Iran
1. Overview of the human rights and democracy situation: The situation of human rights in Iran remained a matter of concern in 2022. The Iranian regime’s response to the protests sparked by the death in police custody of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini on 16 September 2022 (which resulted in a nationwide uprising in favor of wider freedoms and respect for fundamental rights) has been a cause for great concern. The widespread, brutal and disproportionate use of force by the Iranian authorities against peaceful protesters, as well as the use of the death penalty against protesters, was a breach of the fundamental principles enshrined in international law. 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 lack of guarantees of fair trial, violations of freedom of expression, religion or belief and of women’s and girls’ rights. Abuse and torture in prison, the detention and conviction of foreign and dual nationals and the situation of human rights activists remained matters of serious concern. At the same time, it is commendable that Iran continued to host a great number of Afghan refugees (which has even increased since the crisis in Afghanistan), and to provide them with access to basic services, in particular health care and education for children.
2. EU action - key focus areas: In the Council Conclusions of December 2022, the EU reaffirmed its commitment to a comprehensive policy approach: critical where necessary, and ready to engage, on the basis of mutual respect, where interests align. As part of its comprehensive policy approach, the EU followed the situation of human rights in Iran very closely, including in the context of the 2022 protests. As a result, it continued to address all relevant issues using a mixture of public and private diplomacy as well as bilateral and multilateral tools. This included inter alia: the use of death penalty in particular for juvenile offenders, protesters and dissidents; Iran’s disregard for its international human rights obligations, including the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) and the Convention on the Rights of the Child, to both of which Iran is a party; freedom of expression and assembly; restrictions on communications, including Internet shutdowns.
3. EU bilateral political engagement: Human rights continued to be an integral part of the EU’s policy vis-à-vis Iran. On 25 September 2022, in the context of the Iranian government’s response to the protests sparked by the death of Mahsa Amini, the High Representative/Vice President (HR/VP) issued a Declaration on behalf of the EU 27 EU calling on Iran to immediately stop the widespread and disproportionate use of force against nonviolent protestors, to ensure free flow of information, to release all non-violent protestors and to provide due process to all detainees. The HR/VP Declaration paved the way for more coordinated actions between the EU and its Member States and led to the adoption of targeted restrictive measures in response to the events in Iran. At the same time, the HR/VP used its direct channels up to the highest Iranian political level to firmly demand respect for the fundamental rights of Iranian men and women. In addition, the EU repeatedly called on Iran to pursue a consistent policy towards the abolition of capital punishment and strongly condemned the use of death penalty in particular for juvenile offenders, protesters and dissidents including through public statements. The EU also expressed concern regarding the situation of political prisoners and that of EU and EU-Iranian dual nationals arbitrarily detained in Iran, urging 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 and consular assistance whenever needed. Furthermore, the EU continued to urge the Iranian authorities to guarantee the full range of fundamental rights for their citizens irrespective of religion, belief or any other status. Through this political engagement, the EU continued to urge improvements in the human rights situation in Iran and continued to insist, both privately and publicly, that there must be accountability for abuses whenever they occur.
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 in November 2019, including from 26 EU Member States. At the 43rd session of the Human Rights Council convened from 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 United Nations General Assembly in New York, as a resolution that is fact-based and free of unverified allegations. The EU also urged Iran to cooperate with the Independent Fact-Finding Mission created by the Human Rights Council in November 2022.
