SAEDNEWS: Baqaei said neutrality in times of war is not indifference, but war and genocide are inherently different.
Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson, Esmaeil Baqaei, has issued a strong warning that neutrality in the face of genocide is unacceptable, emphasizing that genuine humanitarianism requires moral courage to condemn atrocity crimes and hold perpetrators accountable.
In a post on X (formerly Twitter) on Friday, Baqaei wrote: “Neutrality in times of war is not indifference. True! But war and genocide are inherently different; ‘neutrality in times of war’ cannot be applied in times of an undisguised genocide that has been raging on for the past two years in the open.”
He stressed that the ongoing situation should not be treated as an ordinary conflict. “Genuine humanitarianism calls for moral courage to explicitly abhor atrocity crimes and demand accountability for the criminals,” Baqaei added.
The remarks came in response to a post by Francesca Albanese, the UN Special Rapporteur on human rights in the Palestinian territories. Albanese acknowledged the importance of neutrality for organizations like the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) but cautioned against moral blindness in the face of systematic crimes.
“When, under the fog of war, a decades-old apartheid system commits genocide and other crimes, reducing its victims to ‘one side’ risks sliding into cross-eyed humanitarianism,” Albanese wrote, highlighting the need for principled and courageous humanitarian action.
Baqaei’s statement underscores Tehran’s position that in situations of genocide and large-scale atrocities, neutrality is not a valid moral stance, and the international community must actively condemn and hold violators accountable.
