Help the Iranian Protesters Now!
Elliot D. Cohen
The United Nations has an obligation based on its Charter and Declaration of Human Rights to intervene in the violence that has been perpetrated by the Iranian government against peaceful post-election protesters. While the Obama administration has condemned the violence, this falls short of the obligation of a nation that aspires to regain its seat as a moral leader. The United States should act now to spearhead a resolution within the strictures of the United Nations to end the violence and protect the right of peaceful protest.
The cleric-led Iranian government has accused Iranian protesters of “crimes against God,” and it has resorted to hiring volunteer militia to beat, kill, raid and destroy private homes and property, and to confiscate satellite dishes to stop them from listening to foreign news. Some protesters have been arrested and tortured in an attempt to extort false admissions about U.S. involvement in fueling the uprising.
Referring to President Obama’s denouncement of the violent treatment of protesters, Iranian President Ahamdinejad has also accused Obama of interfering in the Iranian crackdown, and he has demanded an apology. Far from warranting an apology, the violent suppression of the Iranian people’s right to peacefully protest should not just concern the United States. As a clear violation of international law, it should be condemned by all nations.
According to the United Nations Declaration of Human Rights, “Everyone has the right to freedom of peaceful assembly and association,” not just Americans. And this declaration of international law also asserts,
Whereas disregard and contempt for human rights have resulted in barbarous acts which have outraged the conscience of mankind, and the advent of a world in which human beings shall enjoy freedom of speech and belief and freedom from fear and want has been proclaimed as the highest aspiration of the common people,
Whereas it is essential, if man is not to be compelled to have recourse, as a last resort, to rebellion against tyranny and oppression, that human rights should be protected by the rule of law.
However, the rule of law is not the rule of law unless it extends to all persons. If person S has a right to freedom of expression and person Y, as a member of the world community, also has the same right, then it is not respect for the rule of law to protect S’s right but not Y’s right. And since this right is a transcendent, international (human) right, it is irrelevant that S is an American person and Y is an Iranian person.
What gives rights teeth is that they are backed by sanctions. The world community has an obligation to condemn the Iranian government and to specify consequences for noncompliance. All nations require outside assistance in order to survive and prosper economically. The Iranian government needs to understand that it cannot continue to reap the benefits of being part of a world community when it is unwilling to respect the rights of individual members of this community. Moreover, when fundamental human rights are at stake, the expedience of (and corporate interests in) conducting business as usual should not be taken as overriding.
At the same time, if the United States wants to reinstate its authority as a moral leader, it needs to do more than simply condemn the atrocities occurring in Iran. It also must put its actions where its mouth is. This means taking the lead in promoting a United Nations resolution against further encroachment of the right of peaceful assembly of Iranian citizens by the Iranian government.
Recently, Obama stood with Angela Merkel of Germany and condemned the Iranian government for its violent suppression of peaceful dissent. Both houses of Congress have also condemned the violence; expressed support for “all Iranian citizens who embrace the values of freedom, human rights, civil liberties and rule of law"; affirmed "the importance of democratic and fair elections"; and denounced the Iranian government's "suppression of independent electronic communications through interference with the Internet and cell phones." While this is an important start, there needs to be a stronger, more unified front of world condemnation backed by sanctions; and the U.S. must take the lead in promoting this global initiative.
Ahamdinejad wants the U.S. and the rest of the world to believe that condemning and taking action against its violent attempt to stifle a basic human right is to meddle and interfere in the affairs of a sovereign nation that are none of its business. But this is a ruse because the violation of basic human rights is indeed the world’s business, and Iran itself has testified to it. According to Mohammad Khazaee, Ambassador and Permanent Representative to the United Nations,
As a founding member of the United Nations, Iran believes deeply in the ideals of the organization and the purposes and principles of its Charter. The United Nations is the sole universal organization with the capacity to address issues of fundamental importance to the entire human family and move us all closer to a new global paradigm of understanding, sympathy, dialogue, cooperation and partnership.
The Charter of the United Nations of which Khazee speaks permits intervention when it comes to violations of human rights perpetrated by a government on its people, since, although “nothing contained in the present Charter shall authorize the United Nations to intervene in matters which are essentially within the domestic jurisdiction of any state… this principle shall not prejudice the application of enforcement measures under Chapter VII” (emphasis added).
Chapter VII of the Charter includes the application of such measures, short of armed force, as “complete or partial interruption of economic relations and of rail, sea, air, postal, telegraphic, radio, and other means of communication, and the severance of diplomatic relations.” But should these measures prove inadequate, it also countenances the use of such actions as “demonstrations, blockade, and other operations by air, sea, or land forces of Members of the United Nations.”