IRAN HUMAN RIGHTS: May 2022

1. Overview of the human rights and democracy situation: The situation of human rights in Iran remained a matter of concern in 2021. Furthermore, the COVID-19 crisis exacerbated the vulnerability of the least protected persons in Iranian society, which was partially mitigated in the second half of the year thanks to a significant acceleration in the distribution of vaccines. Iran carried out executions at an extremely high rate. A major source of concern continued to be the use of death penalty also for juvenile offenders, protestors and dissidents. Restrictions to civil freedoms persisted, notably the lack of fair trial guarantees, violations of freedom of expression, religion or belief and of the human rights of women and girls. Abuse and torture in prison, the detention and conviction of dual nationals and the situation of human rights activists remained matters of serious concern. A water shortage in Khuzestan sparked a series of protests during the summer of 2021, marked by reports concerning the disproportionate use of force by Iranian security forces. A positive development in an overall difficult situation was Iran’s effort to continue hosting one of the largest refugee populations in the world, including approximately 1 million registered Afghan refugees, and to provide them with access to basic services, in particular health care, including coronavirus disease vaccination, and education for children.

2. EU action - key focus areas: A new government took office in the second half of the year. The EU policy approach towards Iran remained unchanged and continued to be based on a balanced and comprehensive approach, critical in all areas of concern and cooperative when there is mutual interest, as outlined in the Council conclusions of February 2019. As part of its comprehensive policy approach, the EU followed the situation of human rights in Iran, including individual cases, very closely and continued to address all relevant issues using a mixture of public and private diplomacy, as well as bilateral and multilateral tools. The EU repeatedly called on Iran to pursue a consistent policy towards the abolition of capital punishment and strongly condemned through public statements the use of death penalty in particular for juvenile offenders, protestors and dissidents.

3. EU bilateral political engagement: Human rights continued to be an integral part of the EU’s policy vis-à-vis Iran. As a result, the EU continued to address as appropriate all issues of concern with respect to the human rights situation in Iran and insisted, both privately and publicly, that there must be accountability for abuses whenever they occur. The EU continued to urge the Iranian authorities to pursue a consistent policy towards the abolition of capital punishment. The EU also reiterated its concerns regarding the situation of political prisoners and that of EU-Iranian dual nationals arbitrarily detained in Iran, and urged the Iranian authorities to ensure that all prisoners are kept in safe conditions, in compliance with the applicable international law, and that they are granted medical assistance whenever needed. Furthermore, the EU continued to urge the Iranian authorities to guarantee the full range of fundamental rights to their citizens irrespective of religion, belief or any other status, including the right to assemble and to express grievances in a non-violent manner. Through this political engagement, the EU will continue to urge improvements in the human rights situation in Iran.

4. EU financial engagement: In implementing projects in the framework of the Iran Multiannual Indicative Programme for 2021-2027, the EU always takes into account its human rights commitments.

5. Multilateral context: The Government of Iran received 329 recommendations following Iran’s Universal Periodic Review (UPR) in November 2019, including from 26 EU Member States. At the 43rd session of the Human Rights Council on 24 February – 20 March 2020, Iran accepted 143 of the 329 recommendations it received in 2019. The EU continued to be a strong supporter of the UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in Iran and encouraged Iran to fully cooperate with the latter’s mandate. As in previous years, the EU supported the resolution on the human rights situation in Iran tabled by Canada during the UN General Assembly in New York, as a resolution that is fact-based and free of unverified allegations.