Where War & Human Rights Collide, We Take a Stand
Because state violence against civilians is not inevitable, and silence in the face of it is never neutral.
- Documenting State Violence
- UN-Level Representation
- 20+ Years of Action
- Swiss-Based, Globally Heard
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When Governments Turn on Their Own People, Someone Must Bear Witness
The violence against civilians in Iran is not the chaos of open warfare. It is systematic, state-directed, and deliberately hidden from the world. Verein Welle has spent over twenty years breaking that silence, documenting abuses and carrying verified evidence to international institutions that have the power to respond.
From our base in Zurich, we engage with UN human rights bodies in Geneva, European parliaments, and international media. Our work is annual audited, GlobalGiving-vetted, and sustained entirely by volunteers and donors who believe that war and human rights cannot be spoken of separately when a state wages violence upon its own citizens.
Why the Crisis in Iran Requires Urgent Global Attention
State repression is escalating. Executions, torture, and mass arrests are increasing year on year.
- Protesters shot, detained, and executed
- Journalists imprisoned for reporting the truth
- Families denied information about the detained
- Torture used systematically to silence dissent
- Civilians targeted for peaceful acts of resistance
- Evidence of abuses buried under internet blackouts
Help Victims of War and State Violence Through Direct, Documented Action
State repression is escalating. Executions, torture, and mass arrests are increasing year on year.
Frontline Evidence
Our team collects and verifies real-time documentation of arrests, killings, and disappearances inside Iran, building case files used in UN submissions, European court proceedings, and international media to expose what the regime conceals.
Emergency Support
We fund medical care, humanitarian logistics, and direct assistance for survivors and displaced individuals who have fled the effects of war on civilians, ensuring that those who escape the regime receive the support they need.
International Advocacy
We bring individual cases and systemic evidence before UN human rights commissioners, the European Parliament, and UNHCR in Geneva, translating documentation into political pressure that reaches the highest levels of international decision-making.
Swiss Mobilisation
Through public vigils, conferences, exhibitions, and media outreach across Switzerland, we build the domestic awareness and political will that compels governments to take a position on violence against civilians in authoritarian states.
Help Victims of War and State Violence Through Direct, Documented Action
Executions are rising. Families are waiting. Evidence is being buried in real time.
Donate today, share this page, and stand with the civilians of Iran who are fighting for the right to simply exist.
How You Can Help AddressWar and Human Rights Violations
Your support, large or small, directly strengthens the work that stands between civilians and irreversible harm.
- Donate Now: Funding from donors sustains our documentation, advocacy, and emergency relief programmes. Every contribution, whether one-time or monthly, enables us to respond faster and reach further when lives are at immediate risk.
- Share Our Reports: The effects of war on civilians in Iran remain largely invisible in Western media. Sharing our reports, campaigns, and case files on social media brings critical visibility to situations that thrive in obscurity and silence.
- Join Public Actions: Participating in our vigils, signing petitions, and attending our Switzerland-based events adds your voice to a movement that international bodies and governments are increasingly unable to ignore or dismiss.
- Plan a Legacy Gift: A bequest to Verein Welle ensures that this life-saving work continues across generations, funding the documentation, legal advocacy, and humanitarian support that protects civilians long into the future.
How We Are Trying to Make a Difference
Exposing Silence
We document and publish evidence of state violence that Iran’s internet blackouts and media restrictions are designed to permanently conceal from the world.
Preventing Executions
Through urgent international campaigns targeting UN bodies and European institutions, our advocacy has contributed directly to delaying and preventing executions of civilians facing unjust death sentences.
Funding Relief
We provide direct humanitarian and medical support to survivors and refugees, ensuring that help victims of war reach those whose lives have been shattered by state repression.
Demanding Accountability
We have supported legal proceedings in European courts that resulted in convictions of Iranian regime operatives, proving that state violence carries consequences beyond Iran’s borders.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are the effects of war on civilians in Iran that Verein Welle addresses?
We address state-directed violence including mass arrests, torture, forced disappearances, executions, and the suppression of peaceful protest. While Iran is not at open war, the systematic targeting of civilians by its own government creates conditions that mirror the devastation of armed conflict for those living through it.
Is Verein Welle a registered and trustworthy organisation?
Yes. We are a registered, tax-exempt Swiss association founded in 2004. Our accounts are audited annually by an independent Zurich-based accounting firm. We are vetted by GlobalGiving and listed with Benevity and Bright Funds. Our annual report is available free of charge to all donors.
How does Verein Welle document human rights abuses inside Iran?
Our network collects and verifies information on arrests, executions, torture, and disappearances in real time, including during periods of internet blackout. This evidence is compiled into case files used in UN submissions, European court proceedings, and international media reporting.
How does Verein Welle connect war and human rights in the context of Iran?
Iran is not at open war, but its government wages systematic violence against its own population through executions, mass detention, torture, and suppression of dissent. We treat this as a human rights emergency equivalent in severity to armed conflict and advocate accordingly at international level.
What portion of my donation goes directly to active projects?
The vast majority of donations go directly to projects because Verein Welle runs on a volunteer basis. Administrative costs are kept to a minimum and are largely covered by corporate sponsorship, meaning donor funds are channelled primarily into documentation, advocacy, and humanitarian support.
How can I stay informed about the situation in Iran?
You can follow our news section and blog on vereinwelle.ch, follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn, and sign up to receive updates. We publish regular reports, case briefings, and campaign updates that cover the evolving situation on the ground.
How does my donation help victims of war and state violence in Iran?
Your donation funds three core areas: the documentation that exposes abuses, the advocacy that creates international pressure to prevent executions, and the direct humanitarian and medical support provided to survivors and refugees who have escaped the regime’s reach.
Has Verein Welle achieved measurable results?
Yes. We contributed to the rescue of 3,000 Iranian dissidents from execution, have supported legal convictions of regime operatives in European courts, helped establish a UN commission of enquiry into Iran, and have contributed to delays and preventions of individual executions through sustained international advocacy.
Can I volunteer with Verein Welle if I cannot donate financially?
Absolutely. We welcome volunteers across a range of skills including legal, media, communications, events, and research. You can also support us by sharing our content, participating in public actions, and raising awareness within your own networks in Switzerland and beyond.
What is Verein Welle doing to address violence against civilians that other organisations are not?
Our founders are survivors of the Iranian regime, giving us a depth of insight that informs every aspect of our work. We combine Swiss-based legal credibility, direct UN engagement in Geneva, European court advocacy, and grassroots Swiss public mobilisation into a uniquely integrated approach that few organisations can replicate.
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