Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi’s name no longer appears on the official list of speakers for the UN Human Rights Council’s opening session on February 23. His removal resulted from a petition by a Canadian civil society organisation, which asked Swiss authorities to investigate him for suspected crimes against humanity.
The UN Human Rights Council will meet on February 23, at which, according to preliminary plans, the Iranian Foreign Minister was scheduled to speak. The international organisation has not yet confirmed that he has been officially banned from speaking—the final list is under constant review. If his name does not appear on the final list, he will not speak at the Council’s meetings.
The removal came after the Canadian civil society organisation Dignity Initiative collected more than 100,000 signatures demanding that the minister be disinvited and called on the Swiss authorities to investigate allegations of crimes against humanity.
In its letter, Dignity emphasised that the minister does not represent the Iranian people, but rather the oppressive regime to which he belongs. According to the organisation, allowing him to participate in the Human Rights Council is tantamount to giving representatives of regimes that have committed some of history’s greatest atrocities a legitimate platform in an international forum.
The organisation also called on the UN to provide information on the conditions of participation and emphasised that his presence does not legitimise the Iranian government’s human rights abuses.
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