Racism and racial discrimination – CHR report – NGO statement

RACISM, RACIAL DISCRIMINATION, XENOPHOBIA

AND ALL FORMS OF DISCRIMINATION

Written statement* submitted by United Nations Watch (UN Watch), a non-governmental organization in special consultative status

The Secretary-General has received the following written statement which is circulated in accordance with Economic and Social Council resolution 1996/31.

[13 February 2006]

* This written statement is issued, unedited, in the language(s) received from the submitting non-governmental organization(s).

IRAN’S INCITEMENT TO GENOCIDE

We, representatives of the following non-governmental organizations, reflecting the broad spectrum of international civil society:   Taimalelagi Fagamalama Tuatagaloa-Matalavea, Anglican Observer at the United Nations, Anglican Consultative Council, London, United Kingdom; Douglas Mattern, President, Association of World Citizens, San Francisco, United States; Maurice Aboudaram, Geneva Representative, B’nai Brith International, Washington, DC, United States; Madge Fahy, National International Secretary, Catholic Women’s League Australia, Canberra, Australia; Zudije Sej Shehu, Executive Director, Civil Rights Program Kosovo, Pristina, Kosovo; Klaus Netter, Geneva Representative, Coordinating Board of Jewish Organizations, London, United Kingdom; Jose Mathew, Executive Director, Don Bosco Ahaylam, New Delhi, India; Ivan Vesely, Chairman, Dzeno Association, Prague, Czech Republic; Catherine Legna, Project Department Director, France Libertés, Paris, France; Elaine Wolfson, Founding President, Global Alliance for Women’s Health, New York, United States; Dr. Yael Danieli, Director, Group Project for Holocaust Survivors and their Children, New York, United States; Sergio D’Elia, Secretary General, Hands Off Cain, Rome, Italy; Marco Perduca, Secretary General, International Antiprohibitionist League, Rome, Italy; Daryl Balia, General Secretary, International Association for Religious Freedom, Oxford, United Kingdom; Sara Winkowski, President, International Council of Jewish Women, Montevideo, Uruguay; Tom Johannesen, Secretary General, International Federation of Social Workers, Bern, Switzerland; Gianfranco Rossi, Representative to the UN in Geneva, International Religious Liberty Association, Silver Spring, Maryland, United States; Maria Grazia Caputo, General Director, International Volunteerism Organization for Women Education and Development , Rome, Italy; Yevgeniy Zhovtis, Director, Kazakhstan International Bureau for Human Rights and Rule of Law, Almaty, Kazakhstan;  Gianfranco Dell’Alba, Secretary General, No Peace Without Justice, Rome, Italy; Paul Lansu, International Secretariat, Pax Christi International, Brussels, Belgium; Marlène Haas, Secretary General, London, United Kingdom; David Dickson, National Director, Thai Catholic Commission on Migration, Bangkok, Thailand; Matteo Mecacci, UN Representative, Transnational Radical Party, Rome, Italy; Hillel Neuer, Executive Director, UN Watch, Geneva, Switzerland; Gretta Fenandes, Executive Team Chairperson, VIVAT International, New York, United States; Rama Enav, Representative to the UN in Geneva, Women’s International Zionist Organization, Tel Aviv, Israel; Eric Sottas, Director, World Organization Against Torture, Geneva, Switzerland; and, Christine Durbak, Chair and CEO, World Information Transfer, Inc., New York, United States;

Deeply alarmed by the 26 October declaration by the President of Iran, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, that publicly called for Israel to be “wiped off the map”; described Israel as a “disgraceful blot”; and threatened that “anybody who recognizes Israel will burn in the fire of the Islamic nation’s fury,”

Recalling Article 2 of the Charter of the United Nations that requires member states to refrain from the threat of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any state,

Recalling that the 2005 World Summit Outcome Document rededicates United Nations Member States to the principles of the Charter and the sovereign equality of states,

Recognizing that the public incitement to the destruction of a nation demonstrates genocidal intent and constitutes incitement to genocide as outlawed under Articles 1 and 3 of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide of 1948,

Recalling that the internationally sponsored Road Map for Middle East Peace upholds the vision of two states, Israel and Palestine, living side by side in peace and security,

Welcoming the statement by Palestinian representative Saeb Erekat condemning the remarks of President Ahmadinejad as unacceptable,

Welcoming the widespread condemnation of President’s Ahmadinejad’s remarks by heads of state, ministers and other government representatives, expressing their revulsion and shock,

Noting the statements of condemnation by national parliaments, including the all-party motion of the Parliament of Canada, dated 31 October, expressing “its deep dismay and offence at the anti-Semitic statements of the Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad with respect to the state of Israel. . .which are unacceptable, promote violence, are racist and undermine any hopes of a peaceful settlement in the Arab-Israeli conflict,”

Recognizing that while it is legitimate to hold Israel like any other State accountable for its record, incitement to the destruction of Israel or any other nation stands in contempt of the basic principles of humanity and the fundamental values that underlie the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the United Nations and the international community,

Gravely concerned about Iran’s continued sponsorship and support of groups in the region that commit deliberate violent attacks against civilians in order to defeat any progress toward Middle East peace,

Further gravely concerned by the International Atomic Energy Agency’s report of 26 September 2005 finding that Iran has failed over an extended period of time to uphold its treaty obligations under Safeguard Agreements,

Recalling the recent International Atomic Energy Agency Resolution GOV/2005/77 finding Iran in breach of its treaty obligations under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty,

1. Condemn the remarks of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, President of Iran, as an abhorrent and intolerable threat to annihilate an entire nation and fellow U.N. Member State;

2. Endorse the statement by United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan of 27 October, expressing dismay at President Ahmadinejad’s comments and affirming the equal rights of Israel at the United Nations;

3. Further endorse the unanimous Security Council statement of 28 October condemning President Ahmadinejad’s remarks;

4. Demand that the Government of Iran make an immediate, full and unequivocal renunciation of the remarks of President Ahmadinejad;

5. Demand that the Government of Iran renounce its sponsorship and support for groups engaging in violence with the aim of defeating any progress toward Middle East peace;

6. Urge the Government of Iran and all U.N. Member States to uphold the principles and vision of the U.N.-endorsed Road Map for Middle East Peace; and

7. Demand that Iran commit itself to refrain from future threats and that it comply with all of its international legal obligations under the Charter and the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.

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