NCRI – In an international conference held in Geneva on Thursday, September 22 by the Swiss Committee in Defense of Ashraf, prominent European and American dignitaries and personalities expressed their deep concerns about intentions of the Iranian regime and the Iraqi government against residents of Ashraf and especially the illegally set deadline of December 2011 for closing the camp. The conference called on the UN Secretary General, the UN High Commission for Refugees and UN High Commission for Human Rights as well as the United States to take immediate measures to provide protection for Camp Ashraf and prevent repeat of similar massacres of the past and also press the Iraqi government to cancel the 2011 deadline until the resettlement to third countries of all residents is finalized.
Below speech by Dr. Matthew Offord.He is member of British Parliament.
Madam President, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen. I very proudly stand here before you today here in Geneva, the home of the United Nations, in order to discuss the issue of Camp Ashraf. As has been said, I also stand here as a British Member of Parliament and a British Member of the Committee for a Free Iran.
This is ably led by Lord Corbett, who many of you here know today, and whose hard work has ensured that the PMOI is no longer on the prescribed list of terrorist organizations within the EU. We enjoy great support from many parliamentarians across the United Kingdom, but from the House of Commons and House of Lords. And so I stand here today as a representative of all those people.
I also stand here in support of many of my constituents in my constituency who have friends and relatives in Camp Ashraf. I am very aware of there anxiety and concern that they have for those friends and relatives, particularly as they face an ever-present threat from the Iraqi authorities and the nefarious activities of the Iranian security services.
So I particularly welcome the recent public statement by the UN HCR recognizing Camp residents who have applied for asylum and will be formally acknowledged under international law. But there are further steps that need to be taken to ensure the full safety and security of the men and women in Camp Ashraf. This morning I was very pleased to attend the meeting at the UNHCR to discuss how that will work and look at some of their proposals for the future.
As was said by my own prime minister in the recent NATO actions, we should not do nothing if we can do something. And we can certainly do a lot here in this case. We need guarantees to prevent further bloodshed.
One way that we can achieve the safety and security of the people in the camp is to provide the presence of a United Nations monitoring team to be permanently resident at the camp. In fact, if the camp was recognized as a refugee camp by the United Nations, this would provide yet further protection for the residents of the camp.
Furthermore, the Iraqi Government must refrain from aggressive and hostile acts against the residents at the camp, all of whom are now protected under the fourth Geneva Convention.
The Iraqi Government must respect international law and abide by the numerous international conventions to which it is party. As a first step, the Iraqi Government must allow the EU monitors and humanitarian rights observers to enter the camp and to monitor the situation in Camp Ashraf.
So, in conclusion, we can achieve our objectives. We can ensure the rights of the residents at Camp Ashraf, that they are protected. Through the efforts of the United Nations, the human rights agencies, parliamentarians and many others around the world, this can be done. We can protect the rights of those in Ashraf. We must not forget those people. They are the legitimate resistance of the Iranian people. They are the only hope for a free and democratic Iran. And they’re only crime has been to resist the tyrannical Iranian regime. I salute those people. I salute the men and women who have faced those challenges. I also salute them for their bravery and I say that we here today stand with them as well.
We stand with the people of Iran in addition, in their struggle for a free and democratic homeland.
Thank you very much.
