Strasbourg
November 16th,
2006
The European Parliament ,
– having regard to its previous resolutions on Iran,
notably those concerning human rights,
– 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,
– having regard to the 8th EU Annual Report on
Human Rights (2006), adopted by the Council on 17 October 2006,
– having regard to the EU Presidency statement
of 20 December 2005 on the
EU-Iran Human Rights Dialogue,
– having regard to the Council Conclusions of 10
to 11 April, 15 to 16 May and 17 July 2006, the Council statement of 26 July
2006 on Freedom of Expression, the Council statement of 5 May 2006 on Human
Rights in Iran, the Council statement of 24 August 2006 on the death of Akbar Mohammadi and the
imprisonment of Manouchehr Mohammadi
and the Council statement of 5 October 2006 on Freedom of the Press,
– having regard to Rule 115(5) of its Rules of
Procedure,
General situation
A. whereas the situation in Iran regarding the
exercise of civil rights and political freedoms has deteriorated in the last
year, notably since the presidential elections of June 2005, despite several
commitments by the Iranian authorities to promote universal values,
B. whereas Iran
has undertaken to promote and protect human rights and fundamental freedoms
under the various international instruments in this field,
Political prisoners
C. whereas the Iranian authorities have
announced that a report prepared by the judiciary had produced detailed
evidence of human rights violations, including torture and ill-treatment of
prisoners and detainees in prisons and detention centres, but also had
confirmed that measures had been taken to address the problems identified,
D. whereas nonetheless the practice of torture
and ill-treatment of prisoners, solitary confinement, clandestine detention,
cruel, inhumane and degrading punishment and impunity for State agents continue
to be widespread,
E. concerned that the Centre for Defence of
Human Rights (CDHR), co-founded by the 2003 Nobel peace laureate Shirin Ebadi
and provider of pro-bono legal defence to Zahra Kazemi,
Akbar Ganji and Abdoulfatah Soltani, was declared
an illegal organisation by President Ahmadinejad in August 2006 and that the Ministry of the
Interior has threatened those who continued their activities with prosecution,
Prosecution of juvenile
offenders
F. deeply concerned about the increasing reports
regarding the sentencing to death and execution of juvenile offenders, while
noting that Iran
accounts for the highest number of juvenile executions worldwide,
Minority rights
G. whereas some minority rights are granted by
the Iranian Constitution, such as the right of minorities to their own
language, but to a large extent such rights cannot be exercised in practice;
whereas in recent months minority groups have demonstrated, calling to be
allowed to exercise such rights, which has led large-scale imprisonment of
participants,
H. whereas the Azeris,
the largest ethnic minority in Iran, were openly offended by cartoons as an
ethnic minority grouping by a State-owned daily newspaper in May 2006; whereas
other minorities continue to be discriminated against and harassed due to their
religious or ethnic background, such as the Kurds and the inhabitants of the
area around Ahwaz city, the provincial capital of the
ethnic Arab-dominated Khuzestan province, who are for example being displaced
from their villages according to statements by Miloon
Kothari, UN Special Rapporteur on Adequate Housing,
while some of them remain in detention or have been sentenced to death,
Freedom of religion
I. whereas, apart from Islam, only
Zoroastrianism, Christianity and Judaism are recognised
as religions by law, while those who practise unrecognised religions, such as Baha'is and Sufis, are
discriminated against and violently repressed; whereas notably the Baha'is
cannot exercise their religion and are moreover consequently deprived of all
civil rights, such as their rights to property and access to higher education,
J. whereas even members of the clergy opposing
Iran's theocratic regime are at risk, as witnessed by the case of Ayatollah Sayed Bouroujerdi, who was
arrested with his followers in October 2006, and whereas they are still
detained,
Freedom of the press
K. particularly concerned about the increasing
reports of arbitrary arrests of and threats against journalists,
cyber-journalists and webloggers; whereas at least 16
journalists have reportedly been arrested since the beginning of the year, ranking
Iran among the very worst countries in the world for the prosecution of
journalists and for its crackdown on press freedom by closing virtually all
critical newspapers and online magazines, in which connection family members
are being harassed, travel bans imposed on journalists and satellite dishes
confiscated,
L. whereas, according to reports, the Iranian
authorities are increasingly filtering internet sites and blocking access to
several dozen online publications and political, social and cultural weblogs; whereas, by preventing free use of the internet,
the Iranian authorities are cracking down on the Iranian public's only means of
access to uncensored information,
Women's rights
M. whereas Iran
is still not a party to the United Nations Convention on the Elimination of All
Forms of Discrimination against Women,
N. whereas demonstrations for legal reforms to
end discrimination against women have been broken up and participants have been
arrested, although later released again,
Violation of other rights
