ASMLA Conference: Legal Panel Proposes Recommendations to Resolve Ahwazi Cause
The legal panel, made up of professors and Ahwazi, Arab and international figures of law held a meeting on 24-25 November at the invitation of the Arab Struggle Movement for the Liberation of Ahwaz (ASMLA) under the theme ‘With Ahwaz to Confront the Iranian Terror.’
During the meeting, they held consultations on the legal and international status of the people of Ahwaz as well as discussing the violations and crimes that Iran has been committing against the people of Ahwaz since 1925. They discussed all the international legal bases according to the UN Charter, the International Declaration on Human Rights and the international treaties and conventions related to the right of self-determination as a historic and legal right. They also discussed demanding full independence of the Ahwazi people in accordance with the international legitimacy and using legal means enshrined in the international law when it comes to the rights of peoples to resistance.
The panel also broached on the massive human rights violations being committed against the Ahwazis, the crimes against humanity, systematic genocide, demographic makeup schemes in the Ahwazi land, the Arab and international steps for the Ahwazis to be given their right of self-determination and ending the Iranian control over the fate and resources of the Ahwazi people.
The legal panel has reached a strategic legal vision based on the provisions of international law, the UN Charter, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the relevant international conventions and treaties and the international covenants on human rights.
The panel expresses its support for the struggle and sacrifices of the Ahwazis and the Ahwazi liberation movements in all their orientations and affiliations. It calls for the necessity of uniting efforts to achieve the demands of the Ahwazis for self-determination and liberation.
It is deeply concerned and saddened at the extent of the crimes committed against the Arab Ahwaz people, women, children, elderly, young men and men by successive Iranian governments, especially the rule of the racist dictatorship of Wilayat Faqih, and the continued crimes of the Iranian regime figures amid shameful international silence.
The panel has outlined a preliminary executive summary for the legal roadmap.
First: Determining the international legal status of the Ahwazis.
In accordance with the Charter of the United Nations, all peoples without exception have the right to self-determination, as stated in article 1, paragraph (2), which affirms that “the development of friendly relations among nations is based on respect for the principle of equal rights among peoples. Each of these people has the right to self-determination as well as other appropriate measures to promote public peace. “This is in addition to article 55, chapter IX, on international, economic and social cooperation. It contains the following:
“Its desire to create the conditions of stability and well-being necessary for peaceful and friendly relations among nations, which is respecting the principle of equal rights among peoples and each of them should have the right to self-determination.”
Article 1 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights states that all peoples have the right to self-determination and, on the basis of this right, they freely determine their political entity and continue their economic, social and cultural development. The same article guarantees the rights of peoples to their natural wealth and resources without prejudice to their obligations. Arising from international economic cooperation based on the principles of mutual benefit, and in no way deprive any population of its living resources.
The states parties to the international covenant are obliged to grant self-determination right to the peoples who have not exerted this right yet. These countries should respect this right in accordance with the Charter of the United Nations. In its resolution 421 of December 1950, the United Nations General Assembly called upon the Commission on Human Rights to make recommendations on ways and means of self-determination of peoples.
In its resolution 545 of February 1952, it also stated that the Convention on Civil and Political Rights and the Convention on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights should be included as a special article guaranteeing the right of peoples to self-determination. On December 16, 1952, Resolution No. 673, which is considered the right of peoples to self-determination as a necessary condition for the enjoyment of all fundamental rights and that every member of the United Nations must maintain and respect the self-determination of other nations.
On December 14, 1960, Resolution No. 1514 on the granting of independence to colonized countries and peoples was issued. The United Nations General Assembly adopted resolution 2625, adopted unanimously in November 1970, which included the declaration on friendly relations and cooperation among nations in accordance with the Charter of the United Nations. On December 14, 1960, resolution 1514 on the granting of independence to colonial countries and peoples was issued. The United Nations General Assembly issued resolution 2625, adopted unanimously in November 1970, which included the declaration on friendly relations and cooperation among nations in accordance with the Charter of the United Nations.
