The United States officials have stated that they will boycott the memorial event for the late Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, which is scheduled to take place at the United Nations on Thursday (May 30th).
When a head of state passes away during their term, according to the customary practice of the United Nations General Assembly, a memorial event is held to pay tribute to them. It is expected that speeches related to Raisi will be delivered during the memorial ceremony.
An American official told Reuters, “We will not be participating in this event in any capacity.”
“The United Nations should support the Iranian people, not commemorate their oppressors of decades past,” said the American official. “Raisi was involved in numerous egregious human rights violations, including the extrajudicial execution of thousands of political prisoners in 1988.”
The official added that several of the most severe human rights abuses in Iranian history, especially those targeting Iranian women and girls, occurred during Raisi’s tenure.
The Iranian mission to the United Nations in New York did not comment on the matter.
On May 19, Ebrahim Raisi, the successor to Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and a leader of the hardliners in Iran, died in a helicopter crash near the border with Azerbaijan due to severe weather conditions, along with several officials.
On May 20, the United Nations Security Council observed a moment of silence at the beginning of an unrelated meeting to mourn the victims of the helicopter crash. At that time, Robert Wood, the Deputy Ambassador of the United States to the United Nations, reluctantly stood alongside 14 counterparts.
The U.S. State Department expressed “official condolences” for Raisi’s death on May 20. However, White House National Security spokesperson John Kirby also stated, “There’s no question this is someone with blood on his hands.”
The Biden administration faced criticism from some Republican lawmakers for offering condolences to Iran.
Raisi, who was 63 years old, was elected in the summer of 2021 in a national election with the lowest voter turnout in Iranian history. During his tenure, Raisi also issued orders to tighten moral laws and intensify the crackdown on anti-government protest activities.
In September 2022, following the death of Mahsa Amini, a Kurdish Iranian female activist, while in custody, Iran witnessed nationwide protests. Human rights organizations reported that in the subsequent violent crackdown, authorities killed over 500 people and detained more than 22,000 individuals.
Raisi was also involved in the execution of over 5,000 political prisoners in the 1980s.