The first meeting of the Central Headquarters for the American Human Rights Week Review, was held at the Coordination Council of the Islamic Development Organization, with the presence of the Vice President of the Judiciary for International Affairs and the Secretary General of the High Council for Human Rights, and the Head of the Headquarters for the American Human Rights Review and Disclosure Week.
In this meeting which was held with the presence of the Deputy for Provincial Affairs of the Islamic Development Coordination Council, the Vice President for Women's Affairs and representatives of some institutions and organizations, Kazem Gharibabadi, the Secretary General of the HCHR and the Vice President of the Judiciary for International Affairs, while congratulating the Week of Dignity, pointed out to the crimes of the Zionist regime in Gaza and the student protests in the United States and other western countries, which has made the American Human Rights Week different from previous years. He added: “The purpose of holding this week is to identify and expose the U.S. crimes against the nation of Iran and other nations in different periods of time in the domestic and international arena.
Noting that the U.S. regime has a direct and wide influence in the crimes against the people of Gaza, Gharibabadi stated: “Another important point that should be taken into account in this year's event is the crimes committed by the Zionist regime against Gaza. Crimes that are committed with the full support of the United States, and therefore the United States is complicit in all kinds of crimes committed by the Zionist regime in Gaza, including war crimes, genocide, racial and ethnic cleansing, and crimes against humanity”.
Referring to the extent and diversity of the Zionist regime's crimes against Gaza, based on the available statistics, he said: the U.S. has always prevented considering and dealing with these crimes in various international and human rights organizations and mechanisms. The U.S. regime has provided political, military, weapon, logistical, financial, etc. support to the Zionist regime in the Gaza war. Therefore, the crimes of the Zionist regime in Gaza and the direct role of the U.S in it should be highlighted”.
The Vice President of the Judiciary for International Affairs considered the issue of student protests in Western countries to be an unprecedented phenomenon and said: “The people and public opinion of Western countries protested against the crimes in Gaza to compensate for the inaction of their authorities. What is happening in the universities witnessing the protests is not an internal issue and therefore unprecedented. The third important point is the very brutal treatment against university students and professors; this is while the U.S. reacts to the smallest events in the universities of other countries and takes a human rights stance and criticizes them. In fact, the U.S. selective use of human rights has now been highlighted and exposed, and it is clear that this country uses human rights as a tool of political pressure”.
Gharibabadi continued: “The crimes in the Gaza Strip and the events in Western universities as a showcase of human rights violations in front of people, which should be highlighted during the American Human Rights Week”.
The Secretary-General of the HCHR also called for more attention to the issue of US military presence in different countries during the American Human Rights Week and said: “The reason for this presence in 80 countries with 750 military bases is the U.S. militarism and warmongering. Beyond this, the deployment of American nuclear weapons in some European bases shows that this country is not looking for peace and security at all. How can this country claim to be trying to establish peace and security? The countries where the US nuclear weapons are deployed are basically not facing any threat and have not had any security problems in recent decades. These issues should be addressed at the domestic and international levels, and awareness-raising in this regard is a very important issue”.
He also mentioned the issue of terrorism and the importance of dealing with it during the American Human Rights Review Week and said: “The U.S. criminal operation to martyr General Soleimani should be at the top of attention. The first court session will be held on June 19, 2024. In this case, the accusation of more than 70 American accused of complicity in the martyrdom of General Soleimani is investigated.
At the end of this meeting, the members of the American Human Rights Review and Disclosure Week staff presented their performance reports and plans. The provincial offices of the Islamic Development Coordination Council also participated in this meeting online and presented their reports.