In resolution 2787 of 12 December 1972, the General Assembly affirmed the right of peoples to self-determination, freedom and independence and the legitimacy of their system by all means available to them and consistent with the Charter of the United Nations. In resolution No. 3970 of November 1973, Member States recognize the right of peoples to self-determination and independence and to provide material, moral and all kinds of assistance to peoples struggling for this goal.
The development of contemporary international law and the emergence of human rights treaties and charters as primary sources of contemporary international law, as well as the divisions within many United Nations Member States that have often led to massacres and wars against ethnic and national minorities, gave new dimensions to the right of self-determination in light of these changes. This is the real situation of the Arab Ahwaz people under Iranian occupation and colonization. In its resolution 2200 of December 1966, the General Assembly adopted the International Covenants adopted by the Commission on Human Rights and the First Covenant on Civil and Political Rights came into effect on 23rd March 1976. The Second Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights entered into force on 3 December 1976.
Article 1 of the two Conventions deals with the right to self-determination as follows: “All peoples have the right to self-determination and, under this right, they can freely determine their political status and freedom to secure their economic, social and cultural development. On 14 December 1962, the General Assembly issued its resolution No.”1803”, which provided for the inalienable right of peoples to sovereignty over their natural resources and riches, as a right of peoples to self-determination, to determine their political status and to ensure their economic development, provided that the obligations based on the requirements of economic cooperation based on mutual benefit and principles of international are not prejudiced.
It is, therefore, possible for minorities to demand the right to self-determination, separation, and independence, under conditions that are linked to international law and sometimes linked to the political support of influential countries on the international arena.
The legal panel also issued recommendations based on its strategic legal vision as follows:
1- Establishing a specialized international legal center to document crimes and violations against the people of Ahwaz, to form a legal committee with international jurisdiction to study the crimes and violations and its legal principles and the priorities of the crimes of the above documentation center for the purpose of filing criminal complaints before the competent international courts.
2- The Committee recommends that a human rights conference be held in the Ahwazi case for the purpose of presenting specialized legal researches and studies of the Ahwaz case and working on laying the legal basis for the international legal personality of the representatives of the people of Ahwaz and the formation of Ahwaz intellectual and human rights groups to coordinate with the Arab and Western countries.
3- The Committee recommends that the human right of Ahwaz should be protected under the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the need for serious coordination between the above legal center and the League of Arab States and relevant international organizations, in particular, UNESCO and UNICEF, to preserve the right to education and preserve the Arab identity of the people of Ahwaz under Iranian occupation.
4- The Committee recommends setting up a specialized research team to look into international documents and papers at the British Documents House, in the archives of the Ottoman Empire and the United Nations Archives on the historical position of Ahwaz sovereignty on its territory before the Iranian occupation.
5- The committee recommends forming a legal team to file lawsuits against the oil and trade contracts in the international and European courts, which are concluded by the Iranian occupation, from the wealth of the Ahwazis, with the rest of the countries and work to launch an international boycott campaign for the stolen Iranian products.
6- The Legal Committee recommends the opening of specialized training courses in international law, international organizations, and human rights human rights mechanisms for the purpose of spreading legal, human rights and organizational awareness among activists and human rights organizations and developing their work in a balanced manner.
7- The panel recommends that the Ahwazi Rights Group be established to deal with Ahwazi refugees in European and Western countries, providing legal support for refugee issues.
8- The panel recommends the need to support and consolidate all efforts between all Ahwazi organizations, movements, and fronts and to serve the Ahwazi cause.
9- The committee recommends coordinating with the media committee to air a specialized right show in Ahwazna channel and the rest of the Arab channels and social media outlets for the purpose of spreading the legal awareness of the people of Ahwaz.
10- The Committee recommends the need to cooperate with international lawyers, law firms and legal offices.
11- The Committee recommends the establishment of a follow-up committee to implement the decisions as mentioned above of the legal panel, and that it commits itself to a timeframe for completion during the next conference and the necessity of continuous cooperation among its members to work to implement the legal roadmap.
