MOTION FOR A RESOLUTION on Iran: in particular the poisoning of hundreds of school girls
14.3.2023 - (2023/2587(RSP))
pursuant to Rule 144 of the Rules of Procedure
Pedro Marques, Evin Incir, Alessandra Moretti, Thijs Reuten
on behalf of the S&D Group
See also joint motion for a resolution RC-B9-0170/2023
B9‑0180/2023
European Parliament resolution on Iran: in particular the poisoning of hundreds of school girls
The European Parliament,
- Having regard to Rules 144(5) and 132(4) of its Rules of Procedure,
A. Whereas, following the killing of Jina (Mahsa) Amini in police custody, women and teenage girls in Iran have led large-scale peaceful protests demanding accountability, democracy, and an end to the systemic discrimination of women;
B. Whereas, according to Human Rights Activists in Iran, thousands girls and women in hundreds of schools across Iran have been subjected to attacks with toxic chemicals since November 2022; whereas hundreds have been hospitalised and at least one schoolgirl has died amid the attacks, discouraging girls from attending education; whereas these poisonings are another pattern of the repression against women in Iran;
C. Whereas 20 prominent Iran lawyers call on WHO, UNESCO, UNICEF an ICRC to investigate the schoolgirl poisonings in a letter from 6 March 2023.
1. Strongly condemns the systematic poisoning of thousands of schoolgirls and young women and girls in Iran and insists that all perpetrators be brought to justice; reiterates its absolute support for Iranian women and girls’ demand to abolish systemic discrimination;
2. Urges the Iranian authorities to launch a thorough investigation into these reported poisonings of girls at schools, bring perpetrators to justice, and ensure the safety of all students; urges the UN Human Rights Council, mandated by Article 7(a) of A/HRC/RES/S-35/1, to task the Independent International Fact-Finding Mission (IIFFM) with a thorough and independent investigation into the schoolgirl poisonings,
3. Recalls that the Islamic Republic bears full responsibility for Iranian women and girls’ fundamental right to education in safety; urges Iranian authorities to provide full and unhampered access to the UN IIFFM, ensure non-discriminatory access to education for girls, and repeal any discriminatory legislation towards women;
4. Notes with disapproval the authorities’ months-long failure to act on, and deliberate suppression of, credible reports of systematic toxic attacks against schoolgirls, which might suggest complicity;
5. Condemns the Chief Justice’s announced establishment of special courts in each province for those accused of “disrupting public opinion” in relation to the poisonings; denounces any politically motivated legal proceedings against journalists, activists, and regime-critical news outlets for their reporting on the poisonings; insists on the immediate and unconditional release of all those imprisoned or prosecuted for the exercise of their fundamental rights under the UDHR and for all charges against them to be dropped;
6. Reiterates its call on the Council to designate the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) as a terrorist organisation and to expand the EU sanctions list to all those responsible for human rights violations in Iran, including Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, President Ebrahim Raisi, Prosecutor General Mohammad Jafar Montazeri, and all foundations linked to the IRGC;
7. Welcomes any initiatives that seek to transition Iran into to a new democratic system followed by free elections; stresses the importance of an inclusive and pluralistic system;
8. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission, the VP/HR, the Islamic Consultative Assembly, and the Office of the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran.