In September 2009 the World Jewish Congress organised a petition calling on members of the UN General Assembly to boycott the speech by the Iranian President, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, on the grounds that Iran still defies several rounds of sanctions imposed by the UN, may soon be capable of building an atomic bomb and supports radical terrorist groups. Human Rights and freedom of expression are being suppressed in Iran. Ahmadinejad denies the Holocaust and threatens to wipe Israel off the map.

The petition attracted signatories from 198 countries and was delivered to all the Ambassadors of the UN member countries the day before Ahmadinejad addressed the assembly. As many as half the delegations left either before or during his speech, the full text of which can be read here.
 

The text of the petition was as follows:

PETITION TO THE UN GENERAL ASSEMBLY

Dear UN General Assembly Member,

The Iranian President, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, intends to attend the UN General Assembly in New York later this month.  As you know very well, Iran still defies several rounds of sanctions imposed by the UN Security Council and refuses to cooperate with the International Atomic Energy Agency.

Iran is aggressively pursuing its nuclear program and may soon be capable of building a nuclear weapon.

Human rights are being abused in Iran. People are imprisoned for their political beliefs, women and religious minorities are being oppressed, and people are persecuted because of their sexual orientation.

Ahmedinejad denies the Holocaust and threatens to wipe Israel off the map.

Iran supports radical terrorist groups by providing them with funding, training and weaponry and is spreading its extremist ideology to every corner of the world.

Should Ahmedinejad use his speech to unleash the same hateful rhetoric as on previous occasions I urge you to walk out in protest at this attempt to undermine UN values and goals.

Yours sincerely,