MOTION FOR A RESOLUTION

23.1.2008

to wind up the debate on statements by the High Representative for the Common Foreign and Security Policy and the Commission
pursuant to Rule 103(2) of the Rules of Procedure
by Annemie Neyts-Uyttebroeck and Marco Cappato
on behalf of the ALDE Group
on Iran

B6‑0046/2008

European Parliament resolution on Iran

The European Parliament,

–  having regard to its previous resolutions on Iran, notably those concerning human rights, and most particularly its resolution of 25 October 2007,

–  having regard to the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and the Convention on the Rights of the Child, to all of which Iran is a party,

–  having regard to the EU-Iran Human Rights Dialogue, interrupted since June 2004,

–  having regard to UN General Assembly Resolution A/RES/62/168 of 18 December 2007 on the situation of human rights in Iran,

–  having regard to UNSC Resolutions 1696, 1737 and 1747,

–  having regard to the report on the nuclear activities of Iran presented by the Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency on 15 November 2007,

–  having regard to the Presidency conclusions of the Brussels European Council of 14 December 2007,

–  having regard to the joint statement by the chairs of the 2nd EP/Iran Inter-parliamentary meeting which took place in Tehran on 8 and 9 December 2007,

–  having regard to Rule 103(2) of its Rules of Procedure,

A.  whereas the situation in the Islamic Republic of Iran regarding the exercise of civil rights and political freedoms has deteriorated in the last two years, notably since the presidential elections of June 2005, despite the fact that Iran has undertaken to promote and protect human rights and fundamental freedoms under the various international instruments in this field,

B.  whereas, according to Amnesty International, the number of executions in Iran, including those of minors and homosexuals, often carried out in public by hanging or stoning, has dramatically increased, bringing the number of executions recorded since the start of 2007 to at least 244, a number which exceeds the 177 executions recorded in 2006,

C.  whereas, during its 62nd session in 2007, the UN General Assembly adopted a resolution calling for a global moratorium on executions, to be introduced as a step towards the abolition of the death penalty, and welcoming the fact that Shirin Ebadi, Nobel Prize winner, has called on the Iranian Government to implement this resolution,

D.  whereas the practice of torture and ill-treatment of prisoners, solitary confinement, clandestine detention, the application of cruel, inhumane and degrading punishment and impunity for state agents continue to be widespread,

E.  whereas a growing number of intellectuals are being detained and whereas recently the wave of repression has been extended to persons with dual nationality, who face the severest charges of collaboration with foreign powers or espionage,

F.  whereas several activists belonging to the women's rights movement are being or have been prosecuted for their involvement in the 'one million signatures' campaign, which seeks to obtain the repeal of laws that discriminate against women and which plans to submit those one million signatures to the National Parliament (Majlis),

G.  whereas Iran is still not a party to the United Nations Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women,

H.  whereas the introduction by the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance of 'Procedural Guidelines for Publication' has been followed by reinforced censorship, and whereas journalists are increasingly harassed and imprisoned, while at the same time media outlets are regularly being closed by the authorities,

I.  whereas minorities are increasingly discriminated against and harassed due to their religious or ethnic background, notably in the border regions (Kurdistan, Khuzestan, Sistan-Baluchistan, Azerbaijan), and whereas this includes continued detention and the sentencing to death of some of their members,

J.  whereas members of the religious community of the Baha'is cannot practise their faith and are exposed to severe persecution and deprived of virtually all civil rights (e.g. property rights, access to higher education), and whereas their religious sites are being vandalised,

K.  deploring the fact that Iran has still not complied with its international obligations to suspend all uranium enrichment-related and fuel-reprocessing activities in order to restore confidence in the entirely peaceful nature of its nuclear programme,

L.  regretting that neither the High Representative of the EU, following his discussions with the Iranian nuclear negotiator, nor the Director-General of the IAEA were able to report a positive outcome in the form of the fulfilment by Iran of the requirements of the UN Security Council,

M.  whereas the EU Member States should refrain from expulsions of Iranian asylum-seekers, including those persecuted on the basis of their sexual orientation or religious beliefs such as the Christians, and Greece should not extradite Mohammad Hassan Talebi, Mohammad Hossein Jaafari and Vahid Shokorrhi Nia to Iran,

Human rights

1.  Expresses its deep concern about the deterioration of the human rights situation in Iran during recent years; appeals to the Iranian authorities to honour their obligations in accordance with international human rights standards and instruments ratified by Iran, by promoting universal values and granting all persons the right to exercise their civil rights and political freedoms;

2.  Is deeply concerned about the dramatic increase in the repression of civil-society movements in Iran over the past year; calls on the Iranian authorities to put an end to harsh repression against women's rights defenders, activists of the 'one million signatures' campaign, student movements, minority rights defenders, intellectuals, teachers, journalists, web loggers and trade unionists;

