The The UN paid an official and questioned “tribute” to Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi on Thursday, died in a helicopter accident. The tribute was during a session of the General Assembly boycotted in particular by the United States.
After a minute of silence by the Assembly, the Secretary General of the UN, Antonio Guterres, reiterated his condolences to the president’s relatives. and the other victims of the May 19 accident, as well as the Iranian people.
Statements by the UN Secretary General
“The United Nations stands with the Iranian people in their quest for peace, development and fundamental freedoms. To this end, the United Nations will be guided by the Charter to try to achieve peace and security, sustainable development and human rights for all,” he said. Questioned days ago about the public condolences presented by Guterres after the death of President Raisihis spokesperson qualified it.
The secretary general “has never been shy about expressing his deep concern about the human rights situation in Iran, particularly of women,” noted Stéphane Dujarric. “This does not prevent you from expressing your condolences when a head of state, a member of this organization and a foreign minister with whom he met regularly (…) die in a helicopter accident.”
UN tributes
The general assembly organize a tribute for each head of state of a UN member country that dies while in power. It happened, for example, with the president of Namibia, Hage Geingob, a figure of his country’s independence, last February, or the North Korean leader, Kim Jong-Il, in 2011.
The Pakistani ambassadorMunir Akram, speaking on behalf of the members of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, praised President Raisi’s “legacy” for the “socioeconomic and political transformation” of Iran. “We are comforted by the former President’s historic contribution to the vision and mission of the OIC, in particular to his fundamental cause: the restoration of the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people.
No representative of Western countries spoke during this tribute and some did not even send a delegate, like France or the United States.
“The UN should support the Iranian people. Raisi was involved in numerous horrific human rights violations,” the spokesman for the US delegation, Nate Evans, denounced in a statement.. “Some of the worst human rights violations took place during his tenure.”
The reproach of opponents of the Iranian regime and the message of the Israeli ambassador
In front of the UN headquarters, a few dozen opponents of the Iranian regime demonstrated shouting “Shame on the UN.” The Israeli ambassador, Gilad Erdan, who had already criticized the minute of silence organized in the Security Council on May 20, also criticized this tribute.
“The UN was created to prevent atrocities, but today he greets mass murdering dictators,” wrote in X a few days ago.
Source: Ambito