O. whereas in September 2006 President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad openly called
for a purge of liberal and secular academics in the universities, whereas the
Iranian Government is increasingly barring university students from pursing
their higher education despite the fact that they have passed competitive
entrance exams, and whereas the judiciary has prosecuted numerous students and
sentenced them to imprisonment, fines or flogging during the past year,
P. whereas people are still imprisoned and at times
executed for sexual offences, inter alia for adult
consensual sexual activity between unmarried persons and homosexuals,
Q. whereas in 2005 Iran accounted for the second
highest number of executions worldwide, 282 sentences of capital punishment being
reported, of which 111 cases were executed between October 2005 and September
2006; highly concerned, moreover, that people are still being condemned to
death by stoning despite the moratorium on stoning imposed in December 2002,
and notably in this regard women for crimes of sexual misconduct,
R. having regard to the announcement by the Head
of the Judiciary of the Islamic Republic of Iran in April 2004 that torture
would be banned and to the subsequent reform of legislation by the Iranian
Parliament, approved by the Guardian Council in May 2004,
S. whereas in December 2006 there will be
elections to the Assembly of Experts, a pillar of the clerical establishment
which chooses and supervises the work of the supreme leader, as well as Council
elections; whereas for the Council elections it has been reported that in the
electoral districts of Rey and Shemiranat
nominees have been refused registration and for the Assembly elections the
reformists have threatened an election boycott if all nominees are not
admitted,
T. deeply concerned at the failure to comply
fully with international standards in the administration of justice, the
absence of guarantees of due process of law and the absence of respect for
internationally recognised legal safeguards,
Violation of international obligations
U. whereas Iran has not agreed to a further
round of the EU-Iran Human Rights Dialogue that was established in 2002 and
whereas, after the fourth round held on 14 to 15 June 2004, Iran ceased
participation, despite repeated efforts by the EU over the last year and the
current year to offer dates for a fifth round,
V. whereas EU relations with Iran have been
based on a threefold approach, characterised by
negotiations on a trade and cooperation agreement, political dialogue and a
human rights dialogue, and whereas the political dialogue has been suspended
because of the current Iranian position on its nuclear programme,
General situation
1. Expresses its serious
concern about the deterioration of the human rights situation in Iran
since President Ahmadinejad took office in June 2005;
2. Calls upon Iran
to grant all persons the right to exercise their civil rights and political
freedoms and hopes that the Iranian authorities will fulfil their commitments
to promote universal values, which Iran
is also obliged to do by international conventions that it has ratified;
Political prisoners
3. Calls on the Iranian authorities to accelerate
the process of investigation into the suspicious deaths and killings of
intellectuals and political activists, to bring the alleged perpetrators to
justice and to unconditionally provide adequate medical assistance to those
prisoners who are in poor health;
4. Calls on the Iranian authorities to
unconditionally release all prisoners of conscience, notably Keyvan Ansari, Keyvan Rafii, Kheirollah
Derakhshandi, Abolfazl Jahandar and Koroush Zaim;
5. Welcomes in this context the recent release of
former Member of the Iranian Parliament Sayed Ali Akbar Mousavi-Kho'ini, as well as
the earlier releases of Ramin Jahanbegloo
and Akbar Ganji; expects
that Mr Ganji, who was
invited to the European Parliament in October, will be able to return to Iran
freely and without any obstacles;
Prosecution of juvenile
offenders
6. Is appalled that there are still cases of
executions of minors and sentences of stoning and that, despite government
assurances, at least two sentences of stoning have been carried out;
7. Strongly condemns the death penalty as such,
condemns in particular death sentences passed against and executions of
juvenile offenders and minors, and calls upon the Iranian authorities to
respect internationally recognised legal safeguards
with regard to minors such as the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child;
Minority rights
8. Calls upon the authorities to respect
internationally recognised legal safeguards with
regard to persons belonging to religious minorities, officially recognised or otherwise; condemns the current lack of
respect for minority rights and demands that minorities be allowed to exercise
all rights granted by the Iranian Constitution and international law; further
calls upon the authorities to eliminate all forms of discrimination based on
religious or ethnic grounds or against persons belonging to minorities, such as
Kurds, Azeris, Arabs and Baluchis;
9. Remains concerned about the fate of the lawyer
Saleh Kamrani, who defended
Azeri Turks in a law suit and disappeared on 14 June 2006; calls on the Iranian
authorities to immediately halt the imminent execution of the Arabs Abdullah Suleymani, Abdulreza Sanawati Zergani, Qasem Salamat, Mohammad Jaab Pour, Abdulamir Farjallah Jaab, Alireza Asakreh, Majed Alboghubaish, Khalaf Derhab Khudayrawi,
