Camp Ashraf, Iraq, is home to 3,400 members of the main Iranian opposition People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK).
The Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF) said in its letter to Ban Ki-moon, “In contrast to repeated resolutions and calls from the international community and in violation of all the assurances it has given on respecting the rights of the residents, he Iraqi government is refraining from acknowledging the legal status for the residents.”
“[Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri] al-Maliki’s insistence on continuing with this trend aims to give an open hand to Iraqi security organs which have employed all instruments of suppression against the defenceless residents of Ashraf on the orders of a committee at the PM office.”
“We call upon you as the UN Secretary General to utilize all resources at your disposal to ensure that the rights of Ashraf residents as protected persons under the Fourth Geneva Convention are respected by the Iraqi government. Supporting the legal rights of the residents of Ashraf is a criterion of the rule of law demanded by all Iraqis.”
Established almost 100 years ago in 1915, the WILPF is the oldest women’s peace organization in the world.
The organization has national sections in 37 countries and headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland.
It has a consultative status with the UN Economic and Social Council since 1948 and a special consultative relations with the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). It maintains a UN office in New York.
Two WILPF leaders, Jane Adams and Emily Greene Balch, have received the Nobel Peace Prize for their peace efforts.