Brussels, 15/06/2012 (Agence Europe) - On Thursday 14 June, the European Parliament urged the Iranian authorities to release all activists held for having peacefully defended the rights of minorities. In a joint declaration, it calls for all forms of discrimination against ethnic or religious minorities to stop and for freedom of religion to be guaranteed. MEPs thus underline their serious concern at the steadily deteriorating human rights situation in Iran, especially for ethnic and religious minorities “due to systematic political, economic, social and cultural discrimination”.
Reiterating its condemnation of the death penalty, the Parliament also calls on the government of Iran to ban the execution of minors and to commute all death penalties currently pronounced against adolescents.
Killings in the Philippines.
In another resolution, adopted on Thursday 14 June, the European Parliament “strongly condemns” the murder of three witnesses of the Maguindanao massacre in the Philippines, in November 2009, in which 57 people were killed, and the assassination of four journalists. It calls for an “immediate independent investigation” to be held on the recent killings. Parliament calls on the Philippine government to put an end to impunity for extrajudicial killings, enforced disappearances and torture, and for those responsible to be brought to justice, including the perpetrators of the Maguindanao massacre who are still at large.
MEPs also express concern regarding judicial independence and low number of convictions for human rights violations in the country. (CG/transl.jl)