This is a cross-post by Ben Cohen from The Z-Word blog
June 12 marks the first anniversary of Iran’s stolen election. Mahmoud Ahmadinejad continues his brutal repression at home while enjoying a warm welcome in certain countries abroad, with Turkey the destination for this week’s visit.
One body which has remained conspicuously silent on Iran is the UN Human Rights Council. While Israel is a permanent item on the Council’s agenda, the Council – which brought us the Goldstone report and is now calling for a similar “investigation” into the Gaza flotilla – has behaved as though the events in Iran were taking place on another planet.
Many seasoned observers view the Council as a write-off, and for good reason: its membership is typically drawn from serial human rights violators like Saudi Arabia and Cuba. Nevertheless, last year the US reversed its position of shunning the Council by joining it. “Working from within, we can make the council a more effective forum to promote and protect human rights,” said US Ambassador Susan Rice.
Now is the time to put that objective to work. AJC has launched a campaign to commemorate the anniversary and to urge American action on Iran at the Human Rights Council. Please visit the campaign page, sign the letter to Hillary Clinton and spread both the video – which you can see below, and there’s another one coming shortly – and the letter via blogs, websites and social media platforms.
Thank you.
