Global Diplomatic Community Remembers Madeleine Albright, Dead at 84

Then- US secretary of state Madeleine Albright speaks to reporters during a press conference at the White House in Washington in September 1998. WILLIAM PHILPOTT AFP/File
Then- US secretary of state Madeleine Albright speaks to reporters during a press conference at the White House in Washington in September 1998. WILLIAM PHILPOTT AFP/File
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Global Diplomatic Community Remembers Madeleine Albright, Dead at 84

Then- US secretary of state Madeleine Albright speaks to reporters during a press conference at the White House in Washington in September 1998. WILLIAM PHILPOTT AFP/File
Then- US secretary of state Madeleine Albright speaks to reporters during a press conference at the White House in Washington in September 1998. WILLIAM PHILPOTT AFP/File

Tributes poured in Wednesday from diplomatic players around the world remembering Madeleine Albright, the first female US secretary of state and one of the most influential stateswomen of her generation, who has died at age 84.

Albright, who came to the United States as an 11-year-old political refugee, rose to serve as the country's top diplomat under president Bill Clinton from 1997 to 2001.

Clinton, as well as successors George W. Bush, Barack Obama and Joe Biden, hailed her historic service, AFP said.

Albright "paved the way for progress in some of the most unstable corners of the world, and was a champion for democratic values. And as an immigrant herself, she brought a unique and important perspective to her trailblazing career," Obama said in a statement.

Born in Prague in 1937, Albright's family -- who were Jewish, although she did not know of her heritage until later in life -- fled ahead of the Nazi invasion of Czechoslovakia in 1939, losing several family members to extermination camps. She moved first to England, then to America a decade later.

"A Czechoslovak born leader, a strong advocate for democracy & human rights. Today more than ever, Central Europe remembers her commitment to NATO enlargement. My heartfelt condolences to her family," the Czech Republic's Foreign Minister Jan Lipavsky said on Twitter.

In a statement, Albright's family said she died of cancer, "surrounded by family and friends," and paid tribute to "a loving mother, grandmother, sister and friend" as well as a "tireless champion of democracy and human rights."

- 'Trailblazer' -
After studying political science, Albright made her entry into politics as a fund raiser, then a congressional aide -- and entered president Jimmy Carter's administration working for Polish-American Zbigniew Brzezinski, who was Carter's national security advisor.

Polish President Andrzej Duda wrote on Twitter that he was saddened by the death of Albright, who "brought enormous contribution to the transatlantic community of security and of values, including to the accession of Poland and of other European countries to NATO."

The United Nations, where Albright had served as US ambassador from 1993 to 1997, held a moment of silence for her.

Secretary General Antonio Guterres said he worked with Albright for years both in and out of government and will remember her as a dear friend.

"I was always struck by her wise counsel, deep experience, unique insights, abiding humanity, warmth and wit," Guterres said in a statement.

"Her life is powerful testament to the invaluable contributions refugees bring to countries that welcome them," Guterres added.

Albright -- whose global influence at the height of her career was compared to that of Margaret Thatcher in Britain -- knew she was part of a new generation of women in public service.

"It used to be that the only way a woman could truly make her foreign policy views felt was by marrying a diplomat and then pouring tea on an offending ambassador's lap," Albright once said.

"Today, women are engaged in every facet of global affairs."

At her former department, of which she became the head in 1997, current US Secretary of State Antony Blinken remembered Albright's accomplishments as a "brilliant diplomat" and "courageous trailblazer," and reflected on his friendship with his predecessor.

"She was also a wonderful friend to many, including me. I'll miss her very much," Blinken said.

"To our very first Madam Secretary -- thank you."



Iran Executed 975 People in 'Horrifying' 2024 Escalation, Rights Groups Say

Executions in Iran have surged in recent years - AFP
Executions in Iran have surged in recent years - AFP
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Iran Executed 975 People in 'Horrifying' 2024 Escalation, Rights Groups Say

Executions in Iran have surged in recent years - AFP
Executions in Iran have surged in recent years - AFP

Iran executed at least 975 people last year in a "horrifying escalation" of its use of capital punishment, two human rights groups said on Thursday.

Norway-based Iran Human Rights (IHR) and French group Together Against the Death Penalty (ECPM) said the figure was the highest since IHR began recording executions in Iran in 2008.

The figure "reveals a horrifying escalation in the use of the death penalty by the Islamic republic in 2024," they said in a joint report, accusing Iran of using the death penalty as a "central tool of political oppression".

"These executions are part of the Iran's war against its own people to maintain its grip on power," IHR director Mahmood Amiry-Moghaddam said, AFP reported.

"Five people were executed on average every single day in the last three months of the year as the threat of war between Iran and Israel escalated."

Last year's figure represented a 17 percent increase on the 834 executions recorded in 2023, the report said.

Of the 975 people executed, four people were hanged in public and 31 were women, also the highest figure for the past 17 years.

 

- Executions over protests -

 

Human rights groups, who say that Iran is the world's most prolific executioner after China, accuse the authorities of using the death penalty to sow fear among the public, particularly after nationwide protests broke out in 2022.

Capital punishment remains a key pillar of the sharia-based judicial system established after the 1979 revolution ousted the Western-backed shah.

Crimes punishable by death include murder, rape and drugs offences but also more vaguely worded charges like "corruption on earth" and "rebellion" which activists say are used against dissidents.

In recent years, executions have been carried out by hanging, mostly in prison yards but occasionally in public, though other methods remain on the statute books.

Two of last year's executions were in connection with the nationwide protests that erupted in September 2022 after the death in custody of Mahsa Amini, an Iranian-Kurdish woman arrested for an alleged breach of Iran's mandatory dress code.

Mohammad Ghobadlu, 23, was executed in January 2024 on charges of killing a police officer with a car during a protest in October 2022. Human rights groups have charged that his trial was deeply flawed, with judges ignoring evidence presented by the defense that he suffered from bipolar disorder.

Gholamreza Rasaei, 34, was executed in secret in August on charges of killing a Revolutionary Guard during a 2022 protest. Activists said his confession had been obtained by torture.

The rights groups said there was evidence Iran might have carried out more executions last year that they were unable to confirm for their report.

They said there were reports of an additional 39 executions in 2024 that they had been unable to corroborate through second sources.

Already this year, Iran has carried out at least 121 executions, according to IHR's count.