During a debate on Tuesday 16 January, MEPs called for the release of all demonstrators imprisoned in Iran for taking part in protests against unemployment and the low standard of living. MEPs said that the agreement with Iran on nuclear issues, to which they lent their support, should not be an excuse not to defend human rights in the country.
“The Iranians took to the streets in their masses to demand more justice and less corruption, they deserve the EU’s unequivocal support and for human rights and freedoms to be an essential point of our agenda”, said Marietje Schaake (ALDE, Netherlands). We must respect the nuclear agreement, but this should not stop us from calling the leaders out over human rights and their toxic role in the region, she added.
On behalf of the EPP, David McAllister (Germany) called for the Europeans, including the Parliament's delegation due to travel to Iran from 12 to 16 February, to call on the authorities to respect the freedom of expression, to free political prisoners and to improve the conditions of citizens. His compatriot Knut Fleckenstein, S&D, called for dialogue. “We need to talk, to dialogue, frankly, clearly and with mutual respect (…). The authorities say that we should not get involved in the demonstrations, but human rights are universal; we need to be able to talk about them”, he said. “We must discuss this situation and insist that it improves and increase our support to human rights activists”, added Germany’s Barbara Lochbihler (Greens/EFA). She went on to say that the human rights situation has worsened since Hassan Rohani was re-elected in May 2017 (see EUROPE 11793).
Several MEPs spoke out against the declaration made too late by the High Representative after several days of demonstrations that pitted protesters and the regime against each other, calling upon them to show restraint (see EUROPE 11932). “We need to differentiate between our policy on nuclear and that on human rights, which must remain valid (…). Dear Europe, your reaction is pointless, meaningless, what we want is to defend the Europe of the people rather than the Europe of banks and financial interests”, said Italy’s Mario Borghezio, for the ENF.
The Commissioner for Neighbourhood Policy, Johannes Hahn, called for “investigations into all cases of violations of human rights and sanctions for their perpetrators”. “The freedom of expression must be respected (…). The EU has always discussed human rights in its contact with the Iranian authorities and will continue to do so”, he warned.
Referring to the reason for the demonstrations, Hahn said that the commitment of the member states and the EU towards Iran and the agreement on nuclear, which has made it possible for economic sanctions to be lifted, were elements to improve the economic situation of Iranians. Lifting sanctions was the starting point to improve the Iranian economy, but it is not enough, we need reforms, particularly in the banking sector, and we need to step up the fight against corruption and money laundering, Hahn warned, recalling that the EU had proposed technical support and was prepared to provide the assistance necessary for reforms. (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)