. It is currently the first and only proactive Iranian NGO in the world, working on behalf of Iranian LGBTs around the globe.
It has its headquarters in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, where the organization is registered as an NGO. IRQR provides assistance with asylum applications, housing, and financial assistance to those in need. It files petitions to governments on behalf of Iranian LGBTQ persons facing deportation back to Iran, where homosexuality is a criminal offense punishable by death.
IRQR documents and reports cases of torture, persecution, execution and other human rights violations that occur in Iran on a regular basis; it has helped demonstrate the situation of LGBT persons in Iran. IRQR also aims to educate people who are opposed to homosexuality due to a lack of correct information and sexual education and also to "end the current lack of self-recognition and self-confidence among queer people and to prevent frequent tragedies, such as suicide."
The organization's name is inspired by the Underground Railroad that helped African-Americans escape slavery, often by fleeing to Canada, in the 19th century.
The homepage of IRQR says:
"When Iranian queer people flee persecution in Iran, they generally go to Turkey. The United Nations High Commission for Refugees interviews these refugees and decides whether their case for asylum is valid. If they are granted asylum status, the UNHCR finds a new country for each person on the base of their profile. IRQR helps these refugees through the process and, whenever possible, provides funds for safe houses from donations, since Turkey is also a homophobic and transphobic society and queer people are not physically safe there either."
In August 2008, Arsham Parsi, the IRQR's Executive Director, met with the office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and the Canadian Embassy in Ankara, Turkey, regarding Iranian queer asylum seekers. Since that meeting, a number of asylum seekers have been granted refugee status or have been referred to the Canadian Embassy for their resettlement process. Furthermore, the UNHCR changed their legal interviews to an earlier date.
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Wikipedia