EN Official Journal of the European Union CE 65/13

(2004/C 65 E/013)

WRITTEN QUESTION P-3497/02

by Claude Moraes (PSE) to the Commission

(2 December 2002)

Subject: Human rights violations in Iran

There is at present worldwide concern at the increasing violations of human rights in Iran, in particular cases of torture and cruelty and inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, including stoning, amputation and public executions. There is also evidence of increasing discrimination against religious minorities, in particular the ongoing persecution of the Bahai community. The undertaking of ‘constructive dialogue’ with Iran could be complemented by a transparent and independent tool for monitoring and evaluating the human rights situation in the form of a ‘Special Rapporteur’ to objectively evaluate progress.

What specific steps are being taken to ensure Iran's progress in moving towards a more tolerant and peaceful society with a more open debate on human rights, and what plans are envisaged to effectively measure such advance?

The EU has recently revived relations with Iran despite the US line undermining EU policy. It is commented that troops deployed by the US in the Persian Gulf and the use of economic sanctions puts Iran under perceived immediate threat and that under such circumstances it is not difficult for the radicals to find an audience. It could prove very difficult for the EU to reach out to reformers in Iran if the US is isolating and characterising Iran as being part of an ‘axis of evil’.

What pressure is the EU putting on the US to reconsider its positions on a policy of isolation and sanctions towards Iran and engage in a more ‘constructive dialogue’ with Iran as is the current policy of the EU?

Answer given by Mr Patten on behalf of the Commission

(20 December 2002)

In relation to Iran the Union conducts a policy of engagement through semestrial Comprehensive Dialogue Meetings, bilateral talks at Ministerial level, through demarches, and via the United Nations (UN). On 21 October 2002, the General Affairs and External Relations Council endorsed the strategy to start a Human Rights dialogue with Iran on the basis of the recommendations of the exploratory Troika mission dispatched to Tehran 30 September-1 October 2002. The Iranian government has demonstrated a political will to enter into a Human Rights dialogue, which would be regularly assessed with the help of benchmarks. In this context, it can be noted that Iran has signalled its readiness to receive UN thematic rapporteurs.

The opening of negotiations with Iran on a Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA) linked to instruments on political dialogue and counter-terrorism, will — inter alia — be linked to parallel progress in the human rights field. This is the approach of the political package defined at the European Council in Sevilla (21/22 June 2002) and formally adopted on 12 July 2002 (an ‘indissociable whole’ composed of the TCA and the separate but inter-related instruments on political dialogue and counter-terrorism).

Naturally, the Commission remains concerned about the Human Rights situation in Iran. The repressive measures against democratic institutions, civil society and the media, are disturbing. The lack of rule of law, arbitrary arrests and discrimination against minorities, are cause for concern. Recourse to cruel, inhuman, and degrading punishments is unacceptable.

The Union, including the Commission, continues to act through the instruments at its disposal, within the framework of the Comprehensive Dialogue and its global Iran policy. The Union regularly discusses its Iran policy with the United States, including its disagreement of the American sanctions towards Iran, in particular those under the Iran-Libya Sanctions Act.