The Iranian president has clearly and repeatedly violated the Genocide Convention with his statements about Israel and Jews. This grows out of a call issued last year that he should be indicted and tried for inciting genocide. Romney's letter is as follows.

To His Excellency Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon,

With the disturbing news that Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmandinejad is planning to address the United Nations General Assembly next week, I call on the United Nations to revoke any invitation to President Ahmadinejad to address the General Assembly. The only way he should be greeted in the United States is with an indictment under the Genocide Convention.

The Iranian regime under President Ahmadinejad has spoken openly about wiping Israel off the map, has fueled Hezbollah’s terror campaign in the region and around the world, and defied the world community in its pursuit of nuclear weapons – capabilities that make these threats even more ominous. As General Petraeus testified last week, Iran is also supporting Shia militia extremists and violence that is taking the lives of American soldiers and undermining the Iraqi government.

A failure by the United Nations to take a strong stand against IranÂ’s President Ahmadinejad would be especially disturbing given the United NationsÂ’ record of failure to prevent genocide in other circumstances and the failure of the United Nations Human Rights Council to confront the Iranian regime and others among the worldÂ’s worst human rights abusers. Failure to act would mean that the United States must reconsider its level of support and funding for the United Nations as we look to rebuild and revitalize effective international partnerships to meet 21st century threats.

If President Ahmadinejad sets foot in the United States, he should be handed an indictment under the Genocide Convention. This approach has been called for by experts as diverse as Nobel Prize Winner Elie Wiesel, human rights advocate and former Canadian Justice Minister Irwin Cotler, U.S. Ambassador John Bolton and law professor Alan Dershowitz.

The United States and the world must take a strong stand against the terrorist Iranian regime and the time for action is now.

Sincerely,

Mitt Romney

Will other candidates, both Republican and Democrat, join Mitt Romney in taking a stand? And will all of them, including Romney, commit to the principle that the Host Country Agreement between the UN and the US does not require that the US recognize the sovereign immunity of heads of states who have committed crimes against humanity?

Posted by: Greg at 10:21 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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