Excellency,
We are writing to you to express our deep concern regarding the situation of the Iranian people living in Camp Ashraf, in Iraq. Indeed, the responsibility of the protection of Ashraf was transferred by the United States to the Iraqi government on 1st January 2009. Since that date, statements by both Iranian and Iraqi officials have multiplied, which raise fears that those persons may be expelled to another country, in blatant violation of international human rights and humanitarian law.
On 17 June 2008, the Iraqi Council of Ministers adopted a directive emphasizing that members of the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI) will be expelled from Iraq. On 21 December 2008, the Iraqi government announced that it planned to close Ashraf camp. On 1st January 2009, the French News Agency AFP quoted your statement that « [the PMOI] is a terrorist organization and thus cannot operate in Iraq… We will give them the opportunity to either go home, or to another country…[Staying in] Iraq will not be an alternative for them ». In late January, Iraq National Security Adviser Muwafaq al-Rubaie reportedly said that « The only choices open to members of this group are to return to Iran or to choose another country ». On 28 February 2009, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei urged President Jalal Talabani to expel PMOI from Iraq : «We await the implementation of our agreement regarding the expulsion of the hypocrites », he reportedly said. In addition, since yesterday, according to media reports, the Iraqi security forces are surrounding Camp Ashraf to prevent people from entering or exiting the camp.
PMOI’s members living in Ashraf are « protected persons » under the Fourth Geneva Convention and can consequently not be expelled from Iraq. They should not be forcibly deported, expelled or repatriated to Iran in violation of the non-refoulement principle, which is binding on all states as a customary international law principle. The UN Convention against torture also prohibits State Parties to "expel, return ("refouler") or extradite a person to another State where there are substantial grounds for believing that he would be in danger of being subjected to torture" (Article 3). Although your government has not ratified this core human rights treaty yet, this provision is binding on Iraq as part of international customary law. In addition, the government of Iraq should ensure access to food and medical care for those living in the camp.
Consequently, we urge you to take our considerations duly into account. The current human rights situation in the Islamic Republic of Iran is a source of extreme concern to the international community, as witnessed by the UN General Assembly resolution on Iran adopted last December. This resolution notably calls upon the Iranian authorities to eliminate torture, abolish executions carried out in the absence of respect for internationally recognized safeguards and to end the harassment, intimidation and persecution of political opponents. As long as no progress has been achieved in those fields by the Iranian authorities, any expulsion of Ashraf residents to their country of origin would be a clear breach of Iraq’s international human rights obligations.
We thank you for your attention.
Sincerely yours
Souhayr Belhassen
President