The situation in Iran and the protection of Iranian human rights defenders in Council of Europe member States
- Author(s):
- Parliamentary Assembly
- Origin
- Assembly
debate on 1 October 2024 (27th sitting) (see Doc. 16035, report
of the Committee on Political Affairs and Democracy, rapporteur:
Mr Max Lucks; Doc. 16048, opinion of the Committee on Equality and Non-Discrimination, rapporteur:
Ms Mariia Mezentseva-Fedorenko). Text
adopted by the Assembly on 1 October 2024 (27th sitting).
1. The Parliamentary Assembly refers
to its
Resolution 1678
(2009) “Situation in Iran” and reiterates its deep concern
with regard to the human rights situation in the Islamic Republic
of Iran and the country’s foreign policy.
2. For more than two years, the Islamic Republic of Iran has
been the scene of mass anti-government protests that have spread
across the country following the death of Jina Mahsa Amini, a young
woman who died in the custody of Iran’s “morality police” on 16
September 2022. Her death led to an unprecedented protest movement,
under the motto “Woman, Life, Freedom”, against the Islamic regime
as a whole. Faced with this existential threat, the regime reacted
with extreme brutality, using violence, torture, kidnappings and
death sentences to silence the protesters’ legitimate demands.
3. The Assembly pays tribute to the women and men victims of
the Iranian regime and expresses political support to and solidarity
with civil society groups and courageous Iranians who stand up against
repression and mobilise to promote democracy, human rights and the
rule of law in Iran.
4. Ever since the establishment of the “Islamic Republic” in
1979, the people of Iran have been denied basic human rights. Many
opponents of the regime had to flee the country and were granted
asylum and citizenship in Council of Europe member States. As a
result, there are large Iranian communities in many European countries
that maintain relations with relatives and friends in Iran.
5. Many Iranians living in exile in Europe, and European citizens
of Iranian origin or descent, are opposed to the regime in Iran
and support the protest movement against it. They are often faced
with threats, intimidation, violence and abductions by the Iranian
State structures of repression operating abroad, and some are even
victims of assassinations attributable to these structures.
6. The Iranian regime’s persecution of dissenting civil society
voices and human rights defenders, both in Iran and abroad, in particular
in Council of Europe member States, is a serious human rights concern
and a threat to the security of European societies. The Assembly
reaffirms its support for all human rights defenders under the jurisdiction
of member States and refers to its
Resolution 2225 (2018) “Protecting
human rights defenders in Council of Europe member States” and its
Resolution 2554 (2024) “Protecting
women human rights defenders in Europe”. It further refers to its
Resolution 2509 (2023) “Transnational
repression as a growing threat to the rule of law and human rights”,
as Iranian human rights defenders in Europe are also targeted. The
Assembly invites its General Rapporteur on the situation of human
rights defenders and whistle-blowers to address the protection needs
of Iranian human rights defenders in exile in Europe.
7. Iran is a direct neighbour of three Council of Europe member
States: Armenia, Azerbaijan and Türkiye, and has a significant impact
on regional stability and security in the South Caucasus.
8. With its support to Hamas in Gaza, Hezbollah in Lebanon, the
Houthis in Yemen and the Assad regime in Syria, and its fierce stance
against Israel and the denial of that country’s right to exist,
Iran is one of the most influential stakeholders in the Middle East,
and is a major actor contributing to the destabilisation of the
region.
9. As a provider of weapons to the Russian Federation that are
used to reinforce its war of aggression against Ukraine, and given
its political rapprochement with that country on bilateral and multilateral
levels, as well as its strategic ambitions in the Mediterranean,
Iran is a threat to European security.
10. The Assembly therefore believes that the situation in Iran
and its domestic and foreign policy have a direct impact on, and
pose a serious threat to, regional, European and global security.
11. European countries, however, have so far not designed a co-ordinated
strategy to counter the Iranian policy to destabilise international
order and its subversive activities that threaten European democracies, including
as regards the protection of Iranian communities in Europe.
12. The Assembly believes that the Council of Europe, as the key
European institution protecting and promoting democracy, human rights
and the rule of law, should play a significant role in guiding and
supporting its member States when it comes to developing co-ordinated
human rights-based relations with Iran.
13. The Assembly therefore calls upon governments and parliaments
of member and observer States of the Council of Europe, as well
as parliaments enjoying observer or partner for democracy status
with the Assembly, to raise awareness of the human rights situation
in Iran and to consider, possibly in consultation with Iranian communities
in Europe, ways to strengthen solidarity with and support to Iranian
civil society organisations, human rights defenders and individuals
who stand up to promote democracy, human rights and the rule of
law in Iran. The Assembly invites them,
inter
alia, to:
13.1 send,
at all levels, a stronger message of political support to and solidarity
with Iranians standing up for democracy and human rights;
13.2 introduce and enforce targeted sanctions against Iran’s
power elite, namely individuals and companies linked to the regime;
13.3 ensure accountability under international law, by introducing
targeted sanctions against, and initiating international legal prosecution
of, Iranian human rights violators, including those responsible
for pervasive institutional discrimination leading to the elimination
of the rights of women and girls in Iran, and for the persecution
of and discrimination against religious and ethnic minorities, as
well as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI)
people;
13.4 ensure access to international protection for all those
Iranians who manage to escape and cannot return to their country
because of fear of persecution, including human rights defenders;
13.5 dispatch independent observers, including the staff of
their embassies, to attend the trials of protesters who are detained;
13.6 provide Iranian citizens with free internet access during
the regime’s internet blackouts during protests, and facilitate
access to internet via virtual private networks (VPNs);
13.7 promote international exchanges with Iranian civil society
and its constituent women’s rights, youth, student and labour movements
and consider establishing a “Vienna process-type dialogue” with all
relevant human rights interlocutors in Iran and abroad;
13.8 set up targeted assistance, such as support programmes,
to ensure the safety of Iranian human rights defenders at risk,
including early warning mechanisms;
13.9 protect Iranian human rights defenders in Council of Europe
member States from acts of intimidation, harassment and violence,
and provide support to them as needed.
14. The Assembly urges the governments and other public authorities
and relevant agencies of member States to introduce a coherent and
co-ordinated policy to ensure the protection of and the respect
for fundamental rights of Iranians who are citizens of, refugees
in or under the jurisdiction of Council of Europe member States,
including dual-nationals who are held as hostages and used as instruments
for pressure, against activities of the Iranian special services.
Security measures for the Iranian diaspora in Europe and Iranian
human rights defenders in Council of Europe member States, in particular
the key opposition figures, must be improved, including in terms
of digital and physical security; intelligence gathering on Iran’s
proxy groups must be strengthened.
15. The Assembly calls on the Council of Europe member States
that are Parties to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal
Court to consider proposing an amendment to that statute aimed at
including the crime of “gender apartheid”, which is the institutionalisation
of gender-based discrimination and exclusion of women and girls
from all spheres of society, and “religious apartheid”, which is
the institutionalised discrimination and exclusion of individuals
from all spheres of society based on their religious beliefs or
ethno-religious identity.
16. The Assembly further calls upon governments and other relevant
authorities of Council of Europe member States to draw up a coherent
and co-ordinated policy in respect of Iran that should be based
on the following principles:
16.1 an
active and comprehensive diplomatic engagement in respect of Iran
should not be limited to the nuclear deal and should address all
issues in a broad and comprehensive manner, and the human rights
situation must be made a central topic of discussion;
16.2 the option of downgrading diplomatic and trade relations
should be on the table;
16.3 an active feminist foreign policy in relation to Iran,
to make the situation of women and girls in Iran a foreign policy
priority, which can provide an enabling framework to support Iranian
women’s rights defenders;
16.4 Europe should develop its own deterrence capacity and
be ready to impose costs on Iran;
16.5 sanctions should be imposed and enforced to specifically
target Iran’s power elite;
16.6 in case of renewal of the nuclear deal, the advantages
and the collateral damage should be considered;
16.7 active transatlantic co-ordination is needed;
16.8 there should be no diplomatic deals which are harmful
to civil society;
16.9 engagement with Iranian citizens should be strengthened;
16.10 dialogue with civil society groups should be developed
along with efforts to overcome the fragmentation of the opposition,
possibly by facilitating the setting-up of a co-ordination platform
for the Iranian opposition abroad;
16.11 a joint strategy should be established among the member
and observer States of the Council of Europe to push for the release
of citizens held as hostages;
16.12 opposition and democratic forces from Iran should be brought
together and their voices heard;
16.13 a mechanism to investigate and register alleged human
rights violations in Iran should be established as a complementary
tool to the fact-finding mission of the United Nations Human Rights Council;
16.14 the option of qualifying the Islamic Revolutionary Guard
Corps, and possibly other entities, as terrorist organisations should
be considered.