3.  Reminds the Government of Iran of its obligations, as a signatory to the International Covenants on Civil and Political Rights and Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, to safeguard fundamental human rights, notably freedom of opinion, and calls for the release of all prisoners of conscience;

4.  Is appalled at the spiralling numbers of executions recorded, many of those executed having undergone unfair trials;

5.  Calls on Iran to fully respect its Code of Criminal Procedure and to grant the right to a fair trial to all individuals, particularly by allowing them to have access to a lawyer from the beginning of the judicial process; urges that adequate medical assistance be unconditionally provided to those prisoners who are in poor health;

6.  Strongly condemns the death sentences and executions in Iran, in particular those imposed and/or carried out on juvenile offenders and minors, and urges the Iranian authorities to respect internationally recognised legal safeguards with regard to minors, such as the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child;

7.  Calls on the Iranian authorities to put into practice the ban on torture which was announced by the Head of the Judiciary in April 2004;

8.  Calls on the Iranian Parliament to amend the Iranian Press Law and the Penal Code to bring them into line with the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, and notably to repeal all criminal provisions dealing with the peaceful expression of opinions, including in the press;

9.  Calls for the numerous press organs which have been closed down or censored to be allowed to function under established rules of freedom of the press;

10.  Calls on the Iranian authorities to accelerate the process of investigation into the suspicious deaths and killings of intellectuals and political activists, and to bring the alleged perpetrators to justice;

11.  Appeals to the members of the Majlis to urgently amend the Penal Code in order to transform the moratorium on stoning into a definitive ban, and to adopt legislation outlawing the execution of juvenile offenders and the imposition of the death penalty for homosexual acts or adultery;

12.  Calls on the Iranian authorities to implement all required safeguards in capital cases and to limit the scope of crimes punishable by death, as a first step towards the total abolition of the death penalty; calls on the people of Iran to support the campaign entitled 'Stop the Death Penalty: the World Decides' initiated by the World Coalition Against the Death Penalty (WCADP) and other nongovernmental organisations;

13.  Calls on the authorities to respect internationally recognised legal safeguards with regard to persons belonging to religious minorities, officially recognised or otherwise; condemns the current disrespect for minority rights and calls for minorities to be able to exercise all rights granted by the Iranian Constitution and international law; further calls on the authorities to eliminate all forms of discrimination on religious or ethnic grounds or against persons belonging to minorities, such as Kurds, Azeris, Arabs, Baluchis and Baha'is; calls in particular for the de facto ban on practising the Baha'i faith to be lifted;

14.  Welcomes the United Nations General Assembly's vote on a resolution explicitly and decisively condemning the violation of fundamental human rights in Iran and calls upon the Iranian Government to adopt urgent measures to halt the recent wave of executions in Iran;

15.  Calls on the Council and the Commission to closely monitor developments in Iran and also to raise concrete cases of human rights abuses; calls on the Council and the Commission to report on the monitoring of the situation in Iran;

16.  Proposes that the EU-Iran Human Rights Dialogue, which has been interrupted since June 2004, should be resumed;

17.  Reaffirms its support for all those independent nongovernmental organisations in Iran that pursue dialogue in their struggle for democratic rights;

18.  Calls on the Commission to do its best to support civil-society, academic, socioeconomic and cultural exchanges between Europe and Iran in the interests of an open dialogue, notably through the new Instrument for Democracy and Human Rights (EIDHR);

Nuclear programme

19.  Underlines the fact that the acquisition by Iran of a nuclear military capability would be unacceptable and calls upon the Iranian Government to provide full, clear and credible answers to the IAEA to resolve all questions concerning Iran's nuclear activities, to ratify and implement the Additional Protocol to its Safeguards Agreement and to fully implement the provisions of its subsidiary arrangements;

20.  Believes that carrying out these actions and the transparency measures requested by the IAEA would constitute a positive step to build the confidence of the EU and the international community concerning Iran's nuclear programme;

21.  Reaffirms its full support for efforts deployed by the Council to find a negotiated long-term solution to the Iranian nuclear issue and underlines that the EU proposals would give Iran everything it needs to develop a civil nuclear power industry while addressing international concerns;

22.  Reiterates its full support for the UN Security Council resolution adopted under Chapter VII, Article 41, of the UN Charter and calls upon the next General Affairs and External Relations Council to decide what action the EU will take in the light of the upcoming decisions to be taken by the UN Security Council;

23.  Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission, the High Representative for the CFSP, the governments and parliaments of the Member States, the Secretary-General of the United Nations, the UN Human Rights Council, the Head of the State Supreme Court of Iran and the Government and Parliament of the Islamic Republic of Iran.