P6_TA-PROV(2008)0031
Situation in Iran
PE
401.026
European Parliament resolution of
31 January 2008 on Iran
The European
Parliament,
having regard to its previous resolutions on Iran, notably those
concerning the nuclear issue and human rights and in particular the
resolutions adopted on 13 October 2005
and 17 November 2005,
its resolution of 15 February 2006 on the confrontation between Iran
and the international community
and its resolution of 25 October 2007 on Iran,
having regard to the conclusions of the European Council on Iran and
in particular those of 14 December 2007,
having regard to the UN Security Council (UNSC) resolutions 1696
(2006), 1737/ (2006) and 1747/ (2007) on the Iranian nuclear
programme,
having regard to the IAEA-Iran work plan agreed between Iran and the
International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) of 21 August 2007, and aimed
at clearing up issues related to Iran’s nuclear programme (included in
attachment INFCIRC/711 to the IAEA Board of Governors' report
(GOV/2007/48) of 30 August 2007 entitled "Implementation of the NPT
Safeguards Agreement in the Islamic Republic of Iran"),
having regard to the IAEA Board of Governors' reports and in
particular to the report (GOV/2007/58) of 15 November 2007 entitled
"Implementation of the NPT Safeguards Agreement and relevant
provisions of Security Council resolutions 1737 (2006) and 1747 (2007)
in the Islamic Republic of Iran",
having regard to the United States 'National Intelligence Estimate'
report on Iran's Nuclear Intentions and Capabilities (US INE)
published on 3 December 2007 and the statement by the IAEA
Director-General, Dr Mohamed ElBaradei, on this issue (press release
2007/22),
having regard to UN General Assembly (UNGA) resolutions 61/176 of 19
December 2006 and 62/168 of 18 December 2007 on the situation of human
rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran, and in particular the latter,
having regard to UNGA resolution 62/149 of 18 December 2007 on a
moratorium on the use of the death penalty,
having regard to the second interparliamentary meeting between the
European Parliament and the Majlis of the Islamic Republic of Iran
held in Tehran on 8-9 December 2007,
– having regard to the
declaration by the Council Presidency on behalf of the EU of 25
January 2008 concerning death sentences in Iran,
having regard to Rule 103(4) of its Rules of Procedure,
A. whereas Article IV of the
Treaty on the Non-proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) states that
nothing in that Treaty shall be interpreted as affecting the
inalienable right of all Parties to that Treaty to develop research,
production and use of nuclear energy for peaceful purposes without
discrimination and in conformity with Articles I and II of that
Treaty,
B. whereas Iran has not so far
suspended all enrichment-related and reprocessing activities and has
not ratified the NPT Additional Protocols as required to do by UNSC
resolutions 1696 (2006), 1737 (2006) and 1747 (2007) in order to
restore confidence in the entirely peaceful nature of its programme,
C. whereas Dr ElBaradei, in the
above-mentioned report of 15 November 2007, noted that progress had
been made on the implementation of IAEA safeguards in Iran and that
Iran had provided more information on past aspects of its nuclear
programme; whereas he nevertheless underscored that more cooperation
was needed to explain current activity, including traces of highly
enriched uranium that inspectors have found at nuclear sites, and
urged Iran to implement the additional protocol at the earliest
possible date,
D. whereas in talks with Dr
ElBaradei, in Teheran on 12 January 2008, the Iranian leaders agreed
to answer all remaining questions about their country's past nuclear
activities within four weeks,
E. whereas the US NIE
established that Iran, having stopped its nuclear weapons programme in
2003, had not restarted it as of mid-2007, notwithstanding the
concerns regarding the enrichment of uranium and its potential future
use for nuclear weapon; whereas, following the publication of this US
NIE, pre-emptive military action against Iran before the end of
President Bush's term has been removed as a possibility,
F. whereas the G8 leaders,
during their annual summit held from 6 to 8 June 2007 in Heiligendamm,
stressed the importance of developing and implementing a mechanism of
multilateral approaches to the nuclear fuel cycle as a possible
alternative to pursuing national enrichment and reprocessing
activities,
On human rights
G. 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,
H. whereas the number of
executions in Iran, including those of minors, often by public
hanging, has dramatically increased in recent years and in particular
during the last few months,
I. whereas there have been
confirmed instances of executions, often carried out in public by
hanging or stoning, torture and ill-treatment of prisoners, the
systematic and arbitrary use of prolonged solitary confinement,
clandestine detention, the application of cruel, inhuman and degrading
treatment or punishment, including flogging and amputations, and
impunity for human rights violations,
J. whereas the violent
repression against political opponents, human rights defenders,
journalists, web loggers, teachers, intellectuals, women, students,
trade unionists, and persons belonging to religious, ethnic,
linguistic or other minorities has increased,
K. whereas minorities such as
Azeris, Sufis and Sunnis are increasingly discriminated against and
harassed due to their religious or ethnic background and continue to
face repression of their cultural and civil rights; whereas members of
