Iran Freedom

Remarks by US Representatives Nancy Mace and Raul Ruiz at the Free Iran 2024 World Summit

Iran Freedom

US Representatives Nancy Mace and Raul Ruiz

On June 29, 2024,  at the Free Iran 2024 World Summit hosted at the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) headquarters in Paris, S Representatives Nancy Mace (R) and Raul Ruiz (D) expressed their unwavering bipartisan support for the Iranian people’s struggle for democracy, freedom, and human rights.

The full text of US Representatives Nancy Mace and Raul Ruiz’s speeches follows:

Congresswoman Nancy Mace: Were’s so honored to be here tonight. Thank you. We traveled a long way to stand up here with the people of Iran tonight, so it’s an immense honor to be with you. I want to extend my heartfelt gratitude to all the attendees supporters and protesters who are here, who have gathered here today. Your presence underscores your commitment to defending human rights and defending democracy. Maryam Rajavi, we want to say thank you. I want to address the brave people of Iran who are watching this moment today.

Your courage, your resilience, and your unwavering pursuit of freedom and justice have not gone unnoticed, and we stand with you. The United States of America stands with you. It is up to us, the leaders of the free world, to support a democratic, secular, and non-nuclear republic of Iran.

As true defenders of democracy, the United States will amplify your calls for freedom, put international pressure on the regime, and support your right to self-determination. The tragic death of Mahsa Amini in 2022 sparked a worldwide outcry and outrage, and it ignited a movement led by courageous Iranian women, many of whom are here today. Their bravery in the face of brutality has highlighted the regime’s systematic subjugation of women.

You must stand with these women, amplifying their voices. But this moment has also highlighted the spirit of the Iranian people and their determination. To the women of Ashraf 3, your fight is a testament to the enduring spirit of Iranian women who have led the charge for justice and equality in Iran and around the world.

We must also ensure the safety of all men and women in Camp Ashraf 3. They deserve the rights stipulated in the Geneva Convention and the European Convention on Human Rights, including the rights to life, the rights to liberty, security, freedom of expression, and assembly.

In the U.S. House of Representatives, I am one of many co-sponsors of the bipartisan House Resolution H. Res. 1148. This resolution, which has majority support, backs the Ten-Point Plan for the future of Iran authored by Maryam Rajavi. This plan echoes many principles we hold dear in the United States Constitution, rejecting absolute clerical rule and affirming the people’s sovereignty in a pluralistic republic, ensuring freedoms of speech, political parties, assembly, press, and the Internet, committing to individual and social freedoms and the universal declaration of human rights, including prohibiting torture and the death penalty, upholding the separation of religion and state and religious freedom, achieving complete gender equality and abolishing discrimination, and maintaining an independent judiciary and upholding the rule of law, presumption of innocence, and the right to a fair trial.

As a representative of the state of South Carolina, my home state, I am proud to also mention that our State House unanimously passed H. Res. 4422, expressing unequivocal support for the people of Iran who are in the pursuit of fundamental rights and freedoms.

Tonight, we are sending a clear message to the regime in Tehran. The free world stands firmly with those who fight for liberty, for those who fight for justice, and those who fight for human dignity. Let us not be the generation that watched from the sidelines as brave men and women were crushed under the weight of tyranny. Let us be the generation that stood up, the generation that spoke out, and the generation that made a difference.

Thank you.

Congressman Raul Ruiz: Madam Maryam Rajavi, President-elect of the National Council of Resistance of Iran, friends in Ashraf 3, and in Berlin, ladies and gentlemen, good evening.

I am Congressman Dr. Raul Ruiz. I’m an emergency medicine physician and a congressman in the United States House of Representatives. I represent a diverse population in Southern California, including many proud and brave Iranian Americans. I am here to stand in solidarity with you, the Iranian diaspora, who have never given up hope for a free and democratic Iran.

I’m here to share a collective dream with widows, parents, students, workers, women, and girls who have been killed, imprisoned, raped, tortured, and poisoned by a regime that for too long has violated their human rights as they dared to dream of freedom and equality. I am here to say that I see you, we see you, we are inspired by your courage, and we morally support your cause for freedom and democracy.

For decades, Iranians have been battling with their government to become a democracy and to respect basic human rights, and after years of repression, the Iranian people saw this fight catch fire again two years ago. It ignited again because of a brave 22-year-old young woman named Mahsa Amini, who was arrested in Tehran on September 13, 2022, for allegedly wearing her headscarf too loosely.

US Representatives Raul Ruiz and Nancy Mace

hree days later, like many young men and women arbitrarily arrested, Mahsa tragically died while in custody, and her death triggered protests across Iran. We saw brave Iranians emerge into the streets to show their support in a show of solidarity and courage, and we saw Iranian women and girls, men and boys, students and workers courageously take a stand and say, no more.

They call for change, calling for a free and democratic Republic of Iran, an Iran that recognizes all Iranians’ basic human rights, an Iran that encourages women and girls to be educated, an Iran that gives equal opportunity for all, including minority and religious groups, an Iran that promotes prosperity for all, an Iran that values students’ rights, workers’ rights, and women’s rights, an Iran that allows all of its people to succeed in whatever ways they choose, an Iran of Iranians, by Iranians, and for Iranians.

Today we stand here and applaud your efforts to demand that future Iran, a democratic, free Republic of Iran, a democracy that empowers Iranians to vote and elect their own leaders in real elections, not the kind of sham election or a selection that happened yesterday in Iran, and a democracy that will respect human rights, minority rights, women rights, where everyone’s dignity and rights are respected under the law.

And as all of you know, there are over 900 women and men in Ashraf 3 in Albania, former political prisoners, victims of crimes while in prison by the Iranian regime, and many witnessed the 1988 massacre and other political killings in Iran, including the crimes committed by Ebrahim Raisi.

And that is why, as a member of Congress, I am a proud supporter, as well as Congresswoman Nancy Mace, a Republican, and I’m a Democrat, House Resolution 1148, which expresses support for the Iranian people’s desire for a democratic and non-nuclear Republic of Iran and condemns the violation of human rights.

You see, this resolution recognizes the four decades that Iranians have fought for democracy led by women who have endured the massacre of 1988, torture, sexual and gender-based violence, and death. It speaks to the Iranian people’s rejection of monarchic dictatorship and religious tyranny. And it also acknowledges this very gathering from 2018 where advocates met to support opposition leader Maryam Rajavi’s Ten-Point Plan for the future of Iran, which calls for the universal right to vote and free election.

So today, in a very strong bipartisan showing of support, we stand with you, and thank you, and God bless you.

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