Press Conference of Iranian Diaspora Women in Geneva; Nazanin Afshin-Jam: Do Not Shake Hands with the Blood-Stained Hands of the Islamic Republic

Simultaneously with the holding of the UN Global Refugee Forum in Geneva, Switzerland, a press conference featuring several prominent Iranian women will be held in the city. This conference is organized by the 'Iranian Diaspora Delegation for the Zhina-Mahsa Amini Mission at the UN' with the aim of condemning the presence of the Islamic Republic at the 2023 UN Global Refugee Forum. The delegation announced in a statement to Voice of America that the press conference will take place on Wednesday, December 13 (22 Azar) in Geneva. The statement mentions that 'a high-level delegation of Iranian diaspora women, including international lawyers, human rights advocates, geopolitical experts, celebrities, and victims of the gender apartheid regime in Iran' will attend the meeting. Nazanin Afshin-Jam, a human rights activist and former Miss Canada, said about this meeting: 'I urge the participants of the UN Global Refugee Forum to think twice before meeting and legitimizing a dictatorship that does not represent 80 million Iranians.' She further adds: 'I ask them to consider negotiating with individuals like Ebrahim Raisi, the president of a regime responsible for the massacre of thousands of innocent Iranians in the death commission of the 1980s.' Nazanin Afshin-Jam states: 'I urge the participants of the UN Global Refugee Forum to think twice before adding another indelible stain on the forehead of this institution, and not to shake hands with the blood-stained hands of this regime.' In the statement from the 'Iranian Diaspora Delegation for the Zhina-Mahsa Amini Mission at the UN', it is mentioned that this press conference is organized near the venue of the UN Global Refugee Forum in Geneva, and their goal is 'to condemn how the Islamic Republic of Iran abuses global UN forums to delegitimize human rights values and undermine public trust in this international institution.' According to this delegation, the presence of the Islamic Republic at the UN Global Refugee Forum provides another opportunity for this 'gender apartheid regime' to monopolize the narrative of human rights violations. The delegation reminds that 'the regime will likely use this opportunity to disseminate misinformation, distort reality, and divert public opinion regarding human rights violations in Iran.' The statement further notes that 'millions of Afghan refugees and migrants in Iran face mistreatment and violence. This includes beatings, detention in unsanitary and inhumane conditions, forced payments, and expulsions without legal processes.' The delegation states that 'while the officials of the Islamic Republic travel freely to Europe this week, the same regime has prevented the family members of Zhina-Mahsa Amini from traveling to receive the Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought from the European Parliament, and has barred Narges Mohammadi, the imprisoned Nobel Prize winner, from traveling to receive this award.' The statement concludes: 'We, the Iranian Diaspora Delegation for the Zhina-Mahsa Amini Mission at the UN, aim to counter the Iranian government's public diplomacy efforts by focusing attention on the plight of the Iranian people and their cries for freedom.' It adds that five Iranian diaspora women members of the delegation, from various backgrounds and political orientations, will hold press conferences and meetings with international media and other stakeholders in this regard.