On July 1, 2024,  at the Free Iran 2024 World Summit – Day 3 hosted at the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) headquarters in Paris, Joachim Ruecker, former President of the United Nations Human Rights Council, delivered a powerful speech.

Mr. Ruecker expressed his solidarity with the Iranian people’s fight for freedom, democracy, and justice. Addressing the attendees and the refugees in Ashraf 3, Ruecker reiterated his support for justice for the victims of the 1988 massacres. Ruecker endorsed the Ten-Point Plan proposed by NCRI President-elect Maryam Rajavi as a blueprint for achieving a free, democratic, and secular Iran.

1. Former UN Human Rights Council President @jrstoc Calls for International Action Against Iran's Human Rights Abuses and Terrorism #MaryamRajavi4FreeIran #FreeIran2024 https://t.co/ZUwDK1WvvH

— Iran Freedom (@4FreedominIran) July 1, 2024

The full text of Joachim Ruecker’s speech follows:

Madam President, dear guests, distinguished participants at this conference, dear refugees in Ashraf 3 in Albania. I know that you are listening and watching, and I’ve actually come close to your fate and sympathize very much with you.

Like last year, I would like to state at the beginning of this conference that has lasted for some time that I do not know whether I agree with everything that has been said or done at this conference because I wasn’t here. However, I fully support the struggle for a free, democratic, and secular Iran. That’s what we’re all here for, isn’t it?

I also wholeheartedly support the struggle for justice for the victims of the 1988 massacres and your struggle against the regime’s ongoing and scandalous violations of human rights and its connected crimes, including, as the Swedish courts have recently confirmed in the case of Hamid Noury, crimes against international law.

I believe that also the hideous Hamas attack on Israel on the seventh of October last year was an eye-opener for many. As to the true character of the regime and its IRGC, which is denying Israel’s right to exist, shamefully, and is financing Middle East terrorism through all its proxies. Therefore, I believe it is high time for the EU to list the IRGC as a terrorist organization.

Apart from that, let me also, in my capacity as former President of the UNHRC, stress that I am satisfied in general with how the UN is responding to the challenge of naming and shaming what is actually happening inside Iran. I think we have seen reasonable resolutions of the General Assembly.

But in particular, of course, I think we can be very proud of the work of the UN Special Rapporteur on Iran. It has already been mentioned that Professor Javaid Rehman published or talked about a new landmark report in which he, according to reports, concluded that the 1988 massacre of thousands of political prisoners in Iran amounted to crimes against humanity, and it is reported that he also mentioned genocide. Let us see this report. I think this report needs to be out there for the public to see what the special rapporteur has found, and we are very grateful to. It shows that the human rights special procedures are actually functioning.

Professor Reemann presented these findings at an event hosted by the Organization Justice for the Victims of the 1988 Massacres in Iran in Geneva on 19th June, 2024, on the sidelines of the ongoing 56th session of the UN Human Rights Council.

I also think that the international fact-finding mission on the Islamic Republic of Iran is doing a reasonable job of finding what it should find. It is very good that the 2024 report was actually adopted. It’s very good that the mandate of this mechanism was also now extended for another year, which is very important.

I would also mention briefly another important issue, which is not about the UN, but it’s about international law and jurisdiction. I think the regime’s recent attempt to prosecute 104 exiled members and leaders of the PMOI on fabricated terrorism charges is a blatant attempt to extend its suppression beyond Iranian borders, and it should be condemned by the international community.

Now, what should we do? What is the way forward? I think we have to continue to demand thorough and impartial investigations in the past crimes and the ongoing crimes of the regime. It is very unfortunate that Hamid Noury was actually extradited in this infamous exchange. However, we should not forget that the Stockholm sentence in the second instance of the courts was actually a very, very good development, thanks to Mark Ellis and others who have supported this, because it showed that the universal law application is actually working.

I think the Swedish courts should be commended for that, and of course, the text of the sentence is very enlightening. What else should we do? We should ensure and continue to demand accountability of the regime. The crimes should not go unpunished, and we should extend our support for the victims and their families, and we should shine a light on ongoing abuses.

Of course, we also need diplomacy in that process, we need pressure from the international community, including, as I’ve said in the beginning, things like listing the IRGC as a terrorist group. Politically, the way forward can be along the lines of the famous Ten Points, which contain all the right substance to come to a free democratic, and secular Iran as soon as possible. And sometimes, things go faster than you would expect.

Thank you very much for listening to me and all the rest.