In a surprising about face, the clerical regime has unexpectedly approved the visit of the Deputy UN High Commissioner for Human Rights to Iran, scheduled to take place from February 2 to February 5, 2024. Notably, this visit coincides with a period marked by a surge in executions and the severe suppression of basic human rights for the Iranian population.
It is noteworthy that the clerical regime has staunchly resisted such visits for an extended period of 28 years, refusing entry to UN Special Rapporteurs tasked with investigating human rights violations. This denial persisted despite numerous appeals and resolutions passed by both the UN General Assembly and the Human Rights Council.
Over the years, the Iranian Resistance has consistently advocated for the presence of special United Nations rapporteurs in Iran. Their objective is to scrutinize the conditions within the regime’s prisons, conduct interviews with inmates—especially female and political prisoners—and hold the regime’s judiciary accountable for its actions. This persistent demand aligns with the collective desire of the Iranian people, as well as the prisoners and their families, who all yearn for transparency and justice.
On January 30, 2024, the Secretariat of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) issued a statement denouncing the regime’s acceptance of the visit by Ms. Neda Al-Nashif amid a disturbing surge in executions, labeling it a “dirty trick.” The statement from the NCRI asserted that the regime, by agreeing to the visit of the Deputy High Commissioner for Human Rights, aimed to manipulate the situation to rationalize and persist in its ongoing crimes against humanity.
According to the NCRI’s statement, under the prevailing circumstances, any visit by a UN official would likely be confined to a series of meetings with the regime’s leaders, who hold significant responsibility for human rights violations. Alternatively, it could involve inspections and scenarios carefully orchestrated and controlled by the regime’s executioners and criminals.
The NCRI expressed concern that such an opportunity would empower the clerical regime to exert additional pressure on the victims in subsequent steps, escalating its suppression and perpetuating its crimes.
The NCRI statement emphasized that the potential success of the trip hinged on the United Nations compelling the Iranian regime to be answerable for a set of essential obligations. This accountability would involve ensuring the freedom of action for UN envoys, allowing them unrestricted access to any location, at any time, with anyone, and within any prison.
Furthermore, the Iranian Resistance expressed its willingness to dispatch its representatives in any capacity and under any circumstances to accompany the Deputy High Commissioner for Human Rights during her visit to Iran. This proactive measure aims to prevent the regime from exploiting UN entities, officials, rapporteurs, and mechanisms to legitimize its crimes against the Iranian people.
The statement underscored the need to avoid a recurrence of the “betrayal of human rights” experienced in 1989 under Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani. It emphasized the collective expectation of the people of Iran and all advocates of freedom and human rights for the UN to take legal action against the leaders of the clerical regime. Notably, individuals such as Ali Khamenei, Ebrahim Raisi, and Gholam Hossein Mohseni Ejeii should be held accountable for four decades of alleged crimes against humanity and genocide.
