UN tribute to Iran’s late president Raisi marred by protests and European and US snubs
- At UN, nations praised Ebrahim Raisi’s legacy while the others boycotted tribute event
- Iran’s president was killed when his helicopter crashed in poor weather on May 19
The UN General Assembly’s tribute to Iran’s late president Ebrahim Raisi was snubbed by Western and East European nations amid protests against honouring a leader who was reviled for his crackdown on opponents.
The assembly’s tribute was no surprise. It is a long-standing practice that the 193-member world body holds a plenary meeting to pay tribute to the memory of a sitting head of state who dies, where all UN regional groups send representatives to speak about their life and legacy. And there were some warm tributes to Raisi, especially from African nations.
But what happened Thursday that was highly unusual was that only representatives from the African, Asia-Pacific, and Latin American and Caribbean regional groups spoke.
There were no remarks from the West European or East European groups, or from the United States, which normally speaks last representing the host country.
“The United States will not attend today’s United Nations tribute event for president Raisi in any capacity,” Nate Evans, spokesperson for the US Mission to the UN said. “Raisi was involved in numerous, horrific human rights abuses, including the extrajudicial killings of thousands of political prisoners in 1988. Some of the worst human rights abuses on record took place during his tenure.”
