Dear compatriots,

Today on Human Rights Day and on the eve of the 60th anniversary of the

Universal Declaration of Human Rights as the United Nations prepares

 to launch a year-long programme of activities to celebrate the signing

 of this historic document, every principle of this Declaration is being

 trampled upon in our homeland.

It is ironic that while the moral and intellectual heritage of our

 nation was one of the major inspirations behind the genesis of human

 rights, Iranian citizens remain deprived and disinherited from their most

 basic freedoms.

Today Amnesty International and other monitoring organizations put Iran

 close to the top of their list of countries violating human rights.

 For the past twenty-eight years, no segment of Iranian society has been

 immune to abuses. Women, youth, workers, journalists, dissenting

 clerics, farmers, academics, religious and ethnic minorities have all at one

 time or another been target of flagrant violations.

The rulers of the Islamic Republic have done their utmost to distort

 the noble image of our country and present our people as promoters of

 terrorism, intolerance and hatred. They have sacrificed the individual

 rights of Iranian citizens at the altar of a fanatical ideology and for

 the preservation of their illegitimate hold on political power. 

It is very clear to me that our nation will soon free itself from its

 present nightmare and claim its true heritage as a stronghold of human

 rights and defender of dignity and freedom. Giving my full support to

 the United Nations activities in the promotion of human rights, I call

 upon all my compatriots as well as the international community to stand

 together and oppose all manner of human rights violations against

 Iranian citizens perpetrated by the clerical dictatorship. 

May God Bless Iran.

Reza Pahlavi