The National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) believes the international community should intervene "to prevent an urgent humanitarian catastrophe".
Mr. Eric Sottas, Secretary General of World Organization Against Torture (OMCT), Mrs. Danielle Mitterrand, President of France Libertés, Mr. Sid Ahmed Ghozali, former Algerian Prime Minister and Mr. Antonio Stango of Helsinki Watch of Italy argued that residents of Camp Ashraf are under the protection of the 4th Geneva Convention.
The Convention prohibits any attack against soldiers who laid down their arms. In clashes between Iraqi police and residents of the camp in late July, 11 people were killed, 500 wounded and 36 Iranian dissidents have been detained as "hostages," according to the NCRI, which includes the main opposition group the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK).
Iraq has taken control of the camp since the expiry in January of a UN mandate, which had assigned the responsibility of the camp to the U.S. military.
During a conference on the sidelines of the current session of Human Rights Council, the NGOs called for the establishment of an international fact finding delegation and installation of a UN monitoring team in Ashraf to prevent the recurrence of violence against the population.
*This the English translation of the original report in French