By Kayhan Life Staff
Empress Farah Pahlavi and her granddaughter Princess Nour (eldest daughter of Prince Reza Pahlavi) were special guests of the French Senate on Nov. 29.
The visit included a conference titled “Woman, life, freedom! Iran, Revolt or Revolution?” French senators supported the Iranian national uprising against the Islamic Republic.
In his opening remarks at the conference, Senator Bruno Retailleau said: “Empress Farah Pahlavi, Princess Nour Pahlavi, I would like to say that we are extremely honored to be your host in the Senate this afternoon.”
“Your presence gives greater weight to the message of support that this conference aims to send to the Iranian people and all those who embody the power and majesty of their civilization, meaning the Iranian women who have raised the storm of freedom in Iran,” Senator Retailleau added.
During an open session of the French Senate in early November, senators chanted the emblematic slogan “Women, life, freedom” to support the Iranian people.
In early October, several senators attended a special session of the French Senate, chaired by Senator Alain Richard, to discuss the “violation of women’s and human rights in Iran.”
In comments reported by Euronews Persian on Oct. 6, Senator Richard remembered Mahsa (Zhina) Amini, a 22-year-old woman whose death while in the custody of the morality police on Sept. 16 sparked a nationwide protest which is still ongoing.
Senator Richard also described Hadis Najafi – a 22-year-old woman who was killed during the recent protests on Sept. 21 in Mehrshahr, in Karaj, as “a woman and an Iranian who wanted freedom.”
Another speaker at the Oct. 6 conference, Senator Annick Billon, the head of the French Senate’s Women’s Rights delegation, said that everyone must join the “Women, life, freedom” movement, adding that “the international community must unite in its support of these historic protests.”
At the end of her speech during the same conference, Senator Melanie Vogel, a politician of Europe Ecology-The Greens (EELV), played a segment of Sherwin Hajipour’s song Baraye, which has become the unofficial anthem for the Iranian protest movement.
Senator Vogel said that the current event in Iran “is not a revolt, but a revolution,” adding that “it was a revolution for democracy, justice, women, life, and freedom and against the religious dictatorship.”
On Nov. 28, a day before Empress Farah and Princess Nour’s visit to the French Senate, the French National Assembly (the lower house of Parliament) unanimously adopted a resolution to support the Iranian people.
President Emmanuel Macron’s Renaissance party deputy Hadrien Ghomi (himself of Iranian ancestry), said that the 149 votes in favor of the motion in the National Assembly “sent a strong message” to the world.
The resolution condemns in the “strongest terms the brutal and widespread repression” against “non-violent demonstrators.”
It also denounces the “use of torture” and affirms its “support for the Iranian people in their aspirations for democracy and respect for their fundamental rights and freedoms.”
The measure was adopted ahead of a meeting of EU foreign ministers to discuss new sanctions against Iran because of its brutal crackdown on protesters.
Following the measure’s passage and the publication of the video of Senator Bruno Retailleau’s speech, Prince Reza Pahlavi tweeted: “We appreciate and thank all those who support the Iranian people and stand with them.”
Nous apprécions et remercions tous ceux qui soutiennent et restent au côté du peuple Iranien.#IranRevoIution https://t.co/CmQGyQIfKv
— Reza Pahlavi (@PahlaviReza) November 28, 2022
The French National Assembly’s resolution urges the French government to support a move to expel the Islamic Republic from the UN Commission on the Status of Women, and impose further tough sanctions on Tehran for its brutal treatment of protesters and violation of human rights.
Under the resolution, the French government must support an independent investigation into the death of Mahsa Amini through the EU.
It also urges the French government to adopt a resolution against the Islamic Republic within the UN Human Rights Council (OHCRC) framework.
It also calls on France to devise a mechanism to be used by the OHCRC to investigate Iran’s human rights violations.
The text additionally calls for the immediate release of seven French nationals arbitrarily detained in Iran.
On Nov. 24, the OHCRC established an “independent, international fact-finding mission to thoroughly and independently investigate alleged human rights violations in Iran related to the protests that began on Sept.16.”
The resolution on “the deteriorating human rights situation in the Islamic Republic of Iran, especially concerning women and children,” was adopted by 25 voting in favor, six against, and 16 abstentions.
Iran Protests Have Led to More Than 60 Child Deaths, Human Rights Group Says
The statement by the OHCRC said it had established the fact-finding mission “to investigate alleged human rights violations thoroughly and independently in Iran related to the protests that began on Sept. 16, regarding women and children.”
“The OHCRC has called on the Islamic Republic to cooperate fully with the independent international fact-finding mission to grant unhindered access to the country with no delay,” it added.
Following the conference at the French Senate, it was announced that the UN would hold a special meeting on Dec. 14 to discuss a resolution on the removal of Iran from the UN Commission on the Status of Women.
ANALYSIS: Iranian Protesters Use New Tactics to Defy Security Forces | KAYHAN LIFE
