Violent crackdown on the recent protests in Iran: remarks of High Representative/Vice-President Josep Borrell at the European Parliament plenary debate

Mr President, Honourable Members,

You are all aware that Iran is in the midst of an extremely serious economic crisis, with shortages of basic supplies, including medicines, high level of inflation and unemployment leading to protests. I and my services have followed the developments around the recent protests very closely. Since they began on the 15 November, we have been trying to obtain reliable, verified information on the number of deaths, injuries and arrests. We have also seen – as I am sure you have – video of snipers shooting at protestors, and seen official confirmation of at least 7 000 people arrested. This underlines the severity and the magnitude of what is occurring, what has occurred, what is still happening.

We have not been silent in response to these developments, on the contrary we have responded both privately and publicly. Indeed, my first statement as High Representative on behalf of all the 28 Member States on December 9 was about the protests in Iran. In that statement, we clearly stated that despite repeated calls for restraint, the Iranian security forces’ disproportionate response to the demonstrations led to high numbers of deaths and injuries, and once more I want to emphasise that whether in Iran or elsewhere, the widespread use of force against non-violent protestors is unacceptable.

We have urged the Iranian authorities to ensure transparent and credible investigations to clarify the number of deaths and arrests, and we expect all perpetrators of violence to be held accountable.

Mr. President, I am aware that this crackdown was also extended to the access to the internet, and that Iranian citizens were prevented from accessing global networks, which severely impacted communication and the free flow of information.

We are committed to pursuing a balanced, comprehensive approach with Iran, with a view to addressing all issues of concern, and this of course includes our longstanding concerns regarding the human rights situation. In the context of the regular EU-Iran High-Level Political Dialogue – with the adoption of the Iran nuclear deal, the famous JCPOA – we have raised human rights issues and cases. We have also regularly engaged with the authorities to demand progress on several important human rights issues, including the use of the death penalty, the rights of women, and Iran’s practice of detaining dual nationals. This has also extended to demanding such improvements in international fora such as the United Nations Human Rights Council.

Mr. President, Honourable Members of Parliament, I fully understand the severity of the situation with regard to the protests and we will continue to address this response and urge concrete actions as part of our diplomacy with Iran, which is not limited to the nuclear problems. We firmly believe that the Iranian authorities must live up to their international obligations, including both the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. Rights such as freedom of expression and assembly must always be respected, and I look forward to working with you to promote better respect for these rights across the world. Today we have analysed several cases of these situations, which require a stronger stance from the European Union.

Thank you