NEW YORK, NY -- 09/11/08 --
The President of Iran will have to get past
the "Ahmadinejad Wall of Shame" -- a visual display and demonstration
across the United Nations Headquarters -- before entering the opening of
the General Assembly.
The rally will run from 12-2pm on September 23rd at Dag Hammarskjold Plaza
(47th St. & 2nd Ave.) and feature Iranian/American groups each directly
challenging Ahmadinejad on the surge in human rights abuses in Iran.
Organizing the event, Nazanin Afshin-Jam, an international human rights
activist and former Miss World Canada, will lead off the line up of the
"Wall of Shame" by asking: "Ahmadinejad why are you executing children?"
Nazanin's actions on behalf of the children on death row in Iran began when
she was told of a young girl on her namesake that was going to be executed
for stabbing one of three men who attempted to rape her. Nazanin was
instrumental in saving this girl and since then has been dedicated to
saving more lives.
"There has been 6 children hanged this year alone in Iran and over 130
children on death row awaiting execution," said Nazanin Afshin-Jam,
President and co-founder of the Stop Child Executions (SCE) organization.
"While the UN legitimizes Ahmadinejad as the leader of Iran by having the
door open to him at the General Assembly, the Iranian people feel betrayed
by the false representation. In face of the west's obsession with Iran's
nuclear development, the voices of the Iranian people have been stifled and
human rights abuses have been overshadowed. This 'Wall of Shame'
demonstration is hoping to give a 'voice to the voiceless' and address the
concerns of the vast majority of Iranian people who believe in a united,
secular, democratic Iran based on the Universal Declaration of Human Rights
and no military intervention on Iran," said Nazanin.
Groups and individuals participating in the "Wall of Shame" demonstration
include those who have faced oppression under the current regime such
as women under gender apartheid, students who have been imprisoned and
tortured and ethnic and religious minorities who have been persecuted.
Focus will also be given to other human rights atrocities in Iran including
stoning to death, dismembering of limbs, and throwing people from heights
as methods of punishment.
Nazanin states, "The government of Iran cannot on the one hand expect the
international community to trust its leaders with nuclear energy while it
openly disregards the most basic internationally recognized child rights
conventions such as the UN's International Covenant on Civil and Political
Rights (ICCPR) and the Charter of the Rights of the Child (CRC) to which it
is state party."
Stop Child Executions invites all media and the general public to join this
demonstration for Human Rights. SCE will release the latest list of minors
facing the death penalty, and an 8 part plan of recommendations addressed
to Iran's heads of state, Parliament, Judiciary, United Nations and
international community which will also be made available on the
http://www.stopchildexecutions.com/ website following the rally.
For Further information or an interview with Nazanin Afshin-Jam please
contact Leslie Taylor at Big Machine Media at 212-572-0760 or
leslie@bigmachinemedia.com.
Stop Child Executions is the leading organization providing information and
updates on the situation of minors on death row in Iran. It is a volunteer
based, independent, non-political human rights group whose aim is to put a
permanent end to child executions in Iran and abroad.
http://www.stopchildexecutions.com/
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Contact:
Leslie Taylor
Big Machine Media
212-572-0760
Email Contact
