International conference calls for democratic change in Iran
An international conference under the slogan ‘Towards a Democratic Republic’ was held at the headquarters of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), the Iranian opposition coalition, located on the outskirts of Paris.
The event brought together a prominent British parliamentary delegation, as well as European and international dignitaries and representatives of the Iranian diaspora, with the aim of showing their solidarity with the democratic aspirations of the Iranian people.
The highlight of the event was the presentation of a new parliamentary declaration by a multi-party UK delegation comprising the Honourable David Jones, MP Bob Blackman and Baroness O'Loan. The statement was signed by more than 500 members of both houses of the British Parliament—an overwhelming majority—in support of the NCRI's democratic platform and its elected president, Maryam Rajavi.
The signatories reaffirmed their support for Mrs. Rajavi's ten-point plan for the establishment of a secular and democratic republic in Iran. This plan calls for gender equality, the abolition of the death penalty, freedom of expression, and a nuclear-free Iran. The MPs strongly condemned the Iranian regime's brutal human rights record, including the execution of more than 1,000 people in 2024 alone, and called for the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) to be added to the list of terrorist organisations.
In their speeches, British lawmakers reflected the growing international consensus that appeasement policies towards a regime in crisis only strengthen its repression and endanger global security. They stressed the need to recognise the Iranian people's right to resist tyranny and to support the organised opposition movement fighting for a democratic transition.
The conference also denounced the regime's draconian ‘Hijab and Chastity Law,’ the persecution of activists, and the alarming increase in death sentences against political prisoners, especially members of the People's Mojahedin Organisation of Iran (PMOI or MEK). Speakers warned that without urgent action, there is a risk of further fuelling the Tehran regime's internal repression and external aggression.án.
Participants praised the NCRI as a credible alternative, rooted in democratic values, with a clear roadmap to end the theocratic regime and establish a republic based on the will of the Iranian people. The message from Auvers-sur-Oise was clear: the time has come for the international community to align itself with the Iranian people and their resistance for freedom and democracy.