Debate: Iran: one year after the murder of Jina Mahsa Amini
Date: TUESDAY, 12 SEPTEMBER 2023
Speaker: Josep Borrell Fontelles
Language: EN

We remember how women and men took to the streets in their hundreds of thousands. We have all witnessed their courage. As the European Union, we fully support the aspiration for a future where universal human rights and fundamental freedoms are respected, protected and fulfilled. We are, all of us, appalled by the way the Iranian authorities handled domestic political dissidents. Their response to the protest, we consider that unacceptable: causing death, unjust detentions and suffering. Civic freedoms, in particular, free speech, press freedom and the right to free assembly have been ever more violently suppressed throughout the past year. This repression has included the use of harsh sentences and the death penalty. The accelerating pace of executions over the past year, we consider most of them in violation of United Nations conventions that Iran itself has subscribed to. It is extremely worrying; such I expressed to the Iranian authorities. It is inhuman punishment, which represents a denial of human dignity and the fundamental right to life. That is why we ban it, in our European States. And we will continue to work for this universal abolition also in some states that are good partners of ours and they still have the death penalty. We, the European Union institutions and its Member States, have stood united over the last 12 months. And you here at the European Parliament have been paying a continual attention to the human rights situation in Iran. Last December, the European Union foreign ministers adopted a tougher stance vis-à-vis Iran, focusing on our resolute commitment to human rights. We have adopted nine consecutive rounds of sanctions. We have taken very clear positions in international fora, including in support of the international fact-finding mission. And let me state it clearly: we will continue considering options at our disposal to address the human rights situation in Iran. As a consequence of all that, the last 12 months have marked a clear change in our relations and approach with Iran. We have observed, with great dismay, Iran’s support for Russia’s illegal war of aggression. Supplying arms, according to the Ukrainians, that were used by Russia for severe human rights violations, including civilian infrastructure and civilian people in Ukraine. And with that, we have also reacted, including with sanctions and actions to prevent European components ending up in Iranian drones. Another clear turning point is the arbitrary detention of European Union citizens and European Union dual nationals, including, in particular, our colleague, Johan Floderus. The European Union and I personally have raised the situation of our citizens in every contact with the Iranian authorities at the highest political level. But our relations are at a low point. At the same time, we need to maintain a necessary approach of critical engagement with Iran, keeping diplomatic channels open. This is essential to protect our citizens, our interests, and the support of the fundamental rights of the Iranian people. And I will not stop using every occasion and every interaction possible to urge Iran to change its behaviour. And I have done that all these last months, sending a clear message to Iran: stop suppressing and attacking fundamental rights and freedoms; release all European Union citizens – including, as I said, dual nationals – and stop supporting Russia in its illegal aggression against Ukraine.