HCHR_According to the report of the Communication and Information Center of the Deputy for International Affairs of the Judiciary and the High Council for Human Rights, Kazem Gharibabadi, the Deputy of the Judiciary for International Affairs and the Secretary-General of the High Council for Human Rights (HCHR), in an interview with Al-Alam, emphasized that today we are witnessing a massive violation of human rights by the Zionist regime and Western claimants of democracy has closed their eyes to this massacre and the fact that today Gaza is a great exhibition of crimes against humanity, and added: “If we see that the public opinion of the people of the world has been provoked towards the crimes of Israel, it is because of the widespread violation of human rights by the regime. The Zionist regime has violated the right to life by mass killings against the Palestinian people in Gaza, especially women and children.This regime has also violated the right to health, access to water and education in a large and obvious way, but the reaction of the West to this large volume of human rights violations has been silence”.
The Palestinian people are under aggression and have the right to defend themselves
Emphasizing the fact that what is happening in Gaza is an example of a crime from the point of view of International Criminal Law, the Secretary-General of the HCHR noted: “The current situation in this region is widespread occupation and aggression, the Zionist regime has occupied a country for 75 years, and the people have been subjected to various pressures and killings during these years”.
He added: “The people of Palestine and Gaza have the right to self-defense, sometimes it is asked that why Hamas started these attacks on October 7! It should be noted that the war hasn’t been started on 7th of October, this situation which is created by the Zionist regime, have been witnessed for 75 years. The right of a nation under aggression, is to defend itself, and there is no defense for the occupying regime”.
The Vice-President of the Judiciary for International Affairs, pointing out that the Zionist regime has committed all kinds of crimes in Gaza, said: “killing children and women, cutting off water and access to medicine, bombing hospitals, religious and educational centers, are all examples of crimes against humanity, war crimes, genocide, and racial and ethnic cleansing, that have been openly committed by the Zionist occupiers in Gaza during the past 47 days. International courts, including the Criminal Court, can investigate these crimes and prosecute the perpetrators of these attacks”.
The United Nations has not fulfilled its duties to help the people of Gaza and stop the attacks
Referring to the inherent duties of International Organizations, including the Security Council, Gharibabadi said: “The Security Council's duty is to maintain international peace, it is quite clear that Israel's actions have endangered the world peace, but the Security Council does not fulfill its duties in this regard and only after 40 days has issued a weak resolution that even failed to prevent attacks and providing aid to Gaza. The Human Rights Council has not even held an urgent session to examine this issue, and International Organizations have not been able to take positive measures.
Pointing out that the United States, England and France prevented the approval of the ceasefire in the Security Council and that having the right of veto is one of the obstacles to establishing peace and security, Gharibabadi stated: "At the High Council for Human Rights of the Islamic Republic of Iran, we have followed up this position seriously, both in terms of enlightening the domestic and international public opinion and using the capacity of lawyers to file lawsuits in different courts. On the other hand, we can refer to the correspondence of the HCHR and the head of the Judiciary with their counterparts in Islamic countries”.
Iran's special focus on preventing the Zionist regime from escaping the trial
Pointing out that the Zionist regime has committed crimes during the past 75 years, but the recent killings of this regime in the Gaza Strip were very widespread and criminal, Gharibabadi emphasized: “The Zionist regime should not be allowed to face impunity and the criminal authorities of the regime must be punished. Israel should be tried, and this is considered a completely legal and judicial issue. The Islamic Republic of Iran has a special focus on this issue, and this is being pursued through Iranian lawyers and their interaction with lawyers in other countries, as well as at the government level. This issue is also being pursued at the level of Judiciaries of the Islamic countries”.
Iran's Proposal to form a Joint Court of Islamic Countries to try the Zionist Occupiers
Gharibabadi added: “The issue of the trial of the leaders of the Zionist regime have been included both in the calls and correspondence between the President of the Islamic Republic of Iran and his counterparts, as well as in the last two meetings of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation. The issue has been included in the agenda of the OIC meeting and during this meeting, the I.R of Iran proposed ideas and suggestions on the fact that Islamic countries file a case against the authorities of the Zionist regime in their courts, or that a joint court be formed by Islamic countries in order to punish the Zionist regime. This idea is always pursued by the I.R of Iran, since it considers this method to be the most important method to deal with and punish the Zionist regime, which is legal and judicial confrontation, and this issue is seriously on the agenda.
A Coherent Network of Lawyers in the World to Try the Zionist Regime
The Secretary-General of the HCHR pointed out that if the governments do not take action in order to prosecute the Zionist regime for reasons such as political considerations, lawyers in Islamic and Western countries have decided to prosecute the Zionist regime and added: “The current example of this issue is the decision of 2,000 lawyers in Turkey, who have announced their readiness to file a lawsuit against Israel's crimes. Also in France, a lawyer accompanied by 300 other lawyers, created a coherent network and declared their support for the Palestinian and emphasized their will to file a lawsuit against the killing by the Zionist regime. Such measures are desirable, and if governments keep silent on the issue of the trial of Zionist authorities, public opinion and lawyers will take the place of the governments.
The Zionist regime failed to achieve its goals
Referring to the fact that the Judiciary of the Zionist regime have failed to achieve its goals following the attacks on Gaza, Gharibabadi said: “These crimes are widespread enough that public opinion does not agree with the nature of this regime, and a wide range of countries oppose the positions of the Israeli regime”. He added: “Two factors of public opinion and the actions of countries play key role in prosecuting the Zionist regime. However, if the countries just meet each other and issue statements and do not take significant action in order to stop the crimes of the Israeli regime, the role of public opinion will be undoubtedly more effective than the countries. Some non-Islamic countries, especially the Latin American region, have cut their relations with the Zionist regime, and it is expected that Islamic countries also include such actions on their agenda.
Why don't Islamic countries expel the ambassadors of the Zionist regime?!
The Secretary-General emphasized: “Why don't the Islamic countries expel the ambassadors of the Zionist regime from their territory?! Why don't the Islamic countries impose an embargo on the purchase of goods belonging to the Zionist regime?! Why don't Islamic countries place embargo on oil and energy exports to the Zionist regime?!”
He added: “Currently, the issue of Palestine is the reason for the unity of Islamic countries, but the Islamic countries are supposed to pass the stage of words and reach the stage of action. Because if the measures mentioned, are not taken by the Islamic countries and the International Organizations, the effect of public opinion's objections and protests will be much greater than the effect of statements and words and positions of the countries.
Referring to the fact that the Red Crescent Society of the Islamic Republic of Iran always sends humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip and the relevant coordination is ongoing with the Egyptian government and the International Red Cross, the Vice-President of the Judiciary noted: “According to the Palestinian authorities, the residents of Gaza Strip needs more than 500 trucks of humanitarian aid every day, but the Zionist regime does not allow these aid to arrive. In the best case, 10 to 15 trucks of humanitarian aid are allowed to pass through every day, which is always the aid of the Islamic Republic of Iran and other countries to the Gaza Strip, but the Israeli regime prevents the aid from reaching the residents of the Gaza Strip, which is a sign of the crime of the Israeli regime in the genocide and racial and ethnic cleansing of the Palestinians living in the Gaza Strip. This regime prevents the food items and medicine from reaching the Gaza Strip and this is a sign of crime against humanity and genocide.