On Thursday, the United States boycotted the memorial ceremony for Ebrahim Raisi at the United Nations, declaring that he was repeatedly and horrifically involved in human rights violations and that this global organization should stand with the people of Iran.
The United Nations General Assembly, comprised of 193 countries, traditionally holds a memorial ceremony for any world leader who dies while in power.
On Thursday, the General Assembly held a program to memorialize Ebrahim Raisi, the President of the Iranian regime, who recently died in a helicopter crash. The ceremony included speeches about Ebrahim Raisi.
The majority of seats in the General Assembly Hall were empty, with few attendees present at the ceremony.
The Associated Press wrote about the ceremony, noting that what happened on Thursday was highly unusual, as only representatives from the regional groups of Africa, Asia-Pacific, and Latin America and the Caribbean spoke.
The report adds that at the memorial ceremony for Ebrahim Raisi in the General Assembly, there were no remarks from the Western European or Eastern European groups, nor from the United States, which is usually the last representative as the host country.
While the tribute ceremony was being held in the General Assembly, supporters of the Iranian Resistance rallied outside the United Nations headquarters held banners reading “Shame on the UN for holding a memorial for Raisi, the Butcher of Tehran.”
Before the Assembly convened, 45 officials, experts, ambassadors, and current and former prosecutors of the United Nations sent a joint letter to António Guterres, the UN Secretary-General, protesting the tribute to an individual involved in mass atrocities.
Raisi was involved in numerous severe human rights violations, including the extrajudicial executions of thousands of political prisoners, primarily members of the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) in 1988. Some of the worst human rights abuses occurred during his tenure.
Ebrahim Raisi, once considered a potential successor to Ali Khamenei, the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic, is accused of numerous human rights violations. He was one of the four-member “Death Committee” responsible for sending over 30,000 political prisoners to execution squads in the summer of 1988. He was also implicated in the massacre of protesters during the nationwide protests in 2022, the murder, arbitrary detention, enforced disappearance, and torture of thousands of protesters, and the violent harassment of women and other serious human rights violations.
