AJC: UN Secretary General Ban's Decision to Visit Iran Grave Mistake

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Aug 22, 2012, 02:48 ET

NEW YORK, Aug. 22, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ --The American Jewish Committee (AJC) is deeply disappointed with UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon's decision, announced today, to attend the Non-Alignment Movement summit in Iran.

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"Tehran is not the place for the UN Secretary General to visit, not at this time, not to meet with this Iranian regime," said AJC Executive Director David Harris. "We are stunned that Secretary General Ban Ki-moon would honor a regime that consistently ignores both him and the world body he heads in ways that threaten regional and global security."

AJC, a leading a global advocacy organization, had appealed directly to the secretary general in recent days, urging him to not attend.

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who will host the NAM Summit, and Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamanei, have stepped up their threats to "annihilate" Israel. And, they continued to make those threatening statements after Secretary General Ban condemned Khamanei's remarks as "offensive and inflammatory."

In addition, Iran has consistently defied the UN Security Council and International Atomic Energy Agency regarding its nuclear program; trampled on the protections enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights; sponsored terrorism worldwide; denied the Holocaust which the UN commemorates every January 27; and contributed heavily to the ongoing barbarism in Syria.

Indeed, on the same day as Ban's decision to visit Iran was announced, a member of his staff reported to the UN Security Council that Iran was definitely supplying weapons to the Syrian regime.

In the run-up to the NAM Summit in Tehran, Iranian media have been claiming that the expected large turnout will show that "The U.S. strategy for isolating Iran has failed."

"Secretary General Ban tragically missed an opportunity to send a powerful message to the Iranian regime that its posture is totally unacceptable," Harris added.

SOURCE American Jewish Committee