Raisi's Memorial Ceremony at the United Nations Held 'With Mostly Empty Seats'

On Thursday, the United States imposed sanctions on the memorial ceremony for Ebrahim Raisi at the United Nations, stating that he has 'repeatedly and horrifically been involved in human rights violations' and that this global organization should stand with the people of Iran. On this day, a spokesperson for the U.S. State Department denied the presence of the U.S. delegation at the memorial program for Ebrahim Raisi. The United Nations General Assembly, consisting of 193 countries, traditionally holds a memorial for any world leaders who were in power at the time of their death. On Thursday, the General Assembly held a program to commemorate Ebrahim Raisi, the President of Iran, who was recently killed in a helicopter crash, which included speeches about him. Images from the ceremony indicate that the majority of the seats in the General Assembly hall were empty, with few attendees present. The Associated Press reported that 'what happened on Thursday was very unusual in that only representatives from regional groups from Africa, Asia-Pacific, and Latin America and the Caribbean spoke.' The report adds that during the memorial for Ebrahim Raisi in the General Assembly, 'there were no remarks from Western European or Eastern European groups, or from the United States, which usually is the last representative of the host country.' According to this report, while the memorial was being held in the assembly, over 100 protesters held banners in front of the UN headquarters that read: 'Shame on the UN for holding a memorial for Raisi, the butcher of Tehran.' The Associated Press noted that prior to the assembly, 45 current and former officials, experts, ambassadors, and prosecutors of the UN sent a joint letter to Antonio Guterres, the UN Secretary-General, protesting the honoring of someone involved in mass crimes. Ebrahim Raisi, the eighth President of the Islamic Republic of Iran, died in a helicopter crash on Sunday, May 30, while returning from the inauguration of the Qiz Qaleh Dam in the Varzeqan region of East Azerbaijan Province, along with seven others. Nite Evans, spokesperson for the U.S. delegation to the UN, emphasized the absence of U.S. participation in the ceremony, stating: 'Raisi was involved in numerous horrific human rights violations, including the extrajudicial executions of thousands of political prisoners in 1988. Some of the worst human rights violations occurred during his tenure.' According to Reuters, the Iranian delegation at the UN in New York declined to comment on the U.S. sanctions against the memorial. Ebrahim Raisi, once considered a potential successor to Ali Khamenei, the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic, is accused of involvement in multiple human rights violations. He was a member of a four-person group known as the 'Death Committee' that sentenced thousands of political prisoners to execution in the summer of 1988. In his memorial on Thursday, Antonio Guterres, the UN Secretary-General, briefly stated to the General Assembly that Ebrahim Raisi 'led Iran during a challenging time for the country, the region, and the world.' Guterres added that 'the United Nations stands in solidarity with the people of Iran and in pursuit of peace, development, and fundamental freedoms.' Hundreds of human rights activists criticized the memorial program for Raisi at the UN, while the Secretary-General's remarks came as dozens of families of victims, women's rights activists, and Iranian human rights defenders sent an open letter to Dennis Francis, the President of the UN General Assembly, protesting the international body's plan to honor Ebrahim Raisi, the former President of Iran. Amir Saeed Iravani, Iran's ambassador to the UN, also spoke at the ceremony about the 'profound impact' of Raisi and Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, Iran's Foreign Minister, on national affairs, claiming they were 'symbols of hope, resilience, and the enduring power of good governance and diplomacy.' This claim comes amid assertions from human rights activists and victim families that Ebrahim Raisi, throughout the 45-year history of the Islamic Republic, has been directly involved in enforced disappearances and extrajudicial executions of thousands of political opponents in the 1980s, in the massacre of protesters during the 'Women, Life, Freedom' movement, in the killing, arbitrary detention, enforced disappearance, and torture of thousands of protesters, and in the violent harassment of women and girls who defied mandatory hijab, among other serious human rights violations. Previously, during a UN Security Council meeting, members of the council observed a minute of silence in honor of Ebrahim Raisi and his entourage who were killed in the helicopter crash. Robert Wood, the Deputy U.S. Ambassador to the UN, also stood with representatives from other countries in the Security Council meeting for a minute of silence. The U.S. State Department also officially expressed condolences to the Islamic Republic of Iran, although John Kirby, the White House National Security spokesperson, stated: 'There is no doubt that this man's hands are stained with the blood of many.' Nevertheless, Republicans in the U.S. Congress harshly criticized the Biden administration for its condolence message.