By Iran Probe Staff
Thursday, 1 February 2018
Tahar Boumedra, former director of the UN Human Rights Office in Iraq (UNAMI) wrote in Newsweek magazine on Monday that the United Nations must investigate the 1988 massacre in Iran. Otherwise the today’s detained protesters will face same fate in Iran, he warned
He pointed at the UN’s poor performance in the face of previous cases of human rights abuses and wrote, “The United Nations (U.N.) is often criticized for not acting or not intervening promptly to rescue victims of gross violations of human rights. This is an observation I came to register when I was in the field as chief of the U.N. Human Rights Office in Iraq.”
Expert rapporteur of JVMI (Justice for victims of 1988 massacre in Iran), called “the 1988 massacre of political prisoners in Iran” yet another case where the global body of nations failed to act in a timely manner and said that he will attend a civil society hearing in Geneva for the purpose of investigating the issue this week.
He stressed that “This hearing couldn’t be more timely, given the perilous fate that awaits the several thousand Iranians who have been arbitrarily arrested since late December 2017, when nationwide protests that sought an end to the theocratic dictatorship began in the country. So far, 10 protesters have been reportedly tortured to death in prison, although the regime rejects the claims and said most “committed suicide” in the country’s jails. But Iran’s regime is notorious for purging its opponents secretly in prison, and the most emblematic case is the 1988 massacre.”
Mr. Boumedra, expressed his satisfaction with the Office of “the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, under the leadership of Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein, has made great strides in the promotion of human rights globally” , but wrote “… the issue of timely responses to imminent tragedies remains a serious challenge.”
In the end, expert rapporteur of JVMI (Justice for victims of 1988 massacre in Iran) called for a committee to investigate the 1988 massacre and wrote, “If the U.N. wants to stop another slaughter of innocent Iranians whose only crime is to demand basic rights and an end to clerical rule, then the time to act is now. The High Commissioner should seize the moment, and all U.N. Member States must lend him their support in the formation of a commission to investigate the 1988 massacre and bring an end to the impunity in Iran.”