Malek Banitamim, Sa'id Saki and Abdullah Al-Mansouri;
Freedom of the press
10. 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 the freedom of opinion, and calls for the
release of all imprisoned journalists and webloggers,
including Motjaba Saminejad,
Ahmad Raza Shiri, Arash Sigarchi and Masoud Bastani;
11. Condemns the arrests and imprisonment of
cyber-journalists and webloggers and the parallel
censorship of several online publications, weblogs
and internet sites, as these are the most uncensored source of news to the
Iranian people; also condemns the wave of arbitrary arrests of journalists as
well as the severe restriction and, in particular, the closure of media in
Iran;
12. 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;
Freedom of religion
13. Calls on the Iranian authorities to eliminate
all forms of discrimination based on religious grounds; notably calls for the
de facto ban on practising the Baha'i faith to be
lifted;
14. Expresses its concern about the arrest of the
two lawyers Farshid Yadollahi
and Omid Behrouzi, who received prison sentences
while defending Sufis in Qom; expresses equally its
concern for the safety of Ayatollah Sayad Hossein Kazemeyni Boroujerdi, who has been advocating for years the
separation of religion from the political basis of the State and who has been
rearrested, reportedly with more than 400 of his followers;
Women's rights
15. Expresses its concern about the continuous
discrimination in law and in practice against women, despite some progress;
condemns the use of violence and discrimination against women in Iran, which
remains a serious problem; further condemns the use of violence by the Iranian
security forces against women who had gathered earlier this year to celebrate
International Women's Day on 8 March 2006; condemns furthermore the Iranian
security forces' violent disruption of a peaceful demonstration on 12 June 2006
by women and men advocating an end to legal discrimination against women in
Iran;
16. Urges Iran
to sign the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination
against Women, and moreover demands that the legal age of majority for women in
Iran be changed
to 18 years;
Violation of other rights
17. Strongly condemns the open call by President Ahmadinejad for a purge of liberal and secular academics in
the universities and calls for all those expelled to be allowed to return and
to teach according to the elementary rights of academic freedom;
18. Deeply deplores the deaths of student
activist Akbar Mahdavi Mohammadi and political prisoner Valiollah
Feyz as a result of their hunger strikes and calls
for the release of Manoucher Mohammadi;
requests that students should not be barred from higher education due to their
peaceful political activities;
19. Demands that adult consensual sexual activity
by unmarried persons should not lead to prosecution; further demands that
people should not be imprisoned or executed on grounds of their sexual
orientation;
20. Calls on the Iranian authorities to give
evidence that they are implementing their declared moratorium on stoning, and
demands the immediate and strict implementation of the ban on torture as
announced, passed by the Iranian Parliament and approved by the Guardian
Council; moreover demands that the Islamic Penal Code of Iran be reformed in
order to abolish stoning;
21. Is deeply concerned that
for the upcoming elections nominees once again have not been able to
register and that reformists will boycott the elections due to the undemocratic
procedures for the listing of candidates for the elections;
22. Calls upon the Iranian authorities to make
efforts to ensure the full application of due process of law and fair,
transparent procedures by the judiciary, to ensure respect for the rights of
the defence and the equity of verdicts in all types of court;
European initiatives
23. Calls on Iran to recommence the EU-Iran Human
Rights Dialogue with the European Union and, further, calls upon the Council
and the Commission to closely monitor developments in Iran and also to raise
concrete cases of human rights abuses as the basic condition for progress in
EU-Iran economic and trade relations;
24. Calls on the Commission, in close cooperation
with the European Parliament, to make effective use of the new Instrument for
Democracy and Human Rights in order to ensure democracy and respect for human
rights in Iran, for example by supporting uncensored media;
25. Calls on the Council to examine the way in
which Parliament may become involved in the regular updating of Council Common
Position 2001/931/CFSP of 27 December 2001 on the application of specific
measures to combat terrorism(1) , taking into account developments from
2001 onwards;
26. Welcomes the first visit by a Majlis delegation to the European Parliament in October and
expresses its hope that these fruitful exchanges, as well as this resolution,
will form part of a continuous dialogue which will lead to a gradual
rapprochement between Iran and the European Union on the basis of shared values
as enshrined in the UN Charter and Conventions;
o
o o
27. Instructs its President to forward this
resolution to the Council, the Commission, the High
Representative for CFSP, the governments and parliaments of the Member
States, the Secretary-General of
the United Nations, the UN Commission on Human Rights, the Head of the State
Supreme Court of Iran and the Government and Parliament of the Islamic Republic
of Iran.
(1) OJ L 344, 28.12.2001, p. 93.
