Tuesday, 2nd February 2010
Motion for a resolution on the situation in Iran
Motion for a resolution to wind up the debate on the statement by the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy pursuant to Rule 110(2) of the Rules of Procedure on the situation in Iran.
Struan Stevenson, Charles Tannock, Geoffrey Van Orden, Ashley Fox, Michał Tomasz Kamiński, Konrad Szymański, Tomasz Piotr Poręba, Adam Bielan on behalf of the ECR Group
B7 0078/2010
European Parliament resolution on the situation in Iran
The European Parliament,
– having regard to Rule 110(2) of its Rules of Procedure,
A. whereas the political situation in Iran is continuing to deteriorate, with no indication from the Iranian Government that it intends to address worldwide concerns about the legitimacy of the election held in 2009,
B. whereas human rights abuses, ranging from petty harassment of religious and ethnic minorities to show trials, torture and execution of political dissidents, are widespread,
C. whereas Iran is continuing to encourage, equip and fund extremism and terrorism throughout the Middle East and to destabilise attempts to bring a lasting peace to the region,
D. whereas there is substantial evidence to suggest that Iran is continuing its efforts to build nuclear weapons, in flagrant disregard both of its obligations under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and of United Nations resolutions ordering it to cease enriching uranium,
E. whereas a number of European countries have been trading with Iran to the tune of some €65 billion in the last three years,
1. Condemns the suppression of democracy in Iran, in particular the denial of freedom of expression and the routine abuses of the human rights of those who oppose the regime;
2. Deplores the regime's continued refusal to acknowledge concerns about the legitimacy of the declared election results;
3. Condemns the routine abuses of the human rights of those in Iran who oppose the regime; calls on the Iranian Government to commute all sentences passed against protesters and to free those on trial or in custody;
4. Expresses outrage at the recent execution of political protesters and, in particular, strongly condemns the execution on 28 January 2010 of two political prisoners for 'organising protest demonstrations' and having links to 'recent riots', even though they had been arrested months before the nationwide uprisings that were sparked by the sham elections in June 2009;
5. Condemns the torture and show trials of the detained protesters and the forcing of prisoners to make false confessions and false accusations on television against opposition groups;
6. Deplores the official statements by the Iranian judiciary that any support for or relations with the opposition People's Mujahedin of Iran (PMOI) is an act of 'Moharabeh' (waging war on God) and is punishable by execution under Islamic penal law; notes that these statements clearly pave the way for the execution of many young protesters;
7. Condemns the routine and outrageous imposition of the death penalty on minors in all cases and, in particular, on adults convicted of 'crimes' involving sexual misdemeanours or sexual orientation, a stance which violates Iran's international legal obligations;
8. Expresses deep concern at the arrest and long-term imprisonment of relatives of Camp Ashraf residents whose only offence was to visit their families in Iraq;
9. Condemns the statement by the Iranian President calling for the destruction of a UN member state, Israel, which is a violation of all the standards governing peaceful international relations, and, in the interests of peace in the Middle East, calls on him to apologise for and retract all such provocative statements;
10. Calls on the Iranian Government immediately to halt its moral and material support for terrorism and extremism provided through proxies in Gaza, Lebanon, Iraq, Yemen and other countries, in particular its support for Hamas and Hezbollah in their constant attempts to attack civilians in Israel, as well as its alleged support for radical Shia groups in Iraq, which not only attack peacekeeping troops, but also perpetrate atrocities against the Iraqi civilian population by means of their repeated suicide bombings;
11. Calls on the Iranian Government to cease its efforts to produce nuclear weapons and to open all sites for inspection, as requested by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA);
12. Supports international efforts to step up sanctions against Iran, including a freeze on dealings with the Iranian Central Bank and with firms controlled by the Revolutionary Guard Corps, a tightening of the international travel ban and the freezing of the assets of identified individuals and companies, until there is a halt to suspect uranium-enrichment activities, full compliance with IAEA requests and an immediate improvement in respect for human rights;
13. Calls on the Chinese Government to support international efforts to curtail Iran's nuclear programme;
14. Deplores the fact that many European countries and individual companies continue to maintain extensive trade links with Iran whose value is estimated at billions of euros per year; in this regard, welcomes the decision by Siemens to end its dealings with Iran by mid-2010 and calls on other European companies to do likewise;
15. Calls on the Member States to refrain from sending any device or weapon to Iran which might be used in any way to suppress street protests;
16. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission, the parliaments and governments of the Member States, the United Nations Secretary-General, the Director-General of the International Atomic Energy Agency and the Government and Parliament of Iran.
