MOTION FOR A RESOLUTION
17.6.2008
pursuant to Rule 115 of the Rules of Procedure
by Cristiana Muscardini, Roberta Angelilli, Andrzej Tomasz Zapałowski, Konrad Szymański, Mieczysław Edmund Janowski, Wojciech Roszkowski, Ewa Tomaszewska, Adam Bielan£
on behalf of the UEN Group
on execution of juvenile offenders in Iran
B6‑0328/2008
European Parliament resolution on execution of juvenile offenders in Iran
The European Parliament,
- –having regard to the Council declaration of 13 Jun 2008 on the execution of Iranian minor
Mohammad Hassanzadeh;
- having regard to the Council declaration of 25 February 2008 on the legislative proposal
criminal law in Iran,
- having regard, to its previous resolutions on Iran, notably those concerning human rights of
25 October 2007, 31 January 2008 and 24 April 2008;
- having regard to the resolutions of the General Assembly of the United Nations and in particular Resolution 62/168 of 18 December 2007 on the situation of human rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran and resolution 62/149 of 18 December 2007 on a moratorium on the use of death penalty;
- having regard to the UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the international Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the international Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, the international Convention on the elimination of all forms of Racial Discrimination and the Convention on the Rights of the Child, to all of which Iran is a party;
- having regard to Rule 115 of its Rules of procedures,
A. whereas the general human rights situation in Iran has continued to deteriorate since 2005, whereas executions alone almost doubled in 2007, whereas executions are carried out for crimes committed by people below the age of 18;
B. whereas the number of executions in Iran, including those of minors, often by public hanging, has dramatically increased in recent years;
C. whereas Iran continues to have the highest number of executions of child offenders in the world;
1. Strongly condemns the execution of 17 year-old Mohammad Hassanzadeh who was executed on 10 Jun 2008 in Sanandaj, the capital of the Iranian province of Kurdistan;
2. Reiterates its strong condemnation of the death sentences and executions in Iran, in particular those imposed or carried out on juvenile offenders and minors; urges the Iranian authorities to respect the internationally recognised legal safeguards with regard to minors;
3. Reaffirms that there can be absolutely no justification for the use of the death penalty by the Iranian authorities in the case of juvenile offenders , which explicitly runs counter to the legally binding provisions of international law;
4. Reiterates that these as well as all other juvenile death sentences are in direct contravention of international obligations and commitments into which the Islamic Republic of Iran has freely entered;
5. Calls on the Islamic Republic of Iran to immediately halt the use of the death penalty in the case of juvenile offenders relating to crimes committed before the age of 18, and to introduce a moratorium on the use of the death penalty in all cases;
6. Calls on the Islamic Republic of Iran to bring its domestic legislation and practice into line with the international human rights convention, giving consideration to alternative sentences for juvenile offenders, and to respect international norms including the Convention on the Rights of the Child and the international Covenant on Civil and political Rights;
7. Calls on the Council and the Commission to monitor closely the human rights situation in Iran and to submit to Parliament in the second half of 2008 a comprehensive report on the matter;
8. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission, the High Representative of the Common Foreign and Security Policy, the Governments and Parliaments of the Member States, the UN Secretary General, the UN Security Council, the UN Human Rights Council, the Head of Judiciary of Iran and the Government and Parliament of the Islamic Republic of Iran.