certain minorities such as Ahwazis, Kurds and Baluchs even face
torture and execution,
L. whereas members of the
religious community of the Baha'is cannot exercise their faith, are
exposed to severe persecution and deprived of virtually all civil
rights (e.g. property rights and access to higher education), and
whereas their religious sites are being vandalised,
M. 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); whereas Iran is still not a party
to the UN Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination
against Women,
N. whereas hundreds of
professors have been removed from their teaching posts under the
accusation of being too secular and whereas numerous students have
been arrested following protests, such as those participating in the
demonstrations for the National University Students' Day on 7 December
2007,
O. whereas the registration of
candidates for the Majlis parliamentary elections in March 2008 ended
on 10 January 2008, the Ministry of the Interior will be announcing
the decisions from 22 January 2008, and the Guardian Council, which
supervises the validity of the elections according to the
Constitution, has the right to disqualify candidates,
On EU-Iran relations
P. whereas the Comprehensive
Dialogue between the EU and Iran was suspended by Iran in December
2003 and no meeting within the framework of the EU–Iran Human Rights
Dialogue has taken place since June 2004,
Q. whereas the EU's relations
with Iran in recent years 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 these
three aspects cannot be separated,
On the nuclear issue
1. Reaffirms that the
proliferation risks of the Iranian nuclear programme remain a source
of serious concern to the EU and the international community, as
expressed very clearly in UNSC Resolutions 1696 (2006), 1737 (2006),
and 1747 (2007); therefore regrets that Iran has still not complied
with its international obligations to suspend all enrichment-related
and reprocessing activities;
2. Expresses its support for
the EU's efforts to find a negotiated long-term solution on the
nuclear issue with Iran and underlines the essential role to be played
by the IAEA;
3. Notes the progress made on
the implementation of the IAEA-Iran work plan, and repeats its calls
on Iran to restore the transparency of its nuclear programme by
providing full, clear and credible answers to the IAEA, to resolve all
outstanding issues and concerns on this programme, including topics
which could have a military dimension, to fully implement the
provisions of the Comprehensive Safeguard Agreement including its
subsidiary arrangements, and to ratify and implement the Additional
Protocol;
4. Reiterates its full support
for the UNSC resolutions adopted under Article 41, Chapter VII of the
UN Charter; endorses the above-mentioned European Council conclusions
of 14 December 2007; welcomes the agreement reached at the meeting of
the Foreign Ministers of the UNSC permanent members and Germany, as
well as the EU High Representative for the Common Foreign and Security
Policy (CFSP), at their meeting in Berlin on 22 January 2008 on a new
draft resolution on Iran which foresees further measures and the fact
that the international community maintains a common approach to the
issue;
5. Reiterates its position
that a solution to the present nuclear escalation is possible and that
no military action should be taken into consideration; expresses its
support for Dr ElBaradei's efforts to solve all outstanding issues
with Iran by March 2008; calls on the United States Administration and
all other actors involved to renounce all rhetoric on military options
and regime change policies against Iran;
6. Notes the recent findings
of the US NIE on the Iranian military and civilian nuclear programme;
considers that these findings confirm the EU's policy of a two-track
approach to convince Iran diplomatically to comply fully with the IAEA
requests to abandon the potential military link to the civilian
programme in a credible and controllable way;
7. Urges Iran, therefore, to
enter, without delay, into a new round of negotiations on the future
direction of its nuclear programme and to suspend all
enrichment-related activities; calls on the United States, following
its diplomatic success in the negotiations with North Korea, to
participate directly in negotiations with Iran along with the EU,
since the United States is in a position to offer additional security
guarantees, notably in a multilateral framework under the auspices of
the IAEA in Vienna;
8. Calls for credible
multilateral nuclear disarmament steps through strengthening the NPT,
and calls on the EU to take the lead in bringing the nuclear
disarmament negotiations out of their current deadlock;
9. Stresses the importance of
cooperation with the United States, Russia, China and non-aligned
countries in order to consider complementary concepts with a view to
achieving a comprehensive agreement with Iran on its nuclear
facilities and their use which takes account of Iran's security
concerns;
10. Considers that such a
comprehensive agreement should help to achieve a sustainable regional
security system comprising India, Pakistan and other nuclear powers,
and believes that Iran should assume its responsibilities as a
regional player;
11. Calls on the international
community to think seriously about and act urgently on the creation of
a new multilateral framework for the utilisation of nuclear energy,
guaranteeing supplies of nuclear fuel while minimising the risk of
proliferation, as proposed by the IAEA;
On human rights
12. Expresses its deep concern
over 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, and recalls its above-mentioned resolution of 25
October 2007 on the issue;
13. Strongly condemns the death
sentences and executions in Iran, in particular those imposed or
carried out on juvenile offenders and minors, and urges the Iranian
authorities to respect the internationally recognised legal safeguards
with regard to minors, such as the International Convention on the
Rights of the Child;
14. 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 the 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 - notably Mansour Osanloo and Mahmoud
Salehi - and calls for the release of all those who have been
imprisoned for the peaceful expression of their convictions;
15. Protests vehemently against
the execution in Iran on 31 January 2008 at 4 am local time of the
Ahwazi activist Zamel Bawi, the 19th Ahwazi activist executed in the
last twelve months, and urges the Iranian government to desist from
executing the Dutch citizen and human-rights activist Faleh Abdulah
al-Mansouri and the UNHCR-registered refugees Rasoul Ali Mazrea and
Said Saki, whose resettlement to Norway has been secured, as well as
to allow them to proceed to their countries of citizenship or refuge;
calls for the release of the Kurdish journalists Abdolvahed "Hiwa"
Butimar and Adnan Hassanpour who have been sentenced to death;
16. Urges the Iranian
authorities to eliminate, in law and in practice, all forms of torture
including extremely inhumane executions and other cruel, inhuman or
degrading treatment or punishment, and to uphold due process of law
and end impunity for human rights violations; calls on the Iranian
authorities to amend urgently the penal code in order to transform the
moratorium on stoning into a definitive ban;
17. Welcomes the above-mentioned
UNGA resolution 62/149 calling for a global moratorium to be
introduced as a step towards the abolition of the death penalty; calls
on Iran to apply the recently adopted resolution on a moratorium on
executions;
18. Urges the Iranian
authorities to respect internationally recognised legal safeguards
with regard to persons belonging to religious, ethnic, linguistic or
other minorities, recognised or otherwise; strongly 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; urges the Iranian authorities to act
constitutionally and eliminate, in law and in practice,
all forms of discrimination and other human rights violations against
persons belonging to religious, ethnic, linguistic or other
minorities, including, inter alia, Arabs, Azeris, Baluchs, Kurds,
Baha'is, Christians, Jews, Sufis and Sunni Muslims; calls in
particular for the de facto ban on practising the Baha'i faith to be
lifted;
19. Condemns the repression
against political opponents, human rights defenders, journalists, web
loggers, teachers, intellectuals, women, students, trade unionists,
and persons belonging to religious, ethnic, linguistic or other
minorities; urges the Iranian authorities to end the harassment,
intimidation and persecution of these citizens, and to release
unconditionally all prisoners of conscience;
20. Calls on the Council and
Commission to continue their examination of the human rights situation
in Iran and to submit to Parliament in the first half of 2008 a
comprehensive report on the matter, including proposals for projects
that could be financed in the framework of the European Instrument for
Democracy and Human Rights;
21. Expresses its support for
all democratic political forces and for civil society, especially for
the women's and students' associations which are campaigning
non-violently in Iran, despite growing repression, for democracy and
human rights;
22. Expects the Iranian
authorities to exercise their responsibility for the screening
procedure of candidates for the upcoming national elections in such a
way as to guarantee that they will be free and fair;
On EU-Iran relations
23. Underlines that the possible
future conclusion of a Cooperation and Trade Agreement between Iran
and the EU depends on a substantial improvement in Iran's human rights
situation as well as on Iran's full cooperation with the IAEA and
objective guarantees regarding the peaceful nature of its nuclear
programme;
24. Calls on the Commission to
submit a communication on the situation and the perspectives of
EU-Iran relations and urges both sides to restart the human rights
dialogue, in parallel with the negotiations for a Cooperation and
Trade Agreement, which could be concluded if Iran makes the necessary
progress in the field of human rights and on the nuclear issue;
25. Calls on the Commission to
establish a delegation in Iran in order to promote dialogue with the
authorities and with civil society and to intensify contacts
concerning, notably, aid to refugees and the fight against drug
trafficking;
26. Takes note of the decision
of the British Proscribed Organisations Appeal Commission of 30
November 2007 calling on the UK Home Secretary to remove the People´s
Mojahedin Organiszation of Iran (PMOI) from the list of proscribed
organisations immediately;
27. Notes the judgment of the
Court of First Instance of the European Communities of 12 December
2006;
°
° °
28. Instructs its President to
forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission, the High
Representative of the CFSP, the Governments and Parliaments of the
Member States, the UN Secretary-General, the Presidents of the UNSC,
the UNGA and the UN Human Rights Council, the Director-General of the
IAEA, the Head of the State Supreme Court of Iran, and the Government
and Parliament of the Islamic Republic of Iran.
