Colleagues from both Houses of Parliament, friends, ladies and gentlemen.
May I wish the Anglo-Iranian community and millions around the world who celebrate the vernal equinox a Happy Nowruz – as I have done on so many occasions since the imposition of theocratic rule in Iran in 1979.
May I also extend a special happy New Year wishes to Mrs Rajavi, our friends in Ashraf 3, whose firm and principled stance and selfless personal sacrifices for a free and democratic Iran are a source of hope and an inspiration to many of us and million others in Iran yearning for the day that they can fully realise their democratic aspirations without fear of repression and persecution.
I pay particular tribute to the women and girls of Iran who have shown such extraordinary courage in the face of terrible reprisals by the regime. We recall especially the memory of Masah Amini
Happy Nowruz to all the brave members of the resistance groups across Iran.
I add my voice to that of my colleagues today calling for the proscription of the IRGC and for the UK Government to back the popular democratic alternative presented by the NCRI for the future of Iran.
It is high time for the UK to endorse, publicly and diplomatically, Madam Rajavi’s 10-point democratic platform which sets out a blueprint for a republic in Iran based on rule of law, human rights, equality and a government elected by the people in free and fair elections.
But equally important is for the UK and our Government to shoulder our international responsibility to hold the regime to account for its systematic human rights abuses and crimes against humanity especially as the judiciary in Iran is used by the state for oppression and persecution instead of justice. I called for this again in the House of Lords debate on foreign affairs earlier this week. I welcome the fact that the Government has made this a focus of its foreign policy but it must do much more to turn this promise into reality.
We know the latest uprising for a free and democratic republic that began in late September 2022 is very much alive and moving forward as expressed again in the massive boycott of the regime’s recent sham elections. So, the UK must make it a priority to make sure that the UN Human Rights Council in its session later this month extend both the mandate of UN Special Rapporteur of Iran -the brave and indomitable Professor Javaid Rehman – and the fact-finding mission launched last year to investigate reported atrocities by Iranian authorities during their bloody crackdown on the anti-regime protests. Our Government must not only support an extension but also whip votes to secure a foundation for future accountability.
The UK should also work with allies at the UN and other international forums to pressure the regime to allow a UN or international delegation to visit and inspect its prisons and meet and interview with political prisoners and detained protesters.
Finally, our Government’s growing punitive measures against regime and IRGC officials under the new Iran Human Rights sanctions regime are commendable but more must be done to see that they are rigorously implemented. Also, sanctions must be directed at the top echelon of the regime, including the Supreme Leader Khamenei and the current president Ebrahim Raisi, who are known perpetrators.
In combination, these measures will show the regime that we mean it when we say its unacceptable behaviour at home and abroad will not be tolerated.
This week was the 76th anniversary of Winston Churchill’s famous Sinews of Peace speech given in the US in Missouri and in which he set out the way democracies had to respond to the iron curtain which he said had descended on Europe. In a lesson with application today in our dealings with Iran it needed a combination of hard headed alliances – both military and political. But he also called for the upholding of the rule of international law and the strengthening of international institutions to guarantee it. In the face of the new axis of dictators and authoritarians we must clearly do the same again.
Above all, we must signal to the Iranian people and our friends and allies in the NCRI that the UK stands with them for an Iranian spring in the coming Persian New Year. May Nowruz usher in a new year and a new beginning for the people of Iran.
Thank you.
