Dear Secretary-General Guterres,
I am writing to you on behalf of United Nations Watch, an independent human rights organization dedicated to holding the UN accountable to its founding principles. It has come to our attention that Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi is scheduled to address the UN Human Rights Council on February 23, 2026, in your presence.
A key figure in the Iranian regime, Mr. Araghchi has been implicated in grave violations of human rights, including crimes against humanity. His involvement in the regime's systematic repression, including the brutal crackdowns on protesters, executions, and support for terrorist activities, renders his participation in a body devoted to human rights utterly incompatible with the UN's Charter and the Council's mandate. Allowing him to speak would send a dangerous message that the UN tolerates and platforms mass murderers.
We urgently call on you to disinvite Foreign Minister Araghchi from this event. Failure to do so will compel us to urge Swiss authorities to pursue his arrest for crimes against humanity upon his arrival in Geneva, in accordance with international law and Switzerland's obligations under the Rome Statute. The UN must not provide a stage for those who perpetrate atrocities against their own people and threaten global peace.
Furthermore, reports today in Iranian state media indicate that you sent a congratulatory message to President Masoud Pezeshkian on the 47th anniversary of the Islamic Revolution's victory. This message, as described, extends "warmest congratulations" to a regime notorious for its decades-long record of oppression, including the killing, raping, and murdering of Iranians in the name of its ideology.
The world deserves transparency on this matter. We therefore demand that you immediately release the full text of this letter to the public, allowing for scrutiny and accountability. If the reports are authentic, we urge you to explain how congratulating a regime responsible for ongoing massacres serves the cause of peace and justice.
The United Nations was established to prevent the recurrence of the horrors of the past, not to celebrate or enable those who commit them. We implore you to act decisively in defense of the UN's integrity and the victims of the Iranian regime's abuses. We look forward to your prompt response and actions on these critical issues.
Sincerely,
Hillel C. Neuer
Executive